When Love Arrives

by Johnnie Alexander

“I found a ring in my apartment.” He held it out to her.

  “My birthstone?” She eagerly snatched the ring, then pushed it onto her finger. “I thought I’d lost it.”

  The way she grabbed the ring, as if it was a long-lost family heirloom, snapped at Brett’s already taut nerves.

  “It may be your birthstone,” he said, “but technically it’s my ring.”

  “You aren’t planning to give it to someone else, are you?”

  “What do you think?”

  She extended her arm and admired the ring. “I think it’s beautiful. And it will always remind me of you.”

  “Because you bought it with my money.”

  “I bought a lot of things with your money.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then what is?”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it again. An argument was the last thing he wanted. A similar thought must have been going through Tracie’s mind. She softened her expression and pressed her fingers against his arm.

  “I’ve missed you, Brett. Remember what it was like, the two of us dancing at all those charity events?” She slid her fingers into his hand. “We were always the most attractive couple, you and me.”

  “I’m not here to reminisce,” he said, keeping his voice as even as possible. He couldn’t explain why, but her fingers felt wrong against his. An impossible fit. He eased his hand away.

  Tracie’s eyes narrowed, and the fine lines around her mouth tensed. “Why did you want to meet me?”

  He took a moment before answering. This conversation had already gone places he hadn’t intended and reflected an ugly side of himself he’d rather ignore. But he couldn’t be that person—not anymore. “I want to apologize.”

  She arched her elegantly shaped eyebrow. “I see. For what exactly?”

  “For how I behaved. For ending things without telling you why. I’m . . . I’m sorry.”

  She leaned against the back of the stool, arms folded across her chest. “Who told you?”

  “Told me what?”

  “Was it Minerva?” She snorted. “She probably told Zach and he told you. Is that right?”

  His mind tried and failed to fill in the missing pieces. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Fine. We’ll play it your way. After your little ‘I’m Ohio’s most eligible bachelor’ interview went viral, I did an interview of my own. With the Weekly Blast. Are you familiar with it?”

  “It’s the local equivalent of the National Enquirer. So what?”

  “So they’re going to run a story all about the real Brett Somers. The one who sexually harasses his employees then fires them.”

  “You know that’s not what happened.”

  She gave a slow, deliberate shrug. “People believe what they want.”

  “If they print that story, I’ll sue for libel.”

  “They’re used to dealing with you corporate types, and they love to be threatened.” A callous smile stretched her lips. “The story will be that much better. And no matter how strongly you deny my allegations, they’ll still be out there.”

  “You’re crossing a line, Tracie.”

  “And you didn’t?” Her eyes suddenly reddened. “I thought we had a future together.”

  “Why would you have thought that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you gave me a credit card. Told me to go shopping.”

  “An arrangement I’ve had with almost every woman I’ve ever dated.”

  “It was different with us.”

  “No. It wasn’t.”

  “You can’t mean that.”

  He didn’t respond. There was nothing else to say.

  She sighed heavily, then stood. “Never contact me again.”

  Her departure wasn’t nearly as confident as her arrival. Guilt tightened its hold on Brett’s gut, and then anger.

  Anger at his own arrogance.

  Perhaps Tracie’s interview was God’s punishment for his sins. The consequences of his actions. At least now he knew it was coming, a tornado on the horizon.

  For the second time in just a few hours, Dani braved the rain to drive to Misty Willow. After a long cry and a hot shower, the thought of a lonely Friday night in the quiet cottage unnerved her. It didn’t help when lightning streaked across the long row of windows or claps of thunder boomed just outside the walls. So when Shelby called to ask her over again, she jumped at the chance. She even said yes to spending the night after learning the bridge between the cottage and Shelby’s road sometimes flooded.

  The girls greeted her with gleeful squeals, pulling her to their room as soon as she’d taken off her jacket and wet shoes.

  “We’re going to have a slumber party,” Elizabeth said. “In front of the TV. So Mommy said you could sleep in our room if you wanted.”

  “Choose my bed, my bed.” Tabby jumped up and down with excitement.

  “Or sleep with us.” Elizabeth pulled Dani across the hall to the living room and pointed to rolled-up sleeping bags piled by the couch. “Those are for Tabby and me, but you can sleep on the couch.”

  Shelby entered the room with a tray of fresh veggies, chips, assorted crackers, and a steaming baking dish.

  “That smells delicious,” Dani said.

  “It’s a dip recipe I got from Cassie Owens: bacon, cheese, and jalapeño. We’ll save the popcorn for later.” Shelby scooted the girls to their room to change into pajamas, and Dani helped lay out the snacks on the unusual coffee table. Thick planks stained a deep espresso rested on four immovable iron wheels. It fit the décor of the room perfectly, an upscale country style. The mason jar holding Brett’s flowers would look perfect on it.

  No more thinking about Brett.

  Before long, everyone settled on the couch with snacks and comfy afghans as the storm raged outside. Lila stretched in front of the unlit fireplace, her nose resting peacefully on her forelegs.

  Elizabeth and Tabby selected the first movie, an animated story about bees that Dani hadn’t seen before. With the girls snuggling on either side of her in the dimly lit room, she relaxed into the moment. Tabby’s feet pressed into her thighs, but she didn’t care. She craved times like this, a family gathered together on a stormy night, not doing anything memorable.

  Except creating another warm and fuzzy memory of happy times.

  She’d once known moments like this. On wintry evenings, she and Mom had curled up together for movie nights, feasting on freshly baked cookies and sipping steaming cups of hot chocolate covered with marshmallows. But those special together times ended when Mom married. It seemed all the little traditions she’d shared with Mom changed when her stepdad moved in. She didn’t mind at first—in fact, she was ecstatic to finally have a dad. They had new traditions like pancakes on Saturday mornings and walking to the ice cream stand on Sunday afternoons for a double-dip cone.

  Until Mom died. He’d been lost without her and found solace in all the wrong ways. Soon he became someone Mom wouldn’t have recognized.

  Near the middle of the second movie, Tabby squirmed and cuddled closer. Dani put her arm around the little girl’s shoulder and stroked her hair. “That feels nice,” Tabby murmured sleepily.

  Dani silently agreed. Nice to be here on a stormy night. Nice to be sandwiched between two fun little girls. Nice to belong, even if only for a little while.

  – 36 –

  Brett took a deep breath, then slowly opened the hospital door.

  “Come on in,” Shelby said quietly.

  Taking another deep breath, he walked softly toward the bed. The little boy lying in it looked almost lost beneath the covers and the tubes. His sandy hair needed a trim, and his long dark lashes brushed his pale cheeks.

  Shelby stood on the other side of the bed. “Let me introduce you to your son. This is Jonah.” She leaned down and whispered in the boy’s ear. “Jonah, your daddy is here. He wants to say hello.”

  Brett glanced at her, unsure what he should do. What
he should say. She gave him an encouraging nod. With one finger, he brushed the bangs from his son’s forehead.

  His son.

  “Hi, Jonah,” he said quietly. “How have you been, buddy? You know, you’ve been here a long time. Too long. But I know you’re going to get better. And when you do, we’re going to have so much fun. We can go fishing with your Uncle AJ. Would you like to do that? Or we can go to a football game. Watch the Buckeyes beat Michigan.”

  His throat caught, and he swiped his hands over his eyes. He’d thought he had it made, living a life that was the envy of his peers. Trading one beautiful woman for another. Free to make his own decisions, to live life on his terms.

  But this is what he had missed. The chance to be a father to a little boy who was growing up without one. Except for that reprobate Meghan had taken up with. He’d proved not to be any kind of dad.

  Bile swirled in his gut, and his face tightened.

  “What is it?” Shelby asked.

  “Just thinking of Meghan’s husband. What I’d like to do—”

  “You mean her ex-husband.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s his fault Jonah’s lying here.” His voice caught again. “You’d think she’d have been more careful about who she married.”

  “And who she slept with.” Shelby’s words, laced with a touch of sarcasm, punched the air from Brett’s lungs.

  If anyone was to blame, it was him.

  He avoided Shelby’s gaze by staring at Jonah. Meghan’s drunken ex had walked away from the horrific accident that put Jonah in this coma. Barely a scratch on him. While Jonah . . . And yet it needn’t have happened.

  Shelby reached across the bed and gripped his hand. “I’m sorry I said that, Brett. You have every right to be mad. Just don’t be mad at Meghan.”

  “I deserved it.” He blew out a breath, trying to get his emotions under control. “If I’d been a better man . . .” His voice broke, and he swallowed hard. “I . . .” He shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to shock Shelby with the word he’d almost said. “I seduced her. I let Sully bully her and I let AJ take the blame. And I hardly gave her another thought until AJ found her.”

  He couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer. “I’m responsible for this.” He spat the words past the lump choking him. “God forgive me, this is all my fault.”

  Arms against the rail, he bent his head, not sure he could have stood without the bed’s support.

  Immediately Shelby was by his side, one hand resting on his arm, the other rubbing his back.

  “I just want Jonah to be okay,” he said huskily.

  “I know. It’s what we all want.”

  “You’ve been praying.”

  “Every day.”

  “Then why isn’t God listening to your prayers?”

  “He’s listening.”

  “But not doing anything.”

  “It seems that way, I know. But look at how God has protected Jonah.”

  “Protected him?”

  “Jonah could have died in that accident. But he didn’t. And it wasn’t a coincidence that AJ found Meghan when she needed him most. Because of that, Jonah is getting the best possible care.” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand. He wanted to, but a giant stone blocked his heart.

  “Even if the worst happens, we’ll all know that everything that could be done for Jonah was done. Neither you nor Meghan will be haunted by that.”

  “He looks so small.”

  Shelby gave him a half hug. “He has your eyes.”

  Brett’s glance darted to her, then back to Jonah. “How do you know?”

  “Meghan told me. The very same blue.”

  “Really?”

  “Um-hm. She told me she’d forgotten how much he looked like you till you came to the hospital that first time. It panicked her.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ve got money. To hire attorneys. To give Jonah things she can’t. All she has is him.” She gestured toward the small boy, then smoothed his blanket. “She’s afraid you’ll take him. That’s why she’s kept you away.”

  “What changed her mind?”

  “If I had to guess, I’d say Aaron. He has a very high opinion of you.” Her lips curved into a mischievous grin. “I don’t know why.”

  Brett straightened and arched his back. “What can I tell you? He knew me before I became the world’s biggest jerk.”

  “I met him again this morning. He seems a bit smitten.”

  “That’s not a word you hear every day.”

  “But it fits.”

  “What about Meghan?”

  “She definitely likes him. But I think she’s too worried about Jonah to be interested in a relationship.”

  “Aaron’s a good man. Better than me.” He rotated his shoulders and paced the room, suddenly restless. Returning to the bed, he gripped the rails. “Do you think it’s true what the Bible says? That part about the sins of the father being visited upon the children?”

  “You know that verse?”

  He ignored the question. “I pretty much followed in my dad’s footsteps. Except I didn’t make the mistake of marrying someone first.” He gestured toward Jonah. “If he grows up to be like me . . .”

  “We’re all influenced by our childhoods.” Shelby looked thoughtful, again as if she were weighing her words, wanting to say the right thing. “But we still make our own choices.”

  “You think I can be someone different? Like AJ?”

  She smiled broadly, her eyes shining at the mention of AJ’s name. His cousin was lucky to be loved so deeply. “Why don’t you just try being the best of Brett?”

  “Sounds like a top ten list.”

  “Jonah needs someone to look up to. Even if his first years have been difficult, that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you to be a significant part of his life. To be the dad he desperately needs.”

  Brett stared at his son, letting Shelby’s encouraging words glide over the stone in his heart, melting it with their warmth. His life could have been so different. He could have been a dad coming home every day to a woman he adored, the mother of his children. Now he’d never have that. At least not with Meghan and Jonah. But Shelby was right. That didn’t mean he couldn’t have a relationship with them. That he couldn’t be part of Jonah’s life from here on out.

  At least Meghan was giving him that chance. And maybe she’d give Aaron a chance too.

  “All I want is to be his dad. The best dad I can be.”

  “I know.”

  “And maybe someone’s . . . special someone.” The word husband wouldn’t slide past his lips. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that yet.

  “Oh?” Curiosity lengthened the simple syllable.

  “Must be something in the air. I think I’m feeling a little smitten myself.”

  “With Dani?”

  “What do you think of her?”

  “I like her. She’s hardworking. Has a lot of creativity and vision. Plus she’s fun to be with.”

  “Was she at your house when I called yesterday?”

  “I was telling her my family history.”

  “Did she, you know, talk about me?”

  “That would be breaking the girl code.”

  “Come on. We’re family. Almost. What did she say?”

  For a few seconds, Shelby stared at the monitors, then seemed to make up her mind what to tell him. “She thinks you spend time with her because you’re lonely.”

  Brett’s eyes widened, and he poked his chest with his finger. “Me? She thinks I’m lonely?”

  “Not the case, huh?”

  “I’ve got a list this long”—he held out his arms—“of gorgeous young women who are just waiting to see my name pop up on their cell phone screens. Lonely.”

  “You do have a high opinion of yourself.” Shelby shook her head but smiled. “Anyway, I told her the same thing. Though not in those words.”

  “So she thinks she’s doing me a favor? I can’t believe this.”

&nb
sp; “Quit being a baby. She didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Then how did she mean it?”

  “Confession. I was being nosy.”

  “And?”

  “Maybe playing matchmaker.” She scrunched up her features. “Just a little.”

  “I don’t need your help finding a girlfriend.”

  “I just want to see you happy. And you know you’re not going to be as long as you’re running around with women like Tracie.”

  “So you think I can be happy with Dani?”

  “You’re different when you’re with her. More at ease and, I don’t know, relaxed maybe.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  “I told her I thought God brought the two of you together. You’ve got to admit it’s kind of strange the way you met.”

  “True.” He thought back to that night at the hospital, and how much had changed since then. He never would have believed that he’d actually be here with Jonah instead of staring up at the colored lights. “I’ve been praying. Or at least trying to. I don’t always know what words to say.”

  “Just say the words that are in your heart.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “That’s because it is. God is always listening.”

  “Maybe to you. But I’ve probably broken every commandment there is.”

  “I’ve broken commandments too.”

  “Not like me.”

  “It’s not a contest, Brett. It’s a relationship.”

  “I’d do whatever God wanted if he’d save my son.”

  “God’s son already paid the ultimate price to save you. And Jonah.”

  Her words caught him up short. He’d been to church often enough as a kid to have heard the sermons, to know the basics. But none of the preaching or teaching had affected him as much as Shelby’s comeback. For the first time, he was struck by the magnitude of what God had done all those centuries ago.

  Could he have done what God did? Sacrificed his only son to save someone else?

  Never.

  He gazed at the small boy, quiet and still beneath the blanket, and a swell of love threatened to burst his heart. He could barely stand the enormity of what he felt for this child. To think that God’s love was even greater. It was unfathomable.

  It was true.