Haley's Mountain Man

by Tracy Madison

  “I understand that well enough.” And she did, had actually understood this aspect of Gavin’s personality for a while. “You learned to protect yourself the only way you could, based on what was happening around you. That makes total sense.”

  His body relaxed slightly. “Exactly. Until you came along and, one by one, shattered every damn barrier I had in place. I tried to rebuild them. I tried to pretend I could be with you without letting you all the way in, because that felt safer. That felt doable.”

  “But that won’t work in a real relationship,” she said softly. Did he understand that now, or was this only an apology and an explanation? She didn’t know. Hadn’t yet figured that out. “In any relationship—good ones, at least—you have to let the other person in.”

  “I know. When I couldn’t, I...decided you’d be better off with someone who could.”

  She shook her head, a bit of her anger surfacing. “Oh, I see. You decided what I needed, what would be best for me, without so much as saying a word to me?”

  “Well...yes.”

  “You silly, silly man.” Haley closed her eyes, counted to three. “I don’t want to be with anyone else. And you could walk away now and never look back, and even then, I doubt my decision in this matter would ever change.”

  His breath hitched. “That’s because you’re stubborn.”

  “Hmm. Yes. Also because I know myself, know what I want.”

  “And impulsive,” he said as if she hadn’t spoken. “Impatient. Nosy, too.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she said, “Well, you’re gruff and distant and...and...blind as a freaking bat in the middle of the afternoon. Why, I had to shove myself in front of you in order for you to even see me. And I had to do this over and over and over.”

  Gavin laughed that wonderful laugh of his, and the sound of it unhinged a few of the knots in her stomach. “Yup. I’d say those are accurate statements. But you don’t know how to take no for an answer, and you enjoy barging in on folks as if it’s the highlight of your life, and you...you like peanut butter toast and tomato soup. Together!”

  He shuddered as he made that last comment, and while she had no clue what her odd food preferences had to do with this conversation, that thready strand of hope grew larger. “You’re impulsive, too,” she said, her voice now quiet. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here now.”

  “Nope, I don’t expect you would be.” Suddenly, he stood and held his hand out toward her. “It’ll be light soon, and I’d very much like to go on a hot-air balloon ride with you,” he said. “The balloon is ready to go. They’re just waiting on us.”

  “I’ve never been in a hot-air balloon.”

  “I’ve heard it’s quite the sight. And I’d like to do this with you.”

  She didn’t know what his plan was, but decided the only way to find out was to agree. Putting her hand in his, she said, “Well, then. Let’s go on a hot-air balloon ride. Even if it’s early enough to...fish.”

  Another laugh. “Trust me. This will be worth the early-morning hour. And you won’t have to touch a worm.”

  They walked together to the field behind the building, to the balloon that was ready and waiting to go. Once they stepped inside the basket, the balloon’s weight was balanced, and then, one by one, the ropes were unsecured. And in almost no time at all, they were flying.

  Gavin stood directly behind her, with his hands on her waist and his jaw resting on the top of her head. His voice, that deep, husky tenor of his, whispered, “Close your eyes.”

  “Why?”

  “Must you argue about everything?” he asked. “Just close your eyes. Please.”

  “Okay. I’ll close my eyes.” Haley breathed in the morning air, did as Gavin asked and shut her eyes, and let the sensation of drifting weightless in the air overtake her.

  And this, the sensation and being so close to Gavin, her hope that was slowly and surely turning into belief, reconnected some of the pieces inside that had been broken and shattered. Brought her closer to feeling whole—real—again. But she wasn’t all the way there. Couldn’t get all the way there until, unless, Gavin said the words she craved to hear.

  As they floated, he wrapped his arms more fully around her, gently tugged her backward so she was leaning against him, against his strength. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Sorry for not trusting you enough to let you all the way in. I wasn’t ready, Haley.”

  “Trust isn’t all that easy to give,” she said. “Even without the battles you’ve had.”

  “Still, you should know I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry, too. For the barging in and the not listening.” Resting her head against his chest, she sighed. The apology needed to be said, and she meant it, but she knew full well that she’d do the same today. For him. For them. “For tricking you to go on the camping trip.”

  “I don’t want you to apologize for those actions. If you hadn’t...been open to the possibilities, seen something that I couldn’t see... Well, I think that would be sad.”

  Yes, sad. More than that. The thought was...devastating.

  With her eyes still closed, she reveled in the moment. In her hopes and dreams. In every last thing she believed could exist with this man...with only this man. A minute or so passed in easy silence and pure anticipation.

  “Are your eyes still closed?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said, her heart dancing in her chest.

  “Good. I’m going to count to three, and then I’d like you to open your eyes. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “One...two...three.” His chest moved with a deep breath. “Open your eyes.”

  She opened her eyes and gasped—in wonder, in exhilaration—at the sight before her, at a sunrise seen from the vantage point of a hot-air balloon. Rays of light, from white to gold to a warm coppery red, stretched and shimmied through the puffy clouds, making them—and the sky itself—appear almost iridescent. Beautiful. Shimmery and majestic. Awe-inspiring.

  Everywhere she looked, all she saw was...magic.

  “This is amazing. So beautiful,” she said breathlessly. “Look, Gavin. It’s like we’re in an entirely different world. I’ve never... Didn’t know a sunrise could look like this.”

  “This is what I wanted you to see. Because, to me,” he said, his mouth near her ear, his breath warm on her skin, “this is you. To me, you are the sun in all its life-affirming glory.”

  “Gavin,” she whispered, caught up in the moment, in his words, in the way he viewed her. In the feel of his arms, and the solidity of his body. “How can you see me like this? I’m just a person and this...this is magic. This is—”

  “Who you are to me.” Shifting his hands to her shoulders, he twisted her around to face him. And in his eyes, she saw the world. Her world. “It took me a while to figure this out, but I love you, Haley Foster. With all of who I am today and all of who I’ll be tomorrow. And I’d hoped—I’m standing here hoping now—that you’ll give me one more chance.”

  Well, duh. Of course she would. How could she say no to this man? First, though, “You hurt me, and I can’t feel that way again with you, the loss of you. So if you want this chance, then I need you to stay. To try. To not give up.” She touched his cheek. “I need you to believe.”

  Bringing his hand to hers, he twisted their fingers together. His gaze held hers, steadily. Surely. “I do and I will. I promise you I will never willingly walk away again.”

  “Oh, thank God,” she said, hearing his love, the truth and, most of all, the belief. His belief. “I love you, too, Gavin. So yes, another chance. For both of us.”

  “We’ll never need another. I can promise you that, as well.” He paused, swallowed. “You’re the sun, Haley. My sun, and I can’t live without you, can’t live in darkness any longer.”

  “Kiss me,” she whispered. “
Before I start crying.”

  Slowly, gently, he lowered his mouth to hers. The second their lips touched, heat curled and spread through her body, inch by inch, limb by limb. This kiss was like the others, in its intensity and passion. In the way her heart sped and her bones weakened. Also, though, this kiss held something different the others hadn’t. The promise of a future...their future, made up of who they were. Her family. His past. Their dreams, goals and hopes.

  Somehow, she knew, all of this would combine to form the road they would travel on, hand in hand, toward a future meant only for them.

  Yes, together they could be—would be—everything.

  Epilogue

  Gavin stretched and rolled, looking for Haley. Her side of the bed was empty, and his heart lurched for just a second before returning to its normal rhythm. In the months that had passed since their hot-air balloon ride, many, many changes had taken place. He and his mother were talking more regularly, had found a place of...comfort, he supposed.

  Their relationship would continue to grow, would continue to strengthen. Day by day, with each conversation, his resentments were fading into the background. Day by day, the possibilities of life had become joyous and exciting, rather than limiting and frightening. And, day by day, his love for Haley deepened and became even more intrinsic to who he was.

  Every now and again, there’d be a moment, like just now when he’d seen Haley’s empty side of the bed, and he’d have a second where his old fear would return. Each time this happened, though, the fear disappeared more quickly than the time before. He believed that soon enough, the negative emotion would be gone for good.

  Standing, he looked outside, saw the big, white puffy flakes dropping from the sky and grinned. Today was Christmas. His very first Christmas with Haley, and he had a special gift for her. One in which he hoped she’d understand what giving her this particular gift signified. For him. To their future, down the road a ways.

  Smiling, he took the stairs, sure now that she was waiting for him in the living room, in front of the fireplace she adored, beyond excited at giving him whatever surprises she’d chosen. Lord, that woman enjoyed surprising him. He enjoyed surprising her, as well.

  At the foot of the stairs, he stopped and listened to the somewhat strange, muffled sounds emanating from the living room. Curious, he stepped to the edge of the room and stopped again. Stared. Shook his head and turned around before Haley saw him in order to grab his digital camera. This, without a doubt, needed to be photographed.

  With his camera in hand, he returned to the living room, this time walking all the way in. Snapped a couple of shots before Haley realized he was there.

  The woman he loved was half under the damn tree. One hand on a present and the other on the head of the scruffiest puppy he’d ever laid eyes on. And this woman, this feisty, impulsive woman, was anxiously trying to get that poor dog to chew open the gift she held.

  Unfortunately, the pup was far more interested in chewing on a hunk of Haley’s hair than it was in tearing open wrapping paper. Still, warmth spread and slid throughout his body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. How in the hell had he gotten this lucky?

  “Haley,” he said, making himself known, swallowing the laughter ready to barrel out of his chest. “You can’t force that dog to do something that dog doesn’t want to do.”

  His voice startled her enough that she jumped, which sent the pup into a barking spin, tugging and pulling at Haley’s hair. “You’re not supposed to be up yet,” Haley said, trying to separate her hair from the dog’s mouth and failing miserably. “I’m not ready!”

  “Well now, I can see what you’re trying to do here, and I appreciate the thought, but there isn’t any way that pup is going to do what you want.”

  “Oh, she will, too. I just haven’t quite convinced her yet,” Haley said, her voice filled with determination. “So...go back upstairs. Give me ten minutes. Fifteen tops!”

  “Nope, it’s Christmas morning, and honestly—”

  That was all that came out of his mouth before bedlam set in. The pup, in her excitement to play with Haley, tugged a little too hard, and Haley, in her desire to be free of the pup’s mouth, yanked her entire body backward a little too fast. The result of which was the tree falling straight over and landing on the ground, ornaments flying and the dog getting the hell out of Dodge...fast.

  “Well, hell,” she hollered out, obviously—and thankfully—unhurt. “This was not what was supposed to happen.” Branches on the tree rustled, causing several more ornaments to come loose and roll on the hardwood floor. “Um. Gavin? I actually think I’m stuck.”

  “You think?” he asked, already moving toward her. Well. Wait. One more picture first, just for the sake of posterity. Once that was done, he lifted the tree and waited for Haley to crawl out from beneath. She did, sweeping her hair away from her face, pine needles all over her, and cursed. Loudly. Colorfully. And he grinned all the more.

  God, he loved this woman.

  She shoved her hands on her hips and turned in a circle, either looking at the mess or for the dog. “I ruined Christmas,” she half wailed. “And this was supposed to be the perfect morning. I wanted you to... I wanted to remind you of Russ and Elaine, of that Christmas, and now, we have a mess—which, I suppose, was part of my goal—and I don’t see that dog.”

  He drew her into his arms, kissed her soundly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, but that doesn’t change the fact that I—”

  “Tried to do something wonderful,” he said in no uncertain terms. “And really, other than the tree on the floor, this is pretty close to how I remember that morning.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Really.” Well, no, but that was fine. The emotion was the same. And to his way of thinking, that was all that mattered. And then, because he’d held it back for so long, he laughed. “I have to say, though, that finding you under the tree trying to coerce that dog was about the funniest sight I’ve been witness to in a long, long while.”

  “I just wanted to make this morning special for you,” she said, picking pine needles out of her hair. “And I thought it would be nice to have a dog here, for when the camp opens. Kids love dogs, so... I don’t know, maybe I should’ve thought this one through more.”

  “Nope. You absolutely shouldn’t have. I love that you did this. Though,” he said, giving the room another appraisal, “we should probably pick up. Before your family arrives.”

  The entire Foster clan had become involved in readying the house and the property, and as of now, everything was almost in order. If not by summer, then in no more than another year, the camp would officially open. And he couldn’t have done any of this as well or as quickly without the support, the help, of Haley’s family.

  Together, he and Haley made quick work of cleaning and redecorating the tree. Then, over cups of coffee and cinnamon rolls from the Beanery, they opened their gifts to each other. It seemed to take forever, but finally she reached for the gift he’d thought long and hard over.

  As she had with every other present, she shook the box before tearing into the paper. He held his breath, waiting, wondering if she’d see what he’d tried to do, tried to show her.

  Lifting the lid, her almost-green eyes widened. Emotion sifted in, softening her features and coating her cheeks in that seductive, rosy glow. “This...is perfect,” she said in a hush. “Absolutely, positively perfect. How...you remembered. I can’t believe you remembered.”

  “Of course I remembered,” he said. “Come here, let me help you with that.”

  Eyes shiny with unshed tears—happy tears, he knew—she nodded, scooted over and held out the necklace he’d purchased. “Thank you, Gavin.”

  His heart thumped as he accepted the necklace, as he considered how he wanted to say the words he need
ed for her to hear. The pendant—a sprig of mistletoe—hung from a relatively long chain, which he held above her head. His own emotion, strong and sure, swept over him.

  Meeting her gaze with his, he said, “Someday, down the road a ways, we’ll have a little girl. Or maybe a boy. But I want our child to see us the way you saw your parents when you were ten, on Christmas Eve. I want our children to feel secure and loved and—” he stopped, pulled in air, steadied his voice “—to always know what being a part of a real family feels like.”

  “Oh. Just...oh.” One tear and then two dripped out of her beautiful eyes. Then he kissed her, this woman he loved. This woman he would always love.

  Sometimes, Gavin thought as he pulled Haley closer to him, as he deepened their kiss, a man has to know when to surrender. More important, perhaps, a man has to be able to recognize the right person he should surrender to.

  And he was damn glad he’d somehow managed to do both.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Date with Destiny by Helen Lacey

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