When Love Arrives

by Johnnie Alexander

  He wandered to the stone circle and plopped in a lawn chair. A few minutes later, Shelby and AJ came through the screen door.

  “It’s Meghan,” Shelby called as she hurried to him and thrust her phone into his hand. “Such good news. Talk to her.”

  The world seemed to slow as he put the phone to his ear. “Meghan?”

  “He’s awake, Brett. Jonah’s awake.”

  Brett bowed his head, pressing the phone against his chest as he concentrated on breathing. AJ clapped his back. “Great news, cuz.”

  Brett nodded, then lifted the phone again. “When can I . . . is it possible . . . ?”

  “This afternoon, if you want. Shelby and AJ are coming. I’m not sure he’ll still be awake, and even if he is, it may only be for a moment, but, I’m so happy and I just . . . I need someone to celebrate with me.”

  “We’ll be there soon, Meghan. Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

  He handed the phone to Shelby, then bent over, hands on his knees. This was what he wanted more than anything else in the world. But somehow the world was still off-kilter.

  – 38 –

  Dani dropped the broken camera into the chair, then curled up on the sofa in a tight ball. The anger and pain she’d seen in Brett’s eyes gripped her heart until she thought it would shatter into a million pieces.

  She should have told him the truth. But instead, in her shock and anger, she’d spouted another lie, wanting to hurt him as much as he had hurt her by breaking her camera.

  Selling the pictures had never been an option. Not really.

  What was she supposed to do now?

  She half-expected, half-hoped that he would come over. That after his anger subsided, he would want to talk to her. To straighten things out. Perhaps even make up.

  But the long minutes turned into dreary hours. And he didn’t come.

  Spent of tears, she restlessly napped, then woke with a headache. She glanced at her phone, but no one had called.

  Not Brett, though that wasn’t a surprise.

  But not Shelby either. Apparently they weren’t such close friends after all. Shelby had seemed shocked by Brett’s behavior, even angry on Dani’s behalf. But in the end, Brett was family. And Dani wasn’t.

  She placed the phone on the table and entered the tiny bathroom. After washing her face, she changed into pajama pants and a comfy pullover, then wandered through the cottage. Her time here had been too short, and she wanted to imprint every memory into her heart.

  Because she couldn’t stay. The refuge, the exciting project—they were over. All because she hadn’t told Brett the truth. But then, they never would have been hers if she had.

  She needed to decide what to do now. Where to go.

  Her options were so few.

  She reached for her phone and found Jeanie’s name.

  “Dani! It’s so good to hear from you.”

  She might as well get right to the point. “I’ve been thinking about that offer. Is the position still open?”

  “Not the sales job, but we have another opening. Nothing glamorous, just basic office work, really.”

  Office work. If only she’d taken the bank job. Though now that Brett hated her, she couldn’t stay in Columbus. It’d be too awful if they accidentally bumped into each other.

  “I know it doesn’t sound like much,” Jeanie continued. “But it’s a foot in the door, and with your background I bet you’d be promoted. There’s rumors that one of the call screeners will be leaving soon. You’d be good at that.”

  “Do you think they’ll hire me?”

  “I already told my boss all about you when that sales job opened up. Please say you’ll come, Dani. It’ll be so much fun working together.”

  “How soon can I start?”

  “How soon can you get here?”

  “Two or three days.”

  “It can’t be too soon for me.”

  A moment’s silence hung between them. The weight of this decision bowed Dani’s shoulders. She was so afraid to go, but she was even more afraid to stay.

  Jeanie’s gentle voice came through the speaker. “What changed your mind?”

  “The new job isn’t working out so well after all.”

  “Sounds like there’s more to it than that.”

  “We’ll talk when I get there, okay?”

  “I can’t wait. Promise you’ll be careful, and stay in touch. It’s a long drive.”

  “I will. Thanks, Jeanie.”

  She hung up the phone and plopped on the bed. So much for all her dreams and hopes. Perhaps she wasn’t meant for awards or the limelight, but couldn’t she at least do something fun? If she wasn’t careful, she’d be spending the next ten years in a boring office, her dreams nothing but dust.

  Not the legacy her mom would have wanted for her.

  But then Mom wasn’t around to see whether or not her dreams came true.

  Sighing heavily, she rose from the bed, padded to the pub table, and booted up her laptop. For the next couple of hours, she typed and organized her research and a bibliography, then created a PowerPoint presentation of possible photographs for the museum’s displays.

  Once the documents were printed, she stacked everything in neat piles on the table. Then she changed clothes and drove to town to find enough boxes for her meager belongings. In the morning, she’d return the DVDs and books she’d borrowed to the library on her way out of town.

  By Tuesday evening, she’d be with Jeanie. Settling into a new life far away from Brett and Misty Willow.

  A new beginning.

  One with no lies.

  Brett arrived at the hospital before AJ and Shelby, who’d driven separately and dropped the girls off at the Owenses’ first. The drive to Columbus had given him time to think, but his thoughts brought him no peace. The good news about Jonah doused his anger but not his hurt.

  When he reached the hospital lobby, he debated whether to wait for AJ and Shelby but decided against it. A minute or two alone with Meghan might be just what he needed.

  The pretty nurse responded to his smile with one of her own. “I’m here to see Jonah Jensen.”

  “Your name, please.”

  “Brett Somers.”

  She consulted a list. “Ms. McCurry said you’d be coming. Along with a couple of other people.”

  “They’ll be here soon.”

  “Great. It’s room 927.”

  “I know where it is. Thank you.”

  Standing outside the door, he took a deep breath, then knocked softly.

  “Come in.”

  He entered, his eyes drawn immediately to Jonah’s bed. “Is he really okay?”

  “He’s really out of the coma. But still sleeping a lot. They say that’s normal.”

  “Normal.” He breathed the word.

  “He’s going to be okay, Brett. In time, he’ll be okay.”

  He raised his eyes to Meghan. “Thanks for letting me come.”

  “I’m so happy, I want to shout it to the world.”

  “Me too.”

  “Where are Shelby and AJ?”

  “On their way.” He stroked Jonah’s arm. “So what happened?”

  “He opened his eyes this morning. And then his arms flailed. It scared me, but I called the nurse and, well, that’s normal when people come out of a coma. Then a couple of hours ago, he squeezed my hand. He said Mommy.” Happy tears glistened in Meghan’s gray eyes. “I never heard anything so beautiful in my life.”

  The adrenaline rush eased from Meghan’s body, and she stifled a yawn. It’d been a long and exciting day. A great day.

  Finally her son slept—not in a deep coma but the peaceful sleep of a tired little boy. For the first time in months, perhaps she’d be able to sleep too. Without the help of any pills.

  She sank onto the couch and rubbed her hands over her eyes, looking up when the door squeaked open. Brett entered carrying two cans of ginger ale.

  “I thought you were going home.” />
  “Me too.” He feigned a careless shrug. “But after AJ and Shelby left, I changed my mind. Is that okay?”

  “I guess.”

  “We should celebrate.” He held up the cans. “This is the best thing I could find in the vending machines.”

  “At least it doesn’t have caffeine.”

  “Exactly.” He popped a tab, then handed the can to her. “You need to get some rest. Are you staying here tonight?”

  “I don’t think I’d sleep if I left him.”

  “Do you need anything? Want anything?”

  “Only for Jonah to keep getting better.”

  “He’s going to.”

  “And then what?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What are you going to do? Legally, I mean.”

  “I just want to be part of his life. That’s all.”

  He lifted the ginger ale to his lips and took a drink. The dimples flattened, then disappeared. But they didn’t tug at her heart like they once had. Their quick romance had been the biggest mistake of her life.

  And the biggest blessing.

  “We could talk about a couple of things,” he said.

  “What things?”

  “For one, where you’re going to live when Jonah is released from here.”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

  “Don’t go back to Michigan. Please.” He flashed his dimples. “You’ve got to raise him a Buckeye.”

  The playful expression in his eyes eased her tension, and she shook her head. “You and AJ. It’s all about OSU.”

  “You said he liked the monkey.”

  “I have a life in Brennan Grove, you know. So does Jonah.”

  “I know it’s asking a lot.” The playfulness disappeared as he grew serious. “But I am asking you, Meghan. More than asking. I’m begging you. Stay here. Raise him here.”

  She hadn’t given much thought to the future, fearing to make any plans while Jonah was still in his coma. Fearful to face the demands she’d been sure Brett would make. Deep in her heart, she knew he wouldn’t want his son to be half a day’s drive away.

  What did she really have to go back to?

  Her little house and studio. Dawn’s art gallery. Familiar places. A community she knew.

  But the small town hadn’t been all roses. And a couple hundred miles between her and Travis wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “What are you thinking?” Brett asked quietly.

  “Maybe it’s time to make a fresh start.”

  “You mean it?”

  “I’m not making a decision tonight. Or even tomorrow. But I’m not sure we could go back even if I wanted to.” Jonah’s doctor had already hinted that therapy might last several months. It all depended on how much the little guy needed to relearn.

  “But you’ll consider staying here.”

  “I’ll consider it.”

  He nodded, seeming to release a heavy weight from his shoulders. It was almost hard to believe this was the same gorgeous man who’d oozed self-confidence as he flirted with her at his grandparents’ Christmas party all those years ago. She’d been flattered, excessively so, at his attentions, and imagined herself madly, wildly in love.

  But the whirlwind romance had ended as quickly as it had begun, leaving her humiliated, ashamed, and broken. The scheme to ensnare AJ had been the desperate attempt of a frightened and heartsick woman barely out of her teens. She hadn’t counted on his grandfather’s stepping in to offer a solution. One that gave them both what they wanted.

  Sully protected his favorite grandson from scandal. She got more money than she’d ever seen at one time and his promise she could raise her child with no interference from the Sullivan family.

  Because despite what Sully told AJ at the time, the money had never been for an abortion. He didn’t want his great-grandchild in his life, but he didn’t want that life destroyed either.

  It was the secret they had shared, only the two of them, and a promise she’d had every intention of keeping.

  Until Jonah was injured and AJ walked back into her life.

  She’ll consider it. For now, it was the best Brett could hope for. He almost wished he loved her, that for Jonah’s sake, their story could have a happy-ever-after ending. But real life didn’t work like that. Even if he proposed, she’d never accept. The scars of the past ran too deep.

  “There’s something else I need to tell you,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I set up a trust fund for Jonah.”

  “You didn’t need to do that.”

  “I owe you eight years of back child support.”

  “You’ve probably already paid that for his hospital bills.”

  “You’re not supposed to know about that.”

  Her shoulders sagged as if she were too tired to argue, too weary to do battle. “Is this a bribe so I’ll stay in Columbus?”

  “It’s already done. The money is Jonah’s no matter where you live.”

  “No strings? No conditions?”

  “None.”

  A light chuckle filled the air. He’d forgotten how lovely she sounded when she was amused.

  “You’re not angry?” he asked.

  “We did okay, Jonah and me. At least until things became so awful with Travis. But this”—she waved her hand around the hospital room—“this changed everything. Whether I like it or not, Jonah is a Somers. He should benefit from that.”

  “I agree.”

  “You don’t think that makes me a money-grubbing social climber? That’s what your grandfather called me, you know. He said I wasn’t good enough for AJ.”

  “He had it all wrong. We weren’t good enough for you. Neither one of us.”

  Not back then. AJ had disappeared to sulk, taking too long to make up his mind to fight for Meghan. And Brett, who suspected the truth about Jonah’s paternity, took sophomoric joy in watching the relationship between Sully and AJ crumble around them. He’d taken immense pleasure in stepping into AJ’s place as the favorite grandson and scarcely thought of what Meghan might be going through.

  “But we’re here for you now. Anything you need or want.”

  For the first time the smile Meghan gave him reached her eyes. If the hospital bed hadn’t been between them, he might have put his arm around her. Or pulled her into an embrace.

  Maybe it wasn’t too late for them after all.

  The thought sprang up, then as quickly wilted.

  The woman he wanted in his arms wasn’t in this room.

  “Mommy?”

  The whispered voice snagged Brett’s heart, and he hovered beside the rail. Meghan jumped from the couch and brushed Jonah’s hair from his forehead.

  “I’m here, sweetheart.”

  The little boy’s eyes flickered, then opened. He gazed into Meghan’s eyes and sighed wearily. “Can I pick the color?”

  “What color?”

  He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. “The color of the light.”

  Meghan startled, her gaze flickering to Brett then back to Jonah. “Sure. Which one do you want?”

  “Green.” The light blue eyes opened again. A hint of a smile touched his lips, and dimples creased his pale cheeks. “My favorite.”

  “Green it is.” Meghan turned on the ambient light, bathing the room in serene tranquility.

  Gratitude and wonder lodged in Brett’s throat. Finally, he experienced the color instead of observing it through the window like a prodigal observer. Joy overwhelmed him, and his knees buckled.

  Thank you, God. Sobs broke past his defenses. Thank you for saving my son.

  – 39 –

  Dani stuck her laptop on the floor in front of the passenger seat, then turned to take one last look at the cottage. Nestled into the hillside, it appeared a natural part of this little corner of the world.

  Her little corner for too brief a time.

  Another disappointed dream but with only herself to blame. She should never have
agreed to move into this refuge. Never should have allowed herself to believe she could be happy here. Not when her secret, a ticking time bomb, could explode in her face at any moment.

  She’d meant to delete the photos.

  But staring at them had allowed her to glimpse the man behind the façade of gorgeous dimples and debonair charm. The man who was slowly revealing his heart to her.

  She could never push the delete button for a single image.

  And now he hated her.

  She slammed the car door harder than she intended. The sound reverberated against the small hillside and into her heart, a harsh and noisy ending to the brief happiness she’d known here.

  A long night of crying had spent her tears but left her eyes red and puffy. Hopefully, she could face Shelby without falling apart.

  She drove past AJ’s bungalow, turned left at the stop sign, and rounded the curve to the Misty Willow homestead.

  You don’t have to do this. Just keep driving.

  The temptation beckoned, but she made the turn into the graveled drive. Brett wouldn’t have the satisfaction of thinking her a coward or the opportunity to criticize her for leaving without telling anyone.

  Though why did she care what he thought?

  Shelby rose from kneeling beside a bed of fading annuals and removed her gloves as Dani parked her car.

  “Hey, there,” she said. “Are you okay?”

  Shelby had called last night, leaving a message, and Dani had responded with a brief text saying she was fine but didn’t feel like talking.

  “I’m fine.”

  “About yesterday. Brett knows he—”

  “I can’t talk about it. Please don’t make me.”

  Shelby nodded, then eyed the box Dani had retrieved from the car. “We weren’t supposed to meet this morning, were we? I’m sorry, I must have forgotten.”

  “No, we weren’t meeting.” Dani set the box on the picnic table. “I wanted to give you these.”

  “What are they?”

  “My notes, a couple of mock-ups of display ideas. A DVD I bought. Well, you bought. The foundation bought.” Her voice faded, and she cleared her throat.

  Shelby’s eyes flickered over the car filled with boxes and clothes. “Dani—”