by May Williams
“No. Sorry, Mom, I want to be alone. I’m going to Grand Island for a few days.” Colette studied her mother’s expression. “You’re not mad at him.”
Jade shook her head. “I’m more disappointed in him. I thought he was a good man and I was sure he loved you.”
“Me, too.”
By noon, Colette slammed the hatch on her Jeep Patriot and was ready to head for Grand Island. She admitted to herself that she was running away, but she didn’t give a damn. If she wanted to hide and sulk, that was her right.
Chapter Nineteen
Ian got off the commuter plane from Chicago to Traverse City, wondering how the hell he was going to get to the farm to get his car and other stuff. He could rent one, but then he’d have two vehicles. Colette wasn’t answering his calls, not that he expected her to come get him. He’d called three times on Sunday and once already this morning. Nothing.
He walked out of the tiny terminal and looked around in the bright sunlight. Not even a taxi service. Shit. His army buddy in Boyne was on vacation with his family this week. The only other people he could call were all connected to Colette. He scanned through his contacts, hitting send when he came to Nate’s number. Worth a shot. A half hour later Nate pulled up to the curb.
“Thanks, I didn’t know who else to call.” Ian settled into the passenger seat.
“Adrien filled me in, and since he’s convinced by your story, I guess I am.”
“Glad someone’s on my side.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. We’ll still kick your ass if this doesn’t come out right in the end.” Nate delivered the threat with a smile. “Besides, picking you up got me out of school early.”
“Shit, sorry. I wasn’t thinking that you’d be at work.”
“We’re just getting the buildings ready now anyway. No students for another month.”
Ian waited until they were on what passed for a highway before asking about Colette. “Will Colette be home?”
“Nope.”
“She’s at the clinic?”
“Not exactly.”
“Is she all right?” Ian twisted in his seat to look at Nate.
“You’re putting me in a spot here. I’m not supposed to tell you where she is. Lexy will kill me. However, if you guess correctly, I have no control over that.”
Disgusted, Ian declared, “You should have been a lawyer.”
“Maybe. Adrien cleared me to tell and Jack seems okay with it, but the women, you know. They’re in circle-the-wagons mode.”
“I’m surprised about Jack. If I were Colette’s dad, I’d be pissed that someone messed with my little girl.”
“He’s a pragmatic man. Remember how Jack thought you looked familiar?”
“Yeah, ‘cause I look like my dad did in the WWII photo.”
“Jack got to thinking about it and remembered some of the story. His dad and your dad were best friends who fought over a woman. He said it was his father’s biggest regret in life that he’d lost such a good friend. Guess that explains your father’s attitude toward the family.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, as I just learned it myself. Right now, I need to find Colette though. If she’s not at the farm or the clinic, is she out doing farm visits?”
“No.”
“Is she in Petoskey or the immediate vicinity?”
“No.”
“Gone away?” Ian asked and Nate inclined his head in assent. “Grand Island?”
“Bingo. Left yesterday. You won’t make the last ferry to the island today so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“No good. I have to see her today.”
“Thought you might say that.” Nate pulled a business card from a slot in the dashboard. “Private charter.” He handed the card to Ian. “Cost you forty bucks. They’ll take you straight to the cottage so you can grovel and propose.”
Groveling was his number one plan, but propose? He didn’t think he’d be that lucky. Besides, he didn’t have a ring. “No ring, I can’t propose. Jade offered me Colette’s grandmother’s ring, but if the women are upset with me, I can’t get it.”
“Can’t fix that for you. I’ve done what I can.”
“Thanks for your help so far.”
“I didn’t help you. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nate grinned.
Colette hung her kayak on the rack in the boathouse. She’d spent the afternoon paddling around the island. Now she was hungry and sore, but only marginally happier than earlier. The beautiful day and physical activity should have restored her good humor, but she wasn’t looking forward to another night alone in the cottage.
Tomorrow she’d head home, get back to work, see her family. Hopefully, Ian would have picked up his car and belongings from the farm by the time she got home. Because she was sure she didn’t want to see him again. Ever. Pretty sure. Although Adrien’s explanation made her think—she slammed the lid of a storage box closed. It didn’t matter. It was over.
The noise of a boat engine reverberated off the cliff along with Romeo’s wild barking. She stepped to the entrance of the boathouse, calling for the dog. Then, she saw him. Ian strode across the rocky shore toward Romeo, who immediately turned traitor and ran to be petted. She held firm where she was. She wasn’t going to run to him and capitulate like the dog.
“If you’re here, she must be close by,” Ian said to the greyhound, scratching his ears.
“I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned against the building, wishing he didn’t look quite so kind.
“You didn’t answer my calls.”
“Probably because I didn’t want to talk to you. I thought I made that clear the other night. I should have known you’d show up here.” She batted away a black fly. “The pests get bad this time of night.” She eyed him pointedly. “I’m going in.”
“Can I come in?”
“No, but I will call a friend of mine with a boat to take you back to the mainland.” She flipped open her phone, looked at the display and slammed it shut. “No service. I should let the bugs eat you,” she huffed out a sigh, “but I won’t. I wouldn’t do that to a stray. I won’t do it to you.”
“Thanks, I…” he looked lost, like a homeless animal.
“Stop. Since the only way off the island is gone,” she pointed to the receding boat, “and the bugs will devour you, I don’t have much choice.” She cocked her head to the side and leveled him with a look. “You knew that. Which is why you came this time of day.”
“Colette, I have so much I need…”
She waved a staying hand at him. “I didn’t say I wanted to talk to you, but I’ll give you a place to sleep for the night.” As she headed up the path to the cottage, he was right on her heels. He didn’t try to touch her, but she could feel his presence. Once they were inside, she gestured up the steps. “You can have the room you had before. If you want something to eat, help yourself.” She turned in the direction of her bedroom to escape from him. All she wanted was to get there and close the door so she could collapse. All day long, she’d staved off the tears, but seeing him she couldn’t much longer.
“Colette, please, don’t do this. I have to explain. You can shut me out after that if you want to, but you have to listen.”
“Have to?” Colette squinted hard to make the tears disappear before facing him. “Why do I have to do anything for you, Mr. Kroft?”
He reached his hands out toward her. “There’s a long list of reasons, starting with ‘I love you’ and ending with ‘so I don’t become a bitter, dried up old man like my father’.”
“Sounds like those are all your problems to deal with.” Colette tried to keep a hard edge to her voice.
His outstretched arms fell. “You don’t love me? You said you did.”
“‘Loved’ would be the correct term.” Colette shivered in the cooling air. “Loved what I thought you were.” Going to the fireplace, she gathered some kindling to light the logs she’d laid earli
er. Ian followed her and stood over her.
“You can’t shut love off like that. I know you. Your heart’s way too big.”
“You’re right. I can’t, but that’s my problem.” She struck a match, holding its burning end to the paper and sticks. “I don’t want to love you and I can’t trust you.” When the kindling caught fire, she blew out the match. “That’s your favorite thing to say, isn’t it? ‘Trust me’ and I eventually did. Joke’s on me.” She tried to smile, but her lips wouldn’t do what her heart couldn’t.
“Not funny.”
“No, it’s not.” She fussed with the little flame until a larger log caught. “Why’d you come?”
“Best case scenario, I convince you to marry me. We go back to the farm and get started having that pack of kids. Live happily ever after with kids, animals, and family trooping through the house constantly.”
“Hmm.” She straightened and drilled him with a look. “Worst case?”
“I get to explain why I did what I did. I leave on the nine o’clock ferry tomorrow morning and never see you again. I spend the rest of my life regretting that you slipped away from me and all because of my father.”
She kept her gaze steady on him. “We’ll start with the worst case. Adrien explained some things to me, but I should hear it from you.” Colette sat down on the sofa to listen while Ian paced the room and began his narrative from the day they met until the fundraiser when his father showed up. Everything he said tracked with Adrien’s story until they got to the part about Ian’s father. She didn’t interrupt him, but she couldn’t wipe the surprised look off her face when he talked of the complicated relationships between their families so many years ago.
“Where’s your father now?” She shouldn’t care, but the older man was tired and distraught when he’d left her place on Saturday night.
“I drove him back to Chicago. He’s promised to stay away from you and the property forever.”
“Do you think he’ll keep his promise?”
“I don’t know, but I think he and I had the most honest conversation we’ve ever had. It’s strange to realize at thirty-two that I don’t know him at all. I never knew any of his history. I don’t think anyone did.”
“It’s not too late to know him now.”
“I hope not. I’m never going to have the kind of family you have, but at least I’ve realized that Dad and I have some shared traits.”
“You mean the relentless drive and the single-mindedness of purpose?” Although her question sounded tough, she felt herself starting to soften.
Ian sighed. “Yeah. It might be a character flaw, but sometimes it gets me what I want. And I want you.” He knelt in front of her and took her hands, squeezing them tight between his. “I have nothing to gain but your love, Colette. I knew weeks ago you weren’t going to sell. The only reason I stayed is because I fell in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my days with you. Maybe the twisted history of our families brought us together. Call it fate. I don’t know, but you’re all I want.”
“You told me once you didn’t believe in fate,” she reminded him.
“One of the many things I’ve been wrong about in my life, but I’m not wrong about you and me. We’re meant to be together.” His face pleaded with her. Gray eyes trapped hers with the intensity of his gaze, but she had to be sure.
She pulled her hands from his abruptly and stood, nearly knocking him over. “I need some time to think.” She went through the swinging door into the dark kitchen. The sun set and twilight passed while Ian had talked. She rested her head against the cool glass of a window.
The sky was solid black with tiny pinpoints of bright light for the stars. Before she even had time to consider what Ian said, a green line shot across the northern sky. Another immediately followed, and the dancing streaks turned pink and purple, then reverted to green. They waved and moved, illuminating the night sky.
“Ian! Come here! You’ve got to see this,” she called spontaneously. And at that moment she knew: her first instinct was to call for him to join her. She wanted to share this magical moment with him, and there was a chance for many more such moments over the coming years.
He burst through the swinging door. “Are you all right?”
“Have you ever seen the Northern Lights?” she asked, turning to him with a breathless smile.
“What?” He scanned her face.
“Do you have your camera?”
He bumped against the table in the dim room. “Damn. No.”
He came toward her, stopping a few paces away. His eyes asked wordless questions and the moment stretched out like twilight on a summer’s evening. His restless fingers moved as though they were working his camera, but still he waited. “No camera,” he finally said, “for the first time in ten years, I’m not hiding behind a lens.”
“You were never hiding. You were capturing the memories you wanted to have. Making memories like this one. Look.” She pointed out the window. When he stepped close to look, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder for a moment. A small pent up sob escaped her.
His arms tightened around her. She took in a deep breath and leaned back to see his face. “We’re going with the best case scenario. The one with the happy ending. I love you, Ian. I want to share my life with you.”
“I love you, too.” He kissed her upturned face. “Is this where I formally propose?”
Laughing, she said, “Definitely. Do you have a ring?”
“About the ring.” He grimaced. “You’re going to have to help me out with that.”
“Does this have something to do with my mom and sister?”
“Uh-huh. Your mom offered me your grandmother’s ring.”
“She did? Oh…how wonderful.” A pang of joy went through Colette’s heart. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know if I can get past the female defenses.”
“Does that mean the men in my family have opened the gates?”
Ian grinned, pulling her a little closer. “How do you think I got here?”
“Those traitors,” she said, smiling.
“They want what’s best for you. I’ve never seen a family with so much love.”
“Just wait,” she teased.
“Until what?”
“Until you see ours.” She tapped his chest with her finger. “Remember, you’re the one who asked for it in your best case scenario. Kids, animals, family.”
Ian leaned back, releasing his hold on her and making a square with his hands. Colette was in the middle of his frame. “I can picture it now,” he said, bending down to kiss her.
The Northern Lights sparkled and danced over the cottage on the shore, crowning it with love.
Loved Animal Prints?
Enjoy more of the Michigan Moonlight Series.
Snow Prints
Book Two in the Michigan Moonlight Trilogy
With a successful career, and his dream house under construction, the only thing missing from Adrien Peterson’s life is love. Since high school, Adrien’s heart has belonged to the irresistible Gracie Sinclair. If only he could make her see it…
Single mother Gracie’s worked hard for everything she’s got. Between her son, her nursing job, and violin playing, she’s built a life that, if not a dream, is something she can be proud of. She’s had enough lovers and family walk out on her to know not to want more. But then Adrien moves next door while his house is being built, bringing with him a tempting charm she remembers all too well.
Adrien is determined to break down the walls around Gracie’s heart. When she reluctantly agrees to a six-week trial relationship, he has one shot to show her just what a dream love can be…
Finger Prints
Book Three in the Michigan Moonlight Trilogy
Police detective Gabe Sinclair sees broken laws and broken lives every day. The last thing he needs to add to the list: a broken heart. To avoid being burned again, he holds himself to a personal law: nev
er let a romance get serious. So when Gabe hears the word “love” he calls the relationship off—even though the word is coming from the enchanting Sylvia O’Shea.
When Gabe abruptly walks out on her, Sylvia struggles to push the handsome detective from her mind. She tries not to think about what might have been and dedicates herself to nurturing her organic farm.
Months later an investigation brings Gabe to Sylvia's farm. He can't resist her charm again and offers a no-promises relationship. But no-commitment works both ways. Can Gabe bring himself to break his law…before it's too late?
Chapter One - Snow Prints
In his headlight’s glow, the driver’s door of a dark-colored car opened. A leg appeared, its shapely curves ending in a pair of black, high-heeled, sling-back pumps. By the time Adrien parked and cut his engine, the owner of the sexy leg was leaning down into the back door of her car. The rear view made him warm all over, and he groaned.
Gracie Sinclair’s curvy little figure had filled his dreams since high school. Just when he thought he could act like an adult around her, here she was, in a form-fitting black dress with a thigh-high slit. He grabbed the takeout bags from the seat of his truck and climbed out. Tonight would be the night. He wouldn’t avoid her the way he’d done so carefully over the past few weeks, waiting for the time to be right.
He’d long recognized that his future happiness hinged on the woman in front of him. He’d been pleased when he finished his doctorate a few months ago and returned home to Petoskey, found work, and found her still single as well. After years of studying, he should be satisfied with finding a position in his field so quickly and in the place he intended to live. And he would be satisfied, as soon as he convinced Gracie that she was as essential to him and he was to her.
Enough waiting. He slammed his truck door shut. After wanting her for more than ten years, it was time to start his pursuit. A pursuit that only had one end in his mind—happily ever after. He stopped in a place outside the apartment building where she would have to speak with him. As she rummaged around in her car, his heart picked up speed like he was entering the final stretch of a bike race. He’d failed before with Gracie. Cataclysmically, he remembered with a slight wince.