The Chesapeake Diaries Series 7-Book Bundle: Coming HOme, Home Again, Almost Home, Hometown Girl, Home for the Summer, The Long Way Home, At the River's Edge

by Stewart, Mariah

  “Dad?” The front door flew open and Paige bounded in. The dogs, roused from sleeping in the kitchen, sauntered in to greet her, tails wagging furiously. “Can I sleep at Steffie’s? She wants me to work in the morning so she can show me how to make …”

  Paige’s forward motion stopped at the living-room door.

  “Oh,” she said when she saw her father and Dallas seated on the sofa.

  “Hey, Paige.” Grant turned around.

  “Hi, Paige,” Dallas said.

  “Hey, guys.” Steffie stopped to give each dog its due, then followed Paige into the room. Where Paige had looked flummoxed, Steffie appeared amused. “Oooh, champagne. What’s the occasion?” She picked up the bottle and looked at the label. “Nice. Must be something big.”

  “Dallas met a few milestones today,” Grant said.

  “Anything you can talk about in front of the c-h-i-l-d?” Steffie asked.

  “Very funny.” Paige made a face at her aunt.

  “I made an offer for some film rights on a book I read and fell in love with, and the offer was accepted.” Dallas thought perhaps the short version was best. “And my divorce was granted.”

  “Swell,” Paige muttered, then plunked herself down on the end of the sofa.

  “Paige, run and get your stuff,” Steffie told her. “We’re going to have an early morning and a long day. I’m doing a new flavor tomorrow and that always takes me longer, so if you want to learn the ropes, you’re going to have to be up bright and early. The plan is up at five, in the shop by six.”

  “Maybe I changed my mind about staying over,” Paige said. “Maybe I’ll come over in the morning.”

  “Maybe you’ll get your butt upstairs and get your things, or maybe I’ll have someone else work instead of you tomorrow, which means that someone else will be earning all those lovely dollars that could have been yours and learning my secret formulas.”

  “You only boss me around because I’m a kid.” Paige got up and stomped into the hall and up the steps.

  “I pay you the same as I pay everyone else, which gives me the right to equally boss everyone who works for me,” Steffie called after her. “I even let you have a share in the tips today, so don’t overplay your hand, missy.”

  “I’m going,” Paige called from the second floor.

  “So, you’re celebrating.” Steffie sat on the sofa arm that Paige had vacated.

  Dallas nodded.

  “Thanks for letting Paige work with you, Stef.” Grant turned and looked at his younger sister.

  “It’s the least I can do.” Steffie leaned around him to ask Dallas, “So what’s the book about?”

  Dallas proceeded to outline the story. She’d just finished when Paige came down the steps, a canvas bag over her shoulder.

  “Got everything?” Grant asked, and she nodded. “Give the old man a kiss and say good night to Dallas.”

  Paige leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her father on the cheek. “Good night, Dallas.”

  “Good night, Paige. Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow at Scoop. I’m not sure I’ve met my weekly allotment of fat and calories yet,” Dallas told her.

  “I have a new flavor I’m trying tomorrow.” Steffie picked up the champagne bottle again. “I wonder how champagne ice cream would taste?”

  “I think the alcohol might interfere with the freezing process, but I’m not a chemist, so I could be wrong,” Grant said.

  “But the flavor of the champagne … hmm, maybe with some peach … or cherry …” Steffie’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll have to work on that.”

  “See you both tomorrow.” Grant rose and walked them to the door.

  “See you, Dallas.” Steffie waved.

  “Good night, Stef,” Dallas called back.

  As Grant was closing the door behind them, he heard Paige ask Steffie, “Do you think they’re going to have sex? I think they’re going to have sex.…”

  Grant laughed self-consciously and sat back down on the couch.

  “Where were we?” he asked.

  “Well, according to Paige, apparently …”

  “Oh, you did hear her. I was hoping … Well, you never know what’s going to come out of your kid’s—”

  Dallas reached over and pulled his arm to bring him closer, then met his mouth with hers, brushing his bottom lip with hers. His hand went to the back of her head and drew her to him, his tongue teasing her top lip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head, inviting him to kiss her more deeply. This was what she had wanted, what she’d been missing, what she needed, and she was done with trying to convince herself that things could ever be other than this between them. His tongue darted from one side of her mouth to the other, stoking a fire that had been dormant for a long time, and she felt the heat all through her body. His hands were on either side of her face, holding her as if he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go, and kissing her as if his life depended on it. Her head spun and her breath caught in her throat and she was sure she was drowning. The need to have him closer, closer, was overwhelming, and she lay back on the sofa and took him with her.

  The weight of his body was both familiar and strange. They seemed to fit together in much the same way they once had, but now he was leaner, harder, more muscular, than he’d been at eighteen. His hands found her breasts and stroked her through the knitted fabric of her dress until she couldn’t wait any longer to have those hands on her skin. She tugged at the dress and he slipped a hand under it, stroking her skin from her knee to her breast and back again. His lips made a trail from her mouth to the side of her face, to her chin and her throat, her neck to her collarbone. She struggled to get the dress up higher, then when she started to pull it over her head, Grant cleared his throat and said, “Shades. Should … pull them. Maybe hit that light …” and for a moment, he was gone. She heard the shades being drawn, saw the hall light go out, and the room darkened a bit when he turned off the overhead light.

  “Not very romantic,” he explained as he came back to the sofa, unbuttoning his shirt and unzipping his jeans. He lowered himself to her and kissed her as he slipped the straps from her bra over her shoulders, and she reached behind her to unhook it.

  “Pretty,” he said as he tossed the lacy garment over his shoulder. “I always liked that you wore lacy things.”

  And then his mouth and hands were at work again, and she arched eagerly at his touch. When his lips settled on her breast, she gasped and ran her fingers through his hair, and begged him to take more of her, to take all of her. His tongue flicked at her skin without mercy and shot a steady bolt of fire to her core, and she mindlessly ground against him and urged him on by wrapping her legs around him and drawing him in. She moaned softly when he entered her and raised her hips to meet his. He let her set the pace and she knew she should slow it down, take her time, but she was powerless to stop the wave that had begun to roll through her and took them down along a long spiral path that shattered them both and left them breathless.

  “Holy …” Grant gasped.

  “Amen.” She put her head back and fought for breath.

  He rested his head on her shoulder for a moment, then turned them both so that they were side by side, Dallas resting against him. He held her to him, one hand running up and down her arm, for a long, quiet time. There was so much to be said, and yet no words would come. She told herself to be content to be there with him in a way she never dreamed she’d ever be again, to take what they’d been given and not risk breaking the spell by speaking.

  Determined to savor every second, she closed her eyes, and let herself drift away with him. The memories were there, and she remembered the sweetness of the first time as well as the bittersweet of the last time—but none of the memories were quite as good as this time. No matter what the future would bring, tonight was magic, and she was going to make it last.

  Chapter 17

  Dallas wasn’t sure what time of day or night it was when she first woke, but she thought it mi
ght still be dark out. She opened her eyes and found, not Grant, but a large dog looming over her. She remembered where she was and who the rottweiler belonged to right before she opened her mouth to scream.

  “You are one scary-looking dog,” she muttered.

  At some point during the night, Grant had tossed a sheet over them, and there was a pillow under her head, though she didn’t remember how it got there, and Grant was nowhere to be seen. The dog sniffed at her shoulder, then nuzzled her arm.

  “All right, Schultz.” She yawned and reached out to pet the dog’s head. “Good morning to you, too.”

  “Are you a must-have-coffee-first-thing person, or do you prefer breakfast first?” Grant came into the room, already dressed for his day, and leaned down to kiss her.

  “What time is it?” she asked. “How long have you been up?”

  “I believe I had the first question this morning, Ms. MacGregor. You must answer before you get to ask, and you may only ask one at a time.” He kissed her again, then sat down on the edge of the sofa cushion.

  “Coffee first. So now you have to answer. What time, and how long …”

  “Five thirty and for about thirty minutes.”

  “Shit. I spent the night.”

  “So you did.”

  “I need to get home.” She pulled the sheet up as far as her chin, and sat up. “Why are you up and I’m not? Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “The dogs are early risers and I heard them shuffling about in the kitchen. I didn’t think there was a reason to wake you, so I thought I’d let you have a few extra minutes. Why don’t you get dressed and come into the kitchen and I’ll have your coffee ready. I need to go find Mamie. She sometimes forgets where she lives, and I don’t like her to roam too far.”

  “Deal. If you have to look for her, I’ll help.”

  Dallas sat up, and with the sheet still wrapped around her, set about the task of finding her clothes. When she’d gathered up everything that she’d worn the night before, she made her way to the powder room at the back of the house. Through the partially opened window she could hear Grant calling his dog. She dressed quickly in case he needed her to help, but just as she pulled the dress over her head, she heard him crooning, “Good girl, Mamie. Good girl. Come on in now, girl …”

  With her fingers, Dallas smoothed her hair as best she could, then slipped her feet into her sandals and went into the kitchen, where Grant was pouring coffee into two cups.

  “No matching china,” he said without turning around. “Krista kept that. I keep meaning to go out and buy something, but I just never seem to get to it.”

  “It isn’t a priority,” she told him. She slipped her arms around his waist from behind. “You’ve got your priorities just right. Your daughter, your clinic, your dogs …”

  “And you?” he asked softly. “Do you fit in there somewhere?”

  “Let’s not go there this morning.” She rested her head against his back. “Let’s just be so happy for what we have right now.”

  “Are you happy this morning?”

  “I am.” She smiled. “Are you?”

  He nodded.

  “Good, then,” she told him. “Let’s just leave it there for now.”

  “All right.” He turned in her arms and handed her a cup of coffee. “Leaving it there, handing off the morning brew.”

  “Thank you.” She took a sip. “It’s really good.”

  “Don’t tell Carlo, but I’m thinking of opening my own coffee spot. I’m thinking I’ll call it Cuppachino Too. Or T-w-o, I can’t decide which.”

  “Either would probably get you sued,” she noted.

  “Good point. Maybe I’ll stick with the clinic for a while.”

  “That might be best.” She leaned against the counter and glanced at the clock. “What time do your employees start arriving?”

  “Most of the time, Janelle gets in around eight, Mimi rolls in at nine.”

  “I should probably go.” She nibbled on her bottom lip pensively. “I hope no one was looking for me last night.”

  “If your son got up in the middle of the night and you weren’t there, what would he do?”

  “If he needed something, he’d go to Berry. But Cody never wakes up once he’s asleep unless he’s sick. At home, we have Elena, who lives with us and takes care of Cody when I’m away, so it isn’t as if he’d panic that I wasn’t there. On the other hand, if Berry missed me, she’d assume I’m still here with you and she’ll be wearing a very self-satisfied smile when I get home.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Are you kidding? The woman thinks you walk on water. She adores you. She’d like nothing more than for me to—” She caught herself. “For me to spend more time with you.”

  “That Berry, she’s a wise, wise woman. I say, let’s make the old girl happy.”

  Dallas finished her coffee without comment, and rinsed out her cup. “I should go. I don’t think it would be smart for me to let people see me leaving here.”

  “Are you embarrassed that you spent the night here?”

  She shook her head. “Of course not. Not at all. But all these years, all the time Emilio was doing what he was doing, there has never been any gossip about me, because I never gave anyone anything to talk about. I don’t want talk to start now. I have a good reputation and a son to protect. You have a daughter, and a reputation of your own.”

  “I understand.” He nodded. “Come on, I’ll walk you out to your car.”

  He kissed her good-bye inside the front door before he opened it. “Just so I know, Dallas. Are we going to pretend that this never happened? Or are we going to have to wipe this from the slate along with the past?”

  “I suppose I set myself up for that.” She leaned back against the door and sighed. “There’s no wiping the slate, Grant. You were right. What was between us was very special. It still is, even after all these years. So maybe you’re right, maybe it’s always going to be there. But where we go from here …” She shrugged. “Neither of us can answer that right now. So let’s be grateful that we had last night, and let’s let the rest of the summer unfold as it will. Sometimes things are best left on their own.”

  “I won’t back away from this, Dallas.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Neither will I. I just don’t want to put a name on it or stare too long at it or think too hard about what happened last night. It’s been a long time since we were together, and a lot of things have happened in both our lives during that time. I don’t want either of us to think this is something that maybe it isn’t.”

  “Something like what?”

  “Maybe something driven by sentiment, I don’t know.”

  “I do know, Dallas, and that’s not it.”

  “Maybe you’re right. But let’s give ourselves time to find out.”

  He nodded, kissed her one last time, unlocked the front door, and along with the dogs, walked her out to her car.

  * * *

  Grant stood in the drive and waved one last time, then watched her car disappear around the corner. Down on the street, the last bits of early morning fog had yet to burn off, and tufts of mist scattered as cars drove through them. He called the dogs to him and went back into the house.

  He paused to straighten the sofa cushions and to fold the sheet Dallas had left over the arm, then took it and the pillow upstairs. When he came back down, he picked up the wineglasses and the half-empty bottle of champagne, and took them into the kitchen and placed the glasses on the counter. He poured the rest of the champagne into the sink muttering, “Pity,” then placed the bottle in the recycling bin. He added the glasses and her coffee cup to the dishwasher and closed it, then poured himself another cup.

  He’d wanted to say, Just give me the rest of the summer, Dallas. Just one more summer and I won’t ask for more than that … but the words had stuck in his throat. Besides, he knew that last part was a lie. How could he say he wouldn’t ask for more when he knew he wasn’t
going to be satisfied with just one more month of having her in his life again?

  On the one hand, he could kick himself for letting last night happen. On the other, he couldn’t believe that it had happened, it had been that unbelievably good between them, that right, that natural. It had been just as he’d remembered, only better. Magical. Every single minute of last night had been magical. Just as it had always been.

  He looked at the calendar and counted the days until September 7, and knew there wasn’t time enough. There’d never be time enough, not when he knew as sure as the sun was rising over the Bay that she’d be leaving him, just as she’d left him before, and who knew how long it would be before she’d be back, if ever?

  His rational self told him that it would be better if he backed off, let go now, before things got any more complicated. Barring that, if he were wise, he’d make every effort to keep things casual between them. He could see her for dinner now and then, or stop out to see how Miss B was doing with the dogs, but no more nights like last night. In the long run, it probably would be better. But it wasn’t likely to play out that way.

  He knew that anytime she wanted him, he’d be there for her, no questions asked. She’d always been his girl, and she always would be. Damn the consequences. It was just the way it was.

  So much for the opinion of his rational self.

  There’d be no backing off. No pretending that it didn’t matter. Hell, even she knew it mattered, and that admission on her part had buoyed his spirits and gotten his hopes high. He knew there was no way to make her stay, that there was every chance he’d crash and burn again at the end of the summer, but he didn’t care. There were some things in life that were worth the risk. If he ended up looking like a fool, well, he’d been there before and survived. The truth of the matter was that last night he’d felt complete, at peace, for the first time in a very long time.

  He heard Janelle’s car and checked the time. There were dogs to be fed and exercised, and with Paige at Steffie’s, he’d have double duty at both the shelter and the clinic this morning. He checked to make sure his own dogs had water and treats, then went out the back door to start his workday. With any luck, he’d be able to keep his feet on the ground and his head out of the clouds, but he wasn’t counting on it.