Healing Hearts: Quinn Valley Ranch Book 27

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Healing Hearts: Quinn Valley Ranch Book 27 Page 9

by Dawson, Kay P.


  “Well, that’s good. The poor girl fusses over me far too much.”

  Mitch laughed quietly and nodded. “She just cares about you. And she knew you didn’t have any family to look after you, so she stepped in where I should have been.”

  His grandma squinted her eyes. “Mitch, I’m not going to tell you again. You aren’t to blame for any of this. You were a child, and your reactions are not your fault.”

  He swallowed against the pain he was trying to put behind him. “How come you and grandpa never came to visit me? I know you said you didn’t blame me for what happened with Dad, so why didn’t you just come down to see me?”

  He felt like the little boy sitting and looking at pictures of his grandparents, knowing they were the only connection he had left to his dad. He remembered his mom getting mad when she caught him, taking the album from him and throwing it in the corner because he was being disrespectful by looking at it, after everything his dad had done to her.

  He also knew this wasn’t the time to be bringing this up, but the words had tumbled from his lips before he could stop them. The last thing he wanted to do was upset his grandma in her condition.

  “We tried, a few times. But I know we should have tried harder. After Danny died, we contacted your mom to see if we could visit and she never thought it was a good time. We knew she was trying to keep us away, and because we didn’t want to make any more fighting for you to have to witness, we thought it was best if we just stopped trying. I hoped someday I’d get the chance to see you again and explain. I thought when you got old enough, you could come on your own.” She patted his hand again. “And I’m so glad you did. Being able to spend this time with you, and show you where I came from, was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

  He smiled at her, so thankful to have been given this woman in his life.

  “Well, to be fair, I don’t know if I’d have come on my own if you hadn’t contacted me. I would have held onto my guilt and anger, never finding out the truth of everything that happened.”

  She was looking at him intently, her smile never leaving her face. “I know you’d have come. Eventually. I just prodded you a little. Thanks to Vicki. She found you for me.”

  He let her hand rest on his as she spoke. It was feeling stronger already, just in the few minutes she’d been awake.

  “And, since I have you sitting here listening to me, I think we need to talk about Vicki.”

  His smile dropped and he wrinkled his eyebrows together as he looked at her suspiciously.

  “What do we need to talk about?”

  She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. For someone who’d just suffered a health crisis, she wasn’t exhibiting any of the symptoms.

  “You know exactly what we need to talk about. The fact that you’re in love with that girl, and she’s in love with you, but you’re pushing her away because of some memories of your past. Memories that have nothing to do with you, or with her. The fighting and all the meanness you had to witness wasn’t fair. But that’s not how it is for everyone.”

  “Grandma, the fact that it can even happen to anyone is enough. I don’t ever want to go through anything like that with someone I’ve sworn to love for the rest of my life.”

  She looked at him intently, and he started to feel uncomfortable when she wasn’t speaking. Finally, she shook her head sadly. “Mitch, do you honestly believe you could ever feel hate toward Vicki? I saw you two every day in that vehicle as we made our way to South Dakota. I listened to you talk, and it was like watching me and my Arthur. Sometimes, two people find each other who are just meant to be together, who can complete the other in a way no one else could. I saw that with you and Vicki.”

  He let his memory go back to times he’d seen his grandpa and grandma together. He remembered her laughing at his bad jokes, and how they always seemed to know what the other one needed before even asking. Grandma would bring him a cup of coffee and he’d always act surprised that she would know he wanted one. Or he would bring home something for supper, and she’d be excited because that’s exactly what she wanted.

  Why hadn’t he let these memories in, instead of the horrible ones from his parents? His grandparents had shown him a love that had lasted, and never ended in hate or anger. They’d bicker a lot, but he couldn’t remember ever hearing them say a mean word to the other.

  “But there’s always a chance something can happen. And if we ended up having kids…”

  “Then you’d be blessed beyond measure. Mitch, you can’t live worrying about the what-ifs, or you’ll miss out on the real moments that will fill your heart with joy. If you love someone, you can’t let them walk out of your life and not at least try to see what happens.”

  “But I want more with Vicki. I want marriage. And I want kids. And it scares me, because I have never wanted that before. I worry so much about what can happen.”

  She smiled warmly, and he could feel so much love in her gaze. “Like what? Like, you could spend the rest of your days with someone who makes you happy? You could have wonderful children who you can guide and raise into wonderful human beings? You could have a family who loves you as much as you love them?”

  “I don’t know, Grandma. I’ve spent my whole life determined I would never let myself or anyone I cared about go through the heartache I watched as a child. Plus, I’m pretty sure Vicki doesn’t really like me very much anymore.”

  “Mitch, as long as you hold onto the past, you’ll never know what you’re missing. And, I think you owe it to Vicki to decide how she feels about you.”

  Before he could talk to his grandma alone anymore, the door to her room opened and the nurse on duty came in.

  He stepped out of the room to let them check her over and leaned back against the wall.

  He wished everything his grandma had said was that simple.

  He’d pushed Vicki away, and he knew he’d hurt her. Would she even be willing to give him a chance now? And, did he want to risk hurting them both even more by asking her?

  Or, should he just leave things the way they were now, and pretend he didn’t care when she found someone else?

  Because he knew Vicki Quinn was a woman who deserved to be loved and he had no doubt that someday, she would find it with someone.

  Which chance did he want to take?

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I hope my brother wasn’t too rough on you today.” Vicki grinned at Margaret who was now propped up in the hospital bed eating some pudding. Travis was one of the best physiotherapists in the state, and he’d been in to work with Margaret first thing this morning.

  “He’s a sweetheart. You made me think he was going to be an old grump, but I’ve never met anyone who was more of a gentleman.”

  Vicki snorted as she pictured her brother as a “gentleman.”

  “Well, he must have a split personality, because that’s not the word I’d generally use for either of my brothers.”

  “Oh, Vicki. You’re lucky to have those boys. I’ve met Joel a few times over the years when I had my dog living with me, and he’s a nice boy too.”

  Vicki could agree she was lucky to have them—most of the time. Hearing Margaret call them boys made her smile.

  “The doctor says you’ll be able to go home by Monday if you continue to improve. When did Mitch say he’d be back?”

  It turned out the stroke Margaret had just over a week ago was mild, and she’d been making improvements every day. She would need to continue working with Travis, and it was unlikely she’d ever have full mobility on the one side like she had before, but she was taking it all well. With her disease progression on top of it all, the doctors were shocked at how much she’d improved even from the first day.

  Mitch had been here with her every day, and Vicki had let them have time alone. She tried to plan her visits around him not being here.

  She told herself it was to give them the space to make up for lost time, but the truth was, she couldn’t bring herse
lf to be around him anymore. It was hard seeing him and not being able to tell him how she felt.

  Even though it had now been almost two weeks since they gotten home from South Dakota, her heart still hurt. She hoped it would ease with time, but right now, she didn’t think it would ever heal. If he’d done something horrible to her, to make her hate him, it would have been easier.

  But, he hadn’t done anything like that. He was still the man she’d fallen in love with and seeing him every day with his grandma, how he cared for her so deeply, made her heart fall even more. She watched them build their relationship back up from the years of pain he’d gone through, and as he healed, she could see a side of him that made her understand how she’d fallen so quickly.

  So she had to step back and keep herself away from him.

  “He should be back today. He had to go back to Boise for a meeting that he couldn’t reschedule, even though I told him he didn’t need to stay here and dote on me, he insisted he’s coming back until I’m settled back at home.”

  Vicki smiled at the happiness she could see in Margaret’s face as she talked about him. It was such a far cry from the sadness she’d seen just over a month ago as the woman had hoped they could find him.

  “Well, he just wants to make sure you’re better and that you’re taken care of.”

  Margaret looked at her for a while with a sad look in her eyes. “He’s a good boy. I’m glad you were able to find that out for yourself. We wouldn’t have found each other again, if not for you, so I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. I know Mitch appreciates it too.”

  She started to feel uncomfortable under Margaret’s stare, so she just laughed and waved her hand. “It really wasn’t that hard. With the wonder of the Internet now, you’d be surprised how easy it is to find people.”

  “Well, I know that, but it wasn’t just finding him for me. It was everything else you did.”

  She got the feeling Margaret wanted to say more, but just then the door opened, and Mitch walked into the room. As soon as their eyes met, she lost the ability to breathe for a moment. She’d been trying to avoid him for days, and seeing him now, his blue eyes holding hers, it felt like they were the only people in the world.

  She quickly stood up, giving her head a little shake to break the spell she’d been put under at seeing him again.

  Patting Margaret’s hand, she smiled down at the woman in the bed. “All right, I’ll let you two visit. I’ve got to head home and pick up some groceries.” She nervously looked at Mitch. “Just let me know when they’re bringing her back to Quinn Valley. I’ll make sure to meet you guys in her room to help get her settled back in.”

  He nodded and watched her walk past him. She didn’t even wait to see if he was going to say anything else before she walked out into the hallway. She let out her breath and kept moving toward the elevator as fast as she could go.

  Why did it still need to be so hard to see him? It didn’t make any sense. It’s not like they’d been dating for years and he’d been the only love of her life.

  Well, she guessed that if she were being honest with herself, he was the only man she could say she’d loved like this. She couldn’t understand what had happened. Or, how to move past it.

  As the elevator doors opened, she stepped inside, willing the tears that had suddenly built up to hold off, at least until she got to her car. The last thing she needed to do was break down in the middle of the hospital.

  But before the doors could close, a hand reached in and stopped them. Mitch stepped into the elevator, his eyes locking on hers as he came over to her.

  Before she knew what was happening, his arms had gone around her and his head lowered, taking her lips with his. He held her as close as he could get her, and as her arms went up around his shoulders, she vaguely heard the sound of the doors closing.

  He kissed her with an urgency, as though he was afraid if he let her go, she’d disappear.

  The dinging of the elevator as it reached the main floor brought her back to reality. He lifted his head slightly as the doors opened and he smiled down at her, but still didn’t say a word.

  They pulled apart to walk into the lobby, and she kept her eyes down, unable to look at the few people who were waiting to get on. She noticed the grins on their faces at what they’d witnessed, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

  Mitch held her hand and led her toward the big sliding doors to go outside. He kept pulling her until they came around to a small courtyard with golden leafy trees and a bench for patients to come and sit on.

  Finally, he turned and faced her, taking her back into his arms.

  “Mitch, what’s going on? You can’t just come and accost me, then drag me all over the place without saying anything.”

  His hand came up to the side of her face. “I know. But what I need to say couldn’t be said in a crowded elevator or hospital waiting room. And I was afraid if I gave you a chance to say anything, you’d tell me to go.”

  She swallowed, now unsure what to say.

  “I love you, Vicki. I don’t really know what else I can say, other than the fact that I can’t spend another day like this. I don’t know how this happened, or even what is going on, but I do know I need you with me. I need to be able to laugh with you, to talk to you, even just sit together and do nothing with you.”

  “But— I thought…”

  He shook his head. “What I thought was wrong. All my life, I’ve been so afraid of what could happen it I fell in love. I couldn’t imagine going through what I watched my parents go through. But then a wise woman pointed out to me that what I’d witnessed wasn’t always how it is. And, if I spend my life believing the worst will happen, I’ll miss the chance to have the wonderful too. That’s what I want with you. I want the good, and the bad, but I promise you that no matter what happens in our future, nothing in the world could ever make me stop loving you.”

  When his thumb moved to her cheek to wipe away the wetness, she realized the tears she’d been fighting earlier had finally let go.

  “I love you too, Mitch. And I promise you that my love won’t ever turn to hate.”

  He smiled down at her. “Lucky for me, I’ve found a woman who I know could never hate. I know in your heart, love is all you know how to do. And that’s what I’m giving back to you. My heart.”

  As his lips found hers again, Vicki knew she would guard that with her life. And her heart would always be his too.

  Epilogue

  “I really could have managed getting my groceries on my own, you know. You could have just met me at my place so I could make you supper.”

  Vicki grabbed some milk out of the fridge and put it in the cart while Mitch pushed it ahead. He was leaning on the handle of the cart and just smiled at her.

  “I don’t mind. I wasn’t doing anything else, so I thought I’d help. Besides, you’re being nice enough to make me supper, so the least I could do is help you get the food.”

  They’d been together now for a few months and it was his birthday today, so she’d wanted to make him something special. He’d been to visit his grandma earlier and had eaten lunch with her at the nursing home.

  Margaret was doing well, keeping up with physiotherapy to help with her stroke and to hopefully slow down the progression of her Parkinson’s.

  Since Mitch had moved up to Quinn Valley shortly after his grandma’s stroke, they’d had the chance to rebuild their relationship. His mom hadn’t been happy, but he’d finally told her it was time for him to make his own decisions regarding his dad’s family. Vicki knew he did still feel guilty sometimes after he’d talk to his mom, but she was helping him to get over those familiar old feelings and realize that family was always supposed to be supportive and encouraging. If his mom couldn’t give him that, Vicki was more than willing to do it for him.

  As they went through the checkout, he put the bags into the cart and pushed it toward the door. The cold winter air hit her cheeks as t
hey stepped outside.

  “Oh, I think we’re going to get some more snow.” As though the words she spoke opened the heavens, snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

  Mitch just shook his head and laughed. “I’m telling you, you’re like some kind of angel or something.”

  She followed him until they got to that awful spot on the sidewalk where she now cringed every time she had to walk past it. And in the winter, it was even more difficult to get a cart up and over the broken cement.

  He stopped and turned to look at her with a wide grin on his face. “You know, I can’t go past this place in the parking lot without smiling.”

  She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m glad you can smile about it. I still have a scar on my forehead to remind me of my acrobatics.”

  He leaned on the handle and watched her. “I love that scar. It reminds me every time I see it of the first time I saw you.”

  “Can’t we just pretend the first time we met was in your grandma’s room? Do we need to remember the other meeting?”

  He was still grinning, when he reached into his pocket and pulled out an orange. “I always felt so bad about your oranges.”

  Her mouth opened and she started to laugh. “Seriously? You’re giving me an orange to make up for my crushed ones? You’re crazy.”

  He nodded, then got down on his knee and held the orange in front of him. When she looked closer, she could see he’d peeled part of it back and there was a ring pushed into it.

  “You’re right. I am crazy. And I have been since the day I saw you flying through the air in front of the Quinn Valley Quick-EE Mart with oranges rolling away in every direction. So, Vicki Quinn, will you marry me?”

  Her mouth was still open. He’d put her engagement ring in an orange? And then reminded her of her most humiliating moment of her life? But suddenly, seeing him on one knee looking at her with such love in his eyes, that meeting on the pavement of the grocery store parking lot didn’t seem so embarrassing. It had gotten Mitch’s attention, and she guessed that had ended up working out pretty well for her.

 

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