"Maybe he doesn't want me to go to the party," he said heavily. "He's probably worried it's going to be hard on your mother, and I completely understand where he's coming from."
She understood, too. Her mom had been torn up and conflicted since her father had come back from the dead. She worried about hurting Ray and also worried about hurting Ben. Her mother was torn between the two men, because she loved both of them.
Tori couldn't imagine what her mom was going through. It was easier for her and Scott. Ben was still their father. They'd never replaced him, not even with Ray. But her mom had fallen in love with someone else, and she'd told Ben that she wasn't going to walk away from her second husband of fourteen years, because her first one turned out to be alive. It wouldn't be fair to Ray.
Her father had wished her well, but there had still been a lot of tension between them, and they hadn't been able to get together just the four of them since that first day in the hospital. But she needed that to change.
"I want all of you at my party," she said. "There will be a ton of Callaways, and I need the Haydens to be out in full force, so no one is bailing." She opened the door, getting ready to tell her brother he needed to get over whatever problem he had. But he wasn't alone; her mom was with him.
"What are you both doing here? Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No, but we need to talk," Scott said. "The four of us."
As Scott and her mother entered her apartment, her dad got to his feet. For a moment, the four of them just stared at one another.
"Okay, this is weird," she said, breaking the tense silence. "What's going on?"
"I don't want to say the wrong thing," her mother said, a pained look on her face. "I told Scott this was a bad idea."
"No, it's a good idea," Scott argued. "I didn't want this tension to be at Tori's party. It's too big of a night for her."
"That was considerate of you," she said, knowing that Scott hadn't been completely thrilled with the idea of her and Dylan getting together, but he'd come around when he realized how much in love they were.
She waited for Scott to keep talking, but he seemed like he'd already run out of things he wanted to say. Time for the baby of the family to take the lead.
"It can't ever be the same," she said. "We need to stop looking back and start looking forward. We've all lived a lot of years without this particular foursome being together, but there's love here. I can feel it. I know each of you can, too. Sure, there's lingering anger and resentment, and we'll need to keep talking and keep trying to work things out, but the bottom line is that we should be happy that we're all together again. We have years ahead of us, big moments that we'll finally get to celebrate together. And tonight is one of those." She paused, glancing at her brother. "As usual, you were right, Scott. We did need to get together before we're in the middle of a party."
"And you're right, Tori," her mother said. "The tension is mostly my fault. You and Scott are trying not to choose sides, but you're worried about me, and you don't need to be."
Her mother walked across the room, stopping in front of Ben. She gave him a sad smile. "I have nothing but great memories about the years we spent together, about the love we shared, and the children we brought into this world. I miss the way we were, but I know we can't go back there. We've both changed. We have to let the past be the past. We've all missed out on so many great moments that we should have shared together. I don't want that to happen even one more time. So I think we should get rid of the weirdness…" She flashed Tori a smile. "And celebrate because we can, and because we should."
"I agree," her dad said.
"Me, too," she said. "Scott?"
"I'm on board," he agreed. "It will be a lot easier if we're all getting along when the baby comes."
"What?" she asked with a squeal. "You and Monica are having a baby?"
"We are," he said with a grin that spread across his face. "We were going to tell you together, but we didn't want to ruin tonight's big event, and I probably should have kept my mouth shut until another day."
"Don't be ridiculous," she said, giving him a hug. "I'm so happy for you."
"I can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother," her mom said, following up with a hug as well.
"Congratulations, Son," her dad said.
There was a moment's hesitation, and then Scott walked across the room and hugged their dad. It was the first time they'd embraced.
Happy tears rushed to her eyes. Her family was back together.
"So, is the article done?" her mom asked.
"It's finished," she replied.
"And it's better than good," her dad said.
"I'll upload it on Monday morning and we'll see what happens," she added.
"It's going to shake the city," Scott predicted. "But that's what you do best, Tori. I hope Dylan knows what he's in for."
"I'm pretty sure he does," she said with a laugh. "So who's driving me to the party?"
"I am," Scott said. "I'm driving all of us, if that's okay with everyone?"
"Ray is going to meet us at the party," her mom put in.
"He's a good guy," Ben told her mother. "I'm glad you found him."
"Me, too," her mom said. "Now, let's go celebrate Tori's engagement. Then we can start planning a wedding. I can't wait." Pamela gave them all a happy smile. "This time, I get to be the mom in charge."
Scott groaned. "I almost feel sorry for you, Tori."
She wasn't sorry at all. She was going to love planning her wedding with her mom, and knowing that her dad would be there to walk her down the aisle filled her heart with happiness. But even more importantly, she was going to spend the rest of her life with Dylan.
* * *
His parents' house was packed with Callaways, Dylan thought, as he greeted Aiden and his wife Sara and sent them into the family room, where his dad was tending bar. Even his grandparents had made it, his grandfather Patrick standing like a sentinel over his wife Eleanor while she chatted with his Aunt Lynda and his Uncle Jack.
Mia, her husband Jeremy, and their daughter Ashlyn had come up from Angel's Bay, and Kate and Devin had flown in from DC for the weekend so they could finally meet Tori. His sister Annie and his brother Hunter had taken a break in their travels to come home, too. The only person missing was the most important person—Tori.
He walked into the kitchen and glanced out the window. Tori should have been here by now. As much as he wanted to believe all the problems were behind them, he still didn’t like it when she was late.
His brother Ian came up next to him and gave him a knowing smile. "She'll be here."
"I know. She's just going over the article she's writing with her dad about everything that happened. They probably got caught up in it."
"Probably. It's quite a story. Why don't you come join the party?"
"I'll be there in a second."
The kitchen door opened, and relief ran through him as Tori walked into the room.
She wore a dark-red, short lacy dress that clung to her body, her dark hair falling in clouds of brown silky waves over her shoulders, her lips bright and pink, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. "You're late," he said.
She laughed. "It wasn't my fault. Blame your best friend, Scott. He wanted to have a family heart-to-heart before we came over here." She paused. "Hi, Ian."
"Tori," Ian said. "I'll leave you two alone, but don't take too long. We're ready to drink some champagne."
"We'll be right there," Dylan promised. As his brother left, he grabbed Tori's hand and pulled her in for a kiss. "I missed you."
"I saw you like four hours ago," she said with a laugh.
He grinned back at her. They'd been spending every second together, but it still wasn't enough. "It seems like longer. Did you get the article finished?"
"Yes, and it's good."
"I had no doubt. And the family heart-to-heart?"
"Better than good. It's going to be okay, Dylan. We're going to find a new way to be a fa
mily."
He knew how much that meant to her. "I'm really happy for you."
"I'm happy for me, too. Oh, and by the way, Scott and Monica are pregnant."
"That was fast."
"This time next year there will be a baby in the family. It's going to be wonderful." She paused as the kitchen door opened, and Emma and Max came into the room with their new baby.
Nora, named after Eleanor Callaway, had spent the first two weeks of her life in the hospital, but looking at her now, a plump, bright-eyed and smiling child, there was no sign of her dramatic entrance into the world.
"Oh, Nora looks so cute in that little dress," Tori said.
"I couldn't resist," Emma replied, giving her daughter a hug.
"She has trouble resisting a lot of pretty dresses," Max said with a teasing smile for his wife. "Both in Nora's size and in Shannon's size."
"Can I go see Kyle and Brandon?" Shannon asked, tugging on Max's hand.
"Sure," Max said, as the little girl ran into the other room.
"It's good to see you, Emma," Dylan said. "You look well."
"I am well. So the three of you can stop worrying and feeling guilty," Emma said, her gaze encompassing her husband as well as him and Tori. "I'm only going to say this one more time. I was the one who made the impulsive decision to look through Gary's files. I certainly didn't anticipate he was going to shove me down the stairs, but it was a risk I took on my own. I don't want to hear any more apologies from any of you. Gary is paying for what he did, and thanks to my brilliant husband, and the hard work the two of you have put in, so will everyone else. All is well that ends well."
"We do appreciate your help—both of you," he said.
"We're Callaways," Emma said. "Taking care of each other is what we do. Now, we're going to go show off Nora to the rest of the family. I hope we didn't miss the big announcement."
"That's still coming, along with the champagne," he assured them. "Tori and I will be there in a minute."
When Emma and Max and their daughter had moved out of the kitchen, he took Tori into his arms again. Gazing down into her blue eyes, he said, "I just want you to know how happy I am."
"Me, too. We're going to have a great life together. I have a feeling it might get exciting at times."
"I'm counting on that."
"So shall we go out there and make it official?"
"Not before I kiss you."
"Or I kiss you," she teased. "I wonder if you would have ever made a move if I hadn't kissed you first?"
"I definitely would have. I only hesitated because I knew even then how special you were, and how important you were going to be to me."
Her gaze filled with emotion. "I love you, Dylan."
"And I love you back."
They sealed their promises with a long, passionate, heartfelt kiss, and then they walked into the living room together.
Surrounded by his siblings, his parents, his cousins, and his friends, as well as Tori's family and their friends, he felt incredibly lucky and excited to be bringing their two families together.
"For those of you who haven't met her yet, this is the love of my life," he said, putting his arm around Tori. "And very soon she's going to be my wife."
"Welcome to the family, Tori," Emma said.
As Tori was surrounded by well-wishers, Scott came over to him and shook his hand.
"I always thought we were brothers," Scott said. "Now it's official. You better take care of her. It won't be easy. She's a handful."
He laughed. "I will watch over her every day of my life. She has made me the luckiest man on earth."
Scott smiled. "She's lucky, too. And I'm just glad you'll be the one planning a wedding this year."
"I'm looking forward to it. It's certainly a lot less scary than having a baby," he said pointedly.
"Tori told you," Scott said.
"She did. Congratulations."
"Thanks. It's an exciting time—for both of us."
"We need some champagne," he said.
As if on cue, Tori handed him a glass and slid her arm around his waist.
"Time for a toast," she said.
He clinked his glass against hers, not caring that there were dozens of people waiting for some romantic and well-spoken toast. He only had two words, and they were everything. "To us," he said.
"To us," she echoed, as they gazed into each other's eyes.
They each took a sip of champagne and then came together in a kiss that would start the rest of their lives.
# # #
Dear Reader,
I hope you fell in love with Tori and Dylan as much as I did. It was so much fun to write their exciting and passionate love story.
I have many more books coming your way from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and sweet romance. Go here http://www.barbarafreethy.com/books for a complete list of my books.
Following this note, I've included an excerpt from BEAUTIFUL STORM, the first book in a new romantic suspense trilogy titled Lightning Strikes. LIGHTNING LINGERS and SUMMER RAIN are also available.
There will be more Callaways coming in the next year, too. If you'd like to be informed of my new releases, sign up for my newsletter! You can also join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barbarafreethybooks.
Until next time, happy reading!
Barbara
Excerpt – BEAUTIFUL STORM
(Lightning Strikes Trilogy #1)
© Copyright 2015 Barbara Freethy
All Rights Reserved
One
The clouds had been blowing in off the ocean for the last hour, an ominous foreboding of the late September storm moving up the Miami coast. It was just past five o'clock in the afternoon, but the sky was dark as night.
Alicia Monroe drove across Florida's Rickenbacker Causeway toward Virginia Key Park, located on the island of Key Biscayne. Most of the traffic moved in the opposite direction as the island had a tendency to flood during fierce storms. According to the National Weather Service, the storm would bring at least six inches of rain plus high winds, thunder and lightning.
Alicia pressed her foot down harder on the gas. As her tires skidded on the already damp pavement, a voice inside her head told her to slow down, that a picture wasn't worth her life, but the adrenaline charging through her body made slowing down impossible.
She'd been obsessed with electrical storms all her life. She'd grown up hearing her Mayan great-grandmother speak of lightning gods. Her father had also told her tales about the incredible blue balls of fire and red flaming sprites he'd witnessed while flying for the Navy and later as a civilian pilot.
Their stories had enthralled her, but they'd been an embarrassment to the rest of the family, especially when her father had begun to tell his stories outside the family. Neither her mother nor her siblings had appreciated the fact that a former Navy hero was now being referred to as Lightning Man.
A wave of pain ran through her at the memories of her father and the foolish nickname that had foreshadowed her dad's tragic death years later in a fierce electrical storm.
She'd been sixteen years old when he'd taken his last flight. It was supposed to be a typical charter run to drop a hunting party in the mountains and then return home, but after dropping the men at their destination, her father's plane had run into a massive storm. When the rain stopped and the sun came back out, there was no sign of her father or his plane. He'd quite simply disappeared somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico.
Everyone assumed he'd crashed. They'd sent out search parties to find him or at least pieces of the plane, but those searches had returned absolutely nothing. How a man and a small plane could completely vanish seemed impossible to accept, and she'd spent years trying to find an answer, but so far that hadn't happened.
What had happened was her increasingly obsessive fascination with storm photography.
Her sister Danielle thought she was looking for her dad in every flash of lightning. Her brother Jake thought she was craz
y, and her mother Joanna just wanted her to stop challenging Mother Nature by running headlong into dangerous storms. But like her dad, Alicia didn't run away from storms; she ran toward them.
While she worked as a photojournalist for the Miami Chronicle to pay the rent, her true passion was taking photographs of lightning storms and displaying them on her website and in a local art gallery.
It was possible that she was looking for the truth about her dad's disappearance in the lightning, or that she just had a screw loose. It was also possible that she was tempting fate by her constant pursuit of dangerous storms, but even if that was all true, she couldn't stop, not yet, not until she knew…something. She just wasn't sure what that something was.
Her cell phone rang through her car, yanking her mind back to reality. "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Jeff Barkley asked.
"Almost to the park." Jeff was the weather reporter at the local television station and had become her best resource for storm chasing.
"Turn around, Alicia. The National Weather Service is predicting the possibility of a ten-to-fifteen-foot storm surge, which would make the causeway impassable, and you'll be stranded on the island."
"I'll get the lightning shots before that happens. How's the storm shaping up?"
"Severe thunderstorms predicted."
"Great."
"It's not great, Alicia."
"You know what I mean," she grumbled. She didn't wish ill on anyone. But the more magnificent the storm, the better her pictures would be.
"You keep pushing the limits. One of these days, you'll go too far," Jeff warned.
"That won't be today. It's barely drizzling yet. The island is the perfect place to capture the storm in two places—over the ocean and then as it passes over Miami. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"You always say that."
"And it's always true."
"So far. Text me when you get back."
"I will."
Once You're Mine Page 27