by Jo McNally
“No, Blake’s headed back to Halcyon to meet Zach’s bus. I’m just happy to see you relaxing. You’ve spent too much time being the caregiver, and not enough taking care of yourself.”
“Becky needs me, Amanda. Her idiot fiancé left her alone and pregnant at eighteen. I’ll probably end up having to move into the house with her and rent this apartment out, if you know of anyone looking for a place.” She looked around, sad at the thought of leaving the home she’d just finished creating for herself.
“If I were you, I’d wait before making any plans.”
The knock at the door made Nora jump, but Amanda didn’t seem surprised at all. In fact, she seemed relieved. She swallowed the last piece of her sandwich and went to answer it. As she did, she gave Nora a serious look over her shoulder.
“Promise me you’ll sit and listen, sweetie.”
Before Nora could respond, the door opened and Michael stepped into the apartment. Nora jumped to her feet, ignoring Amanda’s hand signal to stay put.
“Michael! What...”
“Nora, please. I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be. I made a really stupid mistake. I’m so sorry.”
Her maternal instinct wasn’t ready to let down its guard. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” She glanced around. Amanda was nowhere to be seen. She must have slipped out when Michael came in. Nora frowned. She’d been set up.
“I’ve already apologized to Becky. In fact, I groveled to Becky for the past two hours. And she forgave me, thank God.” He took another step. “I just left her at the house. I had to come talk to you.”
She couldn’t help being skeptical. “You came all the way home from California to apologize to her, and then you left her alone to come talk to me? Are you just on an apology tour and leaving again?”
He shook his head. For the first time, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and that he’d lost weight since she saw him last. She fought back the urge to offer him something to eat.
“I’ll never leave Becky again. Ever. I made a huge mistake. But someone convinced me to fix it.”
“Your mother.”
He shook his head again.
“My father.”
Nora sat down abruptly. Michael sat at her side and gave her a tentative smile.
“You’re surprised.” She nodded. “I was, too.” He reached out and rested his hand lightly over Nora’s. It wasn’t intimate, but more like he wanted to make sure she didn’t run.
“He’s changed, Nora. He never wanted me to leave Becky. I mean, he did want me to, in the beginning. But he changed. You changed him. That night at the hospital, everything was such a clusterfu... I mean...a mess. I saw Becky, all bruised and broken, then Dad freaked out and left, which freaked me out.” He swallowed hard. “I thought of everything I had to lose, and I panicked. You were right when you told Dad he and I were cowards.”
She cringed at the memory of throwing those words at Asher in the mountain house. She’d been so hurt and angry.
“Dad told me we were dishonoring Dylan’s memory.”
Nora squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back her emotions. Asher had talked to Michael about Dylan. That was a huge step.
“What did he mean by that?”
“He said he originally didn’t want Becky and me to have the baby because he was afraid something would happen to the baby, and then I’d have to go through what he went through.” Michael scrubbed hard at his beard. “He said he loved me so much that he didn’t want me to love, which is messed up. But he admitted it was messed up. He said Dylan would kick our asses if we kept hiding from love.” Michael’s eyes met hers. “He told me love is a huge risk, but that it’s always worth it. Love is worth fighting for. Love is worth anything.”
Michael shifted on the seat uncomfortably. “I promised Becky I’ll never run away again. And I’ll never hide my feelings from her. I’ll always be honest with her. I told her about that political worker, Nora. I told her everything.”
“Michael, no!” All those years of keeping secrets, of building a legend around Paul’s memory so his daughter would always love him. She’d given up her home and moved here to protect Becky. She’d forced Geoff to drop out of the race. And Michael had just brought it all crashing down.
“She knew already. She knew everything. She’d seen stuff on the internet and heard her uncles talking, and as she told me in no uncertain terms, she’s not stupid.” Michael squeezed her hand. “She still loves her dad, but she knows who he was and what he did. All this time you thought you were protecting her, and she was staying quiet to protect you.”
Nora could barely breathe. She’d been an idiot to think her clever daughter wouldn’t figure things out for herself. That she couldn’t handle the truth.
“I need to talk to her.” But Michael shook his head.
“Not today. I still have plenty of groveling left to do. And you have someone else you need to see.”
She stared at him in confusion.
“You need to talk to my dad.” She jumped up and backed away, shaking her head vehemently. “He knows he screwed up. But he loves you, Nora. He’s on the mountain, and he needs you to give him a chance. Becky and I will be fine with you two being together—you guys belong together as much as she and I do, and screw what anyone else thinks. Please give him a chance...”
She held up her hands as if she could stop the words from piercing her heart. “I can’t. He can’t love me, Michael. Not the way I...” She stopped. She didn’t know if she could handle being hurt by him again. It might be too big a risk.
Maybe she deserved better.
But she wanted Asher.
She grabbed her car keys.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THE FIRST THING Nora noticed as she drove up the private road to the log house was that the road had been graded and the holes filled. She was no longer at risk of cracking her head on the door as she maneuvered the winding route. The second thing she noticed were the solar lights that had been added all along the drive, making it much easier to follow.
When she rounded the final turn, she was amazed to find lights shining from every window in the house. It looked welcoming instead of vacant. And in some of the windows—were those curtains? She parked the car and walked to the door. There were four rocking chairs on the porch. And a swing at the far end. There was a doormat at the door, with little woodland animals on it.
She looked out over the lake, wondering for a minute if she was at the wrong place. She didn’t see Asher’s truck anywhere, but it could have been in the garage. The door was ajar, so she stepped inside, calling out his name. But her voice failed her as she took it all in.
The floors had been swept clean. The walls had been painted a warm beige. There were rugs down. And furniture. Lots of furniture. Big, overstuffed chairs by the hearth. A sofa by the window. A desk in the corner. Lamps glowed softly throughout the room. The kitchen had cheery curtains at the window and bright towels hanging on the oven door. Something was cooking, and it smelled delicious. A round cherry dining table she knew Asher must have made was set for two. But where was he?
She walked up the spiral staircase in a daze, wondering how he could possibly have done all of this. She pushed open the door to the master suite. There was a massive wooden bed in the corner, facing the windows that looked out over the lake. It was flanked by two nightstands, both with lamps gleaming brightly. The walls were painted a mossy green that matched the pines outside. A huge oriental rug covered most of the plywood floor, and silk curtains framed the windows. A low-backed prairie-style loveseat was in front of the fireplace, and on one flat wooden arm were a bottle of cognac and two glasses. She walked to the hearth, where a fire was burning. That was when she saw them.
Pictures. The wall near the fireplace was covered with framed photographs of a
ll sizes. There were pictures of Michael as a child with thick, dark hair like his father, and pictures of a laughing little sandy-haired boy. Dylan. The photos showed the boys at a theme park. Swimming in the lake. Playing computer games together in a hospital bed. Asher was in some of the photos, his smile so wide in the early ones that it made her heart ache all the more for everything he’d lost.
And there was a picture of Becky as a little girl, giggling in Nora’s arms. Another of Becky riding in a horse show. Where did he get these? There was another, of Becky’s graduation, with Nora smiling proudly at her side. There were photos of Michael and Becky together, hiking and snowboarding. And one of them standing on the lakeshore at sunset.
There was a large photo in the center of the collection. It was of her and Asher together. They were in profile, with Nora standing in front, leaning back against Asher’s chest. They were on the veranda at Halcyon. She was smiling out at the lake, and he was smiling down at her. Amanda must have taken it. It was beautiful. The whole wall was beautiful. It was family.
She picked up a small framed photo from the mantel. She could hardly see it through her tears, but she knew what it was. It was Becky’s sonogram. It was the next generation of this family. Of their family. She heard the door opening downstairs, and Asher calling her name. Before she could answer, his feet were taking the stairs two at a time. And then he was there in the doorway. His blue eyes lit up when he saw her holding the little picture.
Instead of a flowery declaration of love, he blurted out a flurry of nonsense.
“I thought I had dinner all planned, but I forgot dessert, so I called the resort and talked the chef into parting with some of his tiramisu, but it took me longer to get there than I thought it would, and I was scared to death that I’d miss you. Then I saw the truck was low on gas, and I didn’t dare come back here without filling up, and I thought for sure you’d turn around and leave if you didn’t see my truck here. I was going to call, but of course I left my damn phone here and...”
Her fingers on his lips brought the rush of words to an abrupt stop.
“Breathe, Asher. You didn’t miss me. I didn’t leave.” She glanced around the room again in wonder. “How did you do all this?”
He covered her hand with his, kissing her palm. His eyes closed tightly during the kiss, then opened again as he continued to hold her hand, as if afraid to let her go.
“I’ve been back for three days. Michael was here with me until today. Dan’s pretty much been living here with a paintbrush in his hand. Blake and Amanda helped. Most of the furniture is borrowed.” He grinned. “Your cousin has a friend who runs a showroom in White Plains. We loaded up a truck and even borrowed some of their display curtains. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors involved here, and a lot of it has to be returned, but I wanted you to see this as a home. I wanted you to see that I’m ready for it to be a home. I wanted you to see that I’m ready to be the man you deserve, Nora. That I’m...”
“Asher, stop talking.” She started to laugh. She hadn’t heard Asher string this many words together for as long as she’d known him. “You’ve convinced me. The furniture may be temporary, but that’s not what’s making this look like a home. It’s love.”
“God, I love you so much, Nora. I think I started falling for you the minute you sassed me in the grocery store when I was being such a curmudgeon. You were this tiny little thing with all that attitude topped off with a Southern accent, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” His smile faded. “I did my best to ruin things between us, but you wouldn’t let me. And then, at the hospital...”
She held back the urge to rush in and reassure him. It was important for him to say this. He cupped her face with his hands.
“I’m so damned sorry, Nora. I hurt you. I hurt Michael and Becky. I let my friends down. I let Dylan’s memory down. But I love you, and no matter what happens in the future, I’ll never run again. You’re stuck with me, if you’ll have me.”
There was a beat of silence before Nora answered.
“I started falling for you the minute I heard you barking out all those swear words in the produce section, looking so lost and angry...and hot.” The corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked grin. “You’ll always be my Hot Produce Guy. And I will always love you.”
Their lips came together, and there was no way to know who started what. It was a blazing kiss that quickly flamed into clothing landing on the floor and hands moving over bare skin. He nudged her toward the bed, but Nora dug in her heels.
“First, is dinner going to burn the house down anytime soon?”
“First? You mean, you have a list? While we’re naked?”
She didn’t move, and he finally relented, kissing her playfully on the nose. “I turned it to low when I came in just now, so it’ll be fine. Although if we stand here and talk too long, it’ll be mighty dry. What’s second on this list of yours?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Is that a borrowed mattress?”
He laughed. “I bought the mattress and the bedding is new. But I’ll build us a new bed, Nora. One that’s just for this room. Just for us.” She nodded. “Any more questions on that list?”
“Just one. Do you mind if we don’t use the bed? Can we stay here by the fire, like the first time?”
He didn’t answer, just turned and pulled her down to the floor with him. He grabbed some pillows from the loveseat, then turned to kiss her again, but she held her hand up to stop him.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I have a new list.”
He hesitated, then nodded, as if resigned to his fate.
“Whatever you need, babe. What’s on this list?”
She kissed the base of his throat, making him groan softly.
“It’s a list of all the things I want you to do to me tonight. Are you ready to get started?”
Asher laughed, low and soft, and Nora knew that she’d remember this moment, and that laugh, forever.
“I’m ready, Nora. Let’s get started.”
EPILOGUE
May 26
“YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, BABY.”
Nora smiled, her hand slowly sliding up Asher’s arm to rest on his shoulder. The depth of emotion in those five simple words brought tears to her eyes. His voice was rough with it, his own eyes glistening with moisture. He swallowed hard before continuing.
“Your skin is so soft. You smell so good. And I love you so much.”
She squeezed his shoulder gently, stepping closer to gaze at the tiny baby in his arms.
“He really is perfect, isn’t he?”
Charles Dylan Peyton made a gurgling sound, scrunching his face and moving his hands, pushing the soft blue blanket aside. Nora couldn’t resist reaching over to touch those little fingers.
Doctor Bartlett to Radiology. Doctor Bartlett to Radiology, please.
The monotone voice on the hospital’s paging system was an abrupt reminder of where they were standing. She glanced up at Asher, and he smiled. He’d been smiling a lot lately, and nonstop this morning, even after a sleepless night in the hospital waiting room.
“Stop worrying about me every time that happens, Nora. There’s no place on earth I’d rather be than in this hospital today.” Charles fussed some more, his face turning bright pink. Asher started bouncing gently to quiet the baby. He was going to be an amazing grandfather. He had so much love to give, and now that they’d broken him free from the chains of his grief, he was so eager to give that love.
Michael came into the room and handed Becky a glass of juice. They both looked exhausted. He kissed her, then joined Nora and Asher. Like his father, Michael hadn’t stopped smiling, tired or not.
“He sounds like he’s getting hungry. I’ll take him...” He reached for Charles, and Nora stepped away and pulled her phone out to take a picture of three generations of Pe
ytons. There was a moment of silent communication between the two men that was so powerful she had to look away. It was far too personal to capture in a photo. Asher handed the baby to Michael, then clapped him on the shoulder in his version of a man hug.
“I don’t know if I’ve said this yet, son, but I’m proud of you.”
“Mom, you’re leaking again.” Becky was laughing, her voice husky after seven hours of labor last night. She still had a cast on her arm, but it would come off next week. Her hair was pulled up off her face, her skin still blotchy from the long night. She’d never looked more lovely.
“You’re a mommy now, too, and trust me, you’ll be leaking a lot in the years to come. I just hope your tears are from joy, like these are.” Becky nodded and yawned. “You need some rest, sweetheart.”
For once, her strong-willed daughter didn’t argue. “I’m so tired. But first Charlie needs his midmorning snack.”
Becky and Michael had chosen his name to honor both families—the Charles was for Nora’s father. Michael helped Becky get the baby settled in for a meal. They might be young, but they were naturals at this. In just a few months, they’d be married—another Halcyon wedding.
Asher leaned into the corner by the window, watching his family. He winked at her and she went to join him, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Asher pulled her close, locking his arms around her stomach. She rested back against him and he nuzzled his nose into her hair.
“You’re leaking, Grandma.”
“Happy leaks. Look at them, Ash. Look at our two beautiful children and their baby.”
“That baby has done some pretty incredible things, and he’s not even a day old yet.”
She twisted to look up at him, not sure what he meant.
“Think about it. We would have been nothing more to each other than the memory of a brief encounter in the produce section. Without Charlie, I don’t think you would have moved to Gallant Lake, scandal or not.”
She nodded against his chest. The baby had been a major factor in her decision.