Claiming the Single Mom's Heart (Hearts of Hunter Ridge)

by Glynna Kaye

  She gasped at his insensitive remark, but he continued, “You know what’s most sad about that? Duke had plans to deed over to his friend the portion of his property that he’d allowed him and his wife to settle on.”

  He moved toward the door.

  “Grady. Please. You have to believe me when I say I would never have used any of this documentation against your family, even if it was true.”

  “Never crossed your mind, did it?” His voice sounded harsh in his own ears, but from the look on her face and the absence of a denial, he had no regrets. He reached for the doorknob. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Grady, please. This isn’t how it looks. I would never intentionally hurt you or your family. Never try to take Hunter’s Hideaway from you. You have no idea how much I—”

  “Love me?” He quirked a smile. “Nice try, Sunshine, but that’s a bit more than I can swallow right now.”

  * * *

  “Grady,” she whispered as the door closed behind him with a finality that shattered her heart. Rooted to the floor, an icy cold enveloped her, leaving her shaking.

  Once she’d decided not to pursue that avenue with the Hunters, why hadn’t she destroyed those papers? Hadn’t Tori said it would take more research to confirm what the papers appeared to reveal? She’d told Tori not to do more research. She was done. So why had she given in to looking through the information one last time—and this night of all nights?

  If what Grady said was true, that he could prove her great-great-grandfather had never owned so much as a thimbleful of Hunter’s Hideaway, that made this even worse.

  Sunshine woodenly moved to the table and looked down at her laptop, at the solemn faces on the desktop screen of her great-great-grandparents—and Grady’s. Could it be true that Walter—a trusted friend, Grady had called him—had falsely used the Hunter property to acquire a loan? Why would he do that? And how had the story Grandma told gotten so twisted over time?

  How long she stood staring down at the vintage photo, she had no idea. A few minutes? Thirty? An hour? But abruptly she was brought back to the present by the sound of feet running up the stairs.

  “We’re home!” Tessa sounded elated as she burst into the room, but a past-her-bedtime weariness reflected in her eyes. Tori’s, too, for that matter, although it wasn’t late.

  “Let’s get you ready for bed and you can tell me all about it.”

  “What’s this?” Tessa, peeling out of her coat, had spotted the brightly colored gift bag on the kitchen counter.

  Sunshine handed it to her. “Grady brought you something.”

  “I missed him?” Tessa’s face puckered with disappointment.

  “Grady was here, hmm?” Tori gave her a teasing look. “While the kitties are away, the mice—”

  “Not exactly.”

  Her friend’s gaze sharpened. “What’s up?”

  “Later.”

  “Look, Mommy!” Tessa lifted a stuffed goldfish from the bag, then clasped it to her chest in a hug. “Just like Goldie!”

  Still numb, Sunshine knelt to take a closer look at the soft, brightly colored animal. “How cute.”

  “Grady thinks I’m a good girl, Mommy. Can we call him so Goldie and I can tell him thank-you?”

  “Of course he thinks you’re a good girl, but it’s getting late.” She exchanged a glance with Tori. “Let’s save that for tomorrow, okay?”

  “’Kay.” Tessa gave her a hug, then dashed for her bedroom, the stuffed fish tight in her arms.

  “That was nice of him,” Tori ventured, then tilted her head toward the flowers on the coffee table. “From him, too?”

  Sunshine nodded.

  “But I get the impression something’s not right.”

  Sunshine drew in a breath and let it out slowly. Could she talk about this right now? Even with Tori? “I guess you’d say we broke up.”

  Tori’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

  “He found the documentation of our research.” She motioned to the kitchen table. “So he knows everything. About why I came to Hunter Ridge, I mean.”

  “Oh, Sunshine.” Her friend stepped forward to place a comforting hand on her arm. “After you decided to leave the past in the past?”

  Sunshine nodded again. “Doesn’t hardly seem fair, does it? But he reacted as I thought he might—seeing it as a betrayal. That I was attempting to use him for financial gain like a former girlfriend had.”

  “You told him, though, didn’t you, that you weren’t going to use the documentation against his family?”

  “I did. But the original intent was there. It couldn’t be denied.” Sunshine wandered into the living room to look down at the festive flowers. Had it been such a short time ago that Grady had swept her into his arms and playfully kissed her?

  “You know what the worst part is?” She cast a bleak look in Tori’s direction. “The story that’s been passed down in his family is much different than the one in mine. He maintains it was the Hunters who’d been done wrong, not the Royces. That my great-great-grandfather had deliberately made poor decisions that had almost cost them their land. He says he can prove it.”

  “I did say that additional research was needed.” Sadness filled Tori’s eyes. “But I’m so sorry. I feel as if this is partly my fault.”

  “It’s not. Don’t think that. You were researching what I asked you to research. This was my own doing.” All her own doing. “I should have shredded every scrap of paper the minute I decided my relationship with Grady was more important than righting a past wrong.”

  “You’re in love with him?”

  “It sure feels like it.”

  “Mommy! I’m in my jammies!”

  “Coming, sweetheart.” The ache in Sunshine’s chest deepened. Not only had her foolishness driven Grady away, broken her own heart and his, but Tessa would never have the father she deserved and so desperately needed.

  “I’ll be praying,” Tori whispered as Sunshine moved in the direction of Tessa’s bedroom. “Praying that once he thinks over what you said, that he’ll recognize you hadn’t set out to use him.”

  Inside the cozy bedroom, Tessa cuddled under the flannel sheets, the plush fish secure in her arms.

  “Goldie is happy to have a new friend.” She lifted one of the toy’s soft fins to wave at the fishbowl sitting on the dresser. Then giggled. “I wish Grady could be here to see.”

  Grady, who only two weeks ago had sat here on the edge of her daughter’s bed and prayed with her. Who had encouraged her to say “stop” in Jesus’s name to the fears that plagued her. Gradually, ever so gradually, the bedtime anxiety had lessened. Now he’d given her a furry friend to keep her company.

  When they’d completed a bedtime story and said their prayers, Sunshine brushed back Tessa’s hair and gazed down at her with a love that ached. “Do you want me to leave the night-light on?”

  This would be a first if she didn’t, but Sunshine could always hope.

  Tessa thought a moment, then shook her head. “No. Grandma was wrong.”

  Grandma? “What do you mean?”

  “There’s nothing in the closet that will come and get me if I’m not a good girl.”

  Sunshine’s heart stilled. “Grandma told you that?”

  “Uh-huh.” Tessa frowned at the memory. “When I broke one of her pretty cups she said I was a bad girl. And that bad things came out of the closet at night to get bad girls.”

  Sickened, Sunshine reached for her hand. Why hadn’t she suspected something like this had occurred when Tessa had spent a long weekend with her grandmother before the school year started?

  “Why didn’t you tell me this, Tessa?”

  “’Cause Grandma said if I told anyone, the bad things would come get them, too. I didn’t want them to get you
, Mommy. Or Grady or Tori.”

  “Oh, honey.” Sunshine squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Thank you for wanting to keep us safe, but you can always tell me anything. Always. Promise?”

  Tessa nodded. “Why did Grandma tell me bad things are in the closet if it isn’t true?”

  Touchy ground here, and something she intended to discuss with Mom at the first opportunity. Although she didn’t want a distrust built between Tessa and her grandma Heywood, could Sunshine ever trust her enough to leave Tessa alone with her again?

  “I don’t know. Maybe she was tired that day and made a mistake. Or maybe she was trying to be funny and didn’t realize you’d take her seriously.”

  Or maybe an active five-year-old was too much for her mother these days. Tessa had taken her valuable time and was in her way, much as Sunshine had been when growing up. Never able to keep her mother happy. Bad girl. The long-forgotten indictment rang in Sunshine’s ears. Maybe the broken cup had upset her mother, but there was no valid excuse for telling Tessa that if she was a bad girl, bad things would get her and those she loved.

  “I didn’t break the cup on purpose, Mommy. I said I was sorry.”

  “Of course you didn’t do it on purpose. You did the right thing by apologizing.” Now Sunshine’s mother owed her granddaughter an apology, as well.

  “I love you, Mommy.”

  “I love you, too, sweetie.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “So no night-light?”

  She shook her head. “Remember? Grady says to think about happy things.”

  Grady. Their hero.

  But what happy things could she possibly find to think about tonight when she turned out her own light?

  Chapter Eighteen

  “And there you have it.” Grady motioned to the wall monitor in a Hunter’s Hideaway conference room, then turned to a select group of family members seated around the table. “My proposal for a wildlife-photography addition to our offerings.”

  Mom hadn’t felt up to attending, but Dad and Grandma Jo had joined several of his uncles and aunts. Luke and Delaney. Rio. All had paid respectful attention as he’d gone through the presentation slides. Asked good questions.

  But would it be enough?

  Would things have gone better had Sunshine been there, lending her support, chiming in on critical points he perhaps hadn’t emphasized enough? Maybe she could have helped him refocus when a question from Luke or Uncle Doug had sidetracked him.

  “Well put together, son.” His father smiled his approval, but his noncommittal choice of words made Grady acutely aware he wasn’t ready to deliver a decision.

  “This is certainly something to think about,” Aunt Suzy said. “Your proposal holds considerable merit.”

  “I like it,” chimed in Rio. “Really, really like it.”

  He smiled at his little sister, but how much influence would a twenty-year-old have in the final decision making?

  Uncle Doug picked up the more detailed backup materials Grady had printed for each of them. “We need time to look over your facts and figures. Luke can run some numbers, then we’ll discuss this with you further.”

  Grady looked to Grandma Jo, questioning.

  Her eyes warmed. “It’s evident you’ve put time and effort into this. Your enthusiasm for the project is evident.”

  So she wanted to look over the numbers, too, think through his proposal.

  “I believe it will be worth the time and effort, Grandma.” And fun. Something he could sink his teeth into. He could picture the conference room packed with enthusiastic amateur photographers, attention glued to a master photographer guest speaker. Could envision himself overseeing small groups in the predawn stillness of their forested surroundings, helping them capture dreamed-of shots of elk at a watering hole. A deer stepping into a clearing. A hawk soaring overhead.

  “Give us time to digest the data you’ve provided and we’ll meet again soon.” Dad rose from his chair, the meeting adjourned.

  In a now-empty room, Grady shut down his laptop, then deposited it in his office before stepping outside for a breath of fresh air. November already. Fluffy flakes heralding the first snowfall of the season danced before his weary eyes. This autumn had been a season of disappointments in many ways. His mother’s medical issues. A delayed commitment on his business proposal. The eye-opening betrayal by Sunshine.

  He looked down as something solid bumped almost sympathetically against his leg. Rags. Luke’s German shepherd. He knelt down to scratch the friendly fellow behind the ears.

  How many times in the past several days had he reached for his phone, hoping that if he called Sunshine she’d tell him he’d dreamed up last week’s nightmare? That it had never happened. But he’d be seeing her soon enough, at tonight’s last public event before the election. What would they have to say to each other?

  He’d been so sure that God was bringing Sunshine and Tessa into his life. How could he have so badly misjudged a woman’s intentions twice? And how could she have done this to him, knowing what had happened to him before and how he felt about hurting a child? He hadn’t told any of his family members about why Sunshine had come to Hunter Ridge—but should he? He’d need help gathering documentation to disprove her claims if she decided to take them to court.

  He gave Rags a final pat, then rose to his feet.

  “Grady.” Uncle Doug’s hand clasped his shoulder. “I’m impressed with your persistence on this wildlife-photography pursuit. I seem to recall you bringing this up years ago. Gave us a good laugh at the time.”

  Grady gave his uncle a sharp look. “Not so laughable now, is it? When it could be a moneymaker.”

  “That remains to be seen. But if we can prevent your mother from throwing in the towel for a few more days—which I think we can—your hands will be full with council duties for the next four years. I don’t think any of us would be willing to give your proposal the nod, knowing how your time will be limited. A new venture like this will take considerable oversight if it’s to succeed.”

  “You know I haven’t agreed to run in a special election, don’t you?”

  “You will. You’ll come through for your family like you always do. We’re counting on you.” Uncle Doug clapped him on the back, then, before he could gather his thoughts to respond, his uncle went back inside.

  Grady raked his fingers roughly through his hair. No, he hadn’t agreed to run in a special election if it came down to that. He didn’t want to be a councilman. But once again, like many times before, duty called. Family loyalties came into play.

  Knowing what he knew about Sunshine now, about her deceptive ways, could he in good conscience refuse to run and leave Hunter Ridge at the mercy of her or Irv?

  As Sunshine had also pointed out, with the proliferation of digital cameras, the timing for launching his business plan couldn’t be better. Would it still be four years from now? Maybe. Maybe not. Uncle Doug was right—it would take tremendous oversight of innumerable details if the endeavor wasn’t to fail right out of the starting gate. Sure, the town council only met twice a month, but, as he knew from his mother’s involvement, the position involved work sessions, subcommittee meetings and volumes of reading and keeping yourself tuned full-time to the heartbeat of the community’s needs and opinions.

  Could he turn away from his family’s expectations? Let them down? Or would serving his time on the town council somehow make up for his near-miss encounters with two women who’d seen an easy target coming from a mile away?

  Was there a chance he could juggle Hunter’s Hideaway and the added responsibilities of a wild game supply store, the photography venture and the town council at the same time? Do them all justice?

  A heaviness settled into his heart.

  Not likely.

  * * *

  “Four mo
re days, folks.” Irvin, having just had his last say in an organized public venue before the election, grinned at Sunshine and Grady as he stepped away from the podium Friday night. “May the best man win.”

  Sunshine managed not to grimace. Surprisingly, Elaine hadn’t pulled out of the running, so maybe her health was taking an upward swing. Who’d have known, though, what a big deal a small-town election would be? Not only time-consuming, but physically, mentally and emotionally draining. Did Elaine have it in her to go into another term? And for that matter, did Sunshine have it in her to juggle motherhood, manage the Artists’ Cooperative and take on town council commitments for four years?

  It was almost with a sense of relief that with Elaine still in the race, she wouldn’t have to find an answer to that question. Grady’s mother was certain to win.

  As the threesome left the elementary-school stage, Sunshine ventured a glance in Grady’s direction. He was so handsome tonight that if this were election day and he the candidate rather than his mother, she’d be hard-pressed not to cast her vote on his behalf.

  Upon arriving at tonight’s event, the two had awkwardly exchanged a handful of pleasantries. Two strangers with nothing to say to each other. Or at least nothing that could be said in a public place. Many times during the past week she’d almost called him to apologize again. But what more could she say to convince him of her sincerity?

  She had no intention of asking Tori to research further to prove the evidence one way or another. But she couldn’t deny her original plan, the wrong motives that had caused her to jump at the Artists’ Co-op position in the first place.

  “Sunshine?” Grady’s voice drew her attention. “Mom asked me to reaffirm that she wishes you the best in this election and is sorry she couldn’t be here tonight to say so in person.”

  “She’s still not feeling well?”

  “Conserving her strength for the next four years.”

  “Please tell her it’s been a privilege to share a campaign with her, even though mostly through a very capable proxy.” She met his steady gaze with a smile, hoping it might serve as an icebreaker. But he didn’t return it. “She’s a fine councilwoman, and the town will be fortunate to have her representing them in the next term.”