“Lynne, there’s one thing I regret more than anything. I regret the responsibility Nana put on Kayla’s shoulder, especially before she had a life of her own.”
“But she was the only one who could handle it,” her mom said.
“No, we need to stop relying on Kayla the second something goes wrong with one of us.”
Then he addressed Kayla directly, and she got a sick feeling inside.
“Kayla, Nana never should have made you leave school. It was wrong.”
“Dad, she was dying,” Kayla cut him off.
“Please hear me out. You could have come home to say your goodbyes to her. I get that. But then you should have finished school. Your dream was to become a psychologist, not own a toy store. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, and you’ve been doing a phenomenal job, which doesn’t surprise me. Whatever you touch becomes a success. And the fact you included your sisters was selfless, as usual. But you staying here cost you a lot. And I’ve been doing some research, so I have an idea of what the cost was.”
“Dad!” Kayla said sternly.
“When there’s a new man hanging around my three beautiful daughters who will be our neighbor soon, I want to know exactly who he is, so I hired someone to do a little investigating. He gave me the gist, but I told him not to give me the details. Because you’re the one who should tell me that story, not a stranger I hired.”
“What’s going on, Kayla?” Matt asked.
One tear ran down Kayla’s face. Quickly, she wiped it away. Lauren handed her a tissue and rubbed her back. She was grateful. This was her family. And it was time they knew the truth. She took a deep breath and looked around at her family as she spoke.
“Gabe Wademan isn’t only my new landlord or our new neighbor. Gabe was the love of my life.”
Her family members gasped, and Sarah squeezed Kayla’s hand under the table.
“Gabe is the love of her life,” Sarah corrected.
“Go on, Kayla. You need to get this off your chest,” her dad said.
Kayla inhaled. “I met him at graduate school on my first day. It was love at first sight. I wanted to tell you and Mom I’d met the most wonderful man.” Kayla looked over at her mom. “But I was scared, Mom, that if I told you, Nana would find out. And you and Nana would freak out because he lived in California. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to second-guess my decision to be with Gabe out of fear of what the family would say.”
“I understand, honey,” her mom said.
“Anyway, we started dating. As you all know, I stayed at school over the summer between my first and second year to take classes. We rented an apartment together. We loved each other so much.” Kayla had to get everything out, once and for all. So she told them everything, from the moment they met, to that fateful call when she made her choice. “When I finally told him I could return, he told me I was too late.”
Kayla looked at her mom, who was fully sobbing.
“We were all so messed up when Nana died. You were the only one who was strong. So you helped us. But you lost the love of your life because of us. And I understand why you never told your father and me, because I did the same thing.” Her mom turned toward her dad. “I never told you this, Paul, but when you and I started dating, I didn’t tell my mother. I was afraid she would judge you so much that I would end things with you because she didn’t approve of you. So I’d tell her I was at Leslie’s house.”
“Your best friend?” her dad asked.
“Yes, but then once you and I got serious, I told my mother, and she told me she’d adore whoever I chose. And when she met you, she did.”
“Thank God, or none of us would never have been born,” Matt chimed in.
Kayla smiled. “I told Lauren and Sarah, who were super supportive. And I ended up telling Nana when she was dying. She told me to be there for the family when she dies and to always manage her money. And then she made me promise to return to Gabe. Because that’s where my heart lay. But I was too late, I guess.”
“Do you still love him?” Lauren asked softly.
Kayla sighed. “I love him so much.”
“Then why aren’t you two back together?” Matt asked. “And by the way, sis, thanks for telling Sarah and Lauren about Gabe but not telling me.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “I love you, Matt, but you’ve always been a little bit too protective over who I’ve dated. Remember threatening my high school boyfriend with his life before we went on a movie date?”
“You did not,” Jessica said, hitting him on the arm.
Matt smiled. “I love my sister, and I don’t trust men. Because I know how we can be when we like a woman. But back to the important subject. Why aren’t you two back together? He’s here in Bella Cove. That makes no sense.”
“Because he still hasn’t fully forgiven me. I thought we’d made progress, but lately, I’m not so sure. He felt alone and abandoned by me. I’ve tried to fix that, but I guess I can’t.”
“Would you marry him if he forgave you?” Jessica asked.
Kayla looked at her hands, unable to face her family. “Yes, I would marry him. I’ve always loved him, and I always will. But I’d also be here for all of you guys when you needed me.”
“Kayla, we’re always going to come to you with our problems. We always have and we always will. Even if we don’t, you figure them out, and help us fix them. I’d like to help you now.” Sarah looked at everyone in the family. “Nana felt the need to cheat because she needed a break. I heard her tell Pop. I don’t want that to happen to Kayla. I think we all need to join together and help Kayla out. It’s time.”
Kayla started crying again. She couldn’t help it. She heard a noise at the door and turned. Josh was standing by the back door.
“Did you hear what Kayla told us, Josh?” Matt asked.
“I did.” He stepped outside. “I heard the whole thing. I caused your unhappiness, Kayla. This is all my fault.” Josh ran down the steps.
“Josh,” Kayla yelled, hoping he’d return so they could talk it out.
“Let him go. He needs to think about this. He had his part to play. We all did,” her dad said. “Kayla, you’ve done a brilliant job helping us when we were falling apart, but we’re not falling apart anymore. Sarah is right. We need to make fix this.”
Sarah bounced in her seat. “Please let us help you.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”
“We haven’t applied the Conway magic yet,” Lauren chimed in.
“Whatever that is,” Matt said, smiling.
“We haven’t united as a family until tonight. I think we could do anything together,” Lauren continued.
“I agree,” her father added.
Kayla briefly closed her eyes, absorbing what they were all saying. “I’m sorry I lied all those years ago. And I’m sorry I’ve continued to lie. Nana would never have done that. I feel as if I’ve failed her.”
“Nana cheated on Pop and thought she was keeping it from us. So. Not. Healthy.” Sarah smiled at her.
“I love you, but don’t keep a secret from me again,” Matt joked.
Everyone joined in, telling her how loved she was.
“Thank you. But please, don’t waste your time on Gabe. Nana said true love always wins. So if we’re truly meant to be, it’ll happen.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, looking around the table and winking at everyone.
Kayla had a feeling they would try to bring her and Gabe back together. And maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. She’d tried on her own, but maybe the Conway magic would work better. Nana had told her to always believe in miracles. And if Jessica could become pregnant, who knew what other miracle was in store for the Conway family?
Chapter Seventeen
Kayla, Sarah, and Lauren were working on finishing the storage room. After about three hours of work, they were exhausted. During the entire time, no one mentioned Nana cheating or even Gabe. It almost f
elt as if the dinner three nights ago hadn’t happened. No one in the family had spoken a word about it. Kayla wasn’t sure if that was healthy. She was debating bringing up the subject when Sarah plopped down on the floor.
“I don’t know about anyone else, but I need a break. I can’t move.” Sarah groaned.
Lauren threw down the dust rag. “I feel the same way,” she said as she joined Sarah on the floor.
Kayla sighed. “Okay, let’s take a break.” Not that she had a say in the matter. She sat next to them and looked at her two sisters. “So, are we going to talk about me still being in love with Gabe and wanting to marry him? Or are we going to continue to ignore it?”
“We sort of already knew,” Sarah blurted out.
“Yeah, we suspected it,” Lauren agreed.
Kayla laughed. “What do you mean?”
“It was kind of obvious. I caught you blushing a million times when you’d look at Gabe,” Sarah said, taking her shoes off and lying flat on the floor.
“Yeah, you do blush when he’s around.” Lauren followed Sarah and took off her shoes, too.
“I’m so embarrassed.” Kayla blushed and laughed again.
“Don’t be. It was nice to see you into something other than solving our family’s problems,” Sarah said.
Kayla looked at her sandals before pulling them off. “Can I change the subject for a second and talk about Nana?”
Her sisters didn’t say anything, but they both looked serious.
“Even though she cheated, she loved Pop very much. Sometimes in life, you do things because you’ve reached your limit, and you need a break. I’m not making excuses for Nana, but I think that’s how she felt.”
Sarah broke in. “It was the wrong thing to do, but I have a great idea. Why don’t I buy all of us iced coffees, so we’ll have more energy to finally finish this room?”
Sarah looked at Lauren as she spoke, which seemed odd. They obviously wanted to change the subject. Fine, Kayla thought, but she’d have to bring it up again at another time. Too many unresolved issues because of what Nana did.
“I think that’s a great idea. I’ll buy the next time,” said Lauren.
“And I’ll buy the time after that,” Kayla added.
“I can’t hold all three, and this morning, they ran out of cup holders. Do you want to come, Lauren?”
“Absolutely,” Lauren said.
One minute later, they had both left the room. When Kayla heard the front door close, she exhaled and remained on the floor, deep in thought. Her sisters wouldn’t understand what their grandmother had gone through because they’d never been in her position, but to a certain degree, Kayla had. What scared her the most was the way they perceived Nana. And she wasn’t here to defend herself. Kayla thought it was wrong for Nana to have cheated on Pop, too, but she understood.
Ten minutes later, the front door opened, and she still hadn’t moved from her spot on the floor. Her sisters had returned rather quickly. Usually, the lines in the coffee shop this time of day were super long. But it wasn’t her sisters. It was Gabe with his ladder.
“Resting on the job?” Gabe asked.
Kayla quickly stood. “What are you doing here?”
“That isn’t a nice way to greet me.”
Kayla sighed. “I’m sorry. You caught me off guard, that’s all.”
Gabe crinkled his forehead. “Really? Your sisters said you needed some work done in here.”
A second later, she heard her sisters run into the store, laughing. They were clearly up to something. When they reached the storage room, Sarah ran in and placed two iced coffees on the floor. And Lauren pushed Gabe further into the room. Obviously, he hadn’t been expecting the push, and he almost fell over his own feet.
“Whoa,” he said.
“Sorry,” Lauren said—which from the way she was laughing, was a total lie.
Sarah placed her hands on her hips. “You’ve both been misbehaving, and it’s time you had a talk.”
“We have talked,” Kayla insisted.
“Well, you’ve been saying all the wrong things.” Sarah nodded at Lauren.
Then the two of them walked out of the room, closed the door behind them, and locked it. Kayla sighed. She never should have given Sarah the key.
Looking up at Gabe, Kayla realized he seemed as surprised as she was.
“Sorry. I didn’t know they were going to do that,” she said.
“I figured as much.”
Kayla sat back on the floor. She had a feeling they were going to be in here for a long time. She should have known her sisters were up to something. Earlier, Sarah had insisted she leave her purse in her office. She told Kayla she was worried paint would get on it. That, too, was a lie. Her keys were in there.
Kayla exhaled. “I told my parents and brothers about you at our family dinner last night. My sisters and the rest of them are plotting to get us back together.”
“I had a feeling.” Gabe ran his hands through his hair.
They were silent for a few minutes.
“You might as well have a seat. I think we’re going to be in here for a long time,” Kayla told him.
He sighed dramatically. “I should have known. They both were wearing huge grins and giggling when they said you needed my help. And you’d only ask for my help if you desperately needed it, and even then, you probably wouldn’t.”
“I finally bought my own ladder. See?” She pointed to the ladder in the corner.
Gabe nodded. “So why did you tell them?”
She was waiting for his questions.
“My dad suspected there was something going on between us. He wasn’t sure what, so he hired a private investigator to find out for sure.”
“He did what?” Gabe raised his voice.
“Don’t be mad. You were new in town, and all of a sudden, you were my new landlord and my new neighbor, and being friendly with my sisters…and me. My dad has always been protective over his family. The investigator told him some things, but Dad said he wanted to hear the details from me. So I told them pretty much everything. It was hard. They didn’t judge me, though.” Kayla paused and took a deep breath. “It felt good to clear the air.”
“I guess it’s better late than never, but you should have told them years ago.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I can’t apologize any more to you than I have already. And I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m tired.” Kayla rubbed her temples. “So why have you been avoiding me? I haven’t seen you in more than two weeks. I thought we would have hung out by the rock again—unless you’ve been detoxing from your drug of choice.” She smiled wide.
Gabe sighed and succumbed to joining her on the floor. Then he did something she didn’t expect.
“Scoot forward,” he said, as he leaned against the wall and moved Kayla slightly forward, so her back was facing him. Then he slowly started rubbing her shoulders. “You’re right. I tried to detox from you, but it hasn’t worked. I failed. And I don’t want to fight either.”
Kayla inhaled with relief and closed her eyes as he continued to massage her shoulders. It felt so good, she never wanted him to stop. “Thank you,” she said.
They were both silent as Gabe moved to her neck and then her back. She heard him laugh softly.
“This room reminds me of when we painted our apartment,” he said.
Kayla swallowed. “I remember. Do you like it?”
“I do.” He paused and moved to her lower back.
Kayla couldn’t help but moan, and she clenched her vagina muscles. Massages always turned her on. Had she ever told Gabe that?
He continued talking. “I remember you saying we should paint flowers and hearts on the walls. And a puppy. You had a thing for little dogs.”
“I still do,” Kayla said.
They both laughed.
“You wanted to paint everything you and I loved on the walls. You wanted hearts, because you loved me. You wanted flowers, because you loved planting flowers. Y
ou wanted baseballs, because you knew how much I loved baseball. You wanted books, because they represented the way we met at school. You wanted to paint chocolate bars, because I loved chocolate.”
Kayla swallowed hard. “You remember everything I said.” His warm breath brushed against her ear, causing her to shiver.
“I do,” he said as he kissed her neck once, twice, then a third time. He remembered that was her most sensitive spot, too.
Kayla leaned into him as he continued massaging her shoulders and every few seconds placing another kiss on her neck.
“I’m tired,” she whispered and then moaned.
If he continued to massage her like this, she would probably come on the spot, even without any other stimulation.
They were silent again.
“So what else happened at dinner? I heard all of you congratulating Jessica and Matt.”
She kept her eyes closed as she responded. “She’s pregnant. I’m really happy for them. They were having trouble with fertility, and I found an acupuncturist to help them.” Kayla smiled to herself. Jessica’s pregnancy was the light in her life right now.
“Please congratulate them for me,” Gabe said.
“I will, and thank you.” Kayla sighed, feeling more relaxed and content than ever. She also had the strongest urge to make love to him. So she placed her hand on his thigh, not too high but high enough he’d get the hint. The sexual tension between them had to end. He’d already touched her breasts. She’d love for him to touch her everywhere else. And with her sisters locking them in here, they might as well take advantage of the situation. “So should we take a nap or something?”
Gabe was silent for a minute. She hoped he understood that “something” meant sex. He was a smart man. She was sure he’d get her meaning. She almost regretted asking him, since she’d sort of implied it a few weeks ago, but that was before they almost had sex on the rock. If it wasn’t for that damn boat, they probably would have.
“It’s been over two years since I’ve been inside you,” Gabe responded.
“When you touch me, you drive me crazy. Please, don’t leave me horny like you did a few weeks ago,” Kayla blurted, as she leaned her head back against his shoulder.
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