by Lori Foster
Maris threw herself against him, loving the strength in his arms, the heat of his body, the way he made her feel. “How did I resist you for so long?”
“I don’t know. Never could figure it out.” His hand went down to her behind, fondling her. “How soon?”
Tilting back, Maris asked, “How soon what?”
“How soon can you move in?” He brushed his lips over her throat, his voice dropping to a growl. “How soon can we get married?”
When she didn’t answer, he raised up to see her. “Maris? Say yes.”
Her heart seemed to fill her chest, beating heavily, pumping happiness into every inch of her being. “You know, I was used to being alone. I had no plans to date, much less...everything else. But you wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“I couldn’t,” he said, his tone and expression serious. “We’re meant to be together.”
She believed that now. And oh, this was so much better than what she’d planned for herself. Spending the night in Daron’s bed, waking to him in the morning, having dinner together, arguing and laughing—it was the stuff of dreams.
Thank God Joy had convinced her to give him a chance. “Could I just get used to loving you for a little while longer?”
“You’ll get used to it a lot quicker if you’re with me.” He smoothed his hand down her ponytail, then cupped her face. “God, babe, after waiting so damn long, I don’t want to spend another single night without you.”
The last of her resistance faded away. “Same,” she whispered, a little broken up over the reality of loving him so very much.
She didn’t know if he wanted a big wedding or small, or what his family would think, and none of it mattered.
Whatever Daron wanted was fine, as long as he wanted her.
* * *
The rest of Tuesday came and went, Wednesday also, and Joy didn’t hear from Royce. She had so many things she wanted to say to him, so many things she wanted to share, but she hesitated to seek him out.
He’d relocated to free up his life and what had she done?
She’d unloaded her problems on him, and that was so unfair. No matter how desperately she missed him, she wouldn’t do it again. Neither would she put him on the spot by asking him if their relationship was over.
But oh, it was so very difficult. In a short time she’d gotten used to him being in her life, and every second of every day she felt the void.
The closest she came to caving on her resolve to leave Royce be was when Jack asked about him. Her son missed him as much as Joy did, and she didn’t know what to tell him.
On Thursday, with a full tank, a phone charger and new confidence, Joy met with Ms. Wickham and her parents.
Though she did so kindly, it felt good to refuse her mother’s money. She explained that she wouldn’t leave the park any time soon, and if she ever did, she wouldn’t relocate to the same area as her parents.
Her mother wouldn’t look at her so Joy couldn’t gauge her reaction, but her father was visibly disappointed.
Hoping to ease them both, she said, “I’ve thought about it, and if you still want to meet Jack, I can arrange that.”
That announcement changed her father’s expression, carving a smile into his face. “Did you hear that, Cara? We’ll get to meet our grandson.”
Cara sat prim and proper in her chair, her hands clasped over her purse, her expression somehow stoic. She still wouldn’t look at Joy, but her profile spoke volumes.
Was she fighting tears? Joy couldn’t be sure, but it seemed so.
“Mother?” Joy asked gently.
Cara straightened and cleared her throat. “You will both come to dinner next—”
“No.”
Her brows snapped down. “What do you mean? You just agreed we would meet him.”
“And you may.” It was strange, but instead of the familiar hurt, Joy felt a measure of...pity. What Royce had said was true: Cara was her own worst enemy. She’d let her rigid pride cost her so much.
Joy wouldn’t contribute to that. She’d do her part to make things easier, but with Jack’s welfare uppermost in her mind. “You’re both invited to Summer’s End. My friend Maris will host us.”
Clearly appalled, Cara’s mouth worked before she could find her voice. “You want us to dine there?”
Joy continued as if it wasn’t a big deal for Cara Vivien and Wallace Barkley Reed to have dinner in an RV park diner. “It’s one of Jack’s favorite places. He’ll be more at ease there.” And who knew? Maybe they, too, would fall in love with the area. Joy wasn’t sure how they could resist.
Ms. Wickham beamed at her. “This is excellent. A perfect solution.”
“It’s no such thing,” her mother snapped.
“Cara,” Wallace warned. He turned to Joy. “What day and time? We’ll be there.”
“First,” Joy said, her gaze direct on her mother, “I need you both to understand that this is an assessment period.”
Eyes narrowed, her mother glared. “What does that mean?”
“If either of you say anything to upset Jack, or hurt his feelings in any way, I won’t give you a second chance.” She turned to the attorney. “And if that negates my inheritance, I’m fine with that.”
“It won’t,” her father said, reaching out to take her hand. “All that your grandmother wanted was for you to give us a chance, and that’s what you’re doing.”
“How do you know that?” Before now, Joy hadn’t thought to wonder too much about her grandmother’s motivation. She’d always loved Joy, always treated her kindly, but she hadn’t interfered in family matters.
“I asked her to,” Cara stated, her chin up. “And before you say I manipulated things, I’ll freely admit that I did. You have stubbornly withheld our grandson and—”
“Mom,” Joy said evenly, unwilling to engage in more anger, “you never asked to meet him.”
“I shouldn’t have to!”
Joy felt like she’d learned many things over the last six years, most of it valuable, some of it commonsense practice, but some of the lessons had been on what not to do. This, she decided, was one more lesson to learn.
Pride couldn’t replace love. Stubbornness was downright destructive. And never, ever would she let either one keep her from those who meant the most to her.
Smiling toward Ms. Wickham, she said, “I should be going.” She stood and pulled on her coat. Her father also pushed to his feet.
Her mother sat in stony silence...and then she seemed to burst. “We’re not monsters.”
Startled, Joy turned to her.
“We wouldn’t do anything to upset our own grandson.”
Realizing that she’d hurt her mother without meaning to, Joy nodded. “I only meant that he’s a little boy with a child’s vulnerability. He knows nothing about the reason for our...disagreements. I expect you to keep it that way.” She couldn’t even begin to imagine how Jack would feel if he knew the truth.
When he was older, he might understand their reasoning, and that it hadn’t been about him at all, not really. Their actions were because of Vaughn, and Joy’s bad decisions.
But he didn’t need to hear about it now.
Her mother’s mouth tightened, then she gave one sharp nod.
Her father smiled. “Of course we wouldn’t say anything. That’s all better forgotten.”
Joy knew she’d never forget, but she was willing to forgive. Going on tiptoe, she kissed her father’s cheek. “I’ll be in touch to let you know what day will be best.”
Hugging her, he whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”
Joy turned to her mother...and impulsively dropped a hand on her shoulder. “See you soon, Mom.”
Cara’s hand came up to cover hers, her grip firm for a heartbeat, then she nodded.
Well. That was something, right? A fra
gile beginning—which was better than a yawning void.
Joy felt better about things already.
Now to prepare Jack.
She got home in time to get him from school, and although it was cold, she walked with him to the playground.
Just for fun, she proved that she did, in fact, fit on the slide, even though she’d told him she was too big. Jack loved it.
Side by side on the swings, they talked about his day in school. Joy let him scamper over the jungle gym even though Royce wasn’t there to catch him. She did her best, but she knew if he dropped, they’d both go down.
Later, as they walked to the apartment, Joy said, “There are some people I want you to meet.”
Finding a pinecone, Jack picked it up to study it closely. “Who?”
“Actually, it’s your grandmother and grandfather.”
Scrunching up his nose, he looked at her. “I have those?”
Joy straightened his stocking hat to cover his red ears, letting her hand linger on his cheek. “Yes. They’re my mother and father and I haven’t seen them for a long time, but now we’ve talked and they want to meet you. What do you think of that?”
Shrugging, he turned his gaze down to his feet. “Do I have a dad, too?”
The question rocked her for a moment. Carefully, she chose her words. “You have a father, but he didn’t want to stay with me.”
“Did he want to stay with me?”
“Oh, honey, he’s never met you or I’m sure he would have. You’re pretty darned terrific.”
“Will I meet him some day, too?”
Joy paused to squeeze his shoulder. “I don’t know where he is now. I haven’t seen him since long before you were born.”
“I don’t want to.” He peered up at her. “Will I have to meet him, too?”
“No, you don’t.” Thank God. Worried, Joy asked, “Do you mind meeting your grandmother and grandfather?”
He turned the pinecone over in his hand. “How come you haven’t seen them?”
Joy leaned back against a tree and stared toward the lake. How to explain something so complicated to a little boy? “We had an argument. I was stubborn, and my mother was stubborn, but I think we’re making up now.”
He leaned against her side, his hand catching her coat pocket to hang on as he swayed a little this way and that. “What did you argue about?”
“Silly things.” She tried a smile and failed. “Dumb things.” Joy crouched down to his level. “Maris invited them to the camp store. You can meet them there. What do you think?”
“Will you be there?”
“Yes.” She caught his face between her hands. “I’ll be right next to you. Plus everyone else will be there, too. Daron, Coop and Phoenix, Baxter and Ridley. It’ll be like a party.”
“With cake?”
Joy choked. “I will definitely get a cake. What kind do you want?”
“Chocolate.”
“Done.” Hoping it’d be that easy, Joy smiled. “I’ll make sure there’s a lot of icing, okay?”
He pretended a great interest in his shoes. “Will Royce be there?”
Shoot. Definitely not easy.
Joy’s heart beat a little too fast. “I don’t know, honey.”
“Will you ask him?”
The thought of approaching Royce when he might not be interested made her mouth go dry, but for Jack, to make this introduction to his grandparents easier, she’d do it. “Of course I will.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” And if Royce said no?
She couldn’t imagine him doing that. He’d always been so great with Jack. No matter where their relationship now stood, she believed he cared about Jack.
Joy thought of all the time she’d wasted with her parents. With Grams. Yes, she’d wanted Royce to come to her, but did it really matter?
No, not in the larger scheme of things.
So why not tell him how she felt? Clearing the air now would make it easier if they saw each other in the future. He’d still be free to stay or go, but she wouldn’t let miscommunication on her part cause her another sleepless night.
“Mom? Do you think they’ll like me?”
“I think they’re going to adore you.”
Jack looked away. “Will I like them?”
Now that was the big question. “I hope so, but you can take your time getting to know them, and then we’ll see.” Joy kissed his forehead. “How about we go get dinner? You can help me make mac and cheese.”
“Mac and cheese,” he cheered, excited in his special little-boy way.
“Pan-fried hamburgers, too.”
More cheers. Joy grinned as she watched him. She’d deliberately chosen his favorites for today.
He’d taken her news well. The only thing that could have made it better was if Royce and Chaos were joining them for dinner.
Tonight...and for the rest of their lives.
Chapter Seventeen
From the supply building, Royce saw Joy and Jack leaving the playground. As he’d watched them play, he’d badly wanted to join in. So had Chaos. The dog whined now as he saw them walking away.
The effort to hold back had Royce locking his teeth. God, he missed them both and it had only been a couple of days. He and Chaos had both gotten used to their company, and without it the days dragged.
“You’re an idiot, dude.”
Drawn from his thoughts, he turned to Daron. “Go screw yourself.” Daron had been heckling him since he got to the park. Royce was starting to think it was the only reason Daron had asked for his help.
Shaking his head, Daron said, “Whatever. I’m too happy to let you bring me down with your sad-sack attitude. But,” he added, “you could think about poor Chaos.”
They both looked at the dog, who had just gone after Royce’s laces. When he realized he was busted, he released the now-wet, untied laces, flattened his ears and sat back, his big dark eyes apologetic.
Sighing, Royce dug a dog treat from his pocket.
“You realize you’re rewarding him for doing the wrong thing.”
“You said to give him something else to chew on.”
Daron laughed. “It’s a timing issue. You should give him something else before he attacks your shoes.”
Royce blew out a breath. Today it seemed that everything amused Daron, and Royce knew why. He and Maris were officially engaged.
They deserved to be happy. “Why exactly did you ask for my help?”
“Good question, since all you’ve done is moon after Joy and Jack.” Daron hefted another bag of salt and put it on a pallet.
Rolling his eyes, Royce looped Chaos’s leash over the door handle and then went over to finish up for Daron. “There’s not enough work here to need two grown men to do it.”
“Eh, maybe. I took pity on you, though. Joy told Maris she hadn’t heard from you, and Maris told me, and we’re all trying to figure out why the hell you’re sabotaging yourself.”
Frustrated with the situation, Royce wondered what else Joy had said.
Did she miss him?
Was she excited about regaining family ties?
Royce worried for her, but he kept telling himself it would be better now because Joy was stronger, more independent. A woman to be reckoned with. She wouldn’t take any shit from anyone, and she sure as hell wouldn’t let anyone insult Jack.
Joy would own that situation, one hundred percent.
Daron stood in front of him, arms crossed, one brow cocked. “There you go again, wallowing in misery. What’s up with you, man?”
Instead of answering that question, Royce said, “Come here. I want to show you something.”
They walked out to his work truck and Royce lowered the back gate.
“What’s this?” Daron asked.
> “Before I moved here, I was a mobile sawmiller. I paid a driver to bring my trailer to me, along with some of my equipment. I was waiting for them to arrive and now that they have, I made something. For Maris, I mean.”
Daron ran his hand over the highly polished plank of wood, then over the live edge. “This is beautiful. What do you mean it’s for Maris?”
“I saw her working on the booth tops one day. They have a few stains and stuff... I thought I’d offer to replace the old tops. These would make the camp store more rustic, but they’d look great, don’t you think?”
“I think you’ll blow her mind.” Daron bolted up into the truck bed to take another look. “This is a work of art.”
Royce grinned. “My mother was an artist, but I never had the talent—except with wood.” Maybe he’d shared more common ground with his mother than he’d realized. “I put two pieces together to make it wide enough. This is just a sample. I’d take measurements before doing any more, but I’ve missed working with my hands, so...” He’d missed Joy, too, so damn much. He’d needed a way to occupy his time and woodworking had always been a balm to his troubled thoughts.
Daron shook his head in awe. “She has ten booths. You know that, right?”
“There are more than enough trees between the drive-in property and the park to cover that. Some of the trees need to come down, anyway.”
“Amazing.” He met Royce’s gaze with a grin. “I volunteer to help in whatever way you need. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“Great.” At least he’d accomplished one good thing, then. Royce nodded. “Thanks.”
“Hey, man, thank you. Maris is going to flip.” He hopped back out of the truck and headed for the supply building. “You know how much she loves that store.”
Yes, he did. “Glad I can do something to repay her.” For all the coffees, the meals and her friendship.
“You know what’d really make Maris happy? For you to get your head out of your ass and go see Joy.”
Yeah, it kept coming back to that. Royce took Chaos’s leash and followed Daron into the building. While the dog sniffed around, Royce decided it wouldn’t hurt to explain things. “You know Joy is going to make up with her parents.”