Coming Home (Vista Falls #4)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “At least your mother’s smart enough to know it doesn’t matter what people say as long as you’ve made peace with your decision.”

  She knew he was talking about them now, trying to convince her he didn’t want to marry the whole damn town. Just her. She knew how lucky she was to have found love when so many people seemed to be losing it. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart. Uh, is having your mom there with you going to make it tough for you to come out here? If you feel you need to stay with her—”

  Juliette laughed. “Honestly? I think she’s taking it better than I am. And maybe she’d appreciate a little time to herself to think. But I’ll talk to her about it in the morning, make sure she’s okay with me leaving before I book my flight.”

  “I know this sounds really selfish, but I need to see you, Jules. I can’t stand being apart from you.”

  It felt like the first time she’d smiled all day. “Is that so?”

  “It’s crazy. I’ve never felt like this before.” He sighed. “But at the same time, I feel like I’m living in limbo here. It’s not the life I want anymore, but it’s the life I’ve got.”

  “What do you mean?” She thought she knew, but she needed to hear him say it. If he planned to leave his old life behind, it had to be his call.

  “With every day that passes, I just get more restless. Sure, I’ve gotten some work done, hung out with buddies, gone to a couple of parties. But I can’t believe that was ever enough to make me believe my life was complete.”

  She felt his pain. She’d been working hard since he left, but something was missing. He was missing. “For what it’s worth, this life isn’t enough for me anymore either. I need more. I need you.”

  “Does that mean…?”

  She could tell he was trying not to pressure her, and she appreciated that, but she thought it was time for her to make a decision. “What do we need to do to get the marriage licence?”

  He whooped, making her laugh. “I’ll take care of everything. You just get your sexy self down here and bring a white dress. How does a beach wedding sound?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Why don’t you bring your mom and maybe some of your friends too? At least for the weekend? I have a friend who’s a party planner. I’ll ask her to plan a small reception at my house. Correction, our house.”

  Juliette’s stomach did a little somersault when she thought about merging their assets. He had so much more than she did, and she didn’t want any of his friends to think she was rushing into this marriage because she was expecting a big payout. “Um, maybe we should think about a prenup, babe.”

  Her suggestion was met with a full minute of silence before he asked, “A prenup? That’s really want you want? You think I’m after—”

  “God, no,” she said, laughing at the absurdity of his suggestion. “I’m thinking about you. You have a lot more to protect than I do.”

  “And I don’t give a shit about any of it. If living in that tiny cell for all those years taught me one thing, it’s that I don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. Do I have a lot of toys? Sure. But only because I got lucky enough to make a lot of money and my accountant’s always bitchin’ at me about the tax implications if I don’t invest it.”

  “Still, I don’t want your friends to think I’m after your money. If you want me to sign a prenup, I’m fine with that. You may not care about your other assets, but there’s your family home to consider. I know how much that means to you, and if we’re going to be living there together, that would make it our home. In the eyes of the law, I would be entitled to half if we split. I’d never take it, of course. But I’m sure it would make you feel better—”

  “What would make me feel better is if my bride-to-be would shut up about bailin’ on me.”

  His tone was between frustration and amusement, but Juliette could tell he was hurt too. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

  “You honestly think if you divorced me, I could stay in that town and run the risk of seeing you everywhere I went?”

  “You mean you’d sell the house?”

  “You still don’t get it, do you? You have my heart. That’s not gonna change. Ever. So if we split, it’ll be because you left me. Under those circumstances, I couldn’t stay. It would kill me to stay.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. No man had never bared his soul to her the way Zeke did. “I can’t imagine anything you could say or do that would make me want to leave you.” She considered her parents’ situation. “Unless you lied to me, cheated, or mistreated me. Those are the three deal-breakers.” She laughed though because she’d never thought, for even a second, he’d do any of those things. When he didn’t share in her laughter or respond, she stilled. “Zeke? You still there?”

  “I’m still here. Just thinking… I can’t lose you, Jules.”

  “You’re not going to.” She smiled, more confident than ever in what they had.

  “Good, so let’s start making some wedding plans.”

  ***

  Juliette was led to the kitchen the next morning by her nose. Fresh coffee and blueberry muffins had always been her favorite.

  “I know I didn’t have blueberries in the house,” Juliette said with a grateful smile when her mother handed her a cup of coffee prepared just the way she liked it. “You’ve been out already?”

  “I couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk to the farmer’s market.”

  “The mattress not comfortable?” Juliette asked, knowing full well the mattress hadn’t been the cause of her mother’s insomnia. She snagged a warm muffin and slathered it with butter before popping a bite in her mouth.

  “No, it was fine. It was just…” She shrugged. “I’d been thinking about it for so long. Leaving your father. I can still scarcely believe I found the courage to do it. That man’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was practically a child when we married.”

  “Are you having second thoughts?” Not that she thought her father would take her back. He was a rigid, unforgiving man who’d have much rather punished the person he believed wronged him.

  “No, no second thoughts,” she said quickly. She shook her head, laughing lightly at herself. “I mean, I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t a little sad that things couldn’t have worked out differently. I didn’t marry him believing we’d divorce. I thought we’d grow old together.”

  Juliette tucked into the built-in L-shaped alcove of her small eating area with her coffee and a second muffin, waiting for her mother to join her. When she did, she asked, “Was he always like that? He has been for as long as I can remember, but before I was born, was he… happy? Carefree?”

  Her mother’s lips spread into a sullen line. “I can’t say those are two words I’d ever associate with your father. Not even when we were young.”

  “Then why’d you marry him?” Part of the reason Juliette loved Zeke so much was because he prevented her from taking life so seriously. She couldn’t imagine why her mom would have knowingly married a killjoy.

  “Safety. Security.” She shook her head as though she now recognized her mistake. “Times were different then, honey. Sure, there were women getting degrees and pursuing careers, but it wasn’t a given for a woman the way it is now.”

  Juliette considered whether she had ever felt she had the option to do anything else with her life. Backpacking through Europe? Not on her father’s watch. Getting married and staying home to raise her kids? That would have been a waste according to him. So she’d done what he throught was right only to question whether it was right for her.

  “Zeke and I have talked about having kids,” Juliette said, watching her mother carefully. Her face lit up just as Juliette had known it would. Her mother had always hoped for grandchildren. “But I’m not sure I’d want to be away from them all the time. You know what my schedule is like. Late nights. Early mornings. Weekends. When would I have time to be a mom with the demands of my job?”
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  Her mother patted her hand, smiling. “I’ve always thought that being a mom is the most important job in the world. And it’s short, too short. I mean, you’ll always be their mother, but they only need you for such a short time. Before you know it, they’re dressing themselves, packing their own lunches, walking home from school with friends…” She cleared her throat as tears filled her eyes. “And you’re left wondering where the time went.”

  “Is that how I made you feel? Like I didn’t need you anymore? Because it’s not true. I know our relationship’s been a little strained lately, but that was because of Dad, not you.” Juliette hated to think she’d added to her mother’s heartache in any way.

  “It’s not your fault,” she said, tracing the pattern on the placemat with her polished fingernail. “Kids grow up. They don’t need their parents anymore. That’s just the way it is. I don’t blame you. It was the same way with me and my parents. I moved away, and they had to go into a nursing home. I visited them when I could, but I know it wasn’t often enough.”

  Juliette suspected her mother was imagining the day when she’d be all alone with no one to visit her. “You’ll always have me,” she said emphatically. “If you’re worried that I’ll forget about you or—”

  “Sssh, this isn’t about me. It’s about you. I suspect you’re trying to figure out what to do about your young man. He’s proposing a lot of changes. Marriage. A family. How do you feel about all of that?”

  “Excited,” she said, smiling. “Scared,” she added, trying to be honest. “I love him, but marriage and kids? That’s a huge step, and we haven’t known each other long.”

  “So take more time to get to know each other.”

  “He wants to get married now. At his home in Malibu. In fact, he wants me to bring you and some of my friends down with me for a ceremony on the beach in a couple of weeks.”

  Studying her carefully, she asked, “And how do you feel about that? Is it what you want?”

  “Yes.” She said it a second time, more emphatically. “Yes, it is.”

  “Don’t let anyone coerce you into doing something you’re not ready for, love. Trust me, I had to learn that the hard way.”

  “But isn’t that what I’ve been doing all my life?” She sighed. “I like to think that I’ve stood up to Dad, but at the end of the day, I went to the school he wanted me to. I chose the career he thought would be perfect for me. I let him map out my life for me.”

  “So don’t let Zeke do the same. I know you believe you love him. If that’s true, you’ll still love him a year from now, right?”

  She laughed. “I said almost the exact same thing to him.”

  “And?”

  “He’d have to uproot his entire life to move here. I think he wants some kind of guarantee before he does that.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, frowning. “He already has a home here, and I’m guessing his career allows him to work from anywhere since he was planning to move here if you married.”

  “He’s an app developer. A very successful one. So yeah, he can work from anywhere.”

  “So how would he be uprooting his life if he came to stay here for a few weeks or months at a time while the two of you got to know each other and made plans for your future?”

  Everything her mother said made sense, but she couldn’t imagine telling Zeke she’d changed her mind about marrying him. He’d never understand. “He hasn’t had an easy time of it. I think he just wants some stability in his life. He wants to know someone’s going to be there for him beyond his friends. He wants a family.”

  “And he wants you to want that too. On his timetable?”

  Juliette knew her mother was only trying to help, but she wasn’t. She was making Juliette question her decision all over again, and that was the last thing she needed. “Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, don’t you think?”

  “Of course—when you’re going skydiving. Not when you’re deciding whether or not to marry a man you just met.” She sighed. “I know I’ve always encouraged you to follow your heart, but I’m not going to lie. I’m worried about you. What do you really know about this young man? You know that he spent years in a detention facility for shooting his brother—”

  “Mom, please.” Juliette raised her hand, defensive on Zeke’s behalf. “He made a mistake. A huge mistake that cost him everything, but he’s rebuilt his life. His parents forgave him. Why should the rest of the world continue to hold it against him?”

  “That’s not what I’m doing,” she said, her tone softer. “But this man wants to marry my baby girl, and I haven’t even met him yet. I just want to know—why the rush?” Her gaze fell to Juliette’s stomach, which was concealed by a black-and-pink kimono robe. “Unless you’re pregnant?”

  “No!” Juliette’s cheeks grew warm. “No way. That’s not it. We’ve talked about having a baby but not now. Not right away.” Though she knew Zeke wouldn’t mind if she got pregnant sooner rather than later.

  “Okay, so why the big rush then?”

  “I already told you.”

  “What you’ve told me doesn’t make any sense. He’s a successful, independent man with a full life in another state. Why is he in such a hurry to leave that all behind so he can move back to a small town in the middle of nowhere where everyone has preconceived ideas about the kind of person he is?”

  “Because he loves me.” Juliette stood, hurt and frustrated that her mother seemed determined to continue drilling her about Zeke. She just wanted her mother to understand and support her decision. “And that’s reason enough for me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zeke was surprised when Juliette’s mother called him, claiming she wanted to get to know him better.

  “Did Juliette give you my number?” he asked, sinking onto the couch in his home office. “Does she know you called?”

  “No and no. You can find just about anything online these days. Since I knew your first and last name, where you lived, and what you did for a living, it wasn’t all that hard to find your number. It is published, after all.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He rarely used his landline. All of his friends and business associates called his cell phone, so he’d been tempted to ignore the call, but since it was Juliette’s home phone number on his screen, he’d assumed it was her. He wondered if he should express his regret over her separation but decided against it. They didn’t even know each other, and he didn’t think mentioning such a sensitive subject during their first conversation was the best way to ingratiate himself with his future mother-in-law. “So what can I do for you, Mrs. Keyes?”

  “Juliette told me you’ve asked her to marry you and that you’re planning the wedding. Soon.”

  He glanced at the notepad on his desk. He’d been making calls all morning, hoping the ceremony and reception would obliterate any of Juliette’s doubts about how much he loved her. He would do anything for her, and he wanted to prove it. Not only to her but to her friends and parents too. Growing up in Vista Falls, the Keyes family had been at nearly every event in town, but they’d always looked right past him and his family. He wanted to prove to them that he was worthy of Juliette.

  “I know this must seem a little unconventional.” Zeke cleared his throat. “I mean, finding out your daughter plans to marry a man you’ve never even met.”

  “Juliette is a grown woman, and she’s free to do whatever she pleases obviously, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned. I am her mother, after all.”

  “I understand.” He braced himself, expecting her to list all of the reasons their marriage was a bad idea. “But I can assure you I love your daughter. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

  “How can you know that?” she asked, sounding frustrated. “You don’t even know her. Not yet. You just met, and you’re telling me you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”

  “Sometimes you just know when it’s right.” He understood her confusion, and he was prepared to indulge h
er questions, but he refused to waver. He knew what he wanted—for Juliette to be his wife. “I sure as hell didn’t come back to Vista Falls expecting to fall in love, but it happened. Do I wish I’d fallen for a California girl?” He chuckled. “Sure. The last place I ever expected to land permanently was Vista Falls, but if that’s where Jules is, that’s where I need to be.”

  “You really mean that?”

  “I really mean that.” He debated stopping there, but he knew he had to let her in more than he would most strangers. “I’ve never been the kind of guy who actively pursued a relationship. I didn’t freak out when I hit thirty-five, thinking I had to sign up for some online dating site if I ever wanted to be a husband and father. Marriage and having a family were always in the periphery of my mind. I thought it might happen. Someday. Then I met Juliette, and someday became right now. Today.”

  “But why the rush?”

  “Because I love her. Because I hate being apart from her. Every single day and night since I left Vista Falls has been torture without her.” He wasn’t used to be so open and vulnerable, especially with a stranger. But he didn’t want Juliette’s mother to just approve of him. He wanted her to learn to love him like family.

  “I see.”

  “I don’t think you do.” He laughed. “I’ve never been this messed up over a woman. I think about her every minute of every day. I mean it. I wake up thinking about her. I toss and turn thinking about her at night. I text her a dozen times a day just to tell her I miss her. I turn my buddies down when they ask me to go out for a drink because I’d rather lay on my bed at the end of the day and talk to her.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “I’m not trying to be sweet, Mrs. Keyes. I’m trying to be real with you. What Jules and I have is as real as it gets, trust me.”

  “Strangely, I think I do. Trust you, that is. I didn’t expect to, but something tells me you’re being sincere.”