Almost Home

by Mariah Stewart

  Wade fell back, taking her with him, his arms wrapped around her, his heart pounding so close to hers, his breathing ragged, his eyes closed as he sought to recover from what had felt like a long fall over a steep cliff. Stef felt his chest rise and fall beneath hers, and watched his face in contented silence until her own breathing returned to normal.

  She nibbled on his chin and smiled to herself.

  “Wade,” she whispered, “that was round one, right?”

  “Huh?” His eyes partially opened, and she smiled to herself.

  She pushed herself up slightly. “That was first-time sex, right?”

  “Call it what you want, Stef, it was terrific.”

  “We still have to have makeup sex.”

  “What?” His eyes were wide-open now.

  “I was really angry with you earlier, but then we talked things out and we made up. Hence, makeup sex follows.”

  “Perhaps you could give me a minute to catch my breath.”

  “Perhaps a minute.” She lowered her mouth to his. “Then again, perhaps not …”

  WHAT time do you have to have to be at Scoop today?” Wade lay on his back, Stef curled in the crook of his arm and covered by a light blue blanket. Whatever response she’d made was unintelligible.

  “Say that again?”

  “I said Tina is opening for me today.” She yawned. “I told her I’d come in after the brunch my parents are having for Dallas and the family.” She covered a second yawn with her hand. “So I’ll see you and the little guy in about four hours or so.”

  She burrowed back under the blanket. It had turned cold during the night and cool air had seeped in through the partially open window on the opposite side of the room.

  Wade tried to check the time, but he couldn’t quite see the face of the clock on Stef’s bedside table. He wanted to be at Berry’s when Austin awoke. He hadn’t told anyone he was leaving or that he wasn’t coming back last night, and he didn’t want his sister’s active imagination conjuring up scenes of his body floating downriver toward the Bay.

  He eased himself out of the bed, with as little disturbance to Stef as possible, and turned the clock around. It was later than he’d thought. He gathered his clothes and made his way to the bathroom. When he came back into the bedroom, ready to leave, he found Stef still all but passed out.

  “You’re a lightweight, Wyler,” he whispered in her ear. “You went out cold after three rounds.”

  “I’m not the one who’s dressed and ready to flee the scene,” she replied without opening her eyes.

  “I’m only leaving because—” he began to explain.

  “I’m teasing you.” She emerged slightly from the covers and smiled. “I know you have to get back to Austin. It’s all right. I’m all right with it. Actually, I’m surprised you stayed all night.”

  His fingers caught in the tangle of her hair and he watched her eyes, still smoky with sleep. “Best night ever,” he told her.

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “I always knew it would be like that between us, you know?”

  “You mean, damn near perfect?”

  “Yeah. Damn near.”

  “You know what they say about practice.” She sat up and placed a hand on either side of his face, drew him close and kissed him. “Now go take care of Austin. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  “Are you getting up?”

  “Are you crazy?” She snuggled down onto the pillow. “I’m not the one with a child …”

  He laughed and pulled the covers up to her chin, then let himself out of the apartment. It was almost a mile back to Berry’s, but the cool air felt good and the walk served not only to wake him up but to clear his head as well. He had known it would be like that with Stef, and it had been pretty damn near perfect. He wondered if that was the reason he’d avoided her for so long. Maybe somewhere deep inside he’d known that if they ever got that close, they’d fry each other to a crisp.

  Moth to flame. He’d been right about that, too.

  Back when he was eighteen, with all the world before him, he’d had to leave. Now he wasn’t so sure that what lay ahead was going to be worth losing what he’d be leaving behind.

  He’d wanted to talk to her about the job, thought they’d spend some quiet time talking last night, but that hadn’t happened. Maybe today, he thought, there’d be time.

  Or maybe tonight, if she’d let him stay again tonight. He hoped she would. Maybe another night, and he’d have her out of his system.

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “Let me know how that works out for you …”

  Stef heard Wade’s footfalls on the steps, listened to them descending, heard the front door open and close, his footsteps leading down the walk, then nothing. She pulled both pillows under her head—his and hers—and propped herself up. She grabbed the remote control from the table next to the bed and mindlessly began to channel surf, hoping to find something that would help her drown out the thoughts that were running through her head. On Sunday morning there were about a dozen televangelists doing their thing and about an equal number of news shows. Mostly there were infomercials for makeup—four different kinds; skin-care products—another three; exercise equipment, all guaranteed to effortlessly reduce the size of your thighs, hips, and butt—there was an endless number of those. She clicked off the TV and stared at the blank screen.

  She’d finally had what she’d wanted for so long, and it had been more than she’d even dreamed of.

  “So you’d think you’d be satisfied,” she said aloud. “But no. You want more. You want all of him, but you can’t have him. No surprise there. He never pretended otherwise.”

  She got out of the bed and went into the bathroom for a shower.

  “What part of ‘leaving tomorrow for Connecticut’ do I not understand?” she asked herself while she dried her hair. “What part of ‘job in another state’ is a foreign phrase?”

  She dressed and put on makeup and tried to put on a happy face to go with it. She was happy. She wanted to be happy again, stay happy for a while. Tough to do with Wade leaving the next day.

  Her bravado the night before aside, she wasn’t sure she could handle saying good-bye to him again. She’d believed it when she said it, and at the time, it had probably been true. After spending one long magical night with him, she had to reconsider.

  “But this time,” she told her reflection as she put on her earrings, “if I’m sad, that’ll be on me. If I hurt—and I probably will—I can’t blame him since last night was my idea. I was the one who pushed.”

  She paused. “And I’m not saying it wasn’t a good idea. I just want more. Lord help me, I want more …”

  She strapped on high heels and grabbed her bag and her keys. She got as far as the front walk when she realized her car was still parked on River Road. Unless, of course, the police towed it because of the overnight parking restriction.

  Nah, Beck wouldn’t do that to her.

  She strode off toward town and hoped that her feet wouldn’t be crying the blues by the time she got there. She knew she was going to be late because she hadn’t planned on having to walk from the apartment to Let’s Do Brunch, which was several doors down from Bling on Charles Street. But the walk was invigorating and she was flushed by the time she arrived. The other guests were all seated, and she tried to sneak in the side door.

  Wade rose when he saw her, and he pushed back from his chair and went to her.

  “I saved a seat for you.” He took her hand. When she looked into his eyes, she saw something that she hadn’t seen there before. She wasn’t sure she knew what it was, but she liked it.

  “Great.” She smiled and let him lead her to the table where his family and hers were seated together.

  “I hope you don’t mind that we started already, sweetie.” Her mother appeared to be ignoring the fact that Wade still held her hand. “We weren’t sure what time you’d be arriving.”

  “No apologies.” Stef glanced around the room.
“Lots of folks here from last night. Lots of business for the little town.” She smiled broadly. “I like it.”

  They talked about the party, what big-name star had been wearing what and which up-and-comer had embarrassed himself by making a blatant—and drunken—move on a well-known director; who seemed to really enjoy St. Dennis and who was paying lip service to Dallas in the hopes of being cast in her first picture; and how Berry had been the show-stopper.

  “I need to get down to Scoop,” Stef announced as the morning faded into afternoon. “I can’t leave Tina there all day by herself after I had her open this morning for me.”

  “Scoop!” Austin clapped his hands.

  “What do you say we walk Steffie down to the shop?” Wade lifted his son from the high chair.

  “Yay!” Cody got up and tugged on Paige’s hand. “Let’s go with them.”

  “Hold up there, Cody,” Dallas called to him before he could open the door. “We’ll all walk together.”

  “Speak for yourself, dear.” Berry stood, Archer holding the back of her chair. “We’ll drive. My knees, you know. The old girl isn’t what she used to be.”

  “Couldn’t tell that by the applause you got last night,” Archer reminded her. “You’re still a star.”

  “Of course I am.” Berry smiled.

  The group trailed out onto the sidewalk, where Wade stopped to lift Austin onto his shoulders. Paige sought Stef’s company, and arm in arm, they strolled along.

  “Are you having sex with Wade?” Paige whispered in her aunt’s ear. “I think you and Wade are having sex. You look like you—”

  “Paige Wyler …” Steffie sputtered. “That’s totally inappropriate and none of your business. And how would you know what it looks like when …”

  Paige laughed and pointed ahead to her father and Dallas.

  “You’re too young to think about things like that.” Steffie tried to keep a straight face.

  Wade turned around and asked, “What’s she too young for?”

  “Driving,” Paige piped up. “I was saying I couldn’t wait until I could drive.”

  They’d crossed Charles Street and were halfway down Kelly’s Point when Stef saw Dallas turn to Grant and say, “Paparazzi on the left. Do you mind?”

  “Nah.” Grant shook his head. “Everyone’s been talking about your birthday weekend for weeks now. A couple of pictures aren’t going to hurt anyone.”

  Scoop was crowded and it seemed that many of the customers had been at the party the night before and were hoping for another taste of honey lavender.

  “Sorry,” Stef explained as she stepped behind the counter and tied on an apron. “That was special for Dallas. But we have some other really yummy flavors …” She directed their attention to the cooler and the containers of chocolate monster mash, apple walnut, maple walnut, pumpkin raisin, and spiced pear.

  She served Cody and Austin and sent Paige to one of the tables out front with the boys. Dallas and Grant mingled with some of last night’s guests and Berry and Archer arrived as some of the crowd were beginning to disperse.

  “Goodness,” Berry said, watching others leave as she arrived. “Was it something I said?”

  “We offered to give a tour of the warehouses to anyone who’s interested,” Dallas told her. “So everyone can see where my new studio will be.”

  “Right now all they’re going to see are empty warehouses,” Wade pointed out.

  “True. But anyone with any vision will be able to see how fabulous it’s going to be.”

  “Whatever.” Wade shook his head and his sister laughed.

  From the corner of her eye, Steffie saw Wade standing at the end of the cooler. Between customers, she took a few steps sideways and asked, “Did you want me?”

  “Again and again,” he told her, and she laughed.

  “That kind of talk is for later. Right now I’m working.”

  “I’m going to take Austin back to Berry’s and get him settled while I try to get things organized for tomorrow.”

  “All right.”

  “Can I stop over later?” he asked as if he wasn’t sure how she’d respond. “It might only be for a little while. We have to leave early.”

  “I’ll be home after I close up. You know the way.” She touched his hand, then went back to work, reminding herself that a little while was better than no while.

  It had only been a little while—less than three hours, but they’d used every minute of the time they had together. He’d wanted to talk about his job, but she had other plans.

  “We can talk some other time,” she told him as she unbuttoned his shirt. “We can talk on the phone. Or text. Or send e-mails. But we won’t be able to do this …” She drew herself up to kiss his face and then his lips, and whatever it was he’d wanted to talk to her about had had to wait.

  “What time will you be heading out tomorrow?” Steffie asked while she watched Wade dress. She tried to sound casual but wasn’t sure she pulled it off.

  “Early. I had planned on driving, but then I got to thinking about things, and decided maybe we should fly instead.”

  “What about all your stuff?”

  He zipped his jeans and sat on the edge of the bed.

  “What if it isn’t a good situation for Austin?” he said.

  “What are you talking about?” She moved closer, the sheet wrapped around her.

  “Ted said there’s a day-care right there at the plant.”

  “That’s good, though, right?”

  “I guess. Austin’s never been around a whole bunch of kids at the same time before. He’s always been with adults. Except for Cody, but they’re like brothers now. What if Austin doesn’t like being part of a group all day? Eight or nine in the morning till six at night is a really long day for a little kid. What if he doesn’t like it? What if he doesn’t like the people who work at the day-care center? What if he misses Cody and Berry …?” He stopped and turned to her. “I’m beginning to obsess, aren’t I?”

  “Uh-huh. But those are the things parents have to deal with every day. Not that I know from experience, but that’s what I’ve read. You do what you have to do.”

  “True enough. I’ve just never had to think about it until now, and once I did, I realized that it’s going to be a big change for him. He’s already had one big change in his life, you know?”

  She nodded. Losing his mother had certainly been a big change.

  “Anyway, I need to make sure things will be right for him.” He took her hand. “And then there’s this contract issue.”

  “What contract issue?”

  After he explained, she said, “So you’ve asked to see it but this guy hasn’t sent it yet?”

  “Right. I still haven’t seen it. Which makes me wonder what he’s hiding. Like maybe the fine print.”

  “Could he really do that? Make you sign away your rights to your beers?” Stef frowned. “That would be like someone else laying claim to my ice-cream recipes.”

  “Exactly.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t give up your brewing secrets, Wade.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Wade?”

  “What?”

  “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were looking for reasons to not stay in Connecticut.”

  “The thought’s occurred to me.”

  “But maybe you’ll get there and everything will be just skippy. The day-care thing and the job and the contract and you’ll find a great place to live.”

  “Will you come see us?” he asked.

  “Sure. Will you come back and see me?”

  “Absolutely.” He smoothed her hair with his hand. “We’ll see how far this goes, okay?”

  “We’ll be okay,” she told him, and prayed she sounded more convinced than she felt.

  She managed to keep a smile on her face and a positive attitude as they said good-bye, even until the door closed behind
him and she turned the lock.

  Then, from somewhere deep inside, a little voice whispered that some things never change. Wade would leave and get on with his life, and she’d still be here, in St. Dennis, alone, until next time.

  Diary ~

  My, what a time we had on Saturday night! It reminded me of the days when Berry would fly in from California with some of her Hollywood friends and throw one of her fabulous cocktail parties. What fun to see so many celebrities up close and personal. ALL those designer dresses and fabulous jewels! Our little town is still buzzing. And why not? Dallas’s party made it to the cover of every entertainment publication on the market. Why, almost every one of the tabloids and the glossy gossip magazines had pictures on their covers. We had a grand time passing those around at Cuppachino these last few days. Everyone was tickled to see that even Steffie and Wade made several of the covers. Oh, not by themselves, of course, but in photos of the birthday girl and her new fiancé! Yes, Grant went down on one knee to pop the question at the party. Who knew he was so gallant? He gave Dallas a ring that had belonged to his grandmother. Some of us—I and a few others—are old enough to remember when his grandmother, Helen Kay, received that ring on her wedding day. Dallas, who I hear has some very lovely diamonds of her own, seemed genuinely touched to have received this special piece, and showed it off to absolutely everyone. Ah, true love …