by Nan Dixon
She couldn’t dredge up the strength to push him away. When she lifted her head from her knees, it was almost too heavy to hold up. “Why are you doing this? Why do you keep hurting me?”
“Because you’re the most important thing in my life.” His brown eyes glittered almost black in the fading sunlight. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want you. I can’t want you.” She swallowed. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep letting you break my heart.”
He took her hands.
She should push him away, but her fingers wouldn’t let go.
“I can’t say I won’t hurt you again but I’ll try not to.” Daniel’s brown eyes were serious. “I’ll try to never break your heart, but I probably will. It won’t be because I rejected you. I’ll never do that again.”
Her chest shook. Trusting Daniel was too big a risk. “How can I believe you?”
“Because this is my vow.” He cupped her face. “I will never throw your love away. It is too precious.”
Her breath shuddered out. “You won’t?”
“I should have asked for help, just like you told me. I should have helped Nathan become a stronger manager. I should have kissed you when you told me you loved me.” He shook his head. “I thought my dad did everything by himself, but I forgot he had Mom. He had me.”
She stared at him through a liquid wall of tears.
He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you, but more—I need you.” He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “I need you to center me, keep me from obsessing and remind me to delegate. I need you to be there in the middle of the night when I wake up scared I’m out of control. I need you.”
Her heart broke wide open. She wanted to trust him, but he had hurt her so many times. “Daniel.”
“One last time.” His eyes were solemn chocolate pools. “Forgive me one last time.”
“How can I?”
“What I regret most is destroying our friendship. I don’t know how I can make this up to you, but I will. If I have to spend a lifetime, I’ll make up for the pain I’ve put you through.” He brushed a tear from her cheek, one arm holding her close. “Please marry me.”
She saw the kiss coming and didn’t stop him. His kiss had hope blossoming in her chest. She struggled to free her arms pinned between their bodies.
“Bess,” he protested.
Flinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him and tasted salt. Then she kissed the tears that coursed his cheeks.
As a foolish teenager, she’d loved him without truly knowing him. Now she loved him as a woman. But did she trust Daniel enough to hand him her heart?
* * *
“BESS, HONEY?” DANIEL’S words were soft, but he was screaming inside. He fumbled in his pocket and handed her a velvet box. “Please marry me.”
Her hands shook so hard, he took the box back and flipped the lid open on the ring. The setting he’d picked formed petals and leaves, and the diamond was the center of a flower.
“It’s a flower.” She stared into his eyes.
“It’s the only ring that called take me to Bess.” He cupped her dear face. “Please forgive me. Marry me.”
“I do.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
“Wait, you forgive me or you’ll marry me?” Disbelief filled his voice.
Bess touched his face. Her green eyes swam with tears. “Both.”
Relief spun through him like a gyroscope. His knees wobbled. He brushed kisses behind her ear and down her delicate neck. “How could I be happy without you in my life?”
“Promise—” her neck arched under his lips “—you’ll never reject me again.”
“I promise.” If it took a lifetime, she would understand he’d never reject her again.
Her hand stroked across his heart and down his chest. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
He kissed his wife-to-be. And everything settled in to place. The hole that had been in his heart filled.
“Let’s head over to the apartment. To your bed.” He rolled his hips against hers.
She jerked. “It’s Christmas.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He pulled her tighter. “All day.”
“We have to get back to our families.” Bess’s voice cracked.
“They can’t wait an hour or two?” he complained.
“No.” She raised an eyebrow. “And you haven’t put my ring on yet.”
His world brightened. He pulled the ring from the case. “Once this is on, you’re stuck.”
Her smile grew, and she thrust out her hand.
“My heart.” He kissed her finger before slipping the ring on. It sparkled in the setting sun.
“I love you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and sealed their future with a kiss.
Arm in arm, they headed back to Fitzgerald House, to their families.
“I got my Christmas wish,” Bess said as they walked into the kitchen.
“What was that?”
She hugged Daniel. “I wished for true love. And I found you.”
EPILOGUE
Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.
Oscar Wilde
August
BESS WHEELED HER cart of orchids around the paths between Fitzgerald and Carleton Houses. The moss she’d planted had spread, making the flagstone look as if it had been in place for years.
She took the switchback path to the greenhouse. Colorful vines and flowers spilled over the retaining wall.
The door was open. She frowned. No one should be here.
She slowed, recognizing the man bending over the wood. He had a sculpture-perfect butt, and it was all hers. “What are you doing in my greenhouse, mister?”
Carly woofed from the cool corner she preferred for her nap.
Daniel’s dimple flashed. “I planned to be in and out before you got back from Wilmington Island.”
She moved to where he worked. Her eyes widened. “Shelves? You made me shelves?”
He nodded.
The wood was a gorgeous warm caramel color and the shelves had slats. “They’re lovely, but I don’t know if I can put wet things on them.”
“They’re teak. They’ll take the water.” He ran his finger over the wood. It was as if he traced a pattern on her breast. “I replaced the decking on the sailboat a while back and saved the boards. I thought they’d be good for your orchid collection.”
“They’re fantastic.” Exactly what she needed. And perfect—like him. Her heart flip-flopped. He was perfect for her.
“I love it.” She kissed him, pushing all her love into the kiss. “I didn’t think you heard me asking about shelves last week.”
He plopped a kiss on her nose. “You mean when you were tempting me with your body.”
God, she loved him. “You were doing the seducing.”
“That was last night.” He hugged her. “You seduced me last week.”
And she planned to do it again tonight. She’d found a nightie out on the island that Daniel would love to take off her. “Thank you.”
“You mean for this?” He picked up her hand and her engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight.
“No.” She’d play his game.
“You mean for insisting you move in with me and letting you fill our house with plants?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“For loving you?”
“Always.” She touched his face.
He kissed her. The combined warmth of their love filled her body so full, she wondered why she didn’t float away.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He cup
ped her face. “I love you, too.”
They moved the orchids onto her new shelves. The B and B now used her orchids exclusively, and the reduction in the flower budget had paid for the plants and the greenhouse renovation.
“Perfect.” She took his hand once they finished.
“Mom wants us over for dinner tonight,” he said.
“Sounds good.”
“Actually, she’s invited your family.” Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “We’re having a party.”
She turned and grabbed his hands. “They heard from Samuel’s oncologist?”
He grinned.
“What did he say?”
“The trial worked.” Daniel took a deep breath. “He’s in remission.”
Her joy exploded and tears coursed down her face. “I’m so glad.”
He hugged her. Held her so tight, she couldn’t breathe. And it didn’t matter. She was right where she belonged. In Daniel’s arms.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from RIGHT WHERE WE STARTED by Pamela Hearon.
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Right Where We Started
by Pamela Hearon
CHAPTER ONE
Late August
AN ODD MIXTURE of emotion swept through Audrey Merrill as she opened the wide front door of the iconic redbrick building and led her daughter, Tess, inside. A deep breath filled her head with the unique smell—a combination of the fresh scent of pine cleaner mingling with, though not quite disguising, the odor of musty books, crayons, school glue and seventy-two years of sweaty children returning from recess. The familiar scent, which hadn’t perceptively changed in the twenty-four years since she’d entered these halls as a kindergartner, welcomed her home even while it pinged her heart with memories of the things that had changed.
The unexpected death of her dad most recently.
“This place smells exactly like it did when I was your age.” Pausing just inside, she gave Tess’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
Tess curled her upper lip and sniffed the air, then gave her head a shake, which sent her red curls bouncing. “It doesn’t smell like my old school.”
The comment brought a smile to Audrey’s lips. “Your ‘old school’ was a lot newer than this one.” At least fifty years she figured, considering the newish neighborhood they’d left only two days ago in Titusville, Florida. “That’s your room.” She nodded to the closed door of the first-grade classroom as they passed it, heartened by the exuberant sound of the children within enjoying some fun activity. Obviously, Mrs. Lively was still on top of her game despite being in her sixties now.
Tess bounced on her tiptoes and craned her neck, not tall enough to see through the window of the door on the right.
“You’ll like Mrs. Lively,” Audrey assured her. “She was one of my favorite teachers.”
The classrooms were lined up in order with even-numbered grades on the left and odd-numbered grades on the right. The last door on the right—the one across from the eighth grade—belonged to the office. Just before they opened it, a whiff of fresh-baked cookies floated from the kitchen, which, along with the cafeteria, was housed at the back of the building.
Tess’s eyes widened in appreciation as she took a deep sniff. “I like this school. It smells yummy!”
Marta, the school secretary, looked up from her computer as soon as the door opened. Audrey and Tess had been in Taylor’s Grove barely an hour last month when Marta showed up with her four children, insisting on entertaining Tess while Audrey went to the funeral home and made arrangements. And Pastor O’Malley’s wife, Faith, had been staying around-the-clock with Audrey’s mom, Helen, until Audrey could make the trip from Florida to Kentucky.
Their kindness had been an important factor in Audrey’s decision to move back home.
Marta’s face brightened into a welcoming grin. “Hello, Audrey.” Although she’d lived in the States for several years now, Marta’s Honduran accent still set her apart from the natives of Taylor’s Grove. She moved to the counter and directed her smile in Tess’s direction. “And hello, Tess. We are glad to have you with us.” Her dark eyes filled with question as they moved back to Audrey. “Are you back for good so soon?”
Too soon, Audrey thought, considering the circumstances that brought her back to live in Taylor’s Grove. But she knew it wasn’t what Marta was asking.
“We got things wrapped up in Florida faster than I expected,” she answered. “And just got to Mom and Da—” she paused to correct herself “—um, Mom’s late yesterday afternoon. But I thought the quicker I could get Tess back into school, the less she would have to catch up on.” Although that wasn’t much of an issue. School had started less than a week ago, and her daughter was very bright.
“I am sure she will catch up quickly.” Marta directed her comment to Tess, who nodded in response. The young woman reached under the counter and came up with a set of forms attached to a clipboard, which she handed to Audrey. “You will need to fill these papers out. She is starting today, then?”
Audrey looked at Tess. “What do you think, kiddo?”
“I think yes.”
“Okay, then.” Audrey took the papers and sat down in the chair to fill them out.
Tess pressed her nose against the side light panel by the door. “It smells like cookies out there.”
Marta gave a soft laugh as she came around the counter and held out her hand. “Shall we go to the kitchen and see if Mrs. Workman will let us sneak one out?”
“Yes!” Tess caught her hand and led the way out of the office.
Her daughter was bubbling with enthusiasm about everything this morning, but then, Mrs. Workman’s cookies were worthy of enthusiasm. Being the student picked to take the lunch count to the cafeteria and finding a reward of a warm oatmeal cookie waiting for you was one of the delights of growing up in Taylor’s Grove.
One of the many delights, Audrey reminded herself once again in an effort to convince her conscience this move was the right thing.
Her ex-husband, Alex, had done his best to make her feel guilty for moving Tess away from him and his new wife and her two children...and he’d done a good job.
Audrey could hear the monotonous low tone of Mr. Williams’s voice through the closed door of the principal’s office—another constant from her childhood. It didn’t matter when she left eleven years ago, she’d sworn she’d never move back. Circumstances changed. Life changed. And life changed you.
But Taylor’s Grove would always be home.
She stood up to place the completed forms on the counter just as Tess and Marta returned, hands and mouths filled with cookie.
Marta held out one wrapped in a napkin. “Mrs. Workman says welcome home.”
“Yay!” Audrey’s mouth watered before she could get the first bite. She gobbled it down while Marta made copies of the various items Audrey had been told to bring with her.
Finally, all was done. Marta gave Tess a wink. “Are you ready to go meet your teacher and your classmates?”
“Yes!” Tess did her signature tiptoe bounce.
Audrey laughed. “I’ve already told her how much she’s going to enjoy Mrs. Lively. What a g
reat lady.”
Marta’s black eyebrows drew in with concern. “You have not heard then. Mrs. Lively retired two weeks ago.” She lowered her voice to a sympathetic tone. “Her husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and they have decided to travel while they still can.”
“Oh.” Audrey’s heart sank at the news. “I hate to hear that. Randall’s been the mailman here for as long as I can remember.”
“A substitute is filling in for him.” Marta paused as if the remark called for a reverent moment of silence. “But we have a new teacher who has already taken Mrs. Lively’s place,” she said finally. “He is from here, so you probably know him. Mark Dublin?”
The name threw a punch to Audrey’s gut, knocking the wind from her lungs and depriving her brain of the oxygen needed to think straight.
Mark Dublin was back in Taylor’s Grove? Was going to be Tess’s teacher? Not if she had any say-so in the matter!
Marta’s eyes squinted in question and she threw a concerned glance toward Tess. “Do you know... Mr. Dublin?”
Not wanting to make a scene in front of her daughter, Audrey held her tongue but managed a nod, continuing to try to catch her breath until she could croak out a few words at a time. “Could I...see Mr. Williams, please?”
“Of course.”
Marta went to the door of the principal’s office and knocked softly before going in and closing the door behind her. She was in there for less than a minute before she came back out. “Mr. Williams can see you now.” She turned her attention to Tess. “Tess, would you like to put these papers in the mailboxes for me? I need one of each color in each box.”
Tess pointed to the door of the inner office. “Can you go in there without me, Mama? I have some work to do.”
“Okay, punkin. I won’t be long.” Audrey threw an appreciative glance toward Marta. “Thanks,” she said before squaring her shoulders and entering the principal’s office.
“Audrey.” Mr. Williams came around the desk to greet her with a warm two-handed shake. “So glad to have you back. How are you doing?”