“Me neither,” Kelly admitted. “Not all of it, anyway, but I do want to make it work. I want it more than I want to hold on to a legacy or my reputation or some empty image I tried to project to everyone, including myself. And I want to figure out how to do everything with you by my side.”
“Partners?”
“Partners, friends, lovers. I spent too long hiding and fighting. I had more chances than I deserve to get it right, but you’re the first person to make me want to take those chances.”
“And you made me want to fight for you. I know I can do it now. I can stand up for myself. I can stand up for us.”
“It’s not exactly a plan for the future,” Kelly said, “but I think it might be a good time to start making one.”
“After tax season?” Elliot asked with a grin.
“No.” Kelly returned the smile. “Right after you kiss me again.”
Epilogue
“Until death do us part.”
The preacher turned to the congregation and proclaimed, “By the power vested in me, by the United Church of Christ, the State of Illinois, and now the federal government of the United States, I pronounce you married in both the eyes of the Lord and the eyes of the law. You may seal your covenant with a kiss.”
Elliot leaned in and gave Kelly a light kiss on the cheek.
“He’s not talking to you,” Kelly whispered.
“I know,” Elliot said with a smile, as she turned back to face the front of the church before adding, “just practicing for later.”
Kelly’s heart rate revved for the hundredth time that morning, but she managed to keep her hands to herself by applauding the happy couple as they turned to face the congregation.
Rory’s normally cocky smile had been replaced by one of genuine happiness, and even Kelly had to admit she cut a dashing figure in her classic tuxedo, but Beth stole the show in a radiant, flowing white gown. She had little white flowers woven into her dark curls, and her cheeks naturally blushed the perfect shade of rose.
This scene had played in her nightmares for years. Beth had just married Rory in a beautiful and very public ceremony, and she’d had to sit there and watch the whole thing. She’d spent more than three years dreading this day, and yet, in the moment, Kelly felt nothing but happiness. Instead of breaking, her heart brimmed with joy. She wished them all the best, of course, but much of the emotion overwhelming her now stemmed not from the women in front of her, but from the woman beside her.
They both rose and applauded as Beth and Rory exited the church. Kelly and Elliot turned to one another.
“And now we make our getaway?” Elliot asked hopefully.
“I believe there’s a reception with dinner and dancing, probably many toasts and speeches, too.”
“There’s got to be a back room or coat closet we can find somewhere.”
“In a church?”
“Right, well I’m sure no one would notice if we went back to your place for a while.”
“If we went back to my place now, we’d never make it back out tonight.”
“Your point?”
She shook her head. “You’re the one who had to plan your first trip back around this wedding, remember?”
Elliot groaned. “I know. I just never thought it would be so torturous to have to celebrate my friends’ happiness.”
Kelly laughed and got into the line of wedding guests slowly filing down the center aisle of the church. “I never thought I’d be the one to advocate for enjoying this particular occasion, so we’re even.”
“But, you are okay with it, right?” Elliot asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “I mean, I know there’s a lot of water under that particular bridge, and …”
“And that’s all that it is now. Water under the bridge. A bridge we’ve all crossed.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I meant to ask sooner, but the time never seemed right. It’s just been hard having conversations like that over the phone, and then we didn’t really have time to talk when I got in this morning,” Elliot said before amending the statement. “Well, we had some time, but we chose to spend it doing other things.”
Kelly stared down at the high heels and dress loafers in line ahead of her as she tried not to remember the things they’d chosen to do with the few hours between Elliot’s train arriving and the start of the wedding. She didn’t regret those decisions, but church wasn’t exactly the place to envision Elliot naked on top of her. “We’ll have time to talk later.”
“Later,” Elliot repeated.
“Soon,” Kelly added.
“Tonight,” Elliot said, brushing her fingers discreetly across the curve of Kelly’s hip.
She bit her lip, and fought another surge of arousal. Surely she’d be struck down by lightning any moment now.
Elliot had been gone only two months, but between wrapping up the end of tax season, selling her father’s house, and putting all their business affairs in order, their time apart had been compounded both physically and emotionally. Elliot, too, had stayed exceedingly busy at her new job. They talked nightly on the phone or Skype, but they’d rarely had time or energy to do more than recount the events of their hectic days. Still, even across long-distance lines, it was clear Elliot loved the work. Kelly never tired of the excitement in her voice as she talked about the people she’d met or the things she’d seen along the way. After only a couple of months, she was already being invited to high-level meetings with Senate aides and Treasury officials. Kelly longed to share those moments with her up close, not at a distance.
At the feel of Elliot’s palm on her other hip, she took a deliberate step forward and gave her a pointed look over her shoulder.
“Sorry,” Elliot mumbled, looking properly chagrined. “I forget where we are. D.C. is a lot more liberal.”
“It’s not that,” she said softly, and to her surprise, it wasn’t. She’d barely given a second thought to who might see them together today. Most of the town likely knew that she was leaving to shack up with her young intern, or at least that’s how they’d see it, but she no longer cared what anyone thought about them. She’d had her moments of doubt along the way, during the long days or lonely nights, but with Elliot here, she couldn’t manage to feel any shame for what felt so undeniably right. “I’m not worried about other people. I’m worried about my own lack of restraint with you finally close enough to touch.”
Elliot’s smile shifted from shy to self-assured as she jammed her hands into the pockets of her pinstriped suit, her auburn hair catching a hint of summer sun streaming through the stained-glass windows.
Kelly lifted her gaze to the large cross at the front of the sanctuary and said a silent prayer, Give me strength against this temptation, Lord.
Either God listened or Elliot took the hint, because she softened her stance and said, “Did I mention our apartment is only a few metro stops from Chinatown?”
“Our apartment,” Kelly said, “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah? You’re not nervous about moving to the big city?”
“I probably should be, but I’ve only ever lived here, so I think the realities of a switch like that are still very vague for me. I’ve had so many tangible things to arrange and fuss over here I haven’t had time to obsess over hypothetical crises. Maybe I’ll freak out when I get there, but I have plenty of other things to worry about in the meantime.”
Elliot laughed. “One meltdown at a time. You’re so orderly.”
“Every issue in its place. Today’s survival challenge is to make it through this wedding and reception without succumbing to your charms.”
“Again,” Elliot said.
“Again?”
“Well, you already did give in to my charms twice since I’ve been here. So I think what you meant to say was, your goal was to get through the reception without giving in to them again.”
Kelly was still trying to decide if she found the comment maddening or endearing when Jody and Stevie edged into line ahead of them.
&n
bsp; “Welcome back to town, Senator Garza,” Jody said with a playful smile.
“No, no,” Stevie said, “she’s going to be Secretary of the Treasury.”
Elliot shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m a lowly post-graduate fellow at the moment. I mostly get coffee and proofread memos.”
“She had a meeting at Senator Schumer’s office last week,” Kelly cut in, not even caring if the pride oozed out of her voice.
“The senator wasn’t there,” Elliot said.
“Still,” Jody said, “it’s a nice step toward your takeover of the nation’s capital.”
“What about you, Kelly?” Stevie asked. “Are you ready to take the political world by storm?”
“Hardly,” Kelly said. “I’m going to stay as far away from the politics as possible. I’ll mostly be taking on independent contracts for things like payroll audits.”
“Well, you’ll be missed here.”
“She’ll be back,” Elliot said. “Every year, just like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, only with tax season.”
“Yes, Beth mentioned something about keeping Rolen and Rolen open part-time,” Jody said, “but I have to admit I don’t know how that works.”
“Basically, the business will transition from a full-service CPA firm to one that specializes in tax prep. I’ll keep my client base as well as my father’s for the purpose of filing returns, but I’m letting go of all the bookkeeping, payroll, and inventory audits we did in the past.”
“So you’ll only be in town from February to April?”
“With a few smaller stop-overs throughout the year,” Kelly explained. “The rest of the time I’ll be a free agent.”
“Not completely free,” Elliot cut back in. “She’s kind of spoken for in a few areas, and some conditions apply no matter what state she happens to be in.”
Jody smiled at them, then Stevie. “We certainly understand how that goes.”
“How what goes?” Rory asked as she finished greeting the people ahead of them in line.
“Long-distance romances,” Jody said.
“Not too long a distance these days though, right?” Beth said, wrapping Stevie in a hug. “Summer in New York suits you both.”
“It does,” Stevie said. “You two are the only people who could’ve pulled us back to the Midwest in June. Congratulations.”
“We appreciate you all coming back for the big day,” Rory said, throwing an arm around Elliot.
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Elliot said, causing Kelly to smile. Hadn’t she been the one who only moments ago begged to skip out and find a room for just the two of them?
Rory turned and extended her hand to Kelly. “And thank you, too. I really am glad you’re here.”
Kelly accepted the gesture as just another surreal twist in her rapidly changing life. “Me, too.”
“Can I second that?” Beth asked, reaching out for a hug.
Kelly smiled and wrapped her arms around her once more, or maybe for the first time, in this new way. She didn’t feel any of the old guilt or regret, but rather an overwhelming press of gratitude.
Giving Beth a tight squeeze, she managed to say, “I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you,” Beth said, emotion thick in her voice as well.
Stepping back, Kelly turned to Rory once more. “I’d say be good to her, but I have a feeling you’ve already got that covered.”
“I promise I’ll always do my best,” Rory said solemnly, then her green eyes flicked over to Elliot. “I trust you both to do the same.”
Elliot rolled her eyes. “What, are you going to demand a dowry next?”
“I promise,” Kelly said. “She does, too. She’s just stubborn about doing things her own way.”
“Hello, Pot,” Beth said. “Meet Kettle.”
All of them laughed before Jody said, “We’re holding up the line. We’ll see you all at the reception.”
“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t,” Elliot muttered under her breath as they walked away.
“I heard that,” Kelly said when they got to her car.
“You were meant to,” Elliot replied cheerfully as she got in and closed the door behind her.
“You don’t really want to skip out on them, do you?” Kelly asked, turning the key in the ignition.
Elliot sighed and then smiled. “No, I guess not. But I am really looking forward to getting you home, and not just tonight, but every night for the foreseeable future.”
“Home,” Kelly whispered, then glanced around the town square once more. The familiar streets and buildings filled her vision. Familiar faces lined the sidewalks. This was the only home she’d ever known, and yet in so many ways she’d never let herself be known in return here. At least not until Elliot had come along. Then the final piece had fallen into place. Maybe home wasn’t a place so much as a feeling.
“You do want that, too, don’t you?” Elliot asked, her voice once again soft with concern. “I know it’ll be a big transition for you.”
“It will be,” she admitted. She turned to face Elliot once more, taking in the joy and wonder that filled her green eyes. “If Washington, D.C. is home for you, then it can be for me, too. Does it feel like home yet?”
“Not yet, but it’s close,” Elliot said with one of her broad smiles. She leaned in, and Kelly’s heart rate spiked again. Just before their lips met, Elliot whispered, “All that’s missing there is you.”
Acknowledgments
I am in my hometown right now as I write this. For better or worse, this seems a fitting place to ponder how I’ve now managed to write three romances set in Darlington. I certainly didn’t set out to write a series, and I don’t think I have, but these books are connected by so much more than setting. Make no mistake: all of these of these newly dubbed “Darlington Romances” (The Long Way Home, Timeless, and Close to Home) are distinctly different and meant to be read as stand-alone novels. And yet, I think the questions that keep me coming back to my hometown are the same ones that keep me writing stories set in Darlington. How do the experiences, interactions, and decisions of our youth shape who we become as adults? How much do the circumstances of our upbringing define us, and how much can we change our core values? What sorts of responsibility do we owe ourselves, and what do we owe to the people we love?
As I wrote Close To Home, it felt like closure, a full circle, an ending to something I didn’t fully see from the beginning. This could very well be the last of the Darlington Romances, but as I said, there’s more connecting these stories than a shared plot. A thread runs between them, connecting me to something deep and driving. The major themes of these books are the themes of my life, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last eight years, it’s that every time I think I’m done, something always manages to call me back. They say you can’t go home again, and while there are times I’ve wished that were true, I haven’t found it to be the case. For me, and seemingly for the characters who fill the world of Darlington, Illinois, home is something that sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
That being said, while this has been a long and unexpected journey for me, it has not been a solitary one. Thank you to the readers who have been with me the whole way. You have let me pull strings and push buttons I never anticipated. You have come along for the ride on three very different books, told in three very different ways, and you’ve showered me in your love and support at every stop along the way. I cannot tell you enough how much your feedback and encouragement has meant to me.
I’d also like to thank my Bywater team. Salem, Marianne, and Kelly have given me free rein to carry over characters and connections from my previous work, and while I think there may have been times they questioned their own sanity or mine in that process, they’ve never waivered in their support. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to Kelly on this one, because she actually gave me the idea many years ago, when after reading The Long Way Home, she said she didn’t like that the Kelly
in the book ended up how she did. Real-life Kelly requested that fictional Kelly have her own redemption story someday. I took my sweet time in getting her there, but I hope it was worth the wait. I’d also like to thank Ann McMan for another great cover design. I didn’t give her much to work with, but she managed to capture the tone of the central conflict in the beautifully subtle way only she can.
Toni Whitaker and Barb Dallinger both acted as beta readers once again, making them the only two people to see early drafts of all three Darlington novels. I ran them both through the emotional wringer with this one, but they remained kind, understanding, and focused on helping me make the story as authentic as possible. I love them for it. I’m also thankful this time to Marcie Lukach, who did an early read on the manuscript as my CPA expert. She not only made it clear how very little I knew about taxes (who knew W-2 isn’t the name of every form?), she also proved herself to be an awesome friend.
As usual, Lynda Sandoval was my substantive editor, my sounding board, and my middle-third therapist. She said nice things when I didn’t think I could do anything right, she said irreverent things when I got too serious, and most of all she said really smart things that helped me bring Kelly into focus, both on the page and in my own mind. Nancy Squires, Caroline Curtis, and a slew of proofreaders including but not limited to Rebecca Cuthbert, Karen Davis, Cara Gould, Elaine Lynch, Ann Etter, and Carleen Spry rounded out the team with their eagle eyes, a true understanding of style, and an attention to detail I can only dream of.
And as always is the case, I am grateful to the daily support of friends and colleagues like Georgia Beers, Melissa Brayden, Nikki Smalls, Sarah Gerkensmeyer, Andrew Cullison, Will Banks, and the wonderful writers at Bywater Books, who all do their part to keep me focused, laughing, and sane. They all help to keep me writing on the days when I love my job, as well as on the days when I think I’m terrible at it.
Finally, my family is the best. I’m surrounded by so much love and support in a multitude of ways. Jackson makes my life so much fun. He’s also what challenges me to look at the big picture of what really matters in life. Susan makes the life I love possible. Without her there to be my bedrock, I would have neither the financial nor emotional stability to do the work that I do. There’s no way I can thank her enough, but I promise to keep trying every single day, come what may.
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