by Karen Rock
Twenty minutes later, she and Tyler disembarked.
“Gah!” Tyler shouted, jumping up and down and pulling away from her.
She tightened her hold and gasped when she followed his pointing finger. There, standing amidst a group of suited men, was Daniel in a plaid shirt and jeans, his belt buckle gleaming, holding a sign with the handwritten words Jodi Lynn. Her knees went weak and her pulse leaped like a horse charging out of the starting gate. How she had hated that sign when she’d first seen it. But now it felt like home. He was her home. Had he forgiven her for leaving?
Butterflies took wing in her stomach and flew to her throat, lodging there. Tyler tore loose from her slack grip and raced on tiptoes, Daniel closing the distance before dropping the sign and sweeping her son into a bear hug. He shrieked and smacked Daniel with Ollie until Daniel hugged the elephant, too.
“Love,” Tyler said, and Daniel’s hazel eyes widened as they met hers, the golden flecks in them shimmering against brilliant green.
“Did he just say—”
Jodi nodded, pride taking the place of her jittering nerves. “Yes. He said it on the plane, too. But how did you... Why are you...” She couldn’t process that he was here. Her heart thundered.
“Hey, there!” Sue popped up beside her brother, an impish grin spreading across her narrow face.
Tyler squirmed and Daniel set him down so he could run to Sue.
“Frank had room on his prop plane for me and I came so you two could talk alone. Lucky for us your plane was delayed so we could get here ahead of you.” She laid a hand on Tyler’s head as he clutched her knees. “Mind if I take Tyler and meet Frank in the food court?”
Jodi nodded and watched the two head toward a McDonald’s. When her eyes slid Daniel’s way, his smile made her melt.
“Daniel—”
“Jodi—”
They began at the same time and laughed, the sound mingling with the chattering streams of people.
“Can we go somewhere more private?”
Jodi’s heart soared when he put his hand on her elbow and steered her to a corner near a large window overlooking the runways.
The sun burnished his dark hair and her breath caught at the thought that this handsome, incredible man had traveled all this way to speak to her. Was it simply to thank her for the deed? Or was there more? She hoped it was more.
His eyes leveled on hers, steady. Being looked at by Daniel was like standing in the sun, the warmth a caress on her skin.
He ran his hands up her arm and she shivered, her nerves waking at his touch. “Jodi. I know Cedar Bay’s not your home. But I flew here to tell you that you are mine.”
Her hand flew to her locket, her heart pounding beneath her fingertips. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that wherever you and Tyler are is where I want to be.”
“But I gave you back the deed. You can have your old life back. Your dad will come around and sign the farm over to you. He’s a good man. He just needs to time to realize he was wrong.” Her voice came out unevenly—he was standing very close, near enough that she could feel the warmth of him, smell the dark, rich scent of earth and fresh air.
Daniel’s hands slid down and twined in hers. “I don’t want it. I was stubborn, shortsighted, didn’t see that I don’t need a hometown to feel that I’m home. I just need you and Tyler.”
“Daniel.” Her pulse thundered and she could barely hear her own voice. “I—I don’t know what to say. You see, I—”
“Say you’ll forgive me, Jodi.” His insistent gaze nearly undid her.
“Forgive you?” she choked out. “I nearly destroyed your life.”
“But you didn’t. You gave it back, and that makes you the most selfless, strong woman I know. I love you, Jodi.” Excitement radiated off him like an electric force.
Tears flowed as her heart surged with joy.
“I’ll get a job here,” Daniel continued. “Pay Tyler’s tuition at Wonders Primary. Please, Jodi. Make me the happiest man and tell me that you love me, too.”
Surprise flooded her. He would sacrifice so much to be with her. It meant everything, but she wouldn’t let him do it. It wasn’t right for him, Tyler or her. They belonged in Cedar Bay.
“No.”
His hands dropped hers and he jerked away as if stung.
“I see,” he said, his voice sounding less sure than she’d ever heard it. Defeated. He smiled faintly and bowed his head. “Then I’ll find Sue and Frank and we’ll fly home. I won’t trouble you again.”
She grabbed his arm and he turned sharply on his heel, hope filling his eyes at her smile.
“I meant no, I don’t want you to move to Chicago. I’d already planned to fly back to Cedar Bay.”
“You were coming home to me.” His voice was rough and soft, his eyes blazing.
“Or your cooking,” she laughed, her happiness beyond containing.
“I’ll make you shepherd’s pie.” He swept her into his arms and her pulse stuttered.
“I love you, Daniel.”
His gaze on her felt like a warm caress. “I’ve waited a long time to hear those words.”
“Ten years—”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Longer than that. Since you beat me for best show-and-tell in kindergarten.”
“The albino frog,” she whispered, marveling that he might have cared that long.
“I love you, Jodi.” His voice was firm and sure and it drove out any lingering doubt. “Wherever you are, that’s my home.”
Tears of joy blurred Daniel’s handsome face. A beautiful mirage that she had to touch to make sure was real. She stroked his thick hair, the swell of muscles under the short sleeves of his T-shirt, the broad curve of his back. Waves of energy filled her until she felt dizzy.
“I love you, too,” she said again, thinking she couldn’t say it enough times. “You’re what’s best for me and Tyler. I don’t want to be anywhere that you aren’t.”
“But what about Wonders Primary?”
“Tyler needs a loving family that accepts him. He’ll have that in Cedar Bay.”
“We’ll work together with him, and no matter what, love him just the way he is,” Daniel said with absolute clarity before brushing a kiss along her cheekbone. It was a kiss as light as a blown leaf, but she felt a shiver far down in her bones.
His mouth captured hers in an aching, tender caress that was light at first, and her lips opened automatically beneath the pressure. She forgot the crowd and felt herself go fluid and pliant, stretching upward to twine her arms around his neck. His arms slid around her, his hands knotting in her hair.
Jodi heard the sound of the crowd behind them, a wave of noise, but it meant nothing and was lost in the rush of blood through her veins, the dizzying sense of weightlessness in her body. Daniel’s hands moved from her hair, slid down her spine; she felt the hard press of his palms against her shoulder blades. At last he pulled away, gently disengaging himself, drawing her hand from his neck and stepping back. For a moment Jodi thought she might fall; she felt as if something essential had been torn away from her, and she stared at Daniel, her longtime rival who’d won her heart.
“Let’s get Tyler,” he said, and she was touched that he’d want to spend this special moment with her son.
“There’s Mommy—” Frank and Sue led a teary Tyler their way, his hand clutching a broken Happy Meal toy, the other holding Ollie.
Tyler’s face puckered when he spotted them and he held out the beheaded action figure.
“He wanted Hello Kitty, but the cashier wouldn’t let him have it because he’s a boy and... Hey, are you two together?” Sue looked up from their clasped hands and grinned.
Daniel tightened his fingers around Jodi’s. “Yes. But we needed to ask Tyler somethi
ng first.” He let go and squatted before her son. “Tyler, would you like to go back to the farm?”
“Gah!” he shouted and threw the action figure at the window.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Daniel chuckled, scooping up Tyler with one arm and reaching for Jodi with the other.
Sue’s eyes twinkled. “I’m so glad you’re coming back, Jodi. Both you and Tyler.”
The PA system crackled. “Last call for luggage from Flight 279. Carousel 6.”
Frank slapped Daniel on the back. “I’ll take Sue home since there’s not enough room for all of us. But it looks like you’re doing fine on your own.”
“Thanks, Frank,” she and Daniel chorused, and then after giving Sue a hug they watched the pair disappear into the throng.
“Let’s get your bags,” Daniel said, his long-legged stride making the crowd part as they headed for the shuttle. “And then we’re going back for Hello Kitty.”
Tyler’s head whipped around for that, and when he smiled, Jodi’s heart swelled.
“Can they put the bags on the next flight home?”
“They’d better,” Daniel growled, and he tickled Tyler’s belly, their laughter filling her with joy.
When Daniel stopped suddenly, she bumped into his back.
“I almost forgot.” He handed her Tyler, then reached into a small knapsack and produced something pink and familiar.
Her heart fluttered. It couldn’t be, but it was: the lost flower she’d worn to their class reunion.
He handed her the rose, his hazel eyes aglow.
“Welcome home, Jodi Lynn.”
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Heartwarming title.
You’ve got to have heart…. Harlequin Heartwarming celebrates wholesome, heartfelt relationships imbued with the traditional values so important to you: home, family, community and love.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Heartwarming every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460329795
HIS HOMETOWN GIRL
Copyright © 2014 by Karen Rock
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com