Driftwood Creek

by Roxanne Snopek

  “You went in to save someone caught in a rip,” Olivia said in slow careful tones.

  A boy, a sweet towheaded boy with Gideon’s smile.

  The laughter roared like a freight train, like a mighty wave, crashing, destroying, nothing sneaky about it now, no need to hide.

  No! She squeezed her eyes shut, but the images kept coming. The sensations wouldn’t stop.

  Cold water filling her eyes, her ears, her mouth. Reaching, reaching, the sleeve slipping out of her grasp, a body, heavy as a coffin filled with sand.

  Something hot and wet spilled over Jamie’s cheeks. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her chest was in a vise.

  “Do you remember Elliot? You got him out. He’s okay. You did great, James. We’re all so proud of you.”

  At Olivia’s comforting tones, the vise cracked and air rushed into her lungs. Then a horrible noise filled her ears, the wracking, dreadful screech of an engine in need of oiling, a horse panicking in a storm, an old door slammed on a dark cellar with a child crying in its spidery depths.

  It was coming from her.

  More footsteps.

  Daphne’s hands on her brow. The smell of alcohol, the snap of plastic, the rustle of packaging.

  “You’re okay, honey, it’s okay. You let it out. Daffy’s here.”

  Something warm in her arm. A soft, spreading heat like oil spilling over her skin from the inside out. Her chest opened, the horrid sound stopped, and a great gust of air entered her body.

  Yes. Better.

  And she slipped back into the warm, happy nothingness.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Never underestimate the ability of a Venus–Jupiter

  square to transform your relationships.

  —Jamie’s horoscope

  A rustling sound at the curtain of her ER cubicle made Jamie open her eyes again. In the opening, holding the thin green curtain fabric against her like a shield, stood Lana. Beside her was a man in a wheelchair, with a black eye and several stitches on his cheek.

  Elliot.

  Her head spun, but she forced herself to sit up straight. “Is Blake okay?” They kept telling her he was fine, but then things went fuzzy again and she wasn’t sure if she’d dreamed it or not.

  Lana nodded, tears spilling from her eyes. “Your cook took him back to the ranch.”

  “Oh.” Thank God. Jamie allowed herself to fall back against the sheets.

  “We had to come and thank you in person.” Lana spoke haltingly, her voice thick with emotion. “If it hadn’t been for you, Elliot could have drowned. Maybe Blake, too, if he’d gone after him. Someone caught the whole thing on video. Apparently it’s already a social media hit. You’re a hero, Jamie. You and Gideon both.”

  Lana gripped Elliot’s hand so tightly that Jamie guessed he was hurting. The man’s hair was standing up on end and she could see sand in his ear. He was lucky not to have broken his neck.

  “Anyone would have done it.” Jamie’s throat hurt. Puking up seawater did that. Her knees were abraded from the sand, and they’d put twelve stitches into her shin, where she must have banged it on a rock. “I need to see Gideon. Where is he?”

  Lana and Elliot exchanged a glance. “They’re still working on him.”

  Jamie’s brain stuttered. “What?”

  “He’s fine,” Lana assured her quickly. “Banged up pretty good though. He wouldn’t let them do anything until they’d tended to you.”

  Jamie swung her legs off the side of the narrow cot, then gripped the mattress as the world tilted. She may or may not have saved Elliot.

  But Gideon had most definitely saved her.

  Elliot reached for her. “You’re not supposed to get up.”

  “Get your hands off me.” She pushed past him. “Gideon!”

  When her bare feet hit the floor, somehow her knees didn’t work the way they were supposed to.

  “Jamie!” Lana caught her under her arms and managed to get her onto the edge of the bed.

  “Take me to Gideon,” Jamie demanded. “Now.”

  She was shaking. Tears were next up, and the hell if she was going to cry in front of Lana.

  Then, hell or not, it was happening. Man, one near-death experience and she turned into a goddamn faucet. “I need to see Gideon. If you’re lying and he’s dead or hurt or—”

  “He’s okay, I promise.” Lana lowered her into the metal chair next to the bed. “I’ll take you to him in a second, I swear. Just listen to me. We have to tell you something. He made me promise, and you know Gideon. Once he decides something, there’s no turning him around.”

  She gave a half-strangled laugh and squatted next to Jamie. “There’s a bunch of people out there waiting to talk to you. Your ranch friends and someone from the local paper and a very angry old man who had a lot of things to say to me. I don’t know who he is, but boy does he care about you.”

  She glanced at Elliot, who took her hand and pressed it to his lips. She gave him a wobbly smile and then continued.

  “But this is more important.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know how to say this, but . . . I’m so sorry, Jamie. I let my fears and my prejudices cloud my judgment. I was afraid to share my son, and I guess I wanted to punish Gideon a little, too. That was wrong of me. He loves you, you know. He only held back because of me.”

  She stopped to collect herself. All the bright brittle composure was gone, and now Jamie could see that she was just a woman trying to look after the ones she cared about the best way she could.

  “I get it. Tats and piercings don’t exactly give off a wholesome, milk-fed babysitter vibe.”

  “But then you threw yourself into the ocean to save Elliot.” She shook her head wonderingly.

  “It’s not about me, Lana,” she said. “Gideon and Blake need each other. Are you going to let that happen?”

  She nodded vigorously. “I am.”

  Jamie looked at Elliot. “Is she telling the truth?”

  “She is.” She read sorrow in his expression, but acceptance too.

  “You’re still getting married?”

  “We are.” Elliot nodded. “And we’re staying in Gold Beach, so we’re close by.”

  Lana pressed Elliot’s hand between hers. “We’ll share custody equally. And, he doesn’t know it yet, but I’m putting Gideon on the birth certificate. He should have been there from the beginning, but I was young and angry and scared and I don’t want to be that person anymore.”

  Jamie’s heart soared. “He’s going to be so happy.”

  “That’s everything I promised Gideon I’d tell you.” Lana took in a deep breath and let it out through her nose. “Now I want you to promise to tell him something.”

  Jamie blinked. “Okay. What?”

  “Blake calls you the Fairy Lady. He asked me if you were going to be his other mother, since Gideon was his other father. I want you to make an honest man out of Gideon.” Lana dabbed at her eyes. “I don’t care if you get married or not, but for heaven’s sake, you two love each other. It’s time to go public. You tell him that for me. Okay?”

  Jamie reached out and covered their clasped hands with hers. “You guys are a little bossy, but I can work with that.” Then she pulled them forward and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. All three were wet with tears.

  And all three of them were smiling.

  Epilogue

  This week, Venus moves from Cancer to Leo.

  Prepare for the dramatic side of love.

  —Jamie’s horoscope

  Gideon backed against the wall to make way for Daphne and the gigantic cake plate she held out in front of her.

  “Coming through, people. It’s a big day. I hope you’ve got your eatin’ pants on.”

  The cook set the plate on the long table, where it joined an enormous assortment of crackers, cheese, cold cuts, cut-up vegetables, appetizers, and other goodies. Beer, wine, and soft drinks waited on the side table. “This one’s carrot spice with cream cheese. T
hat one’s double chocolate with mocha filling, and the other one is lemon chiffon.”

  Jamie’s birthday was still two weeks away, so they’d gathered everyone together under the guise of celebrating the arrival of their newest member.

  In fact, they had much to celebrate.

  Gideon was watching the door, waiting for Jamie to arrive. She’d gone to pick up Roman and Jonathan, and now they, plus old Sadie, entered the room.

  Greetings sounded, but it was background noise to Gideon. Now that there was nothing standing in the way of their love, he couldn’t get enough of looking at her. It was like his heart had been beating inside an iron cage that was now broken open and everything he felt for her was pouring out, every moment of every day. He could gaze at her all he wanted, he could touch her, he could kiss her....

  She looked across the room at him, a sultry, intimate glance, and instantly desire flared inside him. She’d always been more open about her feelings for him, but now he realized that she’d held much back, too.

  She wound through the people, threw herself into his arms, and smacked him on the mouth. “Gideon. I love doing that. My goal,” she said, planting another kiss on him, “is to embarrass you to death with public displays of affection. How am I doing?”

  He kissed her neck. “I think I’m building up an immunity. You’ll have to try harder.”

  “Uh, some of us are eating here.” Tyler mimed gagging. “Get a room, will ya?”

  Then Gideon saw Olivia waving at him. “Gotta go for a second,” he said. “Get me some carrot cake?”

  Jamie aimed a pretty pout at him. “And just like that, the magic is gone.”

  Olivia led him around the corner to the porch, where the antique saddle sat on a sawhorse, a big blue bow attached to the horn. “What do you think?” she asked in a low voice.

  “It’s perfect,” he said.

  Life was perfect, right now. The paper had not only printed numerous letters of support for Jamie, to counteract the one claiming child abuse, but they’d also done a feature on her and Gideon, focusing on how the event had made them realize their love for each other.

  The headline: A SUNSET BAY HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

  Cheesy, but Daphne had had it enlarged, framed, and hung in the entrance to the main house. They loved it.

  “Is the Altman truck arriving soon?” he asked Olivia.

  “Any minute now.”

  Gideon had spent some time getting to know the mustang in the past few days. She would be a challenge for Jamie, certainly. But that was part of the gift.

  Blake, who’d been playing on the floor with Sage and Sal, pressed against Gideon’s legs and slipped little fingers into his hand. “Where’s Jamie? Is she playing with the fairies again?”

  The boy still wasn’t entirely comfortable without Lana and Elliot, but he’d come a long way. And Jamie was a huge part of that.

  Jamie was a huge part of everything good in his life.

  “She’s in the kitchen, son. Shall we go find her?”

  He clapped his hands. “Yes, let’s!”

  They found her by the table, and joined her in loading up plates of goodies.

  Then Roman Byers shouted, “Quiet, everyone! They’re here.”

  The room went silent. They heard the slam of a truck door, and then Haylee and Aiden walked in from the porch.

  “Welcome home!” they all yelled together.

  Haylee stood up at the front of the room, holding the infant close. Her hair was mussed, her face was puffy, and there were circles under her eyes, but she’d never looked happier or more beautiful.

  Aiden, too, was rumpled and creased and glowing. “May we present our son, Matthew Liam Hansen McCall.”

  A cheer went up, which triggered a lusty wail from the newborn.

  “Thanks a lot everyone,” Haylee said, smiling. She patted the baby until he quieted. “No seriously, thanks a lot. This means so much to have you all here, welcoming us home. And . . .”

  Gideon’s pulse sped up as Haylee turned her attention to Jamie, standing next to him.

  “Thank you for coming to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite people in the entire world, Jamie Vaughn.”

  Jamie gasped. “You . . .” She whipped around to look at Gideon. Then Daphne. And Olivia. “Oh, man. You got me.”

  “Happy Birthday, Jamie!” they all yelled together.

  She jumped up and down and clapped her hands in front of her. “You got me! I can’t believe you surprised me!”

  A horn sounded outside.

  Gideon took her arm. “Follow me.”

  Her eyes grew round with excitement. “What? What is it?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Roman stood beside the trailer, talking with Mrs. Altman, and he stepped away immediately. The horse stomped and whinnied.

  “James,” Gideon said, “meet Hacer el Jaimito. Also known as Bonita.”

  She turned on him, her eyes even wider, if possible, than before. She blinked, as if afraid to believe.

  “She’s yours,” he said. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  “You bought me a . . . a horse?”

  “He bought you a project,” Roman grumbled. “Good luck with that beast.”

  She walked to the front of the trailer, where she could see the mare’s face. The horse eyed her nervously, but accepted her touch.

  Gideon felt a tug on his leg. “When’s she going to see my present,” whispered Blake.

  “Hang on, buddy. Anytime now.”

  “What’s this?” Jamie said, noticing a small bag attached to the mustang’s halter. “Easy, Bonita, girl. It’s okay.”

  Gideon’s heart swelled. She was going to do great with the horse.

  Jamie pulled out the bag and tugged open the small drawstring. Inside was a small box.

  Written on it was, To Jamy, Frm Blake. Happy Berthday.

  She opened the lid and pulled out a silver chain with a heart on the end.

  Blake got down on one knee. “Jamie, will you be my other mom? Because Gideon’s my dad too now and he’s got a ring for you, like Elliot got for my mom, so I’ll have a mom and dad at home and a mom and dad here, too. Oh!” He clapped his hands over his mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to say that part about the ring.”

  Gideon couldn’t help but laugh. He loved that his son had come up with the idea, all on his own. They’d be a family. Gideon, Jamie, Blake. Everyone at Sanctuary Ranch. Roman and his dogs.

  And Lana and Elliot, too. In fact, they were on their way over now, to have cake with everyone and begin the process of getting acquainted.

  Jamie dropped to her knees and pulled the boy into a huge hug. “Of course I’ll be your other mom.”

  Then she stood up slowly and walked to Gideon. “Just when I thought you couldn’t surprise me anymore, Gideon Low. I love you so much.”

  “And I love you, Jamie Vaughn.”

  In front of everyone they cared about in the world, she lifted to her tiptoes, planted a deep kiss on his mouth.

  With his forehead pressed against hers, he asked, “Is that public enough for you?”

  She grinned and whispered back, “Yeah. It’ll do.”

  Then she leaned away, punched her fist into the air and yelled, “Yes!”

  If you enjoyed your visit to Sanctuary Ranch

  in Sunset Bay,

  watch for the next SUNSET BAY novel!

  BLACKBERRY COVE

  by

  Roxanne Snopek

  is coming your way in

  January 2019!

  And if you missed

  SUNSET BAY SANCTUARY,

  the first book in the

  SUNSET BAY series

  by Roxanne Snopek,

  it is available from your

  favorite bookstore or e-retailer.

  Turn the page for a peek at Haylee and Aiden’s story!

  Two thumbs up for Sanctuary Ranch: go for the

  horses. Stay for the food. Best week ever.

 
—DanandJan

  There was a lot to love about ranch life, and as Haylee

  Hansen breathed in the aromas coming through the open sliding doors to the main house, and listened to the cook and her assistant bantering in the kitchen, she agreed with Dan and Jan’s Trip Advisor review.

  Horses, dogs, and food, she amended.

  Best life ever.

  “Come on Ju-Jube,” she said to the elderly dog at her side. “Let’s see what Daphne’s got for us tonight.”

  The dog, who was actually called Jewel but responded to a variety of names including Jay, Sweetie-bear, treat, walkies, car-ride and anything to do with food—perked her ears and wagged her beaver-fat tail, her tongue lolling sideways from her grinning jaw. Jewel was the unwanted product of a classic princess/stable boy romance between a champion pedigreed Labrador retriever and an unknown opportunist, but her accidental life had brought immeasurable joy to dozens of people over the years.

  Haylee loved her like a child.

  “I hope that animal’s feet are clean.” Daphne took one hand off a generous hip and pointed at Jewel. “You know where your bed is, Miss Ju-Jube-Bear. No getting in the way, you hear me?”

  Jewel ambled to the large pillow in the corner and flopped onto it with a grunt, wagging her tail the whole time. She knew the drill.

  Haylee stood on her tiptoes and peeked at the oven. “Is that pot roast I smell?”

  “It’s the smell of murder.” Jamie, the kitchen assistant, stood at the prep station, her pierced eyebrows furrowed, up to her elbows in greens. She’d gone vegetarian three weeks ago and considered it her sacred duty to convert everyone else, as well. A month before that, she’d been all about coconut oil, which Daphne had been surprisingly open to. This, however, was a battle doomed to failure.

  “It’s pork shoulder and root vegetables roasted in pan drippings.” Daphne donned oven mitts, opened the door, and lifted the enormous roasting pan onto the stovetop. “Kale salad, too. If Jamie can chop and complain at the same time.”