She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stay and watch her only living parent die. The grief had nearly broken her once.
She had to get out of Millhaven before it broke her for good.
As soon as Greyson got within range of the Wi-Fi at his parents’ house, his phone blew up like a supernova. Reaching into his back pocket, he grumbled out a healthy “what the hell?” at the seven—no, eight—missed calls. None of them were from numbers he recognized, but all were local. No messages. He’d only been harvesting corn for a couple of hours, for Chrissake. Who the hell was—
His phone rang in his hand, and he took the call, ready to dish up a ration of shit over the spam casserole. “Whittaker,” he ground out, and the person on the other end let out a huff of…relief?
“Jesus, it’s about time!”
“Hunter?” Okay, so this had just gone from irritating to weird in less than two seconds. “Why the hell…”
“Is Marley with you?” The guy sounded distraught, and every hair on the back of Greyson’s neck stood on end.
“What?”
Hunter made a noise of frustration. “Is Marley with you? I need to know.”
“No, I haven’t seen her since this morning,” Greyson said, switching to offense in the same breath. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t heard from her at all?” Hunter asked. “No texts, no voicemails? Nothing?”
Greyson worked for his inhale, dread pooling in a heavy layer beneath his frustration. After pulling his phone away from his ear to double-check, he said, “No. I’m only going to ask you one more time. What the hell is going on?”
“We’re not…” Hunter broke off, and a muffled female voice, not Marley’s—Cate McAllister’s, maybe?—sounded off in the background. “We’re not entirely sure, but it looks as if…well, it looks like she’s gone.”
“Gone,” Greyson repeated, as if the word was in some ancient foreign language that hadn’t been spoken aloud in centuries.
“Her room is completely cleaned out. Bed made, drawers empty. Her car is gone from the side lot, and she took herself off the schedule at the storefront. Left a resignation letter, effective immediately.”
For one, single heartbeat, Greyson stood there, suspended in time, in a world that was normal. Good. Right.
And then the gravity of what Hunter had said, of what the words meant, smashed into him like a wrecking ball, leaving nothing but shattered debris behind.
Marley couldn’t be gone.
“I’ll be right there.” Greyson looked down, shocked to find his legs already in motion.
Hunter sputtered. “I don’t think…”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think,” he snapped. None of this made any sense. Marley had been sleeping, safe and sound in his bed, just this morning. She’d promised to stay. She’d said she trusted him. She’d never leave, and especially not without a goodbye.
There had to be a good explanation for this. He just needed to find it, and the best place to start was the source.
Greyson made it to Cross Creek Farm in record time, thanking his lucky stars that Lane hadn’t set up any speed traps along the route. He didn’t have to bother knocking on the front door at the main house. As soon as his boots hit the bottom step of the porch, Owen swung the thing open and greeted him with a nod.
“I guess we should’ve known better than to think we could keep you from comin’,” Owen said, ushering him inside. And whoa, it was a family affair up in here. All four Cross men were in the living room, each looking as freaked out as Greyson felt. Emerson, Cate, and a very pregnant Scarlett all sat on the couch, murmuring quietly to one another and scrolling through their cell phones.
“I’m going to assume y’all have tried to call her,” Greyson ventured. Eli shot him a look hard enough to cut diamonds, and he held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Just checking. Right to voicemail?”
“Yeah,” Hunter said, and Greyson’s defenses churned past his confusion.
“Me, too.” He’d tried three times on his way here. Hey, this is Marley. Sorry I missed your call…had greeted him on the first ring.
“Clementine hasn’t seen her today,” Cate said, lowering her cell phone with a frown.
“Neither has Lane or Daisy,” Emerson added, and Scarlett turned the bad news into a trifecta.
“She hasn’t been to The Corner Market or anywhere on Town Street, either.”
Greyson’s temples pounded. How the hell could Marley be gone? “The last time I saw her was at five o’clock this morning, when I left my place. She was asleep.”
Eli looked at him, eyes narrowing. “Was she acting weird last night? You didn’t piss her off, did you?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that,” Greyson said through his teeth.
Thankfully, Owen stepped between them on the area rug. “And I’m going to take that as a no.”
“That’s a no,” Greyson confirmed after a deep breath. “She wasn’t upset when I saw her. Wait…” Oh, no. No, no, fuck no.
When people get too close now, I panic, and when I panic, I put everyone at arm’s length.
He swung to look at Tobias, who had been oddly silent. The man looked positively ashen, his brow creased in concern and his mouth pressed into a flat line. “She was worried you’re not well,” Greyson said, realization sinking into him like razor wire.
“What?” At least three voices loosened the question, but God, it made sense.
“She saw you with Doc Sanders yesterday. Said you’ve looked tired.” Greyson had to admit, she sure as shit hadn’t been wrong about that. “She told me she’s scared of losing another parent, but I never thought…”
All of a sudden, everything came into crystal-clear focus. This wasn’t a mistake, and there wasn’t a good explanation for it. Despite everything she’d said last night, despite her promises to stay, Marley had left Millhaven without so much as a goodbye. She was gone. Greyson had opened up to her, shown her exactly who he was, and let her convince him to show other people, too. He’d risked his father’s scorn, his stupid heart—God, everything—by falling for her, and she’d said she trusted him. It had never occurred to him that he shouldn’t trust her back.
And didn’t that just make him the world’s biggest idiot?
“She thinks Pop is sick, and that’s why she left?” Hunter asked, and Cate exhaled softly.
“It makes perfect sense.”
“Okay,” Eli said, his voice barely making it past all the anger welling up in Greyson’s chest. “She can’t have gotten that far, and there aren’t a whole lot of routes out of town. I bet if we split up, we’ll find her.”
“You want to go after her?” Greyson asked, shock crowding his chest.
“Uh, yeah,” Owen said. Damn, the guy had already pulled up a map of the Shenandoah Valley on his phone. “That’s our sister, and we’re going to bring her home, where she belongs. If we hurry up, we should be able to make good time and catch her before it gets too late. Greyson, you can ride with me, Hunter can ride with Eli and Pop, and—”
“I’m not going.”
Every head in the room turned toward him. Hunter, who had always had the coolest head among his brothers, stepped closer, dropping his voice while the rest of the family moved together to examine the map.
“Are you really going to be a dick about this?” Hunter asked. “Right now, when Marley needs you?”
Greyson’s laugh held zero joy. “Needs me? For Chrissake, she had me,” he hissed. “I told her I wouldn’t leave her, and like a dumbass, I meant it. Too bad she didn’t return the favor. She didn’t even stick around long enough to ask questions. Instead, she took off without so much as a goodbye.”
“She’s scared of the answers. She needs us. She needs you,” Hunter said, but nope. No way. Greyson couldn’t go there. Not when he’d been trampled this hard.
He should’ve stuck with what he’d known, what had worked for him for his entire life.
Pushing f
irst was always better than pushing back.
“No, she doesn’t. Marley made her choice, and Millhaven isn’t it. Do you really want to chase her down when you know she ain’t comin’ back? That girl does what she wants. And if what she wants right now is to leave all of this behind, then fine by me.”
A muscle flexed in Hunter’s jaw, signaling his irritation. “Don’t let your pride get in the way, Whittaker. I get that you’re pissed, but I also think you care about that girl.”
“No,” Greyson said, his hurt and his anger and his defenses coming together to shove him toward the door. “I did care about her, but she left. And if you think she’s coming back, you’re a bigger fool than I am.”
29
Marley’s eyes burned something fierce, although whether it was from the seven hours of driving into the blazing sun, then the headlights that had just begun to rise on the opposite side of the highway, or the fact that she’d cried every single tear her body could manufacture, she couldn’t be sure. Either way, the plastic-encased diner menu in front of her slipped in and out of focus, and after her ninth attempt at reading the options, she was pretty much ready to give up.
“Hi, hon,” said the platinum blond waitress, who was—thank Jesus, Mary, and all the stars in the sky—armed with a carafe and an empty mug. “Coffee?”
Marley would’ve kissed the woman on the mouth if she’d been able to muster the energy. “Please.”
The waitress filled the oversized mug, then asked, “What can I getcha to eat?”
Since Marley hadn’t been able to scan the menu despite her best efforts, she went with a safe diner bet. “I’ll have a piece of pie. Whatever today’s special is would be great.”
“You got it.”
The waitress sauntered off, leaving Marley to her thoughts, oh yay. She’d fought two urges to turn around and go back to Millhaven, once when she’d crossed the Virginia/West Virginia border, then again when she’d crossed into Ohio a few minutes ago. The drive had been slower going than she’d hoped—in fact, she was still nearly a hundred miles from where she’d planned to stop for the night. Her defenses felt stiff, atrophied from non-use and covered in dust. But Marley would have to toughen back up, fast. She needed to put Millhaven behind her, to resist the temptation to turn around and head back east, to leave her heart unguarded and make herself vulnerable to a pain she’d never survive.
Never mind that right now hurt pretty fucking badly.
“Here ya go,” chirped the waitress, placing a dish of pie in front of her. Marley’s stomach pitched when she realized it was loaded with peaches, and oh God, she missed Greyson. The farm. Her family.
She wanted to go back.
“No,” Marley whispered. Pushing the plate away, she firmed her resolve, yanking her armor back into place. No matter how right and good Greyson’s arms had felt around her, how happy she’d been at Cross Creek and how much she’d felt like she belonged there, she couldn’t go back.
She’d had a family once before. Been someone’s daughter. Loved that person with all of her might, and that person had died.
She couldn’t lose everything again. Even if that meant not having anything.
Marley shook her head, reaching for the wristlet she’d placed on the vinyl bench seat beside her and turning to ask the waitress if she could get a to-go cup for the coffee. But the sight of the four men who had just barged into the diner sent her heart to her windpipe.
“Marley! Thank God,” Owen said, the first one to catch sight of her, as he’d been leading the pack. Hunter and Eli let out similar exclamations, and—Marley realized with a start—even Tobias was there, looking wholly relieved. Owen got to her first, tugging her into a bear hug, and holy shit, what was happening?
“Jesus, kid. You had us worried,” Owen said as he released her a full ten seconds later, and finally, Marley gathered her wits enough to speak.
“What are you guys doing here?” God, she didn’t even know exactly where here was, let alone why on earth they’d follow her all this way. “How did you even find me?”
“It took some doing, I’ll tell you that,” Eli said, nudging her back toward the booth she’d just vacated. She was so shocked that she went, letting him sandwich her in as Owen, Hunter, and Tobias sat down across from them. “We’ve been to so many diners and truck stops, it’s almost stupid. But there were only two real routes we thought you’d take. Cate and Emerson are on the other one. Scarlett stayed home in case you turned up there. Oh!” He swung a gaze at Hunter, who already had his cell phone in-hand.
“Got it. I just texted everybody to let them know we’ve got her and that everything is okay.”
Marley’s brows winged toward the ceiling. “Um, are you crazy? Everything is not okay.”
“We found you,” Owen said, nodding at the waitress as she lifted her carafe of coffee in question from behind the counter. Eli dropped his gaze to the piece of pie Marley hadn’t touched, his eyes lighting.
“Oooh, pie. Granted, it’s peach. Not my favorite.” He pulled a face to back up the claim. “But I’m starving.”
Yep, it was official. Marley was in the goddamned Twilight Zone. “You guys chased me across three states to sit here and eat pie?”
“No,” Hunter said, waiting for the waitress to fill the four mugs she’d brought with her before telling Marley, “We chased you across three states to bring you home.”
“Cross Creek isn’t my home,” she whispered. The words sounded hollow in her ears, though, and Owen didn’t hesitate to call her on them.
“Yes, it is, Marley. I know you’re scared of having a family again, but…well, Pop, do you want to take this one?”
Tobias nodded, and sweet Lord in heaven, would she ever be able to read this man’s expression? “Your brothers and I had plenty of time to talk during the drive,” he said quietly. “But there are some things you need to know. First off, I’m not dyin’. Well, not anytime soon, I don’t reckon.”
Relief ricocheted through Marley’s rib cage, followed by a full dose of confusion. “You’re not? But you’ve been so tired lately. And then there were all those appointments—”
“I am anemic,” Tobias said. “I didn’t say anything to any of you because I didn’t want you to worry. That’s what those pills were for. They’re iron supplements. And it’s true, I haven’t been myself lately. But the reason for that isn’t that I’m sick.”
Her heart squeezed as finally, his expression grew emotional. “It’s that I’m retiring.”
Marley’s shoulders bumped against the back of the booth. “W-what?”
“Truth is, it was a hard decision to make, and I fought it pretty good. That led to some sleepless nights. I love Cross Creek. Always have. But after all these years, and that scare I had last summer, well, I am tired. Owen and Hunter have things well under control, and Eli’ll be here for a bit after the baby is born. With you runnin’ the storefront, plus Cate and Scarlett and Emerson workin’ as hard as they do, too, well, I knew the time was finally right. Cross Creek is family owned and operated, just as it’s meant to be. So, yes. I’m retiring.”
Marley’s thoughts whirled like a carnival ride, and she grabbed the first one dancing by. “Okay, but all those trips to see Doc Sanders were for anemia? Isn’t that diagnosed with just a simple blood test?”
For the first time, Tobias dropped his eyes, and whoa, even her brothers were exchanging weird looks.
“Not…exactly,” Tobias said. “Yes, I did have an appointment that first day you saw me outside of her office, but Doc Sanders”—he paused to clear his throat—“Ellen and I have been spending a bit of time together.”
Oh. My. God. “You’re dating Doc Sanders?”
“I s’pose I am. I realize I should have said something before now, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure how to tell y’all.”
Owen leaned in, likely in an effort to allow Tobias to recover from the blush that had bloomed beneath his salt-and-pepper stubble. “I think it’s great, Pop. Doc Sa
nders is a real nice lady, and you shouldn’t be lonely.”
Hunter and Eli nodded in agreement, and Marley’s brain caught on the one last thing that had aimed her feet at the door seven hours ago. “You paid off my debt. Why would you do that if you weren’t settling your affairs?”
“I know you said you wanted a clean slate,” Tobias said. “And I do apologize for not heedin’ your wishes. But you’re my daughter, Marley, and in this family, we look out for our own.”
“But Lorraine was my mother,” she said, and Eli shook his head, pinning her with a Caribbean-blue stare.
“She might have been your family, but you’re ours. You could’ve told us about the debt. Of course we’d have helped you pay it.”
Marley’s heart raced, her throat tightening as tears sprang to her eyes. “It’s not the same. Me, and you guys. I’m not…family like you are. Cross Creek isn’t my home.”
“Is that what you think?” Hunter’s laugh was soft. “That we don’t care for you the same as we care for each other?”
“No,” she said automatically. “Maybe. I don’t know. I am different than you three.”
“You weren’t raised in Millhaven like we were, no,” Owen said. “But if there’s one thing I know above all others, it’s that home isn’t a place. It’s a feeling. It’s knowing you can be as ugly as you need to be, and you’ll still be loved. It’s knowing that you’re cared for, every minute of every day, no matter what. It’s knowing that you’re safe. That you belong to someone, and they belong to you right back. Home is where your family is, and we are your family. Your home is right here.”
Marley began to cry in earnest, then, because in that instant, she knew Owen was right. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I just got so scared after everything that happened with my mother.” She looked at Tobias, everything so clear in hindsight. “I really thought you were sick. I panicked, and…God, I’m so, so sorry. I don’t want to leave. I want to go back to Millhaven. That’s where I belong, as long as you’ll have me.”
Crossing Hope (Cross Creek Series Book 4) Page 27