She crossed her arms. “Then what’s he a solution for?”
“For making you happy.”
The air whooshed from her lungs. “You don’t just want me with him so I stay here forever and settle down and quit going to jail?”
Kyle gave a little laugh. “You should quit going to jail no matter where you live, Ry.”
Okay, he had a point. “It’s just all too…”
“Easy,” he filled in when she trailed off. “Derek told me.”
She frowned. “You can’t see at all what I mean? That I’m just falling into all of this? Taking the easy way out?”
Kyle blew out a breath and sat on the edge of her desk. “Riley, it’s not supposed to be hard. They don’t call it digging into love. It’s not climbing into love. It’s not pushing or fighting into love. They call it falling into love. Falling is easy. You just let yourself go and it happens.”
Her throat felt tight. “You and Hannah had to work at it,” she pointed out.
But he shook his head. “Not the loving part. That was easy. The communicating, the honesty, the sharing part, yeah, we had to work at that. But you and Derek already do all of that.”
The tightness in her throat spread to her chest. His words made sense. The feelings were easy. The rest of it was…also easy. At least with Derek.
“Open the package,” Kyle said.
She looked down at the roll of paper in her lap. With some trepidation, she tore back the outer layer of wrapping.
Inside was a bunch of rhubarb.
She laughed even as she felt tears stinging her eyes.
“That’s um…” Kyle said.
“Perfect,” she told him. She looked up. “He knows me.”
“And wants you in spite of that,” Kyle said. He grinned and stood.
He had made another good point. “Tell him thanks,” she said.
“You’re not going to rush over to tell him yourself?”
She shook her head. “I know him too—and he needs to work at this a little.”
Kyle shook his head. “Now that I’ve given my blessing, I can stay out of it, right?”
“That’s probably safest,” she agreed.
Her mother woke her up the next morning at six-thirty a.m. with scones. And a note from Derek saying he promised to never get scones for anyone else ever again.
The next day he delivered a yoga mat. Also at six-thirty a.m. With a note that said she was the only one he’d ever want bending over in his living room.
The next day—yep, at six-thirty—he delivered a Lindsey Stirling CD. Cracked in half.
The next, her mother awakened her to demand she go out and tell him to stop dumping little tubs of flavored creamer on their lawn. Instead, Riley took a seat on the porch swing, with a cup of black coffee, and watched him do it. She nodded politely as he declared he would never again buy flavored creamer. But when he said he’d never make coffee for another woman, she reminded him that he made coffee at the Come Again and that Scott really liked French vanilla creamer. Derek had to backtrack, and she’d gone into the house with a grin.
She did kind of like him making a big deal for her. And more, for him. He didn’t work at women, and he wasn’t clingy at all and it felt good to be new to him.
The morning of the path dedication and murder-mystery event, the sun was shining brightly, and she nearly tripped over the basket on the front porch when she was heading out for the town square.
The basket held a huge coffee mug and a note that said it was a permanent mug—not to-go and not disposable, not to be refilled and taken along, but to be used over and over again in the same kitchen. He’d also included a photo of a new mug rack on his kitchen counter with a matching mug hanging from it.
Riley felt her heart swell. That was pretty good, she had to admit. And she really wanted this to be done. She wanted to tell him how she felt. That she wanted to stay. But she was also enjoying his clinginess.
There was something she had to do first though. She dialed Lucy’s number.
“Hi, Riley,” her friend greeted. She sounded breathless.
“Hey, Luce. Um, so, I need to talk to you about something. I know today is busy, but could you meet me at the dedication a little early?”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Lucy said. Riley heard the sound of a car driving past in the background. So Lucy was outside. “I’m behind on everything. I really can’t. Can we grab a few minutes right afterward maybe? Is it really important?”
Well, it was the rest of Riley’s life but… “Nah, it can wait.”
“You sure? If you want to tell me over the phone, we can talk on my way to the shop.”
Riley frowned. “You’re running late getting to the shop?”
“Yeah.”
“But, today is really huge.”
“I know.”
“And you never run late.”
There was a pause on Lucy’s end, then she said, “I know.”
“Are you okay?”
Lucy laughed. “Yes. I’m okay. I had a breakfast date and it…ran longer than we expected.”
Riley let all of that sink in. “You had a breakfast date? With a guy?”
“Yes, Riley, with a guy.” But Lucy didn’t sound irritated. She sounded…happy.
“And it ‘ran long’?” Riley asked, grinning suddenly.
Lucy gave another little breathless laugh. “Yes. We got to talking and…” She sighed. Lucy actually sighed happily into the phone. “And there was some kissing.”
“Oh my God, Lucy!” Riley exclaimed. “You’re dating someone?”
“Yes! I was trying to tell you the other day when we were doing the rocks. I was going to ask you how to let Derek down. But then you got sick. And Derek finished everything up and I haven’t seen much of him, so it wasn’t really a pressing issue. And then we got busy with everything.”
“Lucy—” Riley actually felt tears in her eyes. “I’m so happy for you.”
“And I’m so happy for you.”
“For me?”
“Your mom came into the shop yesterday to check out some books about wedding planning.”
Riley groaned.
“I can’t believe you let me go on and on about how sweet Derek was being to me!” Lucy said.
Riley heard a bell ring and realized Lucy had just stepped into her shop. “Well it wasn’t anything sure…”
“Your mom is thrilled!”
Riley rolled her eyes. “And of course they’re already planning the wedding.”
Lucy laughed. “Riley, I’m so happy you’re going to be around. Seriously. I’ve missed you.”
Riley took a deep breath and let it all sink in. “Me too.” And she meant it. She really did. “We have to get together soon, Luce. We have so much to talk about.”
“I know! I’m dating for the first time! I have no idea what I’m doing!”
Riley laughed, her heart full. “We’re going to talk about boys, Lucy. Us.”
“Which means we have to get together and have our first official conversation on the couch in your mom’s basement, right?” Lucy asked.
“I’ll make cheddar popcorn and kettle corn.”
“Deal! Okay, I’ll see you at the gazebo soon.”
“See you soon.”
Riley hung up and took a big breath. Well, that had been easy. Just like everything else had been in Sapphire Falls. And she was beginning to think that easy was pretty damned great.
Then she headed out to the path dedication.
She’d really thought she was ready for it. But when she walked into the square, she was overwhelmed by the number of people already there. It seemed that most of the town had shown up.
Scott spotted her right away and gave her a big grin as he made a path through the crowd to her side. “Everyone’s ready.”
“I had no idea so many people would show,” Riley said, her eyes wide.
“Oh, Hailey made sure everyone knew,” he said, referring to Hailey Bennett, the Direct
or of Business Development and Tourism for Sapphire Falls. The gorgeous, outgoing blond loved nothing more than huge crowds gathering for things in Sapphire Falls.
Riley felt a bubble of panic welling up. Hailey had thought this was worth advertising and bringing people to town? Riley had thought she’d be speaking to a small group of concerned citizens. Did these people all really understand what was going on? Had Hailey hyped this thing as something inspiring? Fun? Monumental? What was the expectation here? Her heart was racing.
Then she saw Derek.
He was on the other side of the gazebo. He stood off a bit from everyone else, but the moment he looked over and their eyes met—cheesy as it was—the tension left her. All she could really think was I love you.
It was bright and clear in her mind, and she felt her breath catch.
He gave her a smile, and suddenly all she wanted to do was march over there and tell him.
“Okay, showtime,” Scott said.
Everyone gathered around the gazebo came back into focus, and Riley shook her head. Wow. She took a deep breath. “Okay.” She had to concentrate—and get this over with so she could talk to Derek.
She headed up the gazebo steps. Looking out over the crowd, she was amazed at the faces that looked back. Her parents were there. So were Derek’s. Both of their grandmothers were there, along with Hannah’s. Kyle and Hannah stood with them. Scott went to join Peyton, who was grinning and almost bouncing with her excitement. She stood near her sister Hope and her husband TJ, Sapphire Falls’ mayor, who was holding their little girl.
“Come here,” Riley mouthed to Peyton, waving her friend forward.
Peyton shook her head.
“Yes,” Riley said firmly, only then realizing that the microphone in front of her was on. She grinned sheepishly at the crowd and waved Peyton forward again.
Scott nudged her and she laughed, then ran up the steps to Riley’s side. Riley grabbed her hand and squeezed.
Hailey was standing near the front, of course, with her husband Ty. Ty’s brothers, Travis and Tucker, were with their families at the back of the crowd. There were so many Bennett kids—and a lot of boys—and they all looked so much alike that it was hard to tell who belonged to who as they chased and tumbled around the grass as their parents and grandparents, Kathy and Thomas, watched with big smiles.
Phoebe and Joe Spencer and their three kids were standing with Adrianne and Mason Riley, and Joe’s brother and sister-in-law, Levi and Kate, and all of their kids. Levi was a multimillionaire-turned-farmer, and he’d donated the sign explaining the Peace Path, as well as making a huge donation to the Family Alliance on behalf of Sapphire Falls.
And Riley could see that all of them, every single person in that crowd, was holding a blue stone to add to the path. Suddenly she had to blink against the tears that welled up.
She barely knew Levi. She didn’t know the Bennett brothers well—though she knew all their love stories. Everyone knew those stories. They had been a big deal in town. What she knew about Adrianne Riley was that she made the best cookies and muffins in four counties. She’d never had Phoebe Spencer as a teacher herself, but Mrs. Spencer had been involved in nearly everything about the school, so Riley had seen her around and spoken to her a few times. But no, she didn’t really know these people that well. And yet, she felt like they were here supporting her. The cause too, of course, but this town…when someone here did something good, big or small, everyone backed it and supported it.
She sniffed and then chuckled when the microphone amplified the sound. At least it worked to get everyone’s attention.
Which meant that when her gaze found Lucy in the crowd, standing with Bryan and Tess and Michael Kade, it took her a second to realize that Lucy was holding Kade’s hand. Like holding it. Like a girlfriend would. And when Lucy met her eyes, she gave Riley a huge grin.
She took all of that in, in just a few seconds, but couldn’t respond, couldn’t ask any questions, couldn’t actually process that Lucy was holding hands with Michael Kade like a girlfriend would, because Riley had to address the entire town of Sapphire Falls.
It was time.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Riley Ames,” she started. “Thank you for coming. This is—” She was suddenly choked up. She had to clear her throat, and she sought Derek out in the crowd without even consciously thinking about it. He was watching her with a look of pride and love. She could see it even standing thirty feet away.
She was in the heart of the town she’d been so determined to leave, surrounded by people who had made this town a community, and more. A family. Sapphire Falls was like a big extended family. And this path was for…everyone. Victims of sex trafficking, of course, but really anyone who needed a reminder that there would always be a path home. A path to a place that was good and welcoming, where people did the right thing and made everyone who came here part of the community and, given half the chance, part of the family.
She soaked in Derek’s smile, knowing that, somehow, he knew what she was thinking. And that he was feeling pretty proud of himself too. But she smiled. She wanted to be a part of this. She wanted to look across the Come Again, this town square, their backyard, and the dinner table at him for the rest of her life.
Yes, he was right. Again.
She cleared her throat, about to take the first step to truly being a part of this community.
“Thank you for coming,” she started again, sounding and feeling stronger. This was just the first of many times she hoped to be standing in front of this town, talking about something awesome they’d just done. “This project is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. And I wouldn’t have done it without Scott and Peyton and Lucy and Derek,” she said. She didn’t need to use last names here. “And my family,” she added, making eye contact with her mom. “Without them believing in it, and me, it never would have happened. And I think it means something even more to me because I took a different path than this one represents. This path is about coming here. Finding shelter and support. My path took me away from Sapphire Falls. But…” She paused and took a deep breath. “Thankfully, I found my way back. And now I’m here encouraging others to walk a path that leads right to the heart of Sapphire Falls. Because this truly is a place where people can find…what they need. Maybe things they didn’t even know they were looking for.”
She scanned the crowd and saw Hope Bennett look up at her husband with a soft smile. Riley saw Levi Spencer put his arm around Kate and pull her close, kissing the top of her head. She watched as Tucker Bennett said something into his wife’s ear that made her loop her arms around his neck and hug him hard. Riley saw Kyle and Hannah link hands. And then she looked at Derek again.
“So thank you,” she said. To him and to them all. “Not just for showing up and donating, but…for being a place people can come for love, support, friendship, and family. Even if they’re actually coming back.”
Everyone clapped enthusiastically as she finished, but Riley was only interested in one reaction. And the big, hot bartender known as the Sex God actually wiped his eye.
“Peyton, do you have anything?” Riley asked, hoping to hurry it all along.
“The rocks you’re holding will help complete the path,” Peyton said. “But even more importantly, they are symbolic of the fact that all of us are a part of the path that leads to Sapphire Falls, for those from here, and those who find us later on.” She grinned at their town. “So toss your rocks!”
Everyone cheered again as they stepped forward to line the path on either side and all tossed their blue stones onto the white and silver ones already in place. The blue filled in any gaps, and with the number of people supporting the effort, almost completely covered the white and silver.
Riley felt her eyes stinging and her heart turning over. Of course she wanted to be a part of this community. How could she not?
The crowd began dispersing, heading toward the tables for educational materials and refreshments that would lead them to Lucy�
�s bookshop.
Riley started down the steps, needing to get to Derek.
“Riley!” Scott pulled her up short.
“Hey, can we talk la—”
“Heard you applied to the academy,” he said.
“Oh, yeah.”
“I’m really glad.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
“And I need you tonight. We have a lead on something.”
Her heart thudded. She had to go with Scott, of course, but she wanted to see Derek. “Okay. I just—” She glanced around but didn’t see him.
“He’s on his way to the bookstore,” Scott said. “I’ll see you in twenty.”
“Thank you!” She turned, preparing to run to the bookstore, but she spotted Lucy coming toward her.
Riley met her friend halfway across the space. “It was Michael Kade who made you late this morning by kissing you?” she said without preamble, pulling Lucy into a hug.
Lucy laughed. “Shhh! But yes.” She was blushing prettily when she pulled back.
“That’s…perfect,” Riley said.
“It is.” Lucy shrugged. “It all just fell into place. It was all so…”
“Easy,” Riley filled in.
Lucy nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well,” Riley said. “They do call it falling in love. Falling is easy. You just let yourself go and it happens.”
Lucy grinned. “Yes. Exactly.”
“And now, I need to go. To your bookshop. To tell a man I love him.”
“Go!”
And she did. She ran all the way to the shop.
Riley caught Derek just as his hand reached for the bookshop door.
“Hey.”
He turned. “Hey.”
“I love you.”
He dropped his hand and turned to face her fully. But he said nothing.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Well, yeah.” He arched a brow. “I was waiting for more.”
She propped a hand on her hip. “More? Like what?”
He shrugged. “Something else. I already knew that part.”
Her heart warmed. “Oh.”
He grinned. “How about you tell me that this little tantrum of yours is over.”
She frowned. “Tantrum? Really? Being sure that you really do feel the way you say you feel? Making you work at winning a woman over? Making you—”
After Tonight Page 20