Where Azaleas Bloom

by Sherryl Woods

  Lynn thought about the request. She knew it wasn’t too much to ask. “You’ll keep what we’ve talked about to yourself?”

  “Of course,” he said at once. “If we decide to tell them any of this, we’ll do it together.”

  She nodded then. “Okay, then, stay. In fact, why don’t you spend the evening with them, too? I have somewhere I need to be, someone I need to see.”

  He gave her an oddly sad look. “Mitch?”

  She regarded him with surprise. “Why would you assume I’d go running to him?”

  “Oh, please, Lynn, you’ve been wearing your heart on your sleeve for a while now. Why do you think I attacked him in court? It’s the hottest topic at Wharton’s these days. Everybody loves a story about a guy who once never stood a chance finally getting the girl.”

  She smiled at the description. “Believe me, I’m the one who’s finally gotten lucky.”

  There were probably a thousand things yet to be resolved, and more difficult moments ahead than she could possibly imagine. Even so, she left the house without a backward glance, her heart lighter than it had been for months.

  * * *

  Lynn made a brief stop at Helen’s to fill her in on Ed’s stunning revelations. “He says he wants to mediate an immediate settlement, that he’ll drop the whole custody suit,” she told her. “Can we still do that?”

  “If that’s what you want to do, absolutely,” Helen said.

  “This is what you were trying so hard not to tell me, isn’t it?” she asked.

  Helen nodded. “I just hadn’t gotten the kind of proof I wanted before saying anything.”

  “I appreciate your caution. I’m not sure I would have believed it without hearing it straight from Ed. I’m still shocked that I could have gone so long thinking we had a halfway decent marriage.”

  Helen smiled. “Halfway decent isn’t expecting a lot. You deserve more.”

  Lynn thought of Mitch and smiled back at her. “I think I’m finally figuring that out. I need to find Mitch.”

  “Will you tell him?” Helen asked.

  “Only that it finally looks as if this will be over soon. The rest…” She shrugged. “It’s up to Ed to tell people, or not. Personally, I hope he’ll get it all out in the open. I think he’ll be surprised by how many people might stand by him. I think this town has a generosity of spirit he’s underestimated.”

  Helen looked doubtful. “Maybe, if he’d been honest from the beginning,” she cautioned. “But now, after all he’s put you through? I just don’t know, Lynn. It could be too late. It’s not about him being gay. It’s about all the rest—what he’s done to cover it up, the pain he’s caused you and his children.”

  “I still believe people will find a way to forgive him, especially if I show them the way.”

  “You can do that, even now?” Helen asked, clearly surprised.

  Lynn gave it some thought before answering, then nodded. “I want him to be here for Lexie and Jeremy. And I want them to learn about forgiveness and letting go of anger, not for Ed’s sake, but for theirs. It’s funny how I held on to my anger toward my parents for so long, and only now can see that the only one I’ve been hurting all these years is myself. I don’t want that for them. We all need to move forward.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll schedule that mediation session for tomorrow. There’s no time to waste. I imagine that for once in his life, Jimmy Bob will be wholeheartedly cooperative.”

  Lynn’s laugh was only a little strained. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

  “You look as if the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders,” Helen observed.

  “That’s exactly how I feel. You have no idea what a relief it is to know finally that none of this was my fault, that I didn’t somehow fail as a wife. I couldn’t have saved my marriage no matter how hard I tried.”

  Helen waved her toward the door. “Go. You look as if you’re going to burst if you don’t see Mitch soon.”

  “I just might,” Lynn agreed, grinning.

  The paperwork might not be final, the details of the settlement might not be nailed down, but it was over, and she was free to move on, emotionally if not quite legally.

  And this time, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she’d found a man trustworthy enough to treat the love she had to give with the tenderness and respect she deserved.

  23

  Flo stood outside the assisted-living facility where Frances had finally been settled just this morning, tears streaming down her face. Donnie immediately wrapped his arms around her.

  “She’ll be okay,” he murmured soothingly. “You know she will. This is where she needs to be, and it’s a real nice place. You were lucky to find it right off, and even luckier that they had an opening.”

  “But she looks so sad and lost,” Flo said. “I think she’s gotten worse just since she moved in.”

  “I imagine she’ll be a little disoriented at first, but she’ll find her way around. You and Liz can come over here every day to visit, take her over to the senior center, play cards with her, go out to lunch. You can even take her to those Sweet Magnolias margarita nights, if she’s feeling up to it. Isn’t that the advantage of finding a good place so close by?”

  Flo gave him a sad smile. “Donnie Leighton, do you know how much I love you for trying to make me feel better about this?”

  “I’m always going to be around to try to cheer you up,” he promised.

  “Thank you for coming with me tonight. When Liz said she didn’t feel up to it, I was dreading coming by myself. I knew I’d spend the whole time imagining that day when I’d have to make the same decision Frances and her family just made.”

  “You’re a long way from needing a place like this,” Donnie scoffed. “Besides, you have me. I’ll take care of you.”

  She smiled at the way he said it without hesitation. “I’ve been thinking about that lately,” she admitted.

  “My taking care of you?” He frowned. “You’re not going to start carrying on about me being younger, are you?”

  “No.” She put her hands on his arms and looked him in the eye. “What I was going to say is that I’ve been reconsidering something.”

  Unmistakable hope flared in his eyes. “Such as?” he prodded.

  “The whole marriage thing,” she said, then quickly added, “Now, personally, I don’t need it. I’m happy enough just the way things are, but I’m wondering if maybe I’ve been a little too stubborn for my own good and maybe even thinking too much about myself and not even a tiny bit about you.”

  “You stubborn? Imagine that!” he said, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

  She scowled at him. “Are you going to let me get this out, or do you intend to mock me?”

  “Since it’s starting to sound as if listening might be in my own best interest, I’ll be quiet as a church mouse from here on out,” he promised.

  Flo gave a little huff. “Then, as I was saying, I’ve been thinking maybe I should reconsider, possibly even say yes to your proposal.” A smidgen of uncertainty crept into her voice, which ticked her off. “That is, if the offer’s still on the table.”

  The smile that spread across Donnie’s face was answer enough. “How soon?” he demanded, grinning.

  “I imagine we could go down to the courthouse tomorrow, get this done pretty quickly.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t, Flo Decatur. You marry me, we’re going to make a fuss about it. We don�
�t have to get married at church, but we will have a fancy ceremony and a reception with all our friends. I imagine Helen’s going to want to make sure the knot is tied nice and tight.”

  Flo laughed and threw herself into his arms. “Yes, I imagine she will.”

  “Of course, that said, I don’t want to take any chances you’ll think it over and change your mind again, so let’s say a week from Saturday. Would that suit you?”

  Flo’s heart skipped a beat or two, but she figured it was a good thing under the circumstances. “A week from Saturday would suit me just fine.”

  He kissed her to seal the deal, then looked into her eyes. “Want to go back inside and share the news with Frances?”

  And that, she thought, was why she’d finally said yes, because this man knew her as no one else ever had.

  “You read my mind,” she said, holding his hand as they walked back inside to share the news with one of her very best friends.

  * * *

  Lynn had to search all over town before she finally found Mitch working in one of the downtown buildings he and Raylene were renovating for new businesses. After spotting his truck at the curb, she parked next to it, walked through the door and grabbed a hard hat. She could hear hammering coming from the back room.

  When she saw him, she took a minute to drink in the sight of this man who’d been so kind, so patient, so loving, without asking for a thing in return. Thank heavens he was alone, because what she had in mind didn’t need witnesses.

  He finished driving nails into a piece of drywall, then leaned over a table to study some plans, giving her an excellent view of that denim-clad backside of his. When he finally looked up and turned her way, a smile broke across his face.

  “This is a surprise,” he said, just as she reached him, stood on tiptoe and sealed her lips over his. When she finally broke away, his smile widened. “And that was an even better surprise. What’s going on, Lynn? We agreed—”

  “I’ve come to my senses,” she said, interrupting him.

  “I didn’t know there was ever any question that you weren’t in full possession of them,” he said.

  “I’ve allowed you to back off, haven’t I?”

  She started to reach for him again, but he put his hands on her waist and held her carefully in place while he searched her face. “Not that I’m not thrilled to pieces if you’ve had a change of heart about the game plan, but do you mind filling me in on why? All the reasons I walked away are still valid, aren’t they?”

  “Not so much.”

  “I’m going to need more than that.”

  “I just had a long conversation with Ed,” she said, as if that were explanation enough.

  “And I look fantastic by comparison?” he inquired, his tone wry.

  “You do, but that’s not it,” she said, grinning because he was so darn good at making her smile. “I realized that thanks mostly to you, I’ve let it all go—all the anger, all the bitterness, all the self-derision for allowing my marriage to fail. It’s gone. All I felt when he was there baring his soul to me was relief. We’re going to mediate a settlement, probably tomorrow. The fighting is over, Mitch. It’s really and truly over. In a few days or whatever it takes to get it filed and approved by the court, I can truly put my marriage behind me and look toward the future.”

  There was relief in Mitch’s eyes, but an unmistakable hint of caution in his voice. “You sound awfully sure for a woman who’s been put through the wringer for months now.”

  “It’s over,” she said emphatically. “You’ll just have to trust me on that for now.” She looked into his eyes. “Can you do that?”

  “Trusting you has always come easy to me,” he said. He led her to a sawhorse in the middle of the room. He sat down on that and pulled her onto his lap. “Tell me how I fit in.”

  “Any way you want to,” she said. “But I was thinking we could start by getting out of here and going to your place or the Serenity Inn or wherever else you’d like to go for some privacy.”

  His eyes lit up at the suggestion. “And the kids?”

  “Ed’s with them.” She gave him a hopeful look. “I could probably persuade him to take them home with him for the night, if you think it’s a good idea.”

  “I think it’s an outstanding idea, if you’re sure.”

  “I haven’t been sure of a lot for a very long time, but I am a hundred percent sure about this.”

  “And after?” he asked. “What do you envision happening next?”

  She hesitated. “I haven’t thought any further than what I want tonight, to be in your arms.”

  “Well, I have.” He drew in a deep breath. “I need to say this first. I want you to know that I loved my wife. Amy was my world.”

  “I know that,” she said, scared of where this might be going. Was he going to say this was it, an affair and no more?

  “Then you also need to know that a tiny part of my heart must have been held in reserve for you all that time, because when this thing started between us, it felt right from the very beginning. It felt as if we were destined to find each other at just this time in our lives. So for me, this won’t be some one-night stand or a fling. If that’s what you have in mind, Lynn, count me out. I want the real deal.”

  Breathless, she looked into his eyes. “The real deal?”

  “Marriage, forever, all of it. I want you to marry me. I want to be a stepdad to your kids. I want to be there when Lexie gets her heart broken so I can help you wipe away her tears.” He shrugged. “Or make the life of the kid who hurt her miserable.”

  She smiled through a few tears of her own. “She’d like that.”

  “And I want to keep teaching Jeremy what I know about construction. Maybe it’ll be his calling. Maybe not, but I like the idea of passing it along. My own boys weren’t interested.” His gaze held hers. “And I want to make you happy. I want to make sure you spend the rest of your life with no cares in the world.”

  “I doubt you can ensure that,” she said, “but I love you for wanting to try.”

  “So?” he asked. “What do you say? What do you want?”

  She drew in a deep breath. Just coming after him this afternoon had been a risk. The next step seemed astonishingly risk-free. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” she said softly. “I don’t think I realized how much I wanted that until just this minute.”

  Mitch stood up, still holding her tight, and spun her around until she was a little dizzy. Then he studied her intently. “That was a yes, right?”

  She laughed. “It was definitely, absolutely yes.”

  “It’ll be sunset soon,” he pointed out. “Should we toast our future at my place with a glass of lemonade?”

  “Isn’t Luke around?”

  Mitch muttered a frustrated curse under his breath that had her smiling.

  “You know there’s a big tradition in this town for romances getting started at the Serenity Inn,” she told him. She touched a hand to his cheek, felt the heat rise. “From what I’ve seen those romances tend to last.”

  Mitch shook his head. “Darlin’, I want more for us.”

  “And we’ll have it,” she promised. “We’ll have a whole lifetime of more and better and the very best, but for now I just want you to love me.”

  “Would a fancy dinner after be in order?” he teased.

  She smiled. “Let’s see how it goes,” she said. “We might not be out of bed by dinnertime.”

 
His booming laugh filled the room…and her heart.

  * * *

  Mitch leaned on an elbow and studied the woman stretched out beside him. They were in this forever now. Even if making love to Lynnie hadn’t cinched the deal for him, the gossip that was bound to be making its way straight to Wharton’s by now would demand it. The Serenity Inn might have sheltered many a romantic tryst over the years, but Maybelle wasn’t known for keeping the word of those trysts to herself.

  Lynn sighed next to him, then stretched, showing off that gorgeous body of hers and distracting him from his best intentions to take her out to celebrate.

  “You’re awake,” she murmured in surprise. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “I was content just looking at you,” he said. “This has been a long time coming. I wanted to savor every second.”

  She smiled at him. “In case I haven’t mentioned it, you’ve made me feel like a new woman.” She paused then added, “Your woman. And this may not make a lot of sense to you, so you’ll have to trust me, but I have never been loved like this, Mitch. Never.”

  Mitch smiled. “That was the goal. I love you, Lynnie.” He studied her, his expression sobering. There was something he needed to know. “What brought this on? I mean I know we were destined to get here, but today? What happened?”

  “You seduced me,” she said, her tone a little too flip.

  “I think I could make a strong case that this was on your mind when you found me working on those renovations downtown.”

  “Yeah, it kinda was,” she said. “I thought we’d waited way too long.”

  “You’re not going to tell me what Ed said or did that brought on your change of heart, are you?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t, Mitch. Can you accept that I might never be able to tell you everything?”