Make Me Stay

by Jaci Burton

  She sniffed. "Where?"

  "I need to take you for a ride."

  He grabbed the box of tissues on the counter and handed them to her, then let her grab her keys so she could lock up the shop. Then he put her in his truck and took her for a drive outside of town.

  She had no idea what was happening. Her heart was so full she could barely breathe.

  He loved her. God, he shouldn't love her. She couldn't take this right now.

  "Where are we going?" she finally asked after she'd wiped her eyes and blown her nose.

  "There's something I want to show you. Someplace I want you to see."

  The ride took about fifteen minutes. He drove off the main highway a short distance, down a gravel road, stopping at a for-sale sign pitched on a plot of land. He got out and came around to her side of the truck.

  "What are we doing here?"

  He put her in front of the For Sale sign.

  "I just bought this land, Sam. I'm going to build a house here. A big house on a lot of land. For us. And for your grandmother. Plenty of space for all of us. And for Not My Dog."

  "You bought . . ." She turned to face him. "For us? For all of us?"

  "Yes. I know who's in your life, Sam. I know the burdens you carry. And I want you to know that you'll never have to shoulder those burdens alone ever again. I love you and I want to marry you. And when you love someone, their joy becomes your joy. Their sorrow becomes your sorrow. Their life becomes your life. Will you share your life with me?"

  Sam could barely breathe. She had been so strong and so independent for her entire life. And here was someone offering to lend her a shoulder to cry on, a chance to share his life. Because he loved her.

  And she loved him back.

  "You would do this for me."

  "Until the end of time."

  She broke down then and sobbed, throwing herself against him and releasing that burden to him. Because she loved him and she trusted him.

  He held tight to her and let her cry it out until she was finished. And then he went to the truck and grabbed the box of tissues and handed it to her. She wiped her tears and blew her nose--again--several times. And when she finally found her voice to speak, she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

  "Reid, I love you. I loved you before you left, but I was too afraid to ask you to carry the burden that was my life. And I realize now how selfish that was, because being the kind of man you are, I should have known you would have easily accepted my life the way it was. And I'm sorry for that.

  "I will absolutely positively one hundred percent marry you, with my whole heart. For now and for ever. And I will love this house that you build for me. But I think in the case of my grandmother, she would be happier in the home she lived in with my grandpa. Faith has offered to move in with her and care for her as long as she's able to. And when the time comes that Grammy Claire needs more care than that . . ."

  "Then together we'll figure out the next step for Grammy Claire."

  Her heart nearly burst with love. "Yes. We'll figure that out together."

  He put his arm around her. "You'll never have to make that decision alone, Sam. I'll always be here for you."

  She leaned against him. "And I'll always be here for you."

  He tipped her head back and kissed her, and she knew at that moment this was their beginning. Their starting point.

  And as long as they had each other, it would be perfect.

  He took her hand in his and turned to her. "Oh, one more thing. How fast do you think we could put a wedding together?"

  She frowned. "What?"

  "You said one of the things that made you sad was that you didn't think your grandmother would be around when you got married. Let's make sure she is. Let's get married--like right away."

  Her heart started beating fast. "Are you serious?"

  "Dead serious. It might not be the biggest or fanciest wedding, but I'll bet with all the family and friends we have, we could get it done in a hurry and still have one hell of a great wedding. If that's what you want."

  This was why she loved this man.

  "Are you sure? Are you really sure that's what you want?"

  "Absolutely. And we might have to live at your place for a while until we get this house built. If that's okay with you."

  "It's totally okay with me." She threw herself against him, unable to believe she'd found love with the one man who really understood her, who could love her the way she'd always wanted to be loved.

  She kissed him, hard, then pulled back and smiled at him. "Have I ever told you how much I love fall weddings?"

  Turn the page for a preview of the next two

  gorgeous Jaci Burton romances

  Coming soon from Headline Eternal.

  "MEN SUCK." HARMONY Evans tossed her purse on the kitchen table of her mother's house and sat next to her best friend, Alyssa. It was Thursday night--family dinner night at Mama's house. Everyone was coming over, as it always was at Mama's. Right now she'd prefer to be sitting in the corner of a dark bar, nursing a dirty martini. She was going to have to settle for sweet tea because, short of death, you did not miss Thursday night dinner at Mama's.

  She'd already come in and kissed her mama, who was holding court in the living room with Harmony's brother Drake and some of his friends, giving her time to catch up with Alyssa.

  Alyssa laid her hand over Harmony's and cast a look of concern. "And why do you hate men? Is it Levon?"

  Harmony wrinkled her nose, preferring to never hear the name of her now ex-boyfriend again. "Yes."

  "Did you two break up?"

  "I did not break up with him. He gave me the classic 'It's not you, it's me' speech. He's doing so much international travel with the law firm, and he just can't devote enough time to the relationship, so it wouldn't be fair to me to lead me on when he knows he can't commit. He went on with more excuses but it was all blah blah blah after that." She waved her hand back and forth.

  Alyssa's gaze narrowed. "What a prick. Why is it so damn hard to find a man of value, one who will respect a woman and give her honesty?"

  "I have no idea." Harmony pulled one of the empty glasses forward and poured from the pitcher that sat in the middle of the table, already filled with tea and ice and loaded with so much sugar she'd likely be awake all night. At this point, she didn't care. She'd work it off in a gym session tomorrow. "All I know is I'm glad to be rid of him. It was bad enough his bathroom counter had more products on it than mine did."

  Alyssa laughed. "There you go. What does a man need on his counter besides a toothbrush, soap, deodorant, and a razor?"

  "According to Levon, there was stuff for his beard, trimming devices, facial scrub, moisturizer--separate ones for his face and his body. An entire manicure set for his nails, for use when he wasn't off getting mani-pedis, of course."

  "Of course," Alyssa said, then giggled.

  "Oh, and the scents. Let's not forget his entire rack of colognes."

  Alyssa nodded. "The man did reek, honey."

  "I think he owned more perfume than I do."

  "Never a good sign. See? You dodged a bullet."

  "I did."

  Alyssa lifted her glass. "Let's toast to that."

  They clinked glasses. "To men we're lucky to have not ended up with," Harmony said.

  "What are we toasting to?"

  Harmony looked up to find Barrett Cassidy standing at the kitchen table. He was her brother Drake's best friend and teammate, and since the guys both played for the Tampa Hawks football team and Barrett also lived in Tampa, Thursday nights meant Drake would drag his friends over to the house for dinner.

  One of the nicest things about living in Tampa, as a matter of fact. She'd often thought it had been fortuitous that her brother had been drafted by the hometown team. It had kept him close to home all these years, and of course, one couldn't beat the awesome eye candy her brother brought home now and then.

  Especially Barrett. Most especially Barrett.
>
  "We're toasting the end of Harmony's relationship with a man who was absolutely not right for her," Alyssa said.

  Barrett arched a brow, then gave Harmony a sympathetic look. "Really. Sorry about that."

  Harmony shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. Alyssa's right. He wasn't the man for me."

  "Then I guess I'm . . . happy for you?"

  She laughed, and she could tell this was uncomfortable for him. "Come on. Sit down and have a glass of iced tea with us."

  "I'm not sure I want to wade into these waters. Breakups are not my territory."

  "Oh, come on, Barrett. Surely you've dumped a woman before," Harmony said, pouring him a glass. "Or you've been dumped."

  He pulled out a chair and sat. She'd never realized before how utterly . . . big he was. He'd always kept his distance from her, preferring to hang with Drake, so this was the closest she'd ever been to him. Both he and Drake played defense for the Hawks. Barrett was absolutely pure muscle. Just watching the way his muscles flexed as he moved was like watching liquid art. She could stare at his arms for hours, but she tried not to ogle. Not too much, anyway.

  "I've been dumped before, sure," Barrett said. "And maybe I've broken up with a woman or two."

  Alyssa leaned close to Harmony. "He's downplaying being the one who dumped the woman."

  "I heard that, Alyssa."

  "I meant for you to hear me, Barrett. You're just trying to be the good guy right now because we're roasting the not-so-good guys."

  Barrett narrowed his gaze. "See, I told you I shouldn't be sitting here. If you're gonna want to bad-mouth my species--which you have a right to, since some asshole broke up with you, Harmony--then I should leave. Also, I'd suggest something stronger than iced tea. It helps."

  So maybe he had been dumped before. It sounded like he knew how to get through it.

  "It's okay, Barrett," Harmony said. "Me getting dumped is definitely not your fault. I'm not as pissed off about it as I probably should be, all things considered. So you're safe here."

  Besides, looking at Barrett could definitely make her forget all about Levon and his prissy bathroom counter. She wondered how many items Barrett had on his bathroom counter? She'd bet not many.

  She turned her chair toward him, determined to find out. "Actually, I have a ridiculous question for you, Barrett."

  He turned his gorgeous blue eyes on her and smiled. "Shoot."

  "How many items currently reside on your bathroom counter?"

  Barrett cocked a brow. "Huh?"

  Alyssa laughed. "Very good question."

  "I don't get it," Barrett said.

  "We're conducting a poll about men and their bathrooms," Alyssa said. "Indulge us."

  Barrett finally shrugged. "Okay, fine. Uh . . . soap, of course. Toothpaste and toothbrush. Deodorant. Maybe a comb?"

  Harmony smiled when Barrett struggled to come up with anything else. She knew he was an absolute male of the not-so-fussy-about-his-grooming variety.

  He finally cast her a helpless look. "I don't know. I've got nothin' else. Did I fail?"

  "Oh, no," Harmony said. "You most definitely passed."

  "You should go out with Barrett," Alyssa suggested. "He's a nice guy, and he obviously doesn't keep thirty-seven things on his bathroom counter."

  Barrett laughed. "Yeah, and Drake would kill us both. He'd definitely kill me."

  The idea of going out with Barrett appealed, though. She'd had such a crush on Barrett when Drake had first introduced them all those years ago. And now? Hmmm. Yeah, definitely appealing.

  "What my brother doesn't know won't hurt him--or you. What do you say, Barrett? Care to take me out?"

  BARRETT WAS AT a loss for words. Harmony was his best friend's little sister.

  Only she wasn't so little anymore. When he'd first been drafted by Tampa, he and Drake had bonded. Both of them played defense, they'd been roommates, and they'd become friends. It had been that way for the past six years.

  He'd been coming here to Drake's mom's house ever since that first year, back when Harmony had been in college. Back when she'd still been a kid. Now she was a woman, and she'd just been dumped by some guy who was obviously too stupid to know what a treasure he'd had.

  She was beautiful, with brown skin, long dark curly hair, and those amazing amber eyes. She had the kind of body any man would want to get his hands on, curves in all the right places . . .

  And he had no business thinking about Harmony at all, because there was a code--no messing with your best friend's sister.

  Absolutely not. No. Wasn't going to happen.

  He pushed back his chair and stood, looking down at Harmony as if she were Eve in the Garden and she'd just offered him the forbidden apple. "I know the rule, Harmony, and so do you. I think I'll go check out what Granny made for dinner tonight."

  He might be tempted, but there was too much at stake. He was going to step away from the sweet fruit in front of him before he decided to do something really stupid and take a taste.

  Because going down that road would spell nothing but doom.

  BRADY CONNERS WAS spending the day doing one of the things he enjoyed the most: smoothing out dents in a quarter panel of a Chevy. As soon as he finished, he'd paint, and this baby would be good as new.

  It wasn't his dream job. He was working toward that. But with every day he spent working at Richards Auto Service, thanks to Carter Richards, he was pocketing money that got him closer to his dream. And someday he'd open up his own custom motorcycle paint shop.

  Somewhere. Maybe here in Hope. Maybe somewhere else. Probably somewhere else, because this place held memories.

  Not good ones.

  A long time ago--a time that seemed like an eternity now--he had thought maybe he and his brother Kurt would start up a business together. Brady would do bodywork and custom motorcycle paint, and Kurt would repair the bikes.

  That dream went up in smoke the day Brady got the call that his brother was dead.

  He paused, stood, and stretched out the kinks in his back, wiping the sweat that dripped into his eyes. He took a step back and grabbed the water bottle he always stored nearby, taking a long drink through the straw, swallowing several times until his thirst was quenched.

  Needing a break, he pulled off his breathing mask and swiped his fingers through his hair, then stepped outside.

  It was late spring, and rain was threatening. He dragged in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of fresh air.

  He really wanted a cigarette, but he'd quit a little over a year ago. Not that the urge had gone away. Probably never would. But he was stronger than his own needs. Or at least that's what he told himself every time a strong craving hit.

  Instead, he pulled out one of the flavored toothpicks he always kept in his jeans pocket and slid that between his teeth.

  Not nearly as satisfying, but it would do. It would have to.

  He leaned against the wall outside the shop and watched the town in motion. It was lunchtime, so it was busy.

  Luke McCormack, one of Hope's cops, drove by in his patrol car and waved. Brady waved back. Luke was a friend of Carter's, and while Brady wasn't as social as a lot of the guys he'd met, he knew enough to be friendly. Especially to cops.

  Samantha Reasor left her shop, loading up her flower van with a bunch of colorful bouquets. She spotted him, giving him a bright smile and a wave before she headed off.

  Everyone in this damn town was so friendly. He mostly kept to himself, doing his work and then heading to the small apartment above the shop at night to watch TV or play video games. He had one goal in mind, and that was to save money to open his business. He saw his parents now and again since they lived in Hope, but the strain of Kurt's death had taken a toll on them.

  Nothing was the same anymore. With them. With him either, he supposed.

  Sometimes life just sucked. And you dealt with that.

  His stomach grumbled. He needed something to eat. He pushed off the wall and headed up the stree
t, intending to make a stop at the sandwich joint on the corner. He'd grab a quick bite and bring it back to the shop.

  He made a sudden stop when Megan Lee, the really hot brunette who owned the bakery, came out with a couple of pink boxes in her hands. She collided with him and the boxes went flying. She caught one, he caught one, then he steadied her with his other hand.

  She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide with surprise.

  "Oh, my gosh. Thank you, Brady. I almost dropped these."

  "You okay, Megan?"

  "Yes. But let me check these." She bent down and opened the boxes. There were cakes inside. They looked pretty, with pink icing on one and blue on the other and little baby figurines in strollers sitting on top of the cakes. There were flowers and other doo-dahs as well. He didn't know all that much about cake decorations. He just liked the way they tasted.

  "They're for Sabelle Frasier. She just had twins." She looked up at him with a grin. "A boy and a girl. Her mom ordered these for her hospital homecoming. I spent all morning baking and decorating them."

  He didn't need to know that, but the one thing he did know was that people in this town were social and liked to talk. "They look good."

  She swiped her hair out of her eyes. "Of course they're good."

  He bent and took the boxes from her. "Where's your car?"

  "Parked just down the street."

  "How about you let me carry these? Just in case you want to run into anyone else on your way."

  Her lips curved. "I think you ran into me."

  He disagreed, but whatever. He figured he'd do his good deed for the day, then get his sandwich.

  He followed her down the street.

  "I haven't seen much of you lately," she said.

  He shrugged. "Been busy."

  "I've been meaning to stop in the shop and visit, but things have been crazy hectic at the bakery, too." She studied him. "How about I bring pastries by in the morning? And I've never brought you coffee before. How about some coffee? How do you take it? Black, or with cream and sugar? Or maybe you like lattes or espresso? What do you drink in the mornings?"

  He had no idea what she was talking about. "Uh, just regular coffee. Black."

  "Okay. I make a really great cup of coffee. I'm surprised you haven't come into the bakery since it's so close to the auto shop. Most everyone who works around here pops in." She pressed the unlock button on her car, then opened the back door and took the boxes from him.