Coming Home (Vista Falls #4)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I would never intentionally hurt her.” The lie felt bitter on Zeke’s tongue because he still hadn’t told Juliette everything she deserved to know about him and his life. The choices he’d made defined him. They’d made him the man he was… the man she loved. Yet she didn’t know that.

  “Sometimes that can’t be helped.” It sounded as though she was speaking from personal experience. “We hurt the people we love without meaning to. I can’t ask you to promise you’ll never hurt her. That wouldn’t be fair. You’ll argue, and that will hurt her. There’ll be times when she needs you and you can’t be there. That will hurt her. That’s what marriage is all about though, learning to balance the pain and pleasure. If you have more good than bad, you have something worth fighting for. It really is as simple as that.” She laughed mirthlessly. “Not that I’m an expert or anything. I’m sure Juliette told you I’m leaving her father.”

  “I’m sorry. I know that must have been a difficult decision.”

  “I feel like I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. When you…” She cleared her throat. “Got into trouble, my husband deemed himself your judge, jury, and executioner. I thought he was going to demand an old-fashioned hanging in the town square.”

  “He wasn’t the only one who wanted to avenge my brother’s death.” No one had wanted someone to blame for the tragedy more than Zeke himself.

  “But he had no right to come after you the way he did, putting pressure on local law enforcement and the district attorney’s office. It was none of his business. He should have stayed out of it and left them to do their jobs.”

  “I appreciate the sentiment, ma’am. But your husband did what he felt he had to do. I don’t blame him.”

  “You’re telling me you harbor no ill will toward him?” she asked, sounding skeptical. “I’m sorry, but I find that hard to believe. If not for Carl, the judge may have listened to your parents’ pleas and gone easy on you. After all, they’d already lost one son. Everyone felt terrible for what they were going through.”

  “I wasted a lot of years hating your husband. Hating everyone in that town, really. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to live there again, but when I came back to that house after all those years away, the good memories came back. It slowly started to feel like home again.” He got a flash of his brother’s bedroom and his dead body slumped over the bed. “Obviously there will always be some painful memories, but I can’t waste my life dwelling on them anymore.”

  “Do you still hate my husband? Honestly?”

  “I did when I came back to town. And I’ll admit when I saw Juliette and learned she was his daughter, I saw an opportunity to stick it to him. But it didn’t take me long to forget all about him and focus solely on her.”

  “I appreciate your honesty.”

  He only wished he could claim he was being completely honest about everything. “The fact is we’re going to be family like it or not. He’s going to be my father-in-law, my children’s grandfather, and for their sake, I’d like for us to learn to coexist without all this animosity.”

  “Then maybe you should think about talking to him.”

  It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it. “Maybe I will.”

  ***

  Juliette needed answers, and only one person could give them to her—her father.

  She was about to ring the doorbell when he opened it, looking down for his morning paper, she assumed. Most people got their daily news online, but her father was old school. In more ways than one.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “I came to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?”

  He consulted his chunky gold watch. “I have golf in an hour. Hopefully this won’t take too long?”

  Juliette swept past him as he bent to pick up the newspaper. Knowing she was on a tight timeline, she cut straight to the chase when he closed the door and faced her. “Do you even care that Mom left you?”

  He stared at her for a minute before he tossed the paper on the hall table and headed for the kitchen.

  She had to practically run to catch up with him. “Well? Do you?”

  She watched him pour a cup of coffee before raising the cup, silently asking her to join him. When she shook her head, he took a sip.

  “Of course I care, Juliette. What kind of question is that? Your mother and I were married for thirty-five years.” He sank down in a chair, looking weary. “I had no idea she’d been unhappy for so long.”

  “If you had known,” Juliette asked, standing across from him, “would you have done something about it?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I could have changed, if that’s what you’re asking. I grew up in a house where…” He shrugged. “Being firm and unyielding were positive attributes.”

  Juliette didn’t know her paternal grandparents. They’d both died shortly after she was born, and her father rarely spoke of them. “Who taught you that?” she asked, sitting across from him. “I mean, did both of your parents feel that way or—”

  “Just my father.” He grimaced as he took another sip of coffee. “My mother didn’t really have any opinions. My father had the first and last word on everything in our house, and that seemed to make her happy.”

  “So you thought that’s the way it was supposed to be?” Juliette asked, trying to see things from her father’s perspective. “Because that’s what you’d been raised to believe?”

  “It was a different time,” he said, rubbing his face. “Roles were different, I guess. Men went to work. Women stayed home. I guess most men from my generation have gotten used to the changing times, but I’m not sure I have. I never recognized your mother’s need to work outside the home or have a purpose beyond… our marriage and family. Maybe if I had realized that, she wouldn’t have left me.”

  Juliette didn’t think she could ever feel sorry for her stubborn father, but hearing about his childhood gave her some insight into the man who’d raised her. “Do you wish she’d stayed? That you could have worked things out?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know how we would have. I’m an old dog. Not sure I could ever change enough to please her now.”

  “So you feel divorce is the best option?” Juliette hadn’t paid her father a visit because she expected her parents to reconcile. She just wanted to understand what had gone wrong in their marriage so she and Zeke wouldn’t make the same mistakes. “The only option? What about counseling or—”

  “People have to want to change, Juliette.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “I like my life,” he said, making no apologies for it. “Your mother’s probably right. I wasn’t there for her as I should have been. I had my own life to lead. My own friends. My own problems to solve and challenges to face.”

  “And now what do you have? Without your work?”

  “I still have a purpose. Friends. Causes. A reason to get out of bed in the morning.”

  “So you don’t think you’ll miss her at all?”

  “I’m sure I will, but is it fair of me to ask her to stay to fill the few hours I’m home?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “You won’t always be as active and agile as you are now,” she reminded him. “You’ve already had health problems. There will come a time when you’ll have to slow down. Then you will be all alone. How do you think you’ll handle that?” Juliette didn’t know if she could deal with that if she had to trade places with her father. Which gave her another reason to find a healthy balance in her life.

  “No one knows what the future holds. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and wouldn’t have to worry about getting old and feeble.” A ghost of a smile passed his lips when she frowned. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to step in front of a bus just because your mother left me.”

  Not amused, Juliette said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. You didn’t encourage Mom to work outside the home, but you always pushed me to get a good educ
ation and have a career. Why?”

  “You’re my only child, Juliette. When I realized we weren’t going to have a son, I couldn’t stand by and let you waste your life just raising some son-in-law’s children. I wanted better for you.”

  “Mom hasn’t wasted her life, you know. Just because she chose marriage and family over a career doesn’t make her contributions to this world any less important than yours or mine.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Are you telling me that you’re considering following in your mother’s footsteps? Giving up everything you’ve worked so hard for just to stay home and wipe snotty noses?”

  The fact that he didn’t see the value in being a full-time, hands-on parent made Juliette sad, but it didn’t surprise her. “I don’t know what I’ll do just yet, Dad.” She stood. “But I’ll decide for myself when the times come.”

  “Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he said before she could walk out.

  She looked over her shoulder. “I’d offer you the same advice, but I fear it might be too late for that.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Juliette was making the rounds, inviting her friends to Malibu so they could be a part of her wedding. Most of them had been shocked but supportive, and she expected no less from Gabby.

  “Hi,” Juliette said, smiling at the beautiful brunette behind the flower shop counter. She was older than the high school kids Gabby usually hired to watch the shop when she couldn’t be there. Just shy of thirty-five would have been Juliette’s guess. “I’m looking for Gabby. Is she in?”

  “She should be soon,” the woman replied, returning Juliette’s smile and extending her hand. “My name’s Gianna. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  Juliette admired the small arrangement of white and red roses on the cash desk, bending to inhale the fragrant blooms. “I just came to talk to Gabby. Are you new in town?”

  “I am. I just moved here with my two teenage daughters a couple of months ago.” She gestured to their surroundings. “I have no experience in this business, but Gabby was kind enough to give me a chance. I’ve even started taking some online courses, trying to learn all I can.”

  “Good for you. I know Gabby really needs the help.” Her friend worked too much, and Juliette knew how much she and Colt wanted a family. If Gabby could find a reliable assistant manager, that would make it easier for her to realize her dream of becoming a mom. “How do you like Vista Falls so far?”

  “It’s wonderful,” she said, setting a small arrangement of mixed flowers in the cooler behind her before reaching for a Styrofoam coffee cup. “Everyone’s been so sweet to all of us. But then, I knew they would be. I grew up in a small town not so different from Vista Falls. When I decided to get out of the city, I looked for somewhere that would feel like home.”

  “Why not just move back to your hometown?” Juliette asked, perching on the stool in front of the cash desk as she set her briefcase at her feet.

  “Let’s just say I needed a little distance from my ex. My hometown wasn’t far from LA, though it might as well have been on a different planet.”

  “You and your ex aren’t on good terms?” Juliette asked, hoping Gianna wouldn’t think she was being too nosy.

  “It’s not that,” Gianna said hesitantly. “We just don’t always see eye to eye. Especially when it comes to our daughters. I want them to grow up with the same kind of values I have, and let’s just say that isn’t easy to accomplish in LA. Especially when—”

  “Well, well,” Gabby said, opening the door while activating the old-fashioned bell above it. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit, Madam Mayor?”

  “You’re the mayor?” Gianna asked, looking surprised before she slapped her forehead. “I should have realized that. Gabby’s mentioned you before.”

  Gabby put her arm around Juliette’s shoulders, grinning. “Yup, she’s the one who keeps our little town humming like a well-oiled machine.”

  “Then I guess I should thank you,” Gianna said, handing Gabby a takeout cup. “I really do love living here. Can I run out and get you a cup of coffee, Juliette? I only brought one for each of us.”

  “Don’t bother,” Juliette said, waving her off. “I can’t stay.” She turned to face Gabby. “I just came to ask if you and Colt would consider coming to Malibu this weekend. For a wedding.”

  Gabby frowned. “What are you talking about? We don’t know anyone in Malibu.” Her jaw dropped as Juliette’s smile spread. “You’re not… are you?” She shook her head. “You can’t be…”

  Juliette laughed. “Zeke and I are getting married this weekend at his beach house, and I’d love it if you could be there.”

  Gabby shrieked, throwing her arms around Juliette. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it. That’s so… unexpected!”

  Juliette smiled. “It’s okay. You can say it. I know it’s quick, but it really feels right. I love him. And he loves me enough to want to marry me, like, yesterday. How crazy is that, right?”

  “I’m so happy for you.” Gabby hugged her again before looking at her employee. “Gianna, do you think you could hold down the fort for me this weekend? I have Evan coming in to help with deliveries and Suzanne to help fill orders, so you won’t be by yourself.”

  “Of course,” she said with a strained smile. “Go, have fun.” She looked at Juliette, her blue eyes suspiciously shiny. “Congratulations. It’s not every day you meet a man who isn’t afraid of commitment.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got a story to tell,” Juliette said, splitting a glance between Gabby and Gianna.

  “Don’t look at me,” Gabby said, rounding the counter. “I’ve been pumping her for information about her past ever since she started working here, and the only thing she’ll talk about is her beautiful daughters. I don’t even know her ex-husband’s name.”

  Gianna’s smile slipped. “For starters, he’s not my ex-husband. We were together fifteen years, yet he had no desire to marry me. Every time I suggested it, he told me it wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t ‘do marriage,’” she said, making air quotes around the words.

  “Ugh,” Gabby said, looking disgusted. “But he didn’t mind making two babies with you?”

  “I know, right?” Gianna shook her head, looking frustrated as she wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I finally decided I deserved better. As much as I loved him, I wanted forever, and he couldn’t promise me that. So I left him.”

  “Did he try to get you back?” Gabby asked, looking enthralled.

  “Sure, he came to my parents’ house—where I was staying with the girls—and gave me some sob story about how much he missed us and wanted us back, but I told him my terms—marriage or nothing.”

  “And?” Juliette asked, as wrapped up in the story as her friend. “What happened?”

  “He walked away.”

  “Wow,” Juliette said, seeing the pain etched on Gianna’s face. “I’m sorry. That must have hurt like hell.”

  “Actually, I expected it,” Gianna said, shrugging. “Besides, who’d want to marry a man who needed an ultimatum to motivate him, right?”

  “So you moved here to get away from him?” Juliette said. “Does he ever see your kids?”

  “They talk,” Gianna said. “And I’m sure they’ll go back to LA to spend some time with him when school ends, but he travels a lot for work, so it’s not like being a hands-on dad is in the cards.”

  “Sounds like you made the right choice,” Gabby said before taking a sip of her coffee.

  “I made the only choice I could,” Gianna said, her gaze dropping. “I wanted the one thing he couldn’t give me.”

  Hearing Gianna’s story only solidified Juliette’s resolve. Men like Zeke, who actually wanted to make a commitment, were few and far between, and she didn’t intend to let anything come between them.

  ***

  As the phone rang, Zeke took a deep breath, rehearsing what he intended to say. He wasn’t the same scared kid who’d been easily intimidated
by this man years ago. He wouldn’t back down, but he wasn’t looking for a fight either.

  “Mr. Keyes,” he said when the other man answered. “Zeke Dyson.”

  “What the hell do you want?” he grumbled.

  Zeke picked up a framed photo of his fiancée, reminding himself she was the only reason he’d called. For her sake. Because he didn’t want to be the reason the woman he loved was no longer speaking to her father.

  “To talk about your daughter.” Before he could hang up, Zeke said, “I’m in love with her, sir. And I plan to marry her.” Under different circumstances, he would have asked his permission, but he knew Mr. Keyes would never give their union his blessing.

  “Marry her?” he roared. “You don’t even know her!”

  “I know her.” He kept his voice low, deceptively calm, though he could feel his heartbeat pulsating in his throat. “I know what’s important to her. I know what she loves and hates, what her fears and dreams are—”

  “Spare me the bullshit. What’s this really about? Are you trying to punish me for sticking it to you when you were a teenager?”

  He’d known the conversation would circle back to his brother’s death and he was prepared. “No one was more devastated by my brother’s death than I was except my parents.”

  “You’re the reason he’s dead! You shouldn’t even be walking the streets. They should have put you away for life, tried you as an adult. They would have too if I’d had my way.”

  “I get that you had a job to do—”

  “My job had nothing to do with it. It was personal.”

  “Why? You didn’t even know me. How could you have hated me so much?”

  “I hated what you did and the means used to do it. Put a gun in the hands of a kid and there’s no telling who he’ll use it on. Everything that’s going on in our world today is proof of that. I had a daughter to protect. A daughter you went to school with. I couldn’t risk you being set free, not knowing who your next target might be.”

  “I never targeted my brother.”