I’m an idiot for even entertaining the thought of being near Willow again. I’m miserable thinking about it. What I have in front of me is the most beautiful mess I’ve ever seen. For me to even think about losing Andie makes me want to beat myself up.
I slide a hand down her cheek. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, but if the truth comes out, which is what Willow is threatening to do, it will ruin my career in law enforcement.”
Barely above a whisper, she asks, “She’s blackmailing you?”
“Yes.”
Andie throws her hands around my neck and squeezes me so tight, I can hardly breathe. “Oh, Gunnar.”
I kiss her neck and pull back from her, realizing she is absolutely correct. “You know what? Screw them.” I chuckle. “I need to be more like you.”
“I don’t know about that, but since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to face my demons head-on, and you know what? It feels really fantastic.” She grins, and I know I made one more giant leap toward a forever with Andie. And I like it. I hope I haven’t messed things up so badly that she will leave me.
She bites her lip. “Where’s the movie?”
I breathe a sigh of relief because I think her anger has subsided. I give her a quick peck on the lips. “I’m glad you asked.”
I pull out my laptop and start up My Cousin Vinny.
“I love this movie.”
I’m not surprised. Nothing about her surprises me anymore. We snuggle together on the blanket, with the laptop resting on my stomach. I wrap my arm around her and play with her hair. We only get to the part where Vinny gets awakened by the train before we abandon the movie to make our own entertainment. I thought making love to Andie was wonderful on a broken bed, but having her on the beach at night gives a whole new meaning to seeing stars.
She wraps us in a blanket, and we kiss well into the night. Neither of us cares to move. I never want this night to end. Best dinner and a movie ever. For once, I’m so happy I listened to my sister.
AROUND MIDNIGHT, THOUGH neither of us want to, we pack up the supplies and leave our beach spot because we both have to work early in the morning. When we get to her place, I walk with my arm around her, guiding her toward her shop.
“It’s quiet this time of night,” she says.
“Yeah. So many of the stores are abandoned. Main Street used to be bustling even in the middle of the night.” The mayor’s words invade my brain.
“I bet it was fun back in the day.”
I remember hanging out on Main Street as a kid. There were so many stores, every store one can think of. My mother would let me and Faith roam around while she did her errands. We had plenty to keep us occupied, and everyone knew us, so we felt safe. All the storekeepers watched over the local kids.
I let out a big sigh. “I wish it was still that way.”
She squeezes me tighter. “You okay?”
I shrug. “When I came back after my Northwestern fiasco, I vowed to make this place better than when I was a kid. I haven’t done that. This city, this street could be so much more, but people keep leaving instead of coming here.”
She cranes her neck so we can see eye to eye. “You’re such a wonderful man. You want so much for this town. I don’t want any hard feelings when it comes to my money.”
I cup her face in my hands. “Sugar, that’s your money. You can stuff your mattress with it for all I care.”
She buries her face in my chest. “What if I sell?”
Shit. I don’t want to have this conversation right now. “It’s not my place to tell you what to do. But I was hoping at least some of Smithville had rubbed off on you.”
Andie grins and pulls me down for a kiss. “Some parts are unforgettable.”
She nudges me toward her door and unlocks it then pulls me inside with her. We kiss our way up the stairs and finish our dinner plans there. I love second helpings of dessert.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Andie
Gunnar is so cute, rocking back and forth, hands in his pockets, while he stands outside the church. When our eyes meet, his dimples pop out. He takes my breath away every time I see him.
“Hey,” I squeak out.
“Mornin’.”
Gah. That drawl is going to make me melt faster than this hot sun. He takes my hand, and together, we walk into the church. He escorts me past the Jackson sisters, who can probably smell that we had sex less than five hours ago. And by the way Sarah gives me a thumbs-up, I’m even more certain. With a hand on the small of my back, he leads me into the pew with Faith and Lily.
Lily grabs my hand. “Sit by me.”
“Okay.”
Gunnar sits on the other side of me and wraps an arm around my shoulders, resting his hand on the back of the pew. I guess he’s not afraid to show affection, so I rest my hand on his leg. I swear I hear photos being snapped behind me. Calm down, Miss Sarah and Jennifer. We’re buds now, right?
“Tell me they didn’t take a picture,” I whisper to Gunnar.
He chuckles. “I think so. Don’t worry about it.” He runs his hand through my hair. Snap. Snap.
When the preacher enters, we all stand for the opening hymn. Gunnar pulls me close. His baritone voice rumbles down into my chest while he sings “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”
As we pass the peace, the pastor approaches me. “Would you like to take up offering today?”
My throat closes up, not allowing any air to get in or out. “Uh, I don’t know.”
Lily pushes her way into the aisle. “Can I help?”
The pastor laughs and pats her cheek.
I give her little body a squeeze. “I would love your help. Come on.” I take Lily’s hand, and she leads me up to the altar. She picks up two baskets and hands me one. I take a peek over my shoulder at Gunnar, and he beams with pride. Lily begins on one side of the aisle, and I follow her lead. We walk down the aisle, stopping at each row for people to pass the basket back and forth. The Jackson sisters snap another photo then wave. For that picture, I hold out the basket and pose. Maybe they should put that phone down long enough to add some cash to the basket.
On the back pew sit Jolene, Stanley, and Willow. Jo slides her hand through the bend in Stanley’s arm, I guess to remind me of her territory. He gives me a cheesy grin as he drops a few dollars in the plate. Willow juts her chin high and doesn’t even acknowledge that I’m in front of her. We are in the house of God, so I’m not about to start a catfight in front of the pastor and the Jacksons. If she came here to start something, she will be disappointed.
After Lily and I finish the collection, we march back up to the front and place our baskets on the altar. I hold out my hand, and Lily high-fives me, making the entire congregation laugh. I nestle back into my pew by Gunnar, and he gives my shoulder a squeeze. He glances over his shoulder and groans. I assume he realized who was sitting in the back pew.
He leans over to whisper in my ear. “Next week, you might be ready to baptize some sinner.”
I cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. The term hell freezing over comes to mind. “As long as I don’t have to preach.”
“You could talk about the splinter in your eye and the log in theirs,” he whispers.
His breath tickles my neck, and I stifle a giggle, thinking about my blog post. “I’ll just stick with love one another.”
“I like that L word.”
Holy crap. He’s flirting with me in the middle of church, in front of God and the Jackson sisters. If he’s not careful, I’m going to slide my hand up his thigh to see if I can feel the love.
FAITH WAS SO KIND TO invite me over for Sunday lunch. If I thought Gunnar was a walking muscle, he is nothing compared to her husband, Kevin. He worked all night as a fireman then dragged himself out of bed and to the table. His dark hair is still tousled. Lily favors him, and it’s obvious by the way he talks to his daughter, he adores his little girl. With Lily, it is “Daddy this” and “Daddy that.” And he goes along with it. That complet
ely explains his pink toenails. Most men would hide them in shoes, but he wears flip-flops. I think my ovaries did a summersault.
Gunnar chuckles. “Bubble-gum pink is your color.”
Kevin hikes up a leg and wiggles his toes. “If Lily likes it, then I like it.”
Gunnar throws his head back in laughter. “I think your daughter shredded your man card.”
Faith puts the lasagna dish in the middle of the table. “Actually, I burned it a long time ago.” She leans over the table and kisses her husband.
Gunnar covers Lily’s eyes, making her giggle.
Kevin drags Faith onto his lap. “You wait ‘til you have a young’n of your own. You’ll do anything she wants, and you’ll love every stinkin’ minute of it.”
Gunnar’s neck turns a splotchy pink, far pinker than Kevin’s toes.
Faith stares at her husband. “Can I tell them?” she asks him.
He throws his hands in the air. “Sure.”
“Tell us what?” Gunnar asks.
Lily pipes up. “Mama’s going to have a baby.”
I gasp and jump up to give Faith a hug. “That’s so exciting.”
Gunnar grins like a proud papa. “Another baby?”
“It’s like this,” Kevin starts. “When a man loves a woman, they—”
Gunnar covers his ears. “I don’t want to know what my sister has been doing.”
Kevin yawns and stretches his hands over his head. “It’s not like you’ve been celibate, right?”
I freeze. Gunnar takes my hand under the table and gives it a squeeze.
Lily jumps up and down. “We’re going to celebrate? Yay.”
Faith tickles her daughter. “Sit. Let’s eat before we have more Burt’s Bees talk.”
“What?” Kevin and I both ask.
Faith rolls her eyes. “Nothing. Let’s eat.”
We dive in to the most amazing lasagna I have ever eaten. Turns out, Faith uses beef and pork in her recipe. Right as I stuff my face completely full of food, Lily asks, “How was your date last night?”
I draw in a breath, and the food goes down the wrong way.
Kevin jumps up. “I’ve got this.” He grabs me around the middle and performs the Heimlich maneuver on me, sending a huge hunk of pork like a projectile right onto Gunnar’s face.
“I’m so sorry,” I gasp.
Gunnar wipes his face. “The date wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Of course not,” I say, coughing and waving him off. “It was one of my all-time top-ten dates.”
Faith cocks an eyebrow. “Top ten, huh? Must have been the rotisserie chicken.”
Gunnar spews iced tea all over my dress.
“Oh... Burt’s Bees,” Faith says.
I can’t make eye contact with Gunnar without losing it. He wipes tears of laughter from his eyes. When we dare to look at each other, he cracks a grin that I can’t resist. I know I’ve made an error in my best-ten-dates calculations.
“Okay, I admit it. It was the best date ever.”
Gunnar drops his fork.
Lily picks up his fork and hands it to him. With a deadpan expression, she says, “Yep. Burt’s Bees.”
I have no idea what that is, but Gunnar and Faith collapse onto the table, crying with laughter. Kevin shrugs then takes another bite of lasagna as though it’s a normal day at their house. It would be so nice to have a lively family like this. When I was growing up, all my mother did was throw a TV dinner in the microwave and say, “Eat up.” Seeing Faith regard her husband with a twinkle in her eyes as she subconsciously rubs her belly wakes something up inside of me. I want that. I never thought I did, but I do now. I sneak a peek at Gunnar, who gives me a faint longing expression.
Surely he doesn’t want that with me of all people. I’m a walking mess. If he knew what was best for him, he would run away from me as fast as he could. I am terrible, and he’ll figure that out soon enough. This newfound sobriety is on shaky ground at best, until a rough patch comes my way to test how shaky it really is. I already messed up really bad that night when Gunnar thought someone had broken into the shop. I can’t afford for anything like that to happen again.
“Uncle G, can Miss Andie help me pick out my bedroom in your house? You promised when I turned five, I could have my own room in case Mama was driving me crazy.”
He drops his second fork.
Faith grins. “Oh, he did, did he? Actually, I think that’s a great idea. Andie, have you seen what Gunnar’s done to his place? There’s a shortcut from our property to his through our backyard.”
He stares at his sister, his eyes bugging out of their sockets.
“No, he hasn’t shown me his house.” This is becoming a pattern with him.
Gunnar stuffs his mouth with a roll.
Faith points out the back window. “You can almost see it from here. I can’t believe he did it himself.”
“Hey,” Gunnar mumbles, a piece of his roll falling out of his mouth.
Kevin points his fork at his wife. “Wait a second. I think I remember putting in a whole bunch of hours on my days off.”
She kisses him on the cheek. “Yes, but I’ve come to expect that from you.” She side-eyes Gunnar. “Him? Not so much.”
Lily giggles.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, don’t you?” Gunnar tickles her.
She squeals and runs around the table to hide behind me. I block her from Gunnar’s wiggling fingers.
“Silly girls don’t get to pick out their bedroom at their favorite uncle’s house.”
She peeks out from around me. I give Lily a squeeze, and she takes me by the hand and drags me to the back door.
I point at the dirty dishes. “I should help your mother clean up.”
Faith waves it off. “Nonsense. Go check out the Ponderosa.”
Gunnar stands and sneers. “Stop calling it that.”
Faith gives him a smirk. “Wait ‘til you see it. All that’s missing is the map with the fire burning through it.”
Gunnar and I walk down a brick walkway, with Lily holding our hands. When we turn a corner, I’m faced with a huge log cabin. I gasp. His house does resemble the Ponderosa. When I was a kid, we didn’t have cable television, so if I wanted to watch anything, it was the channel that showed old westerns from the sixties. In Bonanza, the Cartwrights lived in a huge log cabin called the Ponderosa, and if I didn’t know better, I would think we were on the set of that old television show. And Michael Landon was hot back in the day, so I certainly didn’t mind watching the show.
“Oh my, Faith wasn’t kidding.”
“Not you too.”
Lily and I run up to the broad front porch and climb the steps. Gunnar lollygags behind us. She pulls me down into the porch swing, and the warm breeze rushes past us. From his front porch is a perfect view of the lake. I bet sunsets are crazy beautiful from this view.
“Any chance you’ve got one of the Cartwrights tucked away in there?”
Gunnar leans against the porch railing, watching us swing back and forth, my hair flying in my face.
“Don’t tell me you’re a Little Joe fan.”
I stumble out of the swing, and Gunnar catches me. “Who isn’t? I bet Lily even knows who Little Joe is.”
Lilly nods. “Uh-huh, and he’s hot.”
I gasp, but I can’t argue with her.
Lily takes my hand and leads me inside. I almost cry. The front room is enormous, with real log chinking and a vaulted ceiling. A stone fireplace accents one large wall. Above the mantel is a huge flat-screen television. The open floor plan allows me to see all the way into the immense kitchen that includes a wraparound granite bar. The massive dining room table has to be one of a kind. Photos of Gunnar in various stages of his life line the hallway. Lily’s face adorns the end tables. I’m drawn to the kitchen. It is Old West meets modern Southern, and it’s perfect. I run my hand across the cool granite countertop, taking it all in. To the left is a hallway that leads to more rooms. To the right is a
n enormous staircase.
“Gunnar, this is a masterpiece.”
He walks up behind me, rubbing my shoulders. “I did okay.”
I lean into him. “Okay? I’ve never seen anything this beautiful. It fits the landscape too.”
“There’s a great view of the lake from the upstairs balcony.”
“It’s perfect.”
He pulls out a water bottle and hands it to Lily. “Not everyone thought so.”
My heart breaks for him. He poured his heart and soul into this home for Willow, and she turned her nose up at it.
He walks over to help Lily open up the bottle. She runs up the stairs. At the top, she turns to us. “Well, come on.”
Gunnar’s expression is distant. I touch his cheek. “You okay?”
He wags his head. “I don’t go upstairs much. You go on up. I’ll be down here.”
I pull him down to sit on a barstool and stand between his legs. He rests his hands on my hips.
“You don’t go upstairs in your own home? Do you sleep on the couch?”
He chuckles. “Sometimes.” He motions down the hallway. “There’s a guest bedroom on this level that I use.”
“Are you going to tell me why, or do I have to beat it out of you?” I rear back, and he grabs my fist.
He kisses every knuckle.
I stand and take his hand. “Come on, big boy. You can do this.” I tug him toward the steps.
He follows me. We find Lily in the first bedroom on the front side of the house. It has a window seat, built-in bookshelves, and a huge walk-in closet. It’s a little girl’s dream.
“Wow, Lily. Is this the one?” I ask.
She bobs her head and wraps her arms around Gunnar’s leg.
“It’s all yours, baby. You can stay here anytime your mother approves.”
“Can I get a big bed with a canopy?”
In a Jam Page 24