Summer Day Dreams

by Verity Norton

  “Some men are just slow,” Sophie teased.

  “Yeah. And stubborn. I’m sorry if he hurt you in the process.”

  Sophie shrugged. “He was good to me. Always good to me. And if it weren’t for him—”

  Grant smiled and reached out and gave her a hug. “You wouldn’t have met Sean.”

  “You know?”

  “Suspected. But if I didn’t know it before, I think it was just confirmed in my front yard.”

  “It just happened,” Sophie said.

  “That means it must have been right,” Grant assured her as he headed off to the kitchen.

  Sophie opened the door in time to see Sean driving off. Alex was massaging his jaw as if to put it back in place. She wondered where he’d wounded Sean.

  “Alex.”

  “Sophie.”

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Yeah, well, I figured I owed—” He looked down at the ground.

  Sophie’s eyes softened. She wondered how she’d be feeling right now if she didn’t have Sean to go to. Hurt, despondent, disappointed. But she would have known she would get over it because it never was right.

  “Alex, I think we both know—”

  He raised his eyes to meet hers. “It’s—”

  “Over.”

  He sighed. “I think you want more than I can give you. You deserve more than I can give you.”

  Sophie reached up and gently placed her hand on his cheek above his bruised jaw. “And I have more to give than you want.”

  He smiled and took her hand in his. “And you’ve fallen in love with my cousin.”

  “And you’re still in love with your childhood sweetheart.”

  Neither of them denied it.

  “I’m sorry, Sophie.”

  “For what?”

  “For making you feel that you couldn’t be yourself around me.”

  “Actually, I think that’s my responsibility. But thank you, Alex.” She pulled the antique encased diamond ring out of her pocket and handed it to him.

  “You keep it.”

  “I can’t. It’s—”

  “The one you chose. It’s not one I ever would have chosen. It was always yours. Consider it a gift, a wedding gift.” He reached down and hugged her. He would definitely miss her.

  When he released her, he started toward his parents’ house but stopped and turned back to face her. “I want you to know I’m really sorry for ever making you think you weren’t okay just the way you are. It’s—” Why was this so damned hard? But he knew he had to get it out. More for his sake than hers. “The truth is, I’ve spent so much energy trying not to be myself— Sometimes when it’s too painful to live with the memories and the mistakes, it’s easier to shove that person deep inside and forget he even existed.” Apparently he had become very good at that.

  She was nodding. She understood. Of course she did. She was Sophie.

  “The way I see it, Alex, we’re pretty even. Neither of us was being honest with the other . or with ourselves for that matter.”

  “But I was using you, Sophie. I apologize for that. You were my escape, my refuge, a safe place where I didn’t have to face . myself.”

  Sophie went to him. “It was no more than I was using you. You gave me a safe place to dream and to fantasize about what life and family could be. So, as I see it, we’re even.”

  Alex shook his head. “Typical Sophie, wanting to make everyone else feel better. But I do have a question for you.” He paused, looking into her kind eyes. “Do you really like banana sandwiches?”

  “They’re my favorite.”

  Chapter 25

  Alex stood on the side of the road, watching as she guided the stallion through its paces. Her black silk hair flew out behind her and he felt his fingers tingling with the desire to thread themselves through the familiar strands.

  This time he would take Matt’s advice.

  It wasn’t the first time Cassie had sensed him watching her. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel him there, off in the distance.

  This time was different. She could feel him coming closer. She turned the horse toward the road and watched the silver Jaguar make its way up her driveway. By the time she’d ridden over to the gate and had dismounted, he was standing there waiting for her.

  “Alex.” It was scarcely a whisper.

  “Hi, Cass.” He reached out a hand and she took it. “Can we talk?”

  She led the horse toward the stalls and handed the reins to one of the ranch hands. Together they walked over to the bench that had been living under the old oak tree almost as long as she and Alex had been holding hands.

  She dropped his hand. Her thoughts went immediately to Sophie. Did she know he was here? Did she care?

  Alex sat down first. She sat beside him.

  A moment later he was standing, pacing. She wondered if he did the same thing in the courtroom.

  “I’m so sorry, Cassie.”

  She exhaled a deep breath. Finally.

  “I failed you. And I abandoned you when you needed me the most.” He stopped pacing and turned to face her. She stood up so they were closer to eye level. He was several inches taller than she was, but her boots gave her a few extra inches and plenty of cowgirl courage.

  “Yeah, you did,” she said.

  He smiled. “Don’t hold back.” But the truth was, there was something comforting about standing face to face with the familiar candid Cassie.

  Her hands went to her hips. “Okay, I won’t. You were a chicken-assed bastard!”

  He looked down at the ground. What else was there to say? “You’re right. I’ve been a coward . and a bastard.”

  She shook her head and willed away her tears. “Yeah, you have.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Do you think that will make it all go away?”

  “No. Of course not.” He looked up from the dust he’d been kicking. “I just wanted to tell you that before I go home.”

  Obviously he still didn’t know where home was. “So you’re leaving.” Again.

  He nodded.

  “Well, have a good life. Sophie’s a really nice person.”

  His laugh startled her. “Yeah, she is. Way too nice for me.”

  Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “Sean?”

  “Yep, stole my girl right out from under me.”

  “Are you angry?”

  “How can I be? They’re much better for each other than Sophie and I ever were. Besides I could never really love her the way—” His eyes softened along with his voice. “The way she deserves to be loved.”

  “Did Sean do that?” She nodded toward his bruised jaw. Despite her anger, she wanted to reach out and touch his face, feel the familiar lines of his cheek, press her fingers to his lips as she had done so many times in the past. But she didn’t.

  He leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. “I really am sorry, Cass. I should have done better.” He turned and walked away. She did nothing to stop him.

  A minute later Alex stopped and turned around. Cassie’s expression was stoic and she stood motionless. Obviously she hadn’t forgiven him. He didn’t blame her. “Do you think you’ll ever be able to forgive me for failing you?”

  The ache in her heart intensified with the memories. He had left her when she needed him the most. And she still didn’t understand why. “I don’t know, Alex. I haven’t gotten there yet.”

  He nodded and started walking again, turning one last time to face her. “If it’s any consolation, I haven’t forgiven myself yet either.” And he wasn’t sure he ever would. After all, it was her brother he had failed to save.

  “Does the entire population of Canden Valley know?” Sean took the pint of beer out of his sister’s hand.

  Skye rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”

  “How?” He scowled at her. “Did you tell anyone?”

  “Didn’t have to. As dense as the McCulloughs can be, we’re not blind. We’ve all seen the way you look at
Sophie.”

  “And?”

  Still holding a tray full of empty beer glasses, Skye shook her thick dark brown hair away from her face. “It didn’t help that you were so mean to her at first. It was obvious you were smitten. Like I said we aren’t blind.”

  “Smitten?” He laughed. “And who is we?”

  “Anne and I. I think Megan and Kelly noticed at the picnic too.”

  That’s all it would take. One in each family of cousins.

  “Oh, and Mairi. And of course, Matt.”

  “McCullough wildfire.”

  “Yep.”

  “But that was just my feelings. How did they know about Sophie’s feelings?”

  One of Skye’s eyebrows shot up. “How many times do I have to say it? We’re not blind. Want some ice for that bruise?”

  Sean shook his head, holding his cold beer against his swollen cheekbone.

  “So, now that it’s out, what are you doing here?” Skye asked.

  “Having a beer? Visiting with my little sis.”

  “And Sophie is—”

  “At the B and B. Packing her things.”

  Skye frowned. “She’s going back to San Francisco?”

  Sean shook his head. “She’d have to drive over my dead body to get out of town.”

  Skye laughed at the image. For the first time in his life, her brother was in love. Madly, passionately, and as far as she was concerned, disgustingly, in love.

  “She’s moving in with me. I’m driving her up to the city next week to help her pack up her things.”

  “Do you want me to go along to protect you from Alex?”

  Sean laughed at that thought. “I think I’ll be okay. But thanks for the offer.”

  “You’re going during work hours though, right?”

  “Thought that would be best. She doesn’t have that much stuff but we’ll put her things in storage until we have a bigger place.”

  “As in building a house?”

  “Mmm. Something like that. And next weekend we’ll stay at the bed and breakfast so her grandparents who are coming down to visit can stay at my place.”

  “Wow.” Skye handed her tray to Nick as he walked by. “Take this to the kitchen for me?”

  Nick shook his head but took the tray. “One of these days you’re going to get tired of taking advantage of me, Skye McCullough.”

  “Naw, it’s too much fun.”

  Nick stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “Yeah you will, and when you do, you’ll really take advantage of me.”

  Sean chuckled as Skye sat down at his table. “Talk about smitten.”

  Skye glowered at her brother. “Not you too.”

  “Me too?”

  “Sophie thinks so too. She is such a romantic. Looks like you two are perfect for each other.” She gestured her annoyance with her hand. “Now back to the subject at hand. This sounds pretty serious. First time I’ve seen my big brother in love.”

  Sean took a gulp of his Belhaven and winked at her. “Yep.”

  “Well, then I suggest you do something about it.”

  “Such as?”

  “Bloody idiots,” she muttered under her breath. “If you don’t propose to that girl today and marry her as soon as Mom and the rest of the McCulloughs can plan a wedding, you really are an idiot, Sean McCullough.”

  * * *

  Sean leaned against the dresser while Sophie filled the drawers he’d emptied for her. He could get used to this, watching her do ordinary tasks in an ordinary way. But the truth was, there was nothing ordinary about her. He wondered if everyone who was in love felt that way.

  “I got you something.”

  “You did?” Not an expensive gift that wasn’t really her taste, she hoped. And if it was, she would just have to tell him the truth about that. “What’s the occasion?”

  “You moving in with me. Go ahead, look. They’re under the bed. Your side.”

  She was smiling as she walked over to the bed. She had a side. She peered over the edge where Sean was pointing. A pair of fleecy white bunny slippers with pink noses and ears was staring up at her

  “You’re wooing me with bunny slippers?”

  “I am.”

  “I knew I loved you for a reason. Where on earth did you find them?”

  Sean chuckled. “Not too difficult, considering that I do all the ordering for a local general store.”

  “I love you, Sean McCullough.” She walked into his open arms.

  “I know you do.”

  “Oh, you do, do you?” She released her arms from around his neck. “And here I was worried that you’d think that I just wanted you because I had realized Alex was still too much in love with Cassie to ever really love me.”

  He shook his head and brushed her curly golden hair out of her eyes. “Never entered my mind.” The truth was, it hadn’t, but that didn’t mean his breathing hadn’t finally returned to normal once Sophie and Alex had talked, and Alex had headed home to San Francisco.

  “Never?”

  “Never. I knew you loved me.” He grinned. “See, not so stupid after all.”

  “Maybe not stupid, but definitely cocky.” She laughed and returned her arms to that place around his neck where they were becoming more and more at home.

  “Sorry. I can’t help it. I’ve known for a long time that you love me.”

  “And how did you know that?”

  “Besides your telling me?”

  “I did not!”

  “You did, beautiful. When you looked at me as if I had single-handedly invented ice cream, or when you touched my hand—or squeezed it—sending shock waves up and down my body . and yours, when you reached your arms around my neck and hugged me all the while trying to convince yourself that it was only gratitude when the truth was, you had missed me like hell . and you even spoke the words.” He laughed. “Just before that second glass of cognac knocked you out.”

  “Doesn’t count.” She frowned at him through her smile. “Okay, if that’s the case, then why did you wait so long to tell me? And why did you tell me to go back to Alex and have 2.5 children?”

  He wrapped his arms around her and gave her the house warming welcome kiss she deserved. On a breathless whisper, he said, “I just wanted to be sure you knew it.”

  She steadied herself and blinked away the dizziness. “Believe me, I knew it.”

  “Yeah? How did you finally figure out that it was me you wanted and not Alex?”

  She pressed her body against his for another kiss before leading him over to the bed and pulling him down beside her. It looked as if the unpacking would have to wait for another day. “Because he wasn’t the one I was missing when you were both gone. Because he wasn’t the one I thought about every night before I fell asleep. Because he wasn’t the one I couldn‘t wait to see first thing in the morning.” She swallowed hard against the emotion in her voice so she could continue. “Because I felt as if my world were crumbling every time I thought about leaving Canden Valley . and you. That’s how I knew you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

  Sean smiled against her lips that were pressing softly into his. “Speaking of which—”

  “You really want to keep talking here?”

  “Not for long,” he promised. “Just want to get one question answered.”

  She opened her eyes at his serious tone.

  “Everyone has been asking.”

  “Everyone?”

  “Okay, slight exaggeration. Skye mentioned it. My parents and grandparents. Your grandparents. They want to know when the wedding is.”

  “The wedding? Is there something you’re forgetting?”

  “Nope.” He raised himself onto one elbow. Not the traditional kneeling, but it would do. “Sophie Imogen Weldon, will you marry me and be my love and decorate Christmas trees and grow herbs and vegetables with me and ride my horse?”

  She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, pulling him back into her arms. “You know the answer to t
hat.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Has anyone ever told you, you’re awfully sure of yourself?”

  “Lately? Absolutely.”

  Sophie reached inside her jeans pocket. “I just happen to have a ring here. If you don’t mind used, that is.”

  “What about Alex?”

  “He said it’s a wedding gift.”

  Sean took it out of the palm of her hand and slipped it on her finger, kissing her hand.

  Sophie opened her eyes wide and stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed. “You said everyone has been asking about the wedding. Are you trying to tell me that other people besides Grant knew about this? About my feelings for you?”

  “Maybe.”

  She gave him her harshest glare. “How? Who?”

  “Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t say a word. You just happen to be marrying into a highly perceptive family.”

  “Go on.”

  “Skye for one. Anne for another. Matt. My parents. Grandparents. Aunts, uncles, cousins.”

  “In other words, as usual, I’m the last to know.”

  “Looks that way. But if it’s any consolation, I was the first to know that I love you.”

  “Ahh, and when was that? And don’t tell me it was the day we met when you took my hand to study my engagement ring and criticize my fingernail polish.”

  “Nope. Before that.”

  “Before that?”

  “Yep. A while back when Matt and I were sitting at the pub, drinking beer. He pulled out his cell phone and showed me a picture of you dancing through the meadow in bare feet, with a wreath of daisies in your hair. I was smitten.”

  Her eyes were a blend of innocent joy and pure sensuousness. “Glad to hear it. Now stop talking and kiss me.”

  He pulled her even closer and melded his lips to hers. This time it wasn’t just a kiss to build a dream on. It was a kiss to build a life on.

  – THE END –

  Verity Norton is a native Californian, but when she moved to an island in the Pacific Northwest she fell in love with rainy days and the island lifestyle of reading and writing by candlelight and depending on a woodstove during power outages. She also writes children’s books, young adult, contemporary fiction, and mysteries under the name Felicity Nisbet.