“Yeah. I’ll meet you there.”
This was it. She prayed she would be able to listen without getting defensive or jumping down his throat. Even if she cut him out again after they talked, she at least wanted to be able to say that she listened properly once.
It was full dark by the time Fay got into her dad’s car at her mom’s house and a breeze was coming up. Nothing like the microburst that had happened earlier in the week, thank goodness. She didn’t think her building could stand to lose any more shingles right now, and she knew her budget wasn’t up to replacing the roof before next spring.
Fay settled into her dad’s old Acura. It looked like it had seen much better days and she wondered if he ever looked at it and wished he’d charged her something for the café— he would be better off financially if they had sold it to someone else who could pay close to the going rate.
He backed out of the driveway and turned toward the center of town. “How do you like being back in Echo Ridge? I know you were chomping at the bit to get out to begin with.”
“I think that was more about needing independence than it was about town. Then again, high school wasn’t exactly a picnic.”
“I don’t think it is for anyone, but I’m guessing it must have been more than the average bad for you to take off like that. Your mom was... well, not thrilled about it.”
Fay chuckled lightly. “That was an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. She was livid. She threatened to keep me from leaving town, but I was eighteen, so she couldn’t do anything about it.”
“I’m glad your relationship with her is better.”
“Me too.” Fay thought about how it had changed over the years. “Sometimes I wish I could change the way things were back then. I can see now that she wasn’t trying to control me or run my life, she was worried about me.”
“We’re the independent type, needing something that’s our own, that we’re in control of. I can understand you needing that then.”
Fay bristled and had to clamp her jaw shut. She forced herself to push the questions down to a more moderate level before voicing them. “Is that why you left us? Because you were the independent type?” In that case, did she have a chance at making any relationship succeed?
“I could say yes— two years ago I would have said yes— but it would be an excuse. Having an independent streak certainly didn’t help, but it didn’t have to destroy my marriage or every relationship since. That was me, not wanting to bend and make accommodations. Your mother bent over backward for a long time. When she reached her breaking point, I couldn’t see what I was doing to her. One day she let me get away with anything, and a few days later she said we needed to re-evaluate and find a way to make the relationship work. I admit, I felt like it had come out of the blue, but it hadn’t. When I looked back later, I could see that I had been pushing her harder and harder to accommodate me, but I hadn’t seen any reason to do the same for her. No relationship would work that way.”
“That was why you left? I thought it was a woman.”
“It was a woman, but she was a symptom of the problem, not the cause of it.” His hands gripped the steering wheel, turning white as he headed up the canyon.
Fay wished she had something to hold onto like he did. She felt her fingernails biting into her palm as she tried to hold on to the confusion, anger, frustration and questions boiling inside her. There would be time for all of that later. “So you two had problems, she wanted a more balanced relationship, so you went elsewhere for emotional support?”
Sam nodded once, as if unhappy to admit it. “It was selfish and stupid— I didn’t love her. I didn’t stay with her for long after I left your mom. I was being forced to be a grownup in my marriage and didn’t want it, so I looked for a different relationship that would provide the fun and easy life I was looking for.” He glanced over at her quickly, then back to the road. “Here’s the thing— that kind of relationship doesn’t make you happy, it only fills a void for a while. It appears to be real and good, but it takes more to create the kind of love and trust that makes a relationship worth having.”
She took that in, considering how it applied to her parents, how it applied to her relationship with Austin. Was she ready to be serious, to meet someone halfway? She would have to think that through later.
After a long moment, she said, “That explains what happened with you and Mom, and I appreciate the honesty— I’m sure it took a long time to be able to admit it to yourself, never mind to tell me. It’s just... that doesn’t explain why you disappeared from my life too.”
Trees flew past them and the moon peeked out behind the clouds before disappearing again while the silence stretched between them. Fay was starting to wonder if he was going to answer at all.
“I don’t have an excuse for that. At first, I think I did it because I was mad at your mom, even though the divorce was mostly my fault. I didn’t want to see her, and it was easier to not see her if I didn’t see you. Then I got some distance and convinced myself that you were better off not being torn between us. Especially after she remarried. Mom talked about how well you were doing and how great Mike was for you.”
“He always has been, but I needed my dad,” Fay said. “The guy I had always idolized. You know, I blamed mom for the divorce for a long, long time. I needed you.”
“Of course you did, and I totally failed you. Then I tried to reconnect with you, but I wasn’t ready to come clean about everything yet.”
“And I told you to be straight-up honest or not to bother me.”
“Right. Then you moved to New York City. I’m good at making excuses for why I wasn’t there for you. I’m less great at just being there, but I’m working on it. I’d like to work on it, if you’ll let me.”
Fay turned to stare out the window, thinking it through, trying to decide how much she wanted to forgive and forget, or if letting the past go even required her to forget. They could move forward and feel their way through everything, couldn’t they?
“Are you thinking over there or should I take this as a bad sign?” His voice had gone up a few notes with nervousness.
She felt bad, not wanting to leave him hanging. “Sorry, I was thinking about where that leaves us and what I want. I want to believe that all of this coming out means that you’ve changed. Mom thinks you have. That would mean that I could try starting again. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.”
His hands loosened and tightened again on the steering wheel. “I understand that.”
It was her turn to be honest. “I guess you’re not the only one who doesn’t like to be pushed out of their element. For so long I’ve been sure I don’t care and don’t want to know. But lately I’ve been working on letting the past be the past and focusing on here and now.” She had started dating Austin— if that hadn’t taken a change of perspective, she didn’t know what would. “I guess what I’m saying is that though I’m not ready to be best friends, I’m willing to meet you part way, to give you a chance to prove that you’ve actually made a change. And I’ll try to give you the benefit of the doubt if you still want to try being my dad, despite the fact that I’m stubborn and obnoxious.”
“I wouldn’t say obnoxious.”
She smiled. “So what have you been up to lately?” They talked all the way up the canyon, past the ski resort to the lake where he had taken her canoeing the summer before fourth grade.
On the way down the mountain, she saw that the lights were off at the ski shop and thought of Austin. They needed to talk, but apparently she would have to wait until the next day. She wondered where he was— it wasn’t that late yet, the café wouldn’t close for nearly an hour.
IT WAS ALMOST ELEVEN that night before Fay finished with the baking and counting out deposits from the café and the booth at the Harvest Hurrah. She was worn out, but after going back over everything a dozen times while she baked— not to mention all of the times she had recanvassed her conversation with Austin a couple days earlier—
she knew she couldn’t sleep.
She needed to talk to him. Tonight.
Would he be at the shop, or did he have a date with one of the dozen or so women who had been flirting with him at the fair today?
Fay decided to take a chance and head to the ski shop— it couldn’t be worse to know he wasn’t around than it was to wonder and hope and have the things she wanted to say eat at her.
After she dropped her deposits at the bank across the street, Fay headed up the canyon. It was funny how hard it was to come up with the right words, to figure out the best way to tell someone you loved them, that you wanted to be with them even after you yelled at them and pushed them away a couple of days earlier.
What had she been thinking, anyway? She honestly wasn’t sure anymore.
Fifteen minutes had never taken so long, but finally she pulled into the back parking lot for the ski shop. Both Austin and Bret’s cars were parked in the back lot, so at least she knew they had to be there.
The air echoed with the quiet as she got out of her car and approached the door. There were no bullfrogs singing or owls hooting. The wind was completely still— it was as though the whole earth was holding its breath with her.
She stopped in front of the door, her arm poised to knock, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Would they hear it through the door?
Fay rapped her knuckles on the wood and waited while the small glow she could see through a nearby window turned into a full glare.
“We aren’t open yet, we don’t have cash register money,” Austin’s voice called through the door.
“I’m fully aware of that.” Fay smiled, wondering if anyone who was trying to rob them would bother to knock— or believe it without proof.
The door unlocked and Austin stared out at her. “You. I didn’t expect you. Especially tonight. You must be ready to drop.” He wore a soft t-shirt and sweat pants, like she had roused him from bed.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t sleep without talking to you first.”
“Okay.” His tone was guarded, uncertain.
“Who is it?” Bret’s voice cut into the conversation from the other room.
“Your older and wiser sister.” Fay hoped he stayed where he was.
No such luck. “What’s going on? Is everything okay? Isn’t it like, hours past your bedtime?”
“Everything is fine but I wanted to talk to Austin. Privately.” Fay waited a moment for Bret to get the hint, but when he didn’t, she pulled Austin outside and shut the door behind him.
Now that she had him alone she wasn’t sure how to begin, so after a few wordless moments, she said the first thing that came to mind. “Sorry, I know the timing sucks. I’m sorry for the stupid things I said the other night, and for getting mad at you for having an opinion and for caring enough about me to share it. I’m sorry I was so defensive about my dad and that I let him get in the way. I’m sorry— ”
She didn’t get out any more words because Austin had snatched her up and pulled her in for a big kiss. His arms cradled her gently against his chest and his hands slid down to where her shirt and jeans met.
Fay popped up onto her toes to get a better angle on the kiss and leaned in for more, loving the moment and wanting to prolong it a bit more before they finished the conversation.
They lingered over the kiss for a long moment, before they pulled back.
“I thought I was going to have to come begging at your booth tomorrow. I stopped by the café after I knew you had left the fair, but you weren’t there.”
“Maria never mentioned seeing you.”
“I told her not to, that I’d catch up with you later.”
“I was out with Sam. My dad. We talked.”
“Really? That’s great. How did it go?” He hooked his thumbs in her belt loops to keep her close, but leaned back to watch her face.
“Not bad. He didn’t have an excuse, a reason that made everything better. I wanted one, but he didn’t even try. I think I’m actually relieved about that because there wasn’t an excuse and trying to find one would have been worse. Instead, he was open and honest about screwing up, and what happened. He wants to try, to start again.”
“And what do you think?”
Fay could hardly believe Austin was so patient, kind, and sweet, coaxing her to discuss it in her own way without judging her actions. How had she not seen this part of him before? “I want to try too. I won’t be jumping in with both feet, but I figure I could test a few toes. To start anyway.”
“That’s great. I hope it all works out for the two of you. I didn’t think you would break past your misgivings so quickly.”
She couldn’t let him think she had flip-flopped so easily. “It was Uncle Jeremy.” She told him about their conversation and how it had changed her perception of her father. “I don’t know if I would have responded so quickly if you hadn’t softened me up first, though.”
“Softened you up? Is that what I was doing?” Thankfully, amusement lit his eyes. “And now that minor issues like your dad coming back and wanting to join your life are over?”
She slid her fingers into the soft, short curls at the nape of his neck, loving the way they tickled her skin. “Now I get to focus on you. And me. And us.”
“I was afraid for a day or two that there might not be an us anymore.”
“That’s silly. If there’s a you and a me, how can there ever again not be an us?” She leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think I could do without you now.”
“Good, because I have no intention of letting you go.” Austin tipped her head back so their eyes met. “You’re crazy and funny, beautiful and brave, with a heart big enough to fill this whole county, and I love you, Fay.”
Her lips curved as she reveled in the words she had hardly known she longed to hear from him. “I love you too. Don’t go anywhere, will you?”
“Why would I do that when being home is having you in my arms?” He leaned down and kissed her again.
Fay tightened her arms around his neck and marveled in the fact that it had all started with a kiss.
Filling:
4 cups fresh peaches
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Pie crust
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tbsn white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crust: Mix the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the flour until it is uniform. Mix the egg and vinegar in a cup and blend into the flour mixture. Pie crust tip: once you add the liquids, you want to handle the crust as little as possible, but before adding the liquids, you can mix it as much as you like.
Split the dough into two balls and roll them out. Line the bottom of the pie pan with the first crust and prick the sides and bottom with a fork. Then spread in the peaches. Sprinkle the other ingredients evenly across the top. Top with a second crust and crimp the edges and bake for about an hour, or until crust starts to turn golden.
HEATHER TULLIS has been reading romance for as long as she can remember and has been publishing in the genre since 2009. She has published more than twenty books. When she’s not dreaming up new stories to write, or helping out with her community garden, she enjoys playing with her dogs and cat, cake decorating, trying new jewelry designs, inventing new ways to eat chocolate, and hanging out with her husband.
Learn more about her at her website and sign up for her newsletter at http://heathertullis.com/, her Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/HeatherTullisBooks, or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tullisheather/
LINDY MARCHANT SLOWLY BLINKED her eyes open to the fall morning light. What was that sound? It seemed to be urgent, coming from somewhere above her head.
“Lindy? Come on, girl, you’re too old to sleep in this late. Twenty-seven is not the new seventeen.”
; Lindy blinked twice more to find Shennedy in her vision, with her accompanying unruly blonde up-do.
“Ah, she lives. Up and attem’, cousin dear.” Shennedy mercilessly pulled back the white and gray duvet. Lindy curled the pillow against her. “That’s right, it’s time for your self-imposed hibernation to finish. Even the black bears don’t go in for another few months.”
She lay back on the pillow. “I’m still in recovery.”
“Recovery, my eye. From that shark? Damon Hunter isn’t worth recovering from for more than five minutes. Six, tops.” Shennedy threw her arms out toward the large window in the tiny bedroom. “Look at the gorgeous blue sky— I need to design a room with that color. And fall leaves ready to crunch under your feet. The morning sun to tickle your face.” She turned back to Lindy with one hand on her curvy hip, the other moving the sunlit blonde hair from Lindy’s eyes. “That’s the last of my happy girl scout talk. Get your backside up and dressed. I need you ready in half an hour.”
“What for? I’m supposed to be resting and easing my way back into real life, courtesy of your invitation. And your exact words.”
Shennedy picked up a discarded shirt and two empty water glasses. “And you’ve done that, for almost a week. And now I need you to go to a meeting for me.”
“A meeting?” Lindy sat up. “You know that I’m done with meetings, that whole fast-paced life thing, remember?”
“Well, meetings in Echo Ridge aren’t exactly fast-paced.”
“No, Shen. I’m here to help you clean out and move forward your ‘limping along’ antique shop— also your words. No meetings were to be required, especially after what’s happened.”
A shirt thrown in Lindy’s face was the only response. “Listen, you need to be at the Echo Ridge Library at 10 a.m., sharp— Marian might attend and she does not like tardiness.”
Kisses Between the Lines: An Echo Ridge Anthology (Echo Ridge Romance Book 2) Page 41