Becca was tired of yuck. She was a happy person. A smiler, as her dad called her. He sometimes told her that her smile could calm seas and stop storms. All she knew was that life was better when one chose to see the good in it. Besides, there were plenty of people only seeing the bad, and she liked to be different from the crowd.
“So, I know this is a weird time to bring it up, but there’s something else going on in my world,” Rave said.
“Beyond Tuck and the donor thing?”
Rave nodded, and Becca sensed the heaviness. She placed a hand to his cheek. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Why didn’t you tell me?” Gob of yuck, getting ready to fall.
“Yesterday I found out my mom is alive. She’s off drugs and staying here in town for a month.”
Becca shook her head to clear it, wondering which part she’d heard wrong. “She’s alive?”
“Yeah.”
Her free hand cupped his other cheek. “Are you OK?” Becca’s gaze shot to the house. “Oh my gosh, and Tuck! Is Tuck all right with this?”
Rave grinned. “You’re beautiful.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. How could he be talking about how beautiful she was when life had just thrown him yet another curveball? “Rave, please stay on topic.”
“I’m still in shock. Tuck is really happy to see her. For him, all the years of pain and betrayal just . . .”
“Just what?” Becca pressed.
“Disappeared, I guess. He thinks he’s dying soon, and I suppose it’d be more important to make your peace than to hold to your principles of not forgiving someone who hurt you. Especially someone you love.”
“Everything’s a risk, isn’t it?”
Rave pulled her to him. “Seems so.”
“Your mom got here yesterday? Did she call you and let you know she was here?” She had so many questions. Best to start at the beginning.
“She showed up on the doorstep. We had no idea she was coming. She’s at the motel in town.” Rave’s demeanor changed as he was talking, evidence of the toll his mother’s arrival was taking.
“Ugh. That awful place?” Becca wished she hadn’t said that the moment the words left her mouth. More problems, he didn’t need.
Rave chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m going to move her out of there. She’ll be staying in Ashley’s apartment.”
Something cold zipped into Becca’s stomach. “Ashley?”
Rave brushed a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I talked to her earlier this evening, and she insisted. She shares your opinion of the motel.”
Becca wanted to correct him and tell him that she and Ashley had nothing in common. But what really bothered her was that Ashley knew about Rave’s mom before Becca. That felt out of balance, but she tried to ignore it. Ashley called frequently to talk to Daniel. It wasn’t like Rave had called her to share his news. Was it? Becca shook off the feeling. Rave and Ashley were over. Still, she wondered why he hadn’t called Becca when he first found out.
Rave slid a hand down her arm. “You OK? You seem a little distant all of a sudden.”
“I’m just wondering why you told Ashley before me.” This was something Becca needed to know because she was diving in headfirst with Rave. There were some things in a relationship that needed to be between the couple first. Not the couple and the ex. Becca wasn’t trying to be possessive, but if Rave’s natural instinct in a crisis was to run to Ashley, that was something Becca needed to know.
“Becca, I’m sorry. She called a few hours ago, and I guess she could tell I had a lot on my mind. When she asked what was up, it never occurred to me not to tell her what was going on.”
Becca chewed her cheek. “If you would have called me, I would have come over. There’s so much on your plate with Daniel, Tuck, and even the memorial. And now, your mom is here.”
He grinned. “I’ve got strong shoulders.”
“I know. But the best part of a good relationship is having someone to lean on.”
Rave’s look was unreadable. “You’re right. I should have told you first.”
“I’m not trying to make things more difficult for you. But we’re still finding our way as a couple. I want us to have a solid foundation.”
Rave’s brows tipped into a frown. “So do I, Becca. And Ashley is a—complicated—ex. I handled it poorly. From now on, you know things first. I swear.”
The frustration she’d felt moments ago melted, leaving a warm pool of affection in its place. Yuck obliterated. Becca threaded her fingers together at the back of his neck. “Now, are you going to kiss me good night, or do I have to beg?”
There was a growl deep in his throat, one that sent a fresh flash of heat down Becca’s spine. “Bad word choice?” she said in a small voice.
“Yes, if you’re afraid of being danger close.”
She pressed into him. “I’m beginning to like danger close.”
“You know, you don’t have to leave. Daniel and Tuck are both in bed. They’ve been asleep for over an hour.” Slowly, Rave moved away from her, but only enough to slip his hand down her arm and grasp her fingers. With a fear-destroying smile, he tugged her gently toward the house.
It was then that they heard the scream.
CHAPTER 17
By the time Rave and Becca made it to Daniel’s room, Tuck was already flipping on the light. He hurried over and dropped to the edge of Daniel’s bed.
Daniel’s head thrashed against the cotton blanket. His face was covered in sweat, and his brow was furrowed. Tuck wasted no time scooping the mound of blankets and boy into his arms. “He’s having a nightmare,” Tuck said over his shoulder. He held Daniel close and rocked him.
Rave stuttered to a stop at the foot of the bed with Becca at his side.
“Sshh. It’s all right,” Tuck whispered, moving his craggy hand over Daniel’s head. “It’s all OK, Daniel.”
A whimper came from the child, and Rave moved forward, wishing he could soothe Daniel, but Tuck had him bundled against him so completely, there was little Rave could do but stand beside Becca and watch.
Tuck cradled Daniel’s tiny head against his chest. He nodded to Rave. “He’ll be all right. Just frightened.”
Rave offered an uncertain nod. Tuck looked perfectly at home holding the little boy. Did this kind of wisdom come with age? It certainly didn’t look like the first time Tuck had done this. It probably wasn’t. After all, Tuck had raised Sharon. Still, those protective instincts must have come to Tuck instantly and without a second thought for him to have so readily scooped Daniel into a sheltering hold.
Daniel’s eyes finally opened.
Rave dropped to his knees so he could look at Daniel eye to eye. “It’s OK, buddy. Just a bad dream.”
Daniel’s mouth turned into an upside-down bow, and giant tears filled his eyes. “But it seemed soooo real.”
Rave kissed his forehead. Tuck kept his grip on the boy swallowed in blankets, one leg dangling off the edge of the bed. Tuck whispered, “That’s the thing about dreams—they seem real, but they’re not. You’re OK. Rave is here, and I’m here, and we won’t let anything hurt you.”
Daniel blinked up at Tuck. “You promise?”
Rave had never taken notice of the differences between Tuck and Daniel’s skin, but now the dissimilarities were glaring. One lined with age and spots, one so new it nearly glowed. They were the very contrast of life and death. Seeing them made Rave realize the mortality Tuck was facing. It brought it too close to home, like a sudden slap in the face. A rush of emotion surprised him—a runaway thought urging him to fly downstairs and call Tuck’s doctor and set up the transplant for the immediate future. But he knew that was impossible. He’d have to wait until Ashley returned. There was no other way.
Tuck adjusted Daniel on his lap. “Now, do you want to talk about that dream?”
Daniel chewed his cheek, causing his little mouth to quirk from side to side. “I guess. In my dream my mommy went away. And she never ever came back.”
T
he following morning Tuck called Sharon and asked her to come over. Becca, Rave, and Tuck had talked late into the night about Daniel. Tuck knew Daniel was feeling abandoned by Ashley. Even though she called frequently, it wasn’t the same as her being there in the flesh.
Tuck knew, because years ago, when Rave was a baby and his mother lived with Tuck and Millie, Rave would have the same kinds of anxieties. Sometimes Sharon would disappear for days, once for three weeks. And every time, little Rave was left to wonder if his mother still cared. But Sharon was different now. Tuck knew that as well as he knew his last name.
Morning sunshine filtered through the sliding door, lifting some of the heaviness from the house. This house had seen too many sad days. Too many hard days. It was time for some good memories again. “I called your mom. She’s coming over.” He said this in a matter-of-fact tone as he watched his grandson pour a cup of coffee for each of them.
Rave walked toward him but stopped just inside the living room. “She doesn’t need to be here, Tuck. You said we’d spend the day thinking of ways to help Daniel with how much he misses his mom. Pretty sure we can do that on our own.”
Tuck’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yep. And of all of us, Sharon is the only one who has raised a small boy. Like it or not, she may be able to help.”
Tuck watched Rave chew on those words and swallow them—bitter as they tasted, he knew Rave couldn’t argue.
The two men sat in the living room instead of on the back deck, their usual habit. “Daniel still sleeping?” Tuck asked.
Rave nodded. “He’ll probably sleep late. It was a long night for him.”
“For all of us.” Tuck didn’t mention the mysterious sensation he’d had after Daniel told them about his dream. Tuck couldn’t allow that notion to take root. It was just a dream. The dream of a small boy who missed his momma. Nothing more.
They’d barely finished their first cup of coffee when the phone rang in the kitchen. Rave stood and crossed the room. He didn’t say it, but Tuck knew he was hoping it was Sharon canceling her visit.
“Ashley. I’m surprised to hear from you so early.”
The boy talked on, and Tuck tried to eavesdrop. He mostly failed and cursed his bad hearing on his old age. He’d barely made out one word of every three. He stood when Rave returned from the kitchen.
“The yacht is in dry dock. Something wrong with the engine.” Tuck could see Rave sorting through the details and that he didn’t like the picture it drew.
“Does that affect Ashley’s job?”
Rave forced a hand through his hair. “Yeah. It’ll be a few weeks before the boat is seaworthy. Her boss has paid the crew for the entire season.”
Tuck should feel relieved. He didn’t. He knew there was more going on. “So, is she coming home?”
Rave shook his head. “No.”
Tuck had left the front door open, but the knock on the door frame took his attention away from Rave. A tentative-looking Sharon stood on the other side of the screen door. His heart leaped. It was still hard to believe she was really there. His girl. His daughter, the one he’d given up hope of ever seeing alive again, as real as the floor beneath his feet and the roof above his head. He motioned her in. Her eyes skated to Rave, and in them was the hope that Rave, too, would welcome her.
But Rave dropped silently onto the couch. Tuck gave Sharon a quick rundown of what had transpired last night and how Rave had just gotten off the phone with Ashley.
Sharon and Tuck remained quiet. It seemed as if a silent conversation was going on in Rave’s head. Finally, he said, “I told her that Daniel had done really well with her being gone until lately. I told her about his nightmare. I said, ‘Maybe it’s good that this boat breakdown happened. He’s really missing you.’”
Tuck folded his hands in his lap. “What did she say?”
“She said she met someone in Costa Rica. He’s a friend of her boss, and she and this guy hit it off instantly. She’s traveling with him to Bermuda for a weeklong conference.”
“Instead of coming home early.” Tuck was getting the picture. Sharon was, too, if the saddened look on her face was any indication.
Rave shook his head. “It was a weird conversation. She kept talking about how she needed time. Time to be herself. She said she had an amazing opportunity to travel and see some of the world—”
“Some of the world? How long is she planning to be away?” Tuck’s hands grew clammy around the coffee mug.
Rave was pale. “I—I don’t know. She swore she’d be home in time to register him for school, but she said it . . . almost like an afterthought.”
Sharon scooted forward on the chair. “But she will come home eventually, right?”
Rave’s eyes were empty when they landed on her. “She will. Ashley wouldn’t do that to Daniel. She adores him.” But there was the smallest hint of uncertainty. When Rave heard Daniel moving around upstairs, he excused himself and left Tuck and Sharon to talk.
Sharon’s gaze landed on her father. “Do you believe Ashley will come home?” It ripped at her heart to see her son hurting so deeply and not to be able to comfort him. It was, however, a cage of her own making. Still, a mother’s love ran deeper than any ocean.
Tuck gave an almost imperceptible shrug. “I don’t know her well enough to say. Rave wants to believe in her.”
“But is he setting himself up for a fall?”
Tuck rubbed his face. “Let’s not talk about this now, Sharon,” he said, his voice cracking as he fought a sudden surge of emotion. “You’re here.”
She stood from the chair she’d been sitting in and dropped onto the couch with her father. “I’m so sorry it took me this long to come home.” It was a statement meant to cover a multitude of feelings. She was sorry for this and so much more. All she put her parents through, for keeping Rave away, for not being the kind of daughter they deserved.
“Do you want to talk about prison?” Tuck asked.
She could. And probably needed to so that Tuck wasn’t forever wondering about the details of her incarceration. “I was picked up one too many times for drug possession. Finally, I got a judge who wanted to make an example of me. It was a blessing in disguise. If not for prison, I wouldn’t have survived much longer on the streets.”
Tuck reached for her hand, held it between both of his.
“The funny thing was, all along while I was on the streets, I kept telling myself that I was doing the right thing. For you, for Rave. Leaving him, staying out of your life. In the addled mind of an addict, it made perfect sense. Now it sounds as crazy as it was.” She glanced up the stairs. “Do you think I’ve lost him for good?”
“No.” Tuck squeezed her fingers. “No, Sharon. But it’s going to take time. He’s got a good heart, and whether he wants to admit it or not, he loves you. Always has. Always will.”
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
Tuck closed one eye. “Love is always enough. It’s the mortar that holds life together. As you earn Rave’s trust, he’ll remember that.”
Rave and Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs. Sharon glanced up at them and smiled. Her heart nearly burst, seeing her grown son holding the hand of a small child. She’d missed so much of Rave’s life. She could only pray he’d give her the chance to be part of it again.
“Hello, Daniel,” she said. “Are you hungry for breakfast?” One thing she knew about little boys, they were always hungry.
“I guess,” Daniel answered, casting a look up to Rave.
Sharon could easily see the battle going on in Rave’s mind. Finally, he relented. “Daniel, has anyone ever made you pancakes shaped like Snoopy?”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “No. Can you really do that?”
“Well, I can’t,” Rave said. “But this is Miss Sharon. She makes pancakes shaped like all kinds of cartoon characters.”
Rave had extended an olive branch. Sharon would grab it with both hands. “Would you like to help me?�
�� She reached toward Daniel.
“Sure!” Little-boy excitement chased away the last of the sleepiness on his face.
“Come on, let’s make some pancakes.”
Daniel grinned and flattened a hand on the banister as he bounded down the steps.
Rave had a faint smile on his face. When his gaze locked with his mother’s, the smile faded.
While Daniel ate a mound of pancakes, Rave and Tuck discussed their original plans for the day. They were canceled now, all of them deciding that giving Daniel a day of fun might be the best medicine for a lonesome heart. Rave had invited Becca, who had called back and asked if Trini could come along. Sharon remembered Trini from years ago but wondered what Rave’s relationship with Becca was.
“Rave’s redoing the wiring in the cabin, Sharon. That’s where we were headed today.” When Tuck pulled a large pill case from the kitchen cupboard, Sharon frowned. That was a lot of pills. Too many for any healthy seventy-six-year-old. Tuck had gone on chatting about the cabin as he downed a handful. When he was finished, he looked her straight in the eye. “Nothing to worry about,” he said, under his breath. “Old men get sick. Back to what I was saying . . . Rave’s doing a fine job on the wiring at the cabin.”
Sharon turned to her son, her mouth dry and her heart heavy. She needed to form words. “When did you start learning about electrical work?”
Rave downed the last of his coffee and stood to put the mug in the sink. “When I got here.”
The words themselves weren’t combative. It was the way they were delivered. Flat eyes, stiff posture, no emotion. Sharon gripped her own cup a little tighter. She knew this would be difficult. It was going to be a long journey to Rave’s heart. She only hoped it wasn’t too late to find the way.
Sapphire Springs and the gorgeous falls that dumped thousands of gallons of water into its gurgling pool used to be one of Sharon’s favorite places to visit. She’d sat at the base of the falls once, her life ahead of her, her hopes and plans glittering diamonds in a sea of possibilities. Life had changed. What had once been hope turned to despair. Wrong guy. Wrong crowd. An injury that left her an orphan to the sports dreams she’d had.
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