by Shirley Jump
“I’m not,” she said, and her voice caught on a sob. “I’m trying not to let it ruin yours.”
Then she spun on her heel and left. Sam stood in his backyard while the moon moved across the sky and the world went to sleep. He stood there, thinking if he stayed long enough, his heart would stop aching.
He was wrong.
Chapter Fifteen
“If I tell you that you are an idiot, are you going to listen to me?” Colton said.
Katie looked up to see Colton grinning at her.
“And I say that with love,” he added, “just in case you were wondering.”
She was sitting across from her brother in a corner booth and picking at a breakfast she didn’t really want. She’d asked to meet him this morning so she could have a chance to say goodbye before she hit the road. “I’m not an idiot. I’m just making the smartest choice for me and Sam.”
Her brother took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed. “Uh-huh. Sounds to me like you’re running away.”
“Sam said the same thing.” She shook her head and pushed the coffee in front of her to the side. What was with the men in her life? Didn’t they understand she wasn’t running away? She was just making a smart decision. For her career, for her apartment. For all the things she could depend on, that didn’t come with emotional attachments. Getting back to those ordered lines. “I have to go back to Atlanta. I need to find a job, pay my bills, feed the alley cat.”
“You don’t have an alley cat.”
“I’ll find one.” Adopt one, rescue one, borrow one. Something to take her mind off how much it had hurt to pack her bags this morning. Her car was just outside the Good Eatin’ Café, and before she knew it, she’d be behind the wheel and driving home.
Except Atlanta didn’t seem like home. It never really had. This quirky little town with a restaurant owner who remembered her name and an inn owner who’d teared up when she said she was checking out this morning—this was what felt like home. Heck, it had felt like home from the minute she’d arrived.
For a second, she considered staying in Stone Gap. After all, there were accounting jobs here, too. She could surely find one or even open her own office. Staying here would mean seeing Henry, Libby, and most of all, Sam.
She couldn’t do that. Not without dissolving into a puddle of tears every time.
Hence the need for an alley cat.
“So why don’t you stay?” Colton asked, as if reading her mind. “Because the one thing you’ve never really done, Piglet, is stay.”
“I do, too. I have an apartment in Atlanta.”
“And have you done anything permanent at your place?” Colton arched a brow and leaned forward. “Like plant a garden or buy a desk?”
“I live in an apartment, Colton. I can’t plant a garden. And the firm provided me with a desk. I didn’t need to buy one.”
“Which means when you were not fired–fired, you could pack everything you owned into a cardboard box and walk out the door.” Colton took another bite of toast.
“Well, yeah, but I don’t see—”
“And if your apartment was to burn down tomorrow, would you be upset about losing anything inside there?”
“Well, I have a photo album from when we were kids, but really, it’s all replaceable—”
“And leavable.”
She laughed. “I don’t think that’s a word.”
“My point is that you don’t even have things that tie you down, never mind people or places. You can leave at any time—or rather, you can run away at any time. In the two weeks you were here, you made connections. You made friends. You made memories. And if you ask me—” he leaned back in his seat and picked up a second piece of toast “—you’re having a hell of a hard time running away from those, because you can’t pack any of that in a cardboard box.” Colton popped the toast in his mouth and gave her a told-you-so nod.
“That’s not it. That’s crazy. I’m...” Her voice trailed off as she thought about what her brother had said. There was no one in Atlanta she was rushing to get back to see. She had friends, yes, but most of them were people she joined for dinner after work. There was no one in her contacts list that she would call for a pizza and movie night. No one she wanted to explore an old house with. No one she wanted to go fishing with or search for treasures in the sand with.
No one except for Sam.
“You can tell me I’m right anytime you want.” Colton gave her a cheesy grin.
“I’m not saying you’re right...” She realigned her fork and knife beside the plate. “Just that you might...might have a point.”
“Then why are you still sitting here with me?”
“We’re having breakfast.”
Colton reached over, grabbed her plate, forked up the last of her eggs, then drained her coffee. “There. Now we’re done.”
Katie laughed. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a pain in the ass?”
“You. Every day of my life.” He got to his feet and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, sis. Now get the hell out of here.”
“And go where?”
“The mall on Route 104. Sam has an appointment to meet an interested client there at 10:00 a.m.”
“Oh, I shouldn’t interrupt him if he’s...” She glanced at her brother’s face. She recognized that meddling look. She couldn’t be mad, because she knew Colton always had the best of intentions, like when he’d gone up to the playground bully when she was in third grade and told him to stop stealing his sister’s lunch money. Colton was always going to look after Katie’s best interests, even when she didn’t need him to. “You?”
“Me? I’m not interested in the real estate Sam’s offering. But I bet you are.” He shooed her toward the door and tossed a twenty dollar bill on the table. “Now hurry up, because after you’re done falling in love with Sam—”
“Who said I was falling in love with Sam?”
“Your goofy grin and googly eyes whenever I talk about him. As I was saying, after you are done falling in love with Sam, I’d love to invite you to dinner at my fiancée’s house. Because if you’re going to be moving here, you should get to know your sister-in-law.” Then he leaned in just as Katie was heading out the door. “And bonus, Rachel’s a wedding planner. I have a feeling that might come in handy one day soon.”
* * *
Sam paced the two-thousand-square-foot space that he’d stood in just days earlier with Ginny and Bernard. They were still debating between this space and the one next door, but had put earnest money on both, just in case. With that deal, it put the mall occupancy at 90 percent—making Hank very, very happy with his new Realtor. Only one more space to fill and Sam would have accomplished his goal. If this next client worked out, that was.
His ten o’clock was running late. He’d called the office and asked for more information, but the receptionist said she didn’t have any details about who was meeting him, or have a call-back number. Weird, but he’d met eccentric investors who did that kind of thing from time to time. He just hoped the meeting wouldn’t be a complete waste of his time.
He had called Katie and texted her several times after she’d left his house last night, but she hadn’t responded. For all he knew, she was already on the road back to Atlanta.
It was Tuesday, and Della had agreed to watch his kids this week until he found a new nanny. If he could tie everything up with the properties he was showing by Friday morning, then he could pick the kids up after Libby got out of school and take a road trip to Georgia. The woman he had made love to, the woman he had laughed with on the beach, that woman was the one he loved—and the same one that he was sure was scared to settle down.
She’d been wounded by the loss of her baby, and he could understand why she would see that as somehow her fault. But she was wro
ng, and he intended to spend as much time as it took to show her that.
The door to the shop opened and Sam pivoted around. His heart leaped into his throat and he had to blink to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Katie.”
“Hi.” She gave him a shy smile, then stepped inside. The door shut again with a soft whoosh. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. But I have an appointment—” He stopped talking when he noticed her smile widen. “You’re the appointment?”
She put out her arms and shrugged. “Blame Colton, the closet matchmaker.”
Sam laughed. “Your brother’s become a big romantic since he met Rachel.”
“Tell me about it. He’s practically a walking Nicholas Sparks novel now, except with a happy ending.” She walked around the room, looking up at the tall ceilings with their exposed pipes and oversize pendant lights. She was wearing jeans today, with little heeled boots and a short-sleeved blue sweater. She looked incredible and beautiful, and it took everything he had not to sweep her into his arms. “So, if someone were interested in renting this place, what would it have to offer?”
“You mean, someone who is interested in staying in Stone Gap and maybe opening up an office?” He grinned, then shifted into business mode when she didn’t reply. Okay, so that joke went flat. Best to focus on business. “It’s a standard triple-net lease, utilities included. The anchor store is opening in three weeks, which should drive a lot of traffic to this end of the mall. The entire space is customizable to your needs and there’s a loading dock right out back.”
“Sounds...promising.” She’d stopped walking and now stood in the center of the room.
Sam crossed to her and tried to read Katie’s mind. She was an enigma right now. He couldn’t decide if she was seriously interested in the space, making small talk or speaking in some kind of code about them. He opted for the third possibility and hoped he wasn’t going to look like a fool in the end. “It is a promising deal,” he said. “It has a lot to offer, but you have to move quickly. There’s more than one interested party.”
“There is?”
He nodded. “They’ve already made an offer. They want it to be a long-term deal, even though it’s really risky, because it’s a brand-new venture for them.”
The room was wide and empty, almost symbolic in its blankness. It could be a new beginning—for a business owner, for a shop operator or for him and Katie. He held his breath, waiting, not yet ready to bank on anything.
“What made them lock into a long-term deal?” Katie asked.
“They’re either fools or optimists,” he said. “I prefer to go with the optimists’ option.”
She laughed softly. “And I’m thinking they’re fools. If it’s a new venture and you don’t have the data to back up your decision, better to not take the risk. Especially not a long-term risk.”
Were they talking about the commercial space or about them? “Sometimes the best option is just to take the leap.”
She cocked her head and studied him. “But what if you don’t know what’s on the other side?”
“None of us know what’s on the other side, Katie.” He took her hand in his. She didn’t pull away. Hope bloomed in his chest. He’d spent too many months stuck in thick mud, not moving forward or backward.
He thought of the picture of Wendy that Libby had been holding in the castle. His wife had always been one to live every day with gusto, because she’d said she was never sure what tomorrow would bring. She wouldn’t want him to stay in the mud—she would want him to move forward, to grab today, because tomorrow could bring something unexpected. The last bits of his guilt ebbed, and he took a step closer to Katie. To a new future. “Life is short, Katie. That’s one thing I have learned in spades in the last year and a half. You need to take the risk.”
“But what if I screw up?” Her grip tightened on his, and her face creased with worry. “In accounting, all the numbers add up, even out. That’s not how it is with love, with kids. With a family.”
He remembered feeling that way before his kids were born, and then letting that fear get in his way after the day Libby got away from him in the grocery store. He thought of how many things had changed in the last few days, and how the children he loved had come back around. Things were different now, and for the first time in a long time, he could see brightness on the horizon. Katie had been the one to foster those changes, to open his heart again. He wished she could see that. “Nothing is ever gonna line up perfectly with kids, with the people you love. But that’s what makes it so great. Life is messy and complicated, but all you have to do is love each other, and it’ll all be okay.”
It was the lesson he had finally understood sitting in the turret of the playground castle. Libby just needed him to love her, to be there, to set her world to rights again.
Katie turned away and started walking the perimeter of the room again. Putting distance between them, every time they got close. “This space has good bones,” she said. “And with a little renovation, it could be perfect. It’s worth it, though, isn’t it? To do the work?”
“Yes, it is. Then you can get what you really want.” He sighed. She really was just talking about the rental space. He tried to mask his disappointment, but it sat like a stone in his gut. “We can work with whatever renovation timeline you have. Though you might want to look at one of the other two properties I still have available. Like I said, this one has an offer on it already.”
She pivoted back toward him. “I don’t want any other properties. I want this one.”
“I can’t...” He took two steps closer and saw the mischief lurking in her eyes. Again, his heart leaped, held, cautious. “You want this one?”
She put a hand on his chest and smiled up at him. “This one right here. And no other.”
“But what about Atlanta and your job?”
“They need accountants here. In fact, I called the firm in downtown Stone Gap on my way over and I have an interview later this afternoon.” She looked scared and excited all at once. “I don’t have a job offer or a plan, so there are no guarantees, but it’s a step. And if a job with another firm doesn’t work out, I can always go out on my own.”
“That’s great.” He tried to work up some enthusiasm. She hadn’t mentioned him or if they had any kind of future together. “So...you’re thinking about staying in Stone Gap?”
“I’d like to make it a permanent move. My very wise and bossy brother lives here, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law. I want to be the terrible auntie who spoils their kids rotten.”
Again, no mention of him. It was almost more painful to stand here. For a second there, Sam had thought she was talking about wanting him, wanting them. But now... “That sounds great. I bet Colton will be happy.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Would you be happy if I stayed in Stone Gap and spoiled Colton’s kids?” she said.
“First of all, I am totally on board with spoiling Colton’s kids as long as it involves a drum set to make up for the bongos he bought my kids for Christmas.” Sam closed the gap between them and settled his hands on her waist. She didn’t back away, and the hope in his chest grew. “Secondly, nothing would make me happier than for you to live permanently in Stone Gap. If...if we were together.”
Her gaze softened, and a smile curved across her face. “I’m tired of running away, Sam. I want...a life I can depend on. A life I build and take the time to enjoy.”
He drew her to him, and murmured against the soft locks of her hair, “Then stop running, Katie.”
“I’m still scared.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. Their eyes met, held. “Me, too. But I don’t want to put my life on hold anymore because of what might happen. I want to live in the present.”
“Me, too.” Katie’s smile widened
, and Sam thought he would love nothing more than to see that smile every day of his life. “I love you, Sam Millwright.”
She loved him? The words lifted his heart, filled him with joy. “I love you, too, Katie, even if you are completely overqualified to be with me.”
“Completely overqualified?”
“I don’t think you’re right for the nanny job,” he said, and paused a beat when confusion filled her gaze. “I think you should be my wife.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “But what if I can’t have any more children? What if—”
He placed a finger on her lips. “That’s not a requirement for being my wife, Katie. I want you, and the magic you’ve brought back to my life, to my kids’ lives. I want to laugh with you and eat pizza with you and find treasures on the beach with you. For the rest of my life.”
“I already found the best treasure,” she said. “Right here.” Katie leaned into his chest, listened to his heart beat. Sam held her tight, in an empty space that would someday hold someone else’s future, and for the first time in her life, Katie stayed exactly where she was, and began to put down roots.
Epilogue
Eighteen months later
Bright balloons waved in the slight breeze, while the sound of children’s laughter rang like bells across the lawn. Stone Gap Lake sparkled in the spring sunlight, the water beckoning, even if it was still too cold to swim.
The house Sam had bought years ago was finally restored, after months of hard work by Savannah Barlow and her crew. Today was the official housewarming, now that Sam, Katie, Libby and Henry were all settled in. There were still some pictures to hang, some pillows to fluff, but overall, the house was a home. The kids loved the lake in their backyard, the room for the new swing set Sam had installed, and the tree house he’d begun constructing last weekend. All of the Barlow boys had been here to help with that one, though it seemed the men had spent more time ribbing each other than actually building. It didn’t matter. Katie had loved looking out the kitchen window and seeing the big family that she’d always wanted, expanding by the minute.