by Dee Davis
“You love me?” The words came out on a stutter, joy flooding through Ginny’s entire being.
“I do. And I want to be a family.”
As if the baby heard Logan’s words, a little foot connected with his hand. Logan’s eyes widened and he grinned. “I think Little Bit agrees. Which places the ball squarely in your court. Because this isn’t just about me. It’s about you. It’s about us. So what do you want, Ginny?”
“You,” she said, lifting a hand to cup his face. “I want you. I love you. I need you.” Their gazes met and held, and then Logan covered her lips with his, his kiss a promise—a covenant.
And suddenly Ginny felt as if anything were possible.
* * * *
Marisol stood at the coffee machine trying to get control of her rioting emotions. Logan was in with Ginny and a part of her was elated, but another part of her was terrified. She wanted her sister to be happy. To have that elusive happy ending. But she didn’t want to see her hurt. And there was potential for either of those things where Logan Murphy was concerned.
“Ginny all right?” A deep voice asked. Talk about potential for disaster. Marisol’s breath hitched as she turned to face Ian, eyes dark with worry.
“She’s fine. Logan is in there with her. I felt like a third wheel.” She offered a shaky smile. “I figured it was better to leave them alone.”
“Let them find their own way. It isn’t always easy to do that.” His expression indicated he knew only too well how difficult that was.
“You’re thinking of Marcus.”
“I am. He’s been through a lot.”
“I heard what happened. I can’t even imagine.”
“I know. And of course Marcus is trying to be strong for his sisters and his mother.”
“He’ll need you now more than ever.”
“And I’ll be here for him.”
Marisol was embarrassed by the little trill of joy that blossomed deep inside her. “He’s lucky to have you.”
“I don’t suppose with everything that’s going on we’re going to be able to have that dinner tonight.” Ian tilted his head to one side, his steady gaze making her feel hot inside.
“I guess not.”
“Well, then we’ll just have to reschedule it. There’s all the time in the world.” He stepped closer, taking both of her hands in his.
“But what about Montana? You live in Montana.”
“Not anymore.” He shook his head. “From here on out, I’m living in Storm. Even rented an apartment over on Ash. I can manage the Montana ranch from here. Make a few trips a year as needed. It’s all good.”
“Marcus must be over the moon. Seeing all that’s happened and how close you are, I can understand why you’d want to stay.”
“He’s not the only reason I’m staying, Marisol,” he said, his breath caressing her cheek. “I hope I haven’t misread things.” His gaze darkened as he frowned. “I know you had a thing with Patrick Murphy. But I’d hoped—”
“Patrick and I aren’t together,” she interrupted, her heart pounding so loudly she figured everyone in the hospital could probably hear it. “We’ve only ever been just friends really.” It was a condensed version but basically the truth.
His fingers tightened on hers. “Well, then, as I was saying, I’d hoped that maybe there might be a chance for you and me. I know we haven’t really talked about this, but since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. And I haven’t been able to get you out of my head for a moment since.”
He moved forward, and God help her, right here in front of anyone who might be passing by, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, relishing the exquisite moment when he crushed his lips against hers.
Maybe Ginny wasn’t the only one who deserved a happy ending.
* * * *
Dakota sat huddled beneath the giant live oak hanging out over the placid water of the lake. The quiet inlet had been a favorite place since she’d been old enough to ride a bike, the grassy knoll providing escape from the things that hurt her.
Hugging her knees, she struggled to breathe, the tears still coming fast and hard. She hardly remembered leaving her house and driving here, her head stuck on an endless visual loop of her father beating her mother, shooting Marcus—aiming the gun at her.
She rubbed a hand against her bruised cheek, trying to make sense of it all. She’d always believed her father loved her. That he accepted her for who she was. But he’d called her a tramp. Implied worse. And the disgust in his eyes. She shuddered and wiped at her tears, as if somehow she would erase the memory as well.
She’d been so stupid. So blind. She’d followed her father like some kind of puppy. Waiting for his praise, begging for his approval. And all the time he’d been playing her. Making her believe in him. Making her hate her mother. Shame washed through her—hot and heavy. When Hector had come at her, her mother had stepped between them. Fearlessly trying to protect Dakota.
That was love. Not the syrupy crap her father served up. She’d been so needy and desperate she’d believed him. Believed in him. Just like she’d believed in the senator. But they’d both used her. Used her desire to be loved and taken what they wanted. God, what had she done? Marcus had tried to tell her. Mallory had tried to tell her. Even Patrick had tried. And she hadn’t listened. She hadn’t wanted to see the truth. She’d been too locked in her own little world to see what was happening right in front of her nose.
Her father had been abusing her mother. And her mother had taken it to protect her children. To protect Dakota. To secure her stupid fantasy world. She’d never meant anything to anyone that she’d believed in. And the people who had loved her, she’d shoved away with scorn.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
She stared out at the still waters of the lake. It was beautiful, the air cooling as evening set in, the colors of the sky reflected in the ripples below. Somewhere in the distance she could hear the harsh cry of a blue jay as the wind whispered through the leaves of the trees.
She rested her chin on her knees and fought to calm her racing heart. There’d been blood everywhere. On the walls and the floor. On Marcus and her mother and her father. Hector had looked so surprised, an angry hatred twisting his face into a caricature, something from a book or a movie. It was as if the father she’d believed in had morphed into another man.
But deep in her heart she knew that in truth, for the first time she’d seen the real Hector Alvarez. Seen who he truly was. Who he had always been. And more frightening than even that, she’d seen a vision of what she might become. She’d let hatred and jealousy eat at her life. She’d blamed everyone for her problems. Her mother. Ginny. Even the senator.
It would be so easy now to just run farther away. To leave them all behind. To never see anyone in Storm again. End the chapter. Close the book. Run. But even as she had the thought, she knew she couldn’t do it. Not if she wanted to survive. If she wanted to change. At least not without seeing her mom. Without facing her family. Patrick was right; deep down, she had known the truth. She just hadn’t been willing to face it.
“Dakota?”
She turned, eyes going wide. Patrick strode across the meadow toward her as if she’d conjured him from somewhere inside her mind.
“Are you okay? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He knelt down beside her, his hands gentle as he turned her face into the light. “That’s quite a shiner.”
She stiffened at his touch. “It’s nothing compared to my mother. How did you know I was here?”
“Marcus said this is where you come when you’re upset.”
She was surprised that he knew. They’d never been that close, she and Marcus. Always circling each other, trying to avoid the landmines that surrounded her family. He’d tried to help her. But she’d always pushed him away. And then it had been his turn to run. And she’d hated him for escaping, never understanding that there had been something real to run from.
“I wasn�
��t going to come here at all. I was heading for College Station. Amanda Graceson asked me to come and I figured it would be better for everyone if I just left. But then I couldn’t somehow. I don’t know, I felt guilty, I guess. So I came here.”
“It’s a beautiful place,” he said, looking out across the lake and meadow, seemingly content to just sit with her here.
She sucked in a breath, lifting her gaze to Patrick’s, the tender concern reflected there almost her undoing. “My mother?” The words came out on a whisper, and Dakota realized she was afraid of his answer.
“She’s in the hospital. She’s pretty banged up. But the doc said she’ll be okay.”
Dakota nodded, the reel still playing in her head. “And my father?”
Patrick released a long puff of air. “He’s dead, Dakota.”
She nodded. She’d already known it, of course, but somehow Patrick saying the words was what made it seem true.
“Dillon didn’t have a choice.” His words were careful, as if he was afraid she’d argue. But there was no doubt. If Dillon hadn’t fired, she’d be dead. Or her mother. Or her brother. Or maybe all of them. Hector had been beyond any kind of reasoning. He’d been so filled with his own version of reality that he’d lost his grip on sanity.
“I know.” She sighed, turning to watch as a bird skimmed across the top of the water. “He did what he had to. And he probably saved our lives. Daddy had a gun. And I know he would have used it.”
“Dakota, I’m so sorry.”
“For what? You didn’t make my family so dysfunctional. My father did that. And me. I’m just like him, you know? So full of hatred and anger.”
“But you don’t have to be.”
“How can I be anything else? I’ve fucked my life up so royally. I mean, first with the senator, and then with Ginny and the announcement and all the rest. I screwed over people who cared about me. And I believed in people who didn’t. What kind of person does that make me?”
“Human,” Patrick said, reaching for her hand. “It makes you human.”
“But how can they ever forgive me? How can I forgive myself? I’ve made so many mistakes, Patrick.” She laid her cheek against her knee, ignoring the pain as she brushed against her bruises. “I’ve hurt so many people.”
“My grandfather always says that the only way to go forward is to begin as you mean to go on.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you have to decide the kind of person you are. And if you truly want to change, then you have to take the first step.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Sure you do,” he said, tipping her chin up again, forcing her to meet his gaze. “It’s there inside you, Dakota. Beneath the fear and anger, there’s the real you. And I think if you’d give her a chance, you might even like her.”
“Do you always see the good in really awful people?” she asked, losing herself in the pale blue of his eyes.
“Only when I know there’s a good heart in there somewhere.” His smile stole her breath away as he leaned in to kiss her. For a minute the world shrank until it contained just the two of them, his warmth promising things she’d never believed in. And then a mockingbird scolded from the tree above, the moment broken.
He pushed to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll take you to your mother.”
For a moment fear held her immobile, and then she squared her shoulders and placed her fingers in his. And as he pulled her to her feet, Dakota wondered if people really did get second chances. Because God knew she wanted one.
Chapter 6
“We don’t have to walk in together,” Mary Louise Prager said as she looked across the yard toward the gathering at the Johnsons’.
The entire family was present for an impromptu barbeque to celebrate Anna Mae and Chase’s engagement. Well, both families. Hers and Tate’s. Which meant that Mary Louise had to go. But she didn’t have to show up on Tate’s arm.
“Are you saying you don’t want to be seen with me?” he asked, the teasing light in his eyes helping to set her at ease.
“No, of course not. It’s just that we haven’t actually told anyone that we…that you and I…”
“That we’re an item,” he prompted, his grin growing wider. “Is that the word you’re looking for?”
“Is that what we are?” In actuality, she hadn’t been certain. True enough they’d been spending a lot of time together. Most of it in bed. But they hadn’t actually gone on any official dates, which meant she hadn’t been sure.
Tate turned her to face him, his expression growing serious. “Mary Louise, as far as I am concerned, we are most definitely together. In every sense of the word. So unless you have a problem with that, I don’t see why we shouldn’t use this barbeque as the perfect opportunity to show our families that Chase and Anna Mae aren’t the only ones who are happy.”
“But what about Hannah?” she asked, knowing she was being stubborn.
“I don’t want Hannah,” he said, dipping his head to kiss the end of her nose. “I want you.”
Mary Louise smiled up into his eyes. “And I want you right back. So let’s go to the party.” He slid an arm around her and they walked across the lawn to where everyone was gathered.
“Mary Louise, Tate,” Rita Mae called when she saw them, “I was wondering when the two of you would get here.” Her eyes twinkled with delight as she took in Tate’s possessive hold. “Looks like life has been treating you all well.”
“Indeed it has, Rita Mae,” Tate said. “Your niece has been taking good care of me.”
“Well, someone has to do it.” Mary Louise smiled and accepted a beer from Tate’s father, Zeke.
“Welcome, Mary Louise. I hope my oldest son has been behaving himself.”
It seemed everyone was more in the know than she’d realized. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, this was Storm, where everybody knew everybody’s business. Across the way she could see her aunt Anna Mae glowing beside Chase.
“She looks so happy.”
“Some things are just meant to be, I guess,” Zeke said as Alice came to stand beside him.
“Now that everyone is here, we need to get the meat on, Zeke,” she scolded. “Hungry people and all that.”
“Yes, ma’am. I live to serve.” Zeke winked at them and followed his wife toward a group of grills and smokers set off from the back patio.
“And that, sweetheart,” Tate said, “is the picture of a perfect marriage.”
“What?” Mary Louise laughed. “Your mom says jump and your dad says how high?”
“Nah, just her needing him and him making her happy.” He pulled her closer as Tucker and Hannah walked up, the two of them looking delighted and uncomfortable all at the same time.
“Hey, bro, glad you could make it,” Tucker said with a hesitant grin. Things between Tate and his brother weren’t perfect by a long shot, but they were better. And Mary Louise was glad to see Tate returning Tucker’s smile.
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Tate replied. “Looks like things are going well for the two of you.” For a moment both men looked uncomfortable, and then Tate laughed, his arm sliding back around Mary Louise. “It isn’t always easy to find the right woman,” Tate continued. “But from where I’m standing, it’s well worth the effort.”
Tucker lifted his beer. “To happy endings.”
They all clinked bottles and smiled. Then Hannah’s phone buzzed and she excused herself while Tucker headed off to help his dad.
“That was really nice of you,” Mary Louise said as they walked over toward where Tara and Bryce were holding court with their children.
Tate’s warm gaze encompassed hers. “I meant every word.” Her stomach fluttered and she felt her face growing hot again. Tate just grinned as they stopped in front of his sister’s family.
Bryce was standing just beyond the stone wall that divided the patio from the rest of the yard, tossing a ball with Danny
. Carol was trying to make a Hula-Hoop twirl around her hips, but was having no luck at all. Tara was laughing as she watched her daughter try.
“You have to get it twirling first and then move your hips,” Mary Louise said, pulling away from Tate to demonstrate the motion.
Carol watched and then tried again, the hoop actually making a full revolution before it fell.
“You have to keep moving, sweetie,” Tara said. The two women watched as Carol tried again, this time with almost two revolutions.
“You’re getting it,” Mary Louise encouraged. “You just have to keep trying.”
“Ah, Carol, don’t listen to them,” Rita Mae said, striding over to where the little girl was still struggling. “I was the two-time Hula-Hoop champion of Storm High. Come with me, kid, I’ll show you how it’s done.”
With a quick look at her mother, Carol danced off with Rita Mae, their two heads bent together as they discussed the fine art of hula-hooping.
“Well, that should be interesting,” Tara commented as they watched the pair walk away.
“The blind leading the blind,” Mary Louise said.
“You and my brother seem to be cozy these days.” Tara waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Mary Louise felt herself growing bright red.
“We’re seeing each other.” God, even standing here in the middle of his family, she had a hard time believing it was true.
“I know. And from where I’m sitting, it looks like it might be getting serious.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” Mary Louise asked hesitantly.
“Goodness, no,” Tara said, reaching out to pull Mary Louise into a quick hug. “More like a miracle. Tate’s needed someone like you in his life for the longest time.”
“But he was with Hannah.” It felt like just saying her name was going to jinx everything somehow.
“Like you said, was. And in case you haven’t gotten the memo,” Tara nodded over to where her brother Tucker and Hannah were talking with Tara’s sister-in-law Kristin, “she’s got it bad for my baby brother. So I’m thinking maybe things have worked out just the way they’re supposed to have.”