A Magnolia Reunion

by Michelle Major

  “But I leave tomorrow.”

  “I thought you met with the director of nursing at Magnolia Community.” Selena sat forward and placed a hand on Jennie’s shoulder. “The last I heard the plan was to stay in Magnolia.”

  “That was never the plan,” Jenny said tightly. “I don’t have a life here anymore.”

  Nana sniffed. “Hogwash. You belong to this town. It will always be your home.”

  “Does this have anything to do with Lucas?” her mother asked gently. “You haven’t seemed the same since the two of you went to lunch.”

  “It’s not about Lucas,” Jennie lied. The silence that greeted her words was a clear indication that neither woman believed her.

  “Did you tell him how you feel?” Nana demanded.

  “I don’t know how I feel.”

  Nana took her hand, her fingers rough and cool as they squeezed Jennie’s. “You can fool a lot of people, but not your mama and me. We know your heart.”

  Jennie did too. It simply didn’t matter.

  “What’s all this?” She frowned at the row of parked cars along the farm’s narrow driveway. Glancing at her mother in the rearview mirror, she slowed the car. “I thought you’d canceled everything?”

  “You’d done so much work already,” her mother explained. “Your grandmother wanted to go ahead with the celebration so...”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped with the finishing touches.”

  “No offense, dear,” Nana said, grasping her fingers a little tighter. “But you look like you could use a rest. We decided to give you one.”

  Selena cleared her throat. “Actually, Lucas coordinated everything.”

  “Why?” As Jennie parked the car, people began to spill out of the barn. Most of them she recognized but there were new faces as well. It seemed like most of the town had come out to welcome her grandmother home.

  “He called and offered,” her mother said. “Told me it would be a shame for all of your hard work to go to waste if your grandma was up for an appearance at the party.”

  “How could I say no?” Nana winked at Jennie. “I have an obligation to my adoring public.”

  Emotion making her movements jerky, Jennie pulled the wheelchair the hospital had issued to her grandmother from the trunk as Selena helped Nana out of the passenger side.

  A loud chorus of cheers went up through the crowd, and Nana stood a little taller, waving as if she were royalty. She allowed Jennie to help lower her into the wheelchair. The crowd parted to clear a path for them to enter the barn.

  “It’s beautiful,” Nana breathed.

  Indeed, the space was even more magical than Jennie had imagined. Twinkling lights and hanging lanterns gave the barn a warm glow. Containers of colorful flowers added to the festive charm. It was everything she’d hoped to create.

  “Are you doing okay, Nana?” Jennie asked when Anna swiped at her cheeks.

  “Your grandfather would have loved this moment,” she answered as she took Jennie’s hand. “I was lucky to find true love and make a life with him. Nothing would have stopped me from being with him.”

  Jennie drew in a sharp breath at the subtle admonishment. What was she supposed to do about Lucas? He’d kissed her like his life depended on her touch, made her feel like she was essential to his happiness, but then told her not to stay.

  Friends and well-wishers surrounded them then, and Jennie stepped back, hand pressed to her stomach. Memories suddenly pummeled her from all sides. The day that she and Lucas had broken up five years earlier, he’d said her future would be brighter without him in it. At the time, she’d thought he just wanted to be rid of her. In hindsight, she realized his self-doubt had led him to end things.

  He was a different man than he’d been back then, but was it possible he still harbored the same misgivings? He’d always thought she deserved more than he could offer, never realizing he was all she’d ever wanted.

  A hush fell over the crowd, and she looked around to see what had caused the change in the atmosphere. Her gaze found Lucas, who stood next to her grandmother. Tears shimmered in Nana’s eyes as she smiled at Jennie.

  What was happening?

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he said as he came to stand before her, a mix of hope and fear filling his gaze.

  “I know that’s a lie.” A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Even Nana told me I need a rest.”

  “To me, you’re beautiful.” He laced their fingers together and the touch made a sense of calm descend over her. “Always and forever.”

  Forever.

  Could it be? Jennie’s thoughts scattered as warmth pulsed through her.

  “You told me to go,” she couldn’t help but point out.

  A round of boos and hisses greeted her words.

  “I’m an idiot,” Lucas said, shrugging as if helpless to deny it.

  “I can vouch for that,” Gray Atwell called from the edge of the crowd.

  She hid her smile as Lucas sent his best friend a death glare.

  She squeezed his hand. “You were saying something about always and forever.”

  His gaze returned to hers, and in it she saw the future she thought she’d lost but now had found again.

  “You are my forever, Jen. I was a fool to let you go once, and this week I almost made the same mistake. But I can’t lose you. Not without confessing how much I love you. You captured my heart the moment I saw you in Mrs. Bayer’s class.”

  “Lucas Michaels.” A stout woman with a silver-gray bob pushed through the throng of people. “You paid more attention to Jennie than you ever did to multiplication tables.”

  “Sorry, Mrs. B.,” Lucas told their former teacher. “You made math as interesting as you could.”

  Jennie’s nana waved a hand to silence the onlookers. “Let the boy finish.”

  “There’s more?” Jennie leaned in and brushed a quick kiss across Lucas’s mouth. “I think you’ve said plenty. I love you too, Lucas. I want a future in Magnolia. Our future.”

  “No matter what life throws our way,” he promised, “I’ll always be at your side. I’m so lucky to have you and I’m going to spend the rest our lives making you the happiest woman on the planet.”

  “That won’t be difficult,” she said, her heart bursting with happiness. “You’ll always make me happy.” Lucas kissed her again and she savored this moment and the new beginning she’d been given.

  * * *

  Special Excerpt From

  HQN Books

  An inheritance brought her to Magnolia, but love just might keep her there...

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  The Magnolia Sisters,

  the first full-length novel in Michelle Major’s

  brand-new series!

  The Magnolia Sisters

  by Michelle Major

  CHAPTER ONE

  HOW DID ANY sane person survive the South’s oppressive humidity?

  As Avery Keller surveyed the landscape surrounding the gas station just outside of Magnolia, North Carolina, she tried to draw in a deep breath. It felt like sucking air from a hot oven. Thick forest bordered the concrete parking lot, the trees more the pine variety than the town’s namesake. She glanced up at the water tower looming in the distance, the word Magnolia emblazoned on it in thick block letters. The bold designation mocked her, a lofty reminder that her past had been here waiting, even if she’d known nothing of it until a few days prior.

  Almost a week now. One late-August week to process that the story of her life had been a lie because the truth was too callous, even for her aloof and ambitious mother. Avery had struggled with her identity as the daughter of a single mom, whose reckless decision had left her pregnant from a one-night stand with a nameless, random hookup.

  Or not so random after all. As it turned out, Avery’
s father knew about her, at least enough to leave her an inheritance after he died.

  Maybe the humidity wasn’t to blame for the prickly heat crawling under skin. More likely the bitterness that had festered like an open sore on her cross-country trek for the reading of the will. She would have preferred to ignore the summons, to remain unaffected by the news that she wasn’t the fatherless, unwanted girl she’d thought herself to be.

  Fatherless, no. Unwanted, most definitely.

  She shoved the gas pump nozzle into the tank of her Lexus sedan and stalked toward the convenience store, needing caffeine and chocolate in equal measure.

  The stale air inside the shop carried the scent of hot dogs and processed nacho cheese, but it was blessedly cool. She reached for a water but changed her mind at the last moment and pulled a Diet Mountain Dew from the commercial refrigerator at the back of the store, immediately shoving the bottle under her shirt. She gasped at the bite of cold plastic against her skin.

  “Normally people drink that stuff,” a deep voice said from a few feet away. “Although the color’s too reminiscent of antifreeze for my taste.”

  She rolled her head to glare at whoever was offering an unwanted opinion and stifled another gasp. Over six feet of gorgeous man stared back at her. As if the thick brown hair, piercing green eyes and rock-hard body weren’t enough, he was wearing the crisp blue uniform of a firefighter. Avery had always been a sucker for a man in uniform, although she wasn’t about to admit that now.

  Apparently she didn’t need to because one side of his sexy mouth pulled up, like his effect on the fairer sex was a given. No doubt, which only fueled Avery’s irritation. She’d spent the past two and a half days on the road, steaming asphalt and satellite radio her only companions. She’d given up the guise of healthy choices midway across Missouri, and she wasn’t in the mood to take crap from anyone.

  She made a show of studying the slim container of beef jerky dangling between his fingers. “Those who live in meat stick houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

  His half smile widened into a full grin. “Now, darlin’,” he drawled, “I don’t even know your name. Seems a bit premature for you to be discussing my meat stick.”

  She felt her cheeks flame at the blatant innuendo but managed only a lame “in your dreams” as a response.

  He chuckled. “Sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t get out much anymore.”

  “Shocker,” she muttered before heading for the cash register. She added a pack of M&M’s—the peanut variety for protein—and paid the gum-smacking attendant. Halfway to her car, Mr. Beef Jerky caught up with her.

  “I really am sorry for the lousy joke,” he said, matching his stride to hers. His voice was gravelly, the vowels drawn out in typical Southern fashion, and she fought the immediate prick of attraction skittering along her skin at the unnecessary apology for some silly teasing.

  The unsolicited bit of kindness didn’t make him a decent guy and shouldn’t matter either way. She was here to discover why the father she never knew had reached out to her now when he’d never bothered to during his life. Collect her inheritance and put this tiny dot on the map in her rearview mirror.

  Too bad she had no plan for what came next. She’d essentially blown apart her entire life a month ago with her stupid choices. One particular choice involving one specific man.

  Avery wanted to believe she hadn’t inherited her mom’s self-destructive streak when it came to men. The facts—and the lives ruined in her wake—told a different story. She wasn’t about to take a chance again, even for a moment of harmless flirting.

  She stopped next to her car and turned to face him. “Listen, Jim-Bob or Billy-Bob or Bubba or whatever your redneck name is,” she began, loosening the reins on the anger, irritation and misplaced grief she’d been tamping down for days, “you might be hot but I’m not interested in some good ol’ boy who thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

  He cocked a thick brow, but she continued before he could speak. “So why don’t you just saunter off to whatever god-awful watering hole this town has to offer and ply your tired charms on a woman who’s too drunk to care whether this...” She wagged a finger up and down in front of him, “is all you have to offer.”

  When his eyes flashed with something that looked like pain before narrowing, she sucked in a ragged breath. Oh, no. She’d just ripped into a perfect stranger who didn’t deserve her unbridled animosity. Talk about kicking the dog. Shame and regret bubbled up inside her, as familiar as a worn pair of shoes. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he held up a hand.

  “It’s ten in the morning and I’m on duty,” he said, his tone stony. The Southern drawl sounded even more pronounced when laced with temper. “But I sure do appreciate the advice and I’ll keep it in mind for later, darlin’. This was just the reminder I needed of why women like you are a bad bet.”

  Women like her.

  Ouch. She didn’t understand the exact meaning of his words, but they were obviously an insult of the highest order. And one she deserved more than he could realize.

  Which was why she didn’t go after him when he stalked toward the hulking black truck parked near the front of the building, even though guilt ate at her insides. Let him believe she was a raving bitch. Most people from her old life did.

  She glanced at her watch and stifled a groan. She was late for the meeting at the attorney’s office. After her outburst with the hottie firefighter, she had half a mind to skip the reading of the will. With the maelstrom of emotions rioting through her, there was no telling what kind of trouble she’d get into next.

  She put away the gas nozzle, then climbed into the car, leaning into the dash as the air from the vents turned cool once again. Blond hair clung to her sticky neck, and she took the elastic band off her wrist and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. She’d woken today at a hotel in Raleigh and gotten ready like she was heading to the most important business meeting of her life.

  She’d ruthlessly straightened her hair, although she quickly realized how much of a waste of time that had been. No amount of product was going to beat the impact of the late-August heat and humidity. The Calvin Klein pantsuit that normally made her feel confident now seemed like overkill, especially as sweat beaded at the backs of her knees and trickled between her shoulder blades.

  She turned out of the service station parking lot, following the route programmed into the car’s GPS. She’d done her research on Niall Reed. He was commercially successful, critically eviscerated and not man enough to claim his bastard daughter while he was alive.

  Her stomach twisted as she pulled to the curb in front of a brick building near the center of downtown Magnolia. Although the town was picturesque, with colorful flowers bursting from planter boxes along the sidewalk and a predominance of Greek Revival architecture that showcased the area’s history, the streets seemed almost deserted.

  Avery didn’t bother to fix her messy ponytail or re-apply makeup. At this point, what did it matter? She took another swig of Mountain Dew and walked toward the red brick building, clutching the Italian leather portfolio she’d splurged on after her first promotion. The knots in her stomach tightened with each step.

  An older woman with a cotton-ball head of hair looked up from her desk as Avery entered. The receptionist gave her a long once-over then pointed to a closed office door. “They’re waiting for you.”

  “I’m Avery Keller,” Avery told her automatically.

  “Yes, dear,” the woman agreed. “I know who you are.”

  Of course she did. Avery stared at the door like it was a portal to hell. She was being ridiculous. Her life had already been smashed to bits. One meeting wasn’t going to change things that much. Maybe she’d get money. Maybe a painting or two. Perhaps her father left a letter for her, something that would explain why—

  “They’re waiting,” the receptionist repeate
d. “Mr. Damon has to be at the courthouse at eleven.”

  “Right.” Avery straightened her shoulders and moved forward, entering the office as quietly as possible. Not that it mattered. Three sets of eyes turned to her.

  Douglas Damon sat behind an enormous mahogany desk, files piled high on the credenza behind him. He was roughly sixty years old, with a meaty build and salt-and-pepper hair. He stood, pulling a pair of reading glasses from his nose. “You must be Avery.”

  She nodded.

  “Have a seat,” he told her, indicating the empty chair in front of his desk. Avery had never been sent to the principal’s office growing up, but she imagined it felt very much like this moment. Why was she so nervous? She’d done nothing wrong.

  Maybe it was the two women glaring at her from where they sat on either side of the unoccupied chair. But why were there two?

  She recognized Carrie Reed from her photos on the internet. Based on Avery’s research, Niall’s legitimate daughter had served as his assistant and the manager of his art gallery here in Magnolia. Carrie was her half sister. It felt odd...even though Avery had always wanted a sibling. The wasn’t what she’d pictured, a woman with shoulder-length chestnut hair and a pinched mouth who clearly wanted this meeting as much as Avery did. Had Carrie known about her father’s other daughter?

  Who was the third woman? Unlike Avery in her stifling suit and Carrie, who wore a flowing, flowery skirt and soft peasant blouse, the petite brunette wasn’t dressed up for this meeting. On the contrary, her rumpled T-shirt, jeans and heavy-duty work boots seemed like a thumb of the nose to the formality of Douglas Damon’s office. Avery hadn’t discovered anything about a third sister but got the impression that Carrie and the other woman weren’t complete strangers. So what was going on?

  She could feel each of the women throwing some wicked side-eye as she lowered herself into the chair. Her skin itched like it had suddenly grown a size too small for her body, as if she were shrinking under the weight of the critical stares from these two strangers.