by Bella Andre
“I work with my mom too,” she found herself saying. “At least, I used to.”
She was saying too much, but thankfully, another customer walked in to save her from herself, from sitting in one of the comfortable chairs with Olive and spilling her guts about absolutely everything while she stitched.
“Christie,” Olive called, “come see this gorgeous embroidery our new friend Rosa has done on her top.”
When a pretty woman with long, golden-brown hair and startlingly green eyes turned toward Rosa, she couldn’t hide her shock. “Oh! Hi!” She quickly turned her attention to Rosa’s sweatshirt. “Wow, this is incredible. I’d love to learn how to do something like that.” She looked up at Rosa. “I’m sure it’s way too hard for me, though, considering I’m still fairly new to knitting.”
“I can’t knit at all,” Rosa told her, trying with all she had not to worry that Christie had obviously recognized her. “Once you learn how to make and space the stitches, it’s really just practice more than anything.”
“What about coming up with the design? How do you do that?”
“I just try to take the vision I have in my head and bring it to life with the thread.”
“You make it sound so easy, but I’m sure if I tried it I’d be all thumbs.”
“Honestly, I could get you started in five minutes. Once you felt confident in the rhythm, the feel, of the stitches, you’d be well on your way.”
It wasn’t until she said the words aloud that she realized just how true they were—not only for embroidery, but for everything in her life as well. Getting started with something new was always the scariest part. The rest was just confidence and practice. Just like Drake had said during that first meal they’d shared together on the card table, when he’d asked, Are you sure it has to be hard?
Olive leaned out to look through the front windows to where Oscar was relaxing in a patch of sun on the sidewalk. “Is that Drake Sullivan’s big dog with you?”
Rosa felt herself flushing. “We were taking a walk through the woods and couldn’t resist coming into your store.”
“I don’t mean to pry, honey,” Olive said, obviously noticing her discomfort. “Although Drake would sure be lucky to be with a woman as lovely as you. I’ve always thought what a handsome young man he is, with a heart as big as his talent.” She waved her hand in the air as if to push the tangential comments aside before continuing. “In any case, I was thinking if you were going to be in town for a little while longer, perhaps we could convince you to teach an art embroidery class.”
“Me?” Instantly, the familiar panic bubbled up. “Teach a class?”
“I can tell you for a fact that Christie isn’t the only one who would like to learn about your techniques. I would too. And if we posted a picture of your work on our website and in the local paper, it would be a packed house in here, no question.”
“I don’t—” Rosa shook her head. “I’m not sure...”
“My mother doesn’t mean to pressure you,” Denise said. “Why don’t you take some time to think about it and let us know if you feel comfortable setting something up?”
Rosa appreciated that Denise was giving her a way out, but she’d just spent the past week taking time and thinking about it. Just minutes before walking into the store, she’d decided she was done running. Done hiding. Done worrying about how difficult it would be to make a fresh start—and just make one already.
This was her chance. So even if she was scared, she needed to take it.
“I’d love to teach a class.” She could feel Christie’s surprise, even as the other woman tried to hide it. “But before we schedule it, you should know a few things about me, because I’d hate for your customers to get upset about your being connected with me.”
“What could they possibly have to be upset about?” Olive asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Nothing.” Denise’s fierce tone took them all by surprise. “Not one damned thing. I’m very sorry for what that creep did to you, Rosa.”
Tears jumped into Rosa’s eyes before she could stop them. She wiped them away with her fingertips. “I am too. But I’m done hiding now. Done feeling like it’s my fault.”
Denise’s arms drew her in, held her tight. “We’re all on your side.”
Christie nodded vigorously. “We were high-fiving each other over at the inn when we saw what Smith Sullivan said to the press—about how he’d never work with any of them again if they ran any more stolen pictures of you.”
“You’re all so kind.” The strength of the women around Rosa helped feed her own strength. She turned to Olive. “I have a few big things to deal with before I can be certain of my schedule, but I can tell you that even though I’ve only been in town a few hours, I already know I’d like to stay at Summer Lake for as long as I possibly can.”
“Wonderful. Any help you need on any front, you know where to come.” Before Rosa could start blubbering again, Olive said, “Now, you take your time browsing.” She put a hand on Rosa’s shoulder and led her over to a display against the right wall full of sumptuous color and luxurious texture. “You might want to start with this silk floss we just brought in from Italy. Nothing better to work your way through the ups and downs of life, if you ask me. And I should know...”
With a firm squeeze of her shoulder, Olive left Rosa to marvel at her luck in finding so much support everywhere she went from women she’d never met before, like Suzanne and these three wonderful women in the knitting store. And most of all, she marveled over finding Drake.
The man she loved.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rosa felt a million times lighter as she and Oscar walked back through the woods to Drake’s father’s house. As she’d said to the lovely women in the yarn store, she still had plenty to deal with. But even if her load hadn’t yet changed, her perspective on it had. She was ready. Finally ready to face it all head on, no matter how difficult it might be.
But first, she needed to talk to Drake. She needed to tell him how much he’d meant to her from the moment he’d found her drenched and scared on the side of the road in the middle of a rainstorm. She needed him to know just how much she loved him. And she needed him to know that she was finally brave enough to trust that their love could last through any firestorms that might come her way in the future.
Oscar seemed just as happy as he lazily splashed through puddles and loped after squirrels and birds. Every few minutes, he’d saunter back to her side and nuzzle her hand.
“You feel it too, don’t you? It’s home.”
She knew he couldn’t really understand her—and certainly couldn’t answer—but yet again, it felt like he did when he licked the palm of her hand, then gave her a big doggy grin.
“You’re such a big part of it,” she told him. “You and Drake.”
The beauty of the Adirondacks, the incredibly kind welcome of the women in the yarn store, the silence broken only by the chirp of a bird and the croak of a frog—those were all big things. But the man she still couldn’t believe she’d found, and his big sweet dog, were what completed her. Truly and deeply, in a way she’d never thought possible.
Her heartbeat jumped when the house came into view in the curve of a cove. She hoped things had gone okay between Drake and his brother after she’d left, that they’d found a way to work things out.
But even if they hadn’t, she wouldn’t let that scare her away. No, she’d simply pull up her big-girl pants and convince Alec to come around. She’d show him she wasn’t some empty-headed girl from a reality TV show, but someone worthy of his brother’s love.
Same went for Drake’s father. When she finally met him—soon, hopefully—she wouldn’t let any negative first impressions win.
“Rosa.”
She gave a little yelp when Alec appeared suddenly from out of the trees.
“Whoa,” he said, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m okay.” She would be, anyway, once some of the a
drenaline coursing through her drained away. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
“When we were kids, the four of us used to play a game where we tried to sneak up on each other. I was always good at it.” It struck Rosa how much nicer—and slightly less cocky—Alec was when talking about his family. “I want to talk with you before you go in.”
“I want to talk with you too.” She’d let enough people insult her. Starting now, she wouldn’t let anyone else roll over her. Letting the steam rise rather than bottling it up the way she always had before, she said, “I know you think you might know me from TV, but you don’t know the first thing about me.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” he said, surprising the heck out of her for a second time in a matter of seconds. “I was an ass when Drake introduced us. There’s no excuse for my behavior, but I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
“That’s a pretty fast about-face.” Even if she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help but be wary. “Especially when you still don’t know me, still haven’t talked to me for more than thirty seconds.”
His eyebrows went up as if she’d surprised him by not automatically accepting his apology. Surprised and impressed him, actually. “My brother wouldn’t tell all of us he’s in love with you if you weren’t worth falling for.”
“He told the three of you that?” She’d never met anyone like Drake—so open, so unafraid, so willing to stand up for what—and who—he believed in.
“Nearly rearranged my face while he was at it.” Alec ran a hand over his jaw as if to make sure the very well-aligned bones were still intact. “Will you accept my apology?”
Still reeling from the fact that Drake had told all of his siblings he loved her while she was gone, she nodded. “You were an ass, but I’m willing to forget about it and start over if you’re willing to forget what you’ve seen on TV and take me as I am now.”
But Alec was obviously wary too, because instead of simply agreeing, he said, “Whoever you are now, I sure as hell hope you’re in love with him too. None of us want to see the same thing happen to Drake that happened to our father.”
“It wouldn’t.” She was certain of it. “He’s too strong. Too solid. And he has all of you.”
“You’re right that we’ll always have his back, no matter what. And we’ll also do whatever we need to protect him.” Alec looked her hard in the eyes. “But right now I need to know—are you going to stay or go?”
“I want to stay.” It was the second time today she’d made that statement. And each time it had felt right. Scary too, but that seemed to be par for every single course she was on right now. “I’ve got a lot to take care of, though.”
“Drake is already on your side. Now the rest of us are too.” His grin was probably irresistible to every woman on the planet. But not her. Because her heart was already taken. “Whatever you need, just ask.”
Was it really that easy?
Before today she would have doubted, would have been cynical. But she was tired of second-guessing every single thing, so she decided to push her bravery another step forward by taking Alec’s statement at face value.
“Okay. Thank you.” She was glad they’d cleared the air, but she was now more desperate than ever to talk to Drake so that she could tell him everything she was thinking, feeling. So that he would know just how much she loved him right back.
As if she had conjured him out of sheer desire, Drake emerged a moment later through a grove of trees. “There you are.”
Joy blasted through her, head to toe, just looking at his smiling face. And when he grabbed her and kissed her as if she’d been gone two years instead of only two hours, she was surprised that her heart didn’t simply explode out of her chest in an array of multicolored fireworks.
When he finally let her up for air, her knees were wobbly enough that she needed to hold him so she didn’t simply melt to the ground in a puddle.
“That’s one hell of a greeting,” Alec mused in a voice laced with humor.
“The best anyone has ever given me.” Rosa’s voice was breathless, her lips still tingling, and she couldn’t stop staring at Drake. Couldn’t stop being amazed that she’d actually found him. And that he’d found her. “I’m actually wondering if I should leave again now just so I can come back to that.”
Drake’s mouth was on hers again so fast that she didn’t even have time to take her next breath. And it wasn’t only her knees that went weak and her lips that tingled from his kiss. Every last cell in her body vibrated with want.
“That’s what you get when you stay.” She was still spinning, still trying to get her breath back, when he pulled her even closer and turned to his brother. “Were you being an ass again?”
“Don’t worry,” Alec said. “I apologized.”
“And I accepted,” she told Drake.
“We may even like each other now,” Alec drawled.
“Baby steps,” she teased with a laugh. “Seriously, though, we’ve agreed to get to know each other better before we make any more snap judgments.”
She could see how relieved Drake was that she and his brother weren’t at each other’s throats. And how happy he was to tell her, “My father is back from his job site, and he’s making dinner for all of us. He’s surprised that we’re all here, but I think he’s pretty happy about it.”
“Of course he is.” Her heart swelled with hope that Drake and his father would soon grow closer. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
Now that she’d finally made the big decision to move forward with her life, rather than keep hiding, she had so much to do. Contact that lawyer who had come to her defense on that TV talk show so that she could begin her own personal proceedings against the creep who had taken and sold the pictures. Call the network to let them know she no longer planned to be on the show. And, of course, finally talk to her mom face to face about it all.
But after nearly a week in hiding, she could wait one more night to set the wheels of the next big changes in her life into motion.
Tonight, it was Drake’s turn.
* * *
“My father—” Drake paused, obviously weighing his words carefully. Alec had gone inside ahead of them, and they were now standing alone on the steps just outside the door. “I’ve never brought a woman home before. None of us have, so this is a pretty big deal. And when I told him I was painting you—”
“He wasn’t exactly thrilled about it?”
A muscle jumped in Drake’s jaw. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
“He won’t.” She smiled to let him know she meant it. “Whether his reaction came from my reputation or his worries that you and I are repeating his history with your mother—I’m not going to fall apart. And I’m not going to run into hiding again either.” She put her hand on his jaw, loving the scratch of stubble against her palm. “I’m done with that.” She pressed a kiss to his lips—a promise of many more to come. “I have so much to tell you, but right now, let’s enjoy dinner with your family.”
Despite the questions in his eyes, he let her lead them in the door. “Mmm,” Rosa said, pausing to inhale the delicious aroma of roasting tomatoes and peppers. “It smells great.” At the same time, thinking of her mother and brothers making and sitting down to dinner without her made her chest ache.
A man with salt-and-pepper hair looked up from the island where he was chopping peppers. Drake’s father. He didn’t smile at her the way Suz and Harry had upon meeting her, but he didn’t scowl like Alec had either. Instead, he simply stared. Stared in a way that reminded her of the way Drake sometimes looked at her—with a painter’s eyes that saw far beyond those of the layman.
“Dad, this is Rosa. Rosa, this is my father, William.”
She heard that note of warning in Drake’s voice again, and though she loved him for wanting to protect her, she didn’t need him to slay her dragons anymore. She squeezed his hand to let him know she was okay, then slipped hers free to go meet his father properly.
Drake’s
dad hadn’t moved from the island, hadn’t even put down the knife, but she didn’t let that deter her. The first test of her fresh start had been walking into the yarn store with her head held high. The second had been standing her ground with Alec, and then agreeing to start fresh after he’d apologized. She refused to fail this third test, even if William Sullivan didn’t look like he was planning to make things easier for her.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” When he still didn’t reply, knowing Drake was about to pounce—and that each of his siblings was watching with no small measure of concern—she turned on the faucet at the kitchen sink, washed her hands, and made herself ask in an easy voice, “Are you making Enchiladas Suizas?” Again, she didn’t wait for his reply before she slid another knife out of the wood block on the counter along with another cutting board and began to chop the onions. “My mom taught me how to make enchiladas when I was still so small that I needed to stand on a stool to reach the counter. It’s been a while since I made them, so I hope you don’t mind if my knife skills are a little rusty.”
The only sound for a few long moments was the steady beat of the steel blade landing against the wood board. Everyone’s gaze lay on her, but none was more intense than that of Drake’s father. This moment, she knew, could go either way. Silently, she prayed for the good one, even with the tension currently thick enough to cut with the knife in her hand.
“I’d appreciate the help, Rosa.” William looked up at Drake. “Margaritas are in the blender if you two want one. I could use a top-up.” He turned back to Rosa. “And I want you to know that if I could run that asshole who took those pictures of you down the middle of my table saw, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Rosa’s knife was the one falling still this time as she looked up from the onions to give Drake’s father a huge smile. She now knew where Drake had learned his knight-in-shining-armor skills. “I’ll let you know if I need to borrow it.”