by Jen Gilroy
Nick blinked. For a minute, he’d forgotten about Kylie. “Here.” He retrieved Mia’s napkin and blotted away the last smidgen of pie topping. “All gone.”
“Thanks.” She drew in a breath.
His finger grazed the outline of her cheekbone and traced a path to one ear.
Mia gave a needy moan, and the sweet sound lingered on the night air.
“I know we can’t right now,” he whispered, “not with Naomi and Emma in the house, but I want you.” Wanted her so much it scared him and made him forget he’d be back to his real life in less than ten days.
“I want you, too.” She rubbed her face against his, and her skin was soft against the stubble of his beard.
He rested his face against hers, content in a way he hadn’t been in a long time, maybe ever. Although he wanted to take Mia up to her bedroom and be with her in the pretty, light-filled room with the white iron bed and the crisp green linens that made him think of a summer garden, he liked sitting here with her. And he could trick himself that this was his life and he and Mia lived here together with a few kids and a dog.
Mia tilted her head and her hair brushed his jaw. “Emma’s going to a birthday party after school tomorrow, and Naomi’s covering a shift at the diner for a friend. Why don’t you come by?”
“Great.” Nick’s skin cooled as his stomach contracted. He was leaving Firefly Lake after Labor Day. And somehow he had to maintain the pretense that leaving this woman wouldn’t tear him apart.
Chapter Eighteen
Gabrielle set the half-finished canvas back on the easel and stared out the dining room window. Harbor House groaned in the September wind, the patio was slick with rain, and the garden was cloaked in mist off the lake. She shivered and pulled on a sweater from the back of her chair.
She was too restless to paint and couldn’t even settle enough to read the book for her book club. She walked to the front of the house and pulled back the living room curtain. The street outside was deserted, and leaves blew across the lawn to land in a puddle at the foot of the drive.
Dropping the curtain, she wandered into the kitchen. What was wrong with her? She’d never been lonely in Harbor House before. She’d wanted to stay here because it was her home and the place she was safe. Except she’d gotten used to it being filled with people again.
Luc had only left an hour ago to spend a few days in Montreal, but already the silence pressed in on her. She filled the kettle, plugged it in, and took a tea bag out of the canister.
She missed Mia and the girls and Kylie. And she missed Ward most of all. Her throat got a lump the size of a marble in it. He’d taken her at her word. No telephone calls or texts, and no reply to her email or the voice mail message she’d left him either. He’d disappeared from her life like he’d never existed.
“Hey, Pixie.” Gabrielle leaned against the counter.
The dog stretched in her basket and whined. Her brown eyes were mournful, and her usually graceful tail drooped.
“You miss everybody, too, don’t you?”
Pixie flipped onto her back and stuck her paws in the air so Gabrielle could rub her tummy. At least she still had Pixie. She’d already rebuilt her life once, twice. There was no reason she couldn’t do it again.
Pixie cocked her ears then rolled onto her paws and looked toward the hall.
“It’s only the wind.” The kettle whistled, and Gabrielle switched it off and poured boiling water into her chintz teapot, as familiar and comforting as an old friend.
Pixie barked, ran to the front door, and scratched at it.
“Remember what Mia told you about jumping on that door? I let you get into bad habits.”
Pixie jumped in circles and barked louder, almost drowning out the chime of the doorbell.
“Down, girl.” Gabrielle unlocked the door and pulled it open. A gust of wind pushed her backward and sent rain swirling into the house.
“Gabby?”
Gabrielle blinked and brushed a hand across her face.
“May I come in?” Ward stood on the porch in a battered black leather bomber jacket and jeans. His hair was slick with rain, and dark circles shadowed his eyes.
“Of course. Here, I’ll take your coat. You must be cold. I’ve made a pot of tea and there are some of Mia’s ginger cookies left and…” She was babbling like a teenager. Even Naomi wouldn’t act in such a silly way.
“I didn’t travel more than two days for tea and cookies.” Ward shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the hall stand.
Pixie stopped barking and nosed his boots.
“That long?” Gabrielle’s voice came out in a squeak.
“I was filming in a national park almost three hundred miles north of Chengdu.” He pulled off his boots and patted Pixie. “China. Erica picked up the message you left at the house. You didn’t call my cell.”
Gabrielle backed toward the kitchen, trying to remember exactly what she’d said on the message and his daughter had heard. “I didn’t want to bother you, but I sent an email.”
“Which I didn’t see until I landed in Shanghai.” Ward followed her into the kitchen. His steps were purposeful, and even in his socks, he towered over her. “I was in a remote area, but after she listened to your message, Erica got hold of me.”
“Oh.” Gabrielle pulled out a kitchen chair and sat. “I didn’t think—”
“I did.” Ward pulled out another chair and sat in front of her, his knees almost touching hers. “Since I left here, you’re pretty much all I’ve thought of. When Erica told me you wanted to talk, I came back as fast as I could. I wanted to talk, too, in person and not over the phone.”
Gabrielle lifted Pixie and hugged her. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake, but we haven’t known each other long, and besides, I was sick and—”
“Gabby, honey.” Ward leaned forward, scooped Pixie out of her arms, and put the dog in her basket. “I never told you how I lost my wife, but maybe it’ll help you understand.” He shook his head at Pixie, and the dog turned around twice and settled in the nest of blankets.
“You don’t have to talk about Carol. It must be painful and…” Who was she to ask questions? She’d never told him about Brian.
“No, I have to do this for me and for us.” He took both Gabrielle’s hands in his and his voice roughened. “Carol was in her car. She’d dropped Erica off at a ballet lesson and a drunk driver in a stolen SUV came through a red light and hit her sideways. She never regained consciousness, and she died in the hospital two days later.”
“Ward.” Gabrielle’s eyes watered, and she squeezed his hands tight. There were no words for that kind of loss.
“I still miss Carol, but I’ve lived a lot of years without her, and there’s a place in my heart for you. If you want it.” His blue eyes were misty. “Life can change in the blink of an eye. I’m ready to take a chance if you are.”
Gabrielle’s hands tingled, and heat radiated through her chest. After Brian, she’d never wanted to take chances, but life, and things she couldn’t control, had snuck up on her anyway. She touched his check and the dear, rugged contours of his face. “I’m ready to take a chance, too.”
He let out a breath. “I love you, Gabby.” He lifted her onto his lap like she was a fragile piece of crystal. “Aw, heck. All the way back here, I thought about telling you how I feel. I wanted to make it romantic and look what I did? I went and blurted it out.”
“I…” She traced the outline of his mouth. Although Gabrielle felt the love, she couldn’t say it, at least not yet.
“It’s okay.” Ward smoothed her hair. “You don’t have to say it just because I did.”
“I care about you a lot.” Gabrielle relaxed into his touch and the heat of his body.
“I know. I also know you and Brian didn’t have the kind of relationship Carol and I did.” Ward dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You don’t have to say anything you aren’t ready to say, and you don’t have to tell me about Brian.”
“I don’
t?” Gabrielle’s heart pounded.
“Nope, not until you’re ready, if you’re ever ready. I heard all I need to from people in town. Everyone in Firefly Lake cares about you and looks out for you.” His mouth quirked into a gentle smile. “I hope you believe me when I say I’d never do anything to hurt you or embarrass you.”
“I do.” Those words were a vow and a promise to bind the two of them together, no matter what the future held. Although she murmured them, she’d never meant any two words more than she meant those. And she’d cherish the expression on Ward’s face for the rest of her life. The love and faith for her, and his belief in the two of them together.
He shifted her on his lap to pull her closer into his thighs.
Gabrielle wiggled and his arousal pushed into her.
“Gabby.” His voice was strained. “I won’t ask you to do anything you’re not ready for. Besides, I need a shower and some sleep.”
“I’ll be right there beside you when you wake up.” She was ready and had been for weeks. Even though she couldn’t say the words of love to him yet, it was only a matter of time.
“Are you sure?” His warm breath caressed her ear.
“Yes.” She twisted on his lap and looked into his face. “We have lots to work out, but I’ve never been more certain of anything.”
Brian didn’t matter, the cancer didn’t matter, and even Harbor House, the place she’d fought so hard to keep, didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was still alive and, with Ward by her side, she had a future to look forward to.
He lifted her into his arms, and she squealed.
Pixie bounded out of her basket with a chorus of barks.
“You think a guy in his sixties is too old for this?” Ward lifted her higher.
“No.” Laughter started deep in Gabrielle’s chest and spilled out.
“Watch your head.”
She ducked as he carried her through the kitchen door. “You can’t carry me all the way upstairs. I’m too heavy.” She squirmed, but he held her tight.
“Most of the camera equipment I lug around is a lot heavier than you are. I want to give you something special to remember.”
“You already have.” She let her body go loose in his arms.
“It’s only the beginning.” He reached the top of the stairs and headed for her bedroom, then eased the door open with one foot.
“A new beginning,” she added, before he bent his head, kissed her, and kicked the door closed.
“Spill.” With one eye on Lexie, who gurgled on a play mat on Mia’s living room floor, Charlie gave Mia a calculating look. “Tell me everything.”
“About what?” Mia made her tone innocent.
“You and Nick.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” Mia waved a soft red rattle shaped like a chicken, and the baby’s eyes followed it. “You’re a smart girl, aren’t you, Lexie?”
“Smart like her mom, you mean?” Charlie moved to sit beside Mia on the sofa. “Lexie’s precious, the most amazing baby ever, along with Naomi and Emma, but I won’t let you use her to distract me.” She grinned and made a grab for the rattle. “Sean won’t be back with Naomi and Emma from that horse show for another hour, so we have lots of time to talk.”
“Nick and I are friends.” Which was a big, fat lie.
“So you say, but seriously, what’s he like in bed?” Charlie’s eyes twinkled. “All that buried intensity must be pretty hot.”
“It is, but…I…we’re not…” Mia clapped a hand over her mouth as shock reverberated through her.
“Got you.” Charlie laughed and then hugged Mia to take away any sting in her words. “You forget I’m a professional.”
“Busybody?” Mia sighed.
“No, journalist, investigative reporter. I’m paid to be nosy.” Charlie tried and failed to look remorseful.
“Not with me you aren’t.” Mia reached for her glass of lemonade on the coffee table and took a sip. She loved and trusted her sister, and she had to talk to someone. “It’s complicated. Jay wants full custody of the girls. He doesn’t like Nick, and he said…” She bit her lip.
“Said what?”
“He guessed Nick and I are sleeping together, and he doesn’t want him around Naomi and Emma. He blames Nick for Emma’s accident, and he blames me for what’s going on between Naomi and Ty and why Naomi’s so determined to stay in Firefly Lake.” A cycle of blame that, whichever way she cut it, all ended up with her.
“Jay always was big on blaming someone, usually you. Nobody else blames Nick for Emma jumping off the swim raft. As for Naomi and Ty, if he can’t see they’re both sensible kids, he’s looking in the wrong direction.” Charlie shook the rattle before she handed it to Lexie. “Jay never liked me or any of your friends, so, apart from the whole custody thing, he’s still playing the same old games.”
“We’re divorced and he’s moved on.” Except, it still felt like Jay wanted to control her. The snide comments he made about her weight and her glasses, her house, her job, and Vermont and Firefly Lake. Nick was at the top of a long list of things Jay didn’t like about her.
“Once Tiffany got wise to him, Jay realized how good he had it with you. That’s why he’s moved into threat mode.”
“His attorney said Jay would get full custody of the girls if I kept seeing Nick.” Which kept Mia awake at night worrying over questions for which she had no answers.
“He’s bluffing. Do you think he could make something so ridiculous stick? Jay cheated on you with a woman almost half his age, fathered a child with her, and then she dumped him. Whereas Nick’s a respectable guy, a pillar of the community these days, and he never did anything to Jay or the girls apart from saving Emma’s life. Besides, Jay didn’t object to you moving to Firefly Lake, did he?” Charlie was pissed on Mia’s behalf, and Mia’s heart warmed.
“Not in court.” Which was all that mattered, despite what he’d said in private.
Mia tucked her feet under her. Already she loved this room with the simple touches that made it a home, as far removed from the sterile grandeur of the house in Dallas as possible. Her gaze landed on her mom’s picture on top of the piano. Maybe her mom hadn’t had a choice, but Mia did, and she wouldn’t falter now.
“Jay travels all the time. Who’d look after the girls when he’s away? A nanny? You can bet any judge would ask that question. Jay’s the unfit parent, not you. Besides, you’re so law-abiding you’ve never even had a speeding ticket.” Charlie spat out the words before she cuddled Lexie and kissed the baby’s tuft of dark hair. “There’s no reason why you can’t go after what you want with Nick.”
Mia wanted to so much it scared her. “I don’t know if Nick wants me like that.” And she was afraid to be rejected and hurt again, afraid to destroy what they had by wanting something more.
“There’s only one way to find out. Ask him. If you don’t, won’t you always wonder?” Charlie’s voice was gentle.
“It’s not so simple.” At least it wasn’t for her.
“Sure it is.” Charlie inclined her head toward the picture of their mom. “Maybe it wasn’t for Mom, though. She didn’t have a job outside the house, and she was scared of Dad.”
“With good reason.” Mia’s stomach tensed. “I was scared of Dad, too. Even though he never hit her, I always thought he could have.”
“You mean he never hit her in front of us.”
“You think?” Mia put a hand to her mouth.
“I don’t know for sure.” Charlie exhaled. “But Mom never left him, and all of us tiptoed around Dad so as not to upset him. I got away from home as soon as I could for school and then work, and you married Jay.”
“Because I wanted to get away, too. I wanted to make the family I didn’t have.” A choice that had landed Mia in a whole other kind of prison.
“You have your family.” Charlie held her gaze. “As for Nick, he’s nothing like Jay.”
“True, but I have a job now and a whole new life.” Mia had to make
her sister understand. “I want to be independent like you’ve always been. I want to earn money and make decisions. I got married so young, I never had any of that.”
“My independence came with a price. I was so focused on my career, I almost missed out on love, marriage, and a child.” Charlie glanced at Lexie cuddled against her breast, and her look was so tender Mia’s eyes misted. “Besides, I still earn my money and make a lot of independent decisions, and Sean does too, but it’s nice to share my life with someone who’s always in my corner, no matter what. Sean looks out for me, even when I don’t think I need it.”
“Whether you want him to or not?” Her sister was still the same forthright Charlie she’d always been, but a happy marriage and little Lexie had given her a glow that softened her features.
“Exactly.” Charlie nodded. “I’m still independent, still me, but even more so because of Sean. Independence doesn’t mean you and the girls have to be alone.”
“I never thought about it like that.” Mia stared at her sister in astonishment. “I’ve been so focused on standing on my own two feet as the kind of woman Jay said I couldn’t be, I kind of forgot about the woman I want to be, all of her.”
“Despite Jay, a big part of that woman is a wife and mother, a good one.” Charlie reached for the last cookie on the plate Mia had set out earlier.
“Hey.” Mia swatted Charlie’s hand away. “Some of those were for you to take home to Sean and Ty. How many have you eaten?”
“I’m hungrier than usual since I’m feeding Lexie.” Charlie grabbed the cookie and gave Mia a cheeky grin. “Will you call Nick?”
“Maybe.” Mia grinned back. “No more information.”
Charlie’s cheeks bulged out with cookie like they had when she was a kid. “I’m your sister, the only one you’ve got.”
“Which is why I’ve told you as much as I have.” Mia reached over and hugged her. “No matter what happens between Nick and me, I’m thankful every day I moved here and you’re nearby.”