by Joanne Rock
Although she was far from reassured, Gabriella was glad to finally know the truth.
“Thank you for trusting me with all that’s happened to you,” she said, wrapping the girl in a hug again.
There was going to be more smeared eyeliner on both their faces, that much was certain. But it felt like a step in a positive direction.
“I’m so close to having my life be normal,” Mia whispered in her ear while they squeezed each other. “So close. I just want to be here for my dad and to work at the store with Erin, and have friends and a boy who likes the real me.” She paused a minute in her list of wishes. “That’s too much to ask for, isn’t it? I can’t have that many good things, and you and Clay, too.”
Gabriella had learned a long time ago not to make promises she couldn’t keep. It was an important rule in talking to callers who needed help on the hotline, and yet she had a different relationship with Mia. She could promise some things.
“Mia, you deserve all that and more because you are a sweet, good person.” She squeezed her once more before she let her go. “We’ll have to wait and see. Just remember that even if things don’t work out just like you want them to, sometimes they work out for the best anyway.”
Down on the lawn near the coffee tent, Sam was lifting a glass of champagne to toast his parents. The music ended while people from all over the park crowded closer.
Mia lifted a dark eyebrow, her skepticism obvious as she walked with Gabriella toward the rest of the party guests. “Do you really believe that?”
Gabriella swallowed hard, feeling those glass shards in her chest all over again as she thought about Clayton. “Today, of all days, I have to believe it.”
* * *
YOUR FAMILY IS right here, Clayton Travers. It always has been.
His foster mother’s words circled in his mind with each mile as Clay picked up speed on his bike heading out of town. Lorelei had chased him down after his proposal to Gabriella had imploded.
Ah, hell. Not that he’d “proposed” per se. They’d only just reconnected. But still, he’d had a well-thought-out plan for their future, and all of his proposals had disintegrated while Mia and Gabriella found one hole after another in his vision for them as a family.
Lorelei must have seen the storm brewing when he’d headed toward his bike, because she’d flagged him down and insisted he share what happened. He’d given her the most abbreviated version possible, and she’d spotted the same problems that Gabby and Mia had. He should take their wishes into account. He should have told Gabriella privately how he felt about her.
But Lorelei’s most damning accusation?
That Clay was still running at the first sign of trouble. She reminded him he couldn’t get out of Heartache fast enough after graduation, looking for happiness far away from the family he’d had for two years. A good family.
He’d been so busy running he hadn’t seen how his father had changed. Hadn’t found out about Mia. Hadn’t even checked in on Daniel and Lorelei, who’d both been damn good to him.
Clay thought he couldn’t feel any lower when Gabriella had refused to speak to him privately, siding with Mia against him. But his mom’s words had been a fresh splinter in the wound, tweaking the hurt to an unbearable level.
When ten miles didn’t clear his head, he slowed the bike down, easing off the gas and coasting to the side of the road where the shoulder was wide. Right in front of the sign that said You are leaving Heartache, TN. Visit again soon!
Who the hell wanted to return to Heartache?
He parked his bike and scooped a handful of gravel, chucking it at the cheery metal sign and hearing the rocks ping against it.
Your family is here.
His foster mother’s voice echoed in his ears louder than the pinging stones. Louder than the roar of his anger and frustration.
Damn but it hurt to leave Gabriella behind.
He sat on the bike while the engine tick, tick, ticked as it cooled down. The rise of the road gave him a view of half the town that his foster mother...hell, he might as well think of her as his mother because that was what Lorelei had been to him. A mother. One who cut right to the chase. She’d accused him of running from this town. He couldn’t see Main Street from here, but he could see Crestwood High School where he’d first met Gabriella. Where he’d first learned to rein in his energy enough to concentrate in school and earn good grades.
Lorelei had taught him how to do that, and he loved her for it.
So why had he run so hard and fast from this place? It wasn’t just because he had bad memories of Pete here. Maybe it had more to do with being scared of screwing things up with someone who cared about him. Failing Lorelei and Daniel, who’d opened their home to him and loved him—that was a whole lot more daunting.
He didn’t want to hurt them any more than he wanted to hurt Gabriella or Mia.
Yet he’d managed to hurt all of them.
Maybe it was time to stop running. It wouldn’t be the first time his mother was right. And really, what kind of brother figure could he be for Mia if he never let himself be a part of a family? Worse, what kind of partner would he make for Gabriella, who deserved every ounce of happiness possible?
He hoped it wasn’t too late to own up to his mistakes and do better. Turning the key in the ignition, he fired up the bike and did a U-turn.
He was going to give Heartache another chance. He just wondered if the people he loved would be willing to give him one, too.
* * *
THE HASTING FAMILY lawn Olympics started after Sam’s toast. Gabriella appreciated the organization that must have gone into planning the reunion weekend as Sam’s friends and relatives divided into groups to play tug-of-war or lawn bowling, ladder ball or cornhole. Some of the teens got the little kids together for hopscotch and dodgeball. She saw Mia and Davis take charge of a ringtoss game, laughing and sharing a blue snow cone.
Normal. Happy.
Gabriella could see why Mia wanted to stay here. She practically glowed with contentment in spite of all that had happened to her over the past few years. What a strong, resilient girl. Gabriella would still find a way to talk to Clay about counseling for her, and do her best to intercede on Mia’s behalf to stay in town. But Gabby felt sure Mia would be okay.
Wandering around the fringes of the party while a bluegrass tune played through the outdoor amplifier, Gabriella didn’t feel much like celebrating when her heart weighed her down like a stone. She approached the head table where Lorelei held Sam’s son, Aiden. Gabby recognized the baby after seeing Amy Finley holding him for much of the party yesterday while Sam played host.
“Lorelei.” She took a deep breath and plastered a polite smile into place, unwilling to be a sad note in the guest-of-honor’s day.
Clay’s foster mother turned, the baby gripping a couple of her dark curls in his tiny fist. Cherub cheeks grinned happily from a blue blanket covered in cartoon trains as Lorelei cradled him to her chest. She hopped up from her seat, excusing herself from her husband’s conversation with Harlan Brady, one of the older farmers in the area. Gabby remembered stopping at the fruit stand on his front lawn with her mother sometimes.
“Gabriella. I’m so glad you stayed.” Lorelei slung her free arm around Gabby’s neck and pulled her in for a quick hug. “Have you gotten to hold my grandson? He’s at his most charming right now since he just woke up from his nap and had his bottle.”
Gabby wasn’t sure if she replied before she had the baby in her arms. A miracle of trust that anyone would hand her this precious bundle when she had never held a child before. She held her breath as she stared down into wide blue eyes. A drooly grin brightened the boy’s features. He made a cooing sound as he kicked his feet.
“Oh.” Her fingers curved around the spindly legs through the blanket. “Am I holding him well en
ough?” she started to ask before realizing Lorelei had turned away, replying to some joke Harlan had made about needing more babies at her house.
No one seemed to notice that Gabriella was an inexperienced baby-holder. Her heart melted to have a baby in her arms and these nice, warmhearted people trust her with the child. She knew Sam would have, too, of course. But Lorelei barely knew her.
Surrounded by this family—a family by choice if not by blood—Gabriella was humbled by their love for each other. Their joy in being together.
Gabby had lived alone on the West Coast for two years since Sam and her brother had both returned to Heartache, making herself an outcast instead of building roots for herself. It occurred to her she wasn’t all that different from Clay in that respect. She’d been a loner, too, only reaching out to people online or through the website’s hotline.
But she didn’t want that isolated life anymore.
The truth roared through her with a new fierceness. And, actually, the roaring grew louder.
Peering up from Aiden’s adorable little face, she spied the source of the noise. Clayton’s motorcycle growled once more as he parked it on the street.
“I knew he’d be back soon,” Lorelei murmured, turning toward Gabriella again with a beaming smile. “He might be hardheaded, but my boy has never been hard-hearted.”
It took Gabriella a moment to realize she meant Clayton.
Just how much did Lorelei know about her argument with Clay, she wondered?
Flustered, Gabriella didn’t want to face Clay with an audience around. If he was even returning to speak to her. Maybe he’d only come back to retrieve Mia. Her feet itched to be walking in the other direction right now.
“Actually, I need to leave early today,” she told Lorelei. “I just wanted to say goodbye.” She lifted Aiden in an effort to return the baby as Clayton strode closer.
“Gah!” Aiden made a gurgly noise as he grabbed her hair and tugged.
Lorelei smiled warmly as she pried the tiny fingers loose. “He likes you.”
Clayton’s voice rumbled near Gabriella’s ear. “He’s not the only one.”
Gabby’s heart knocked around her chest louder than the crashing bowling pins in the lawn game nearby. She could only take so many hits in a day.
“May I speak to you alone for a moment?” Clayton asked her quietly.
Gabriella wanted to shield herself with Aiden. To pretend the baby needed her attention desperately, but Lorelei was already swooping him up and handing him to Daisy Spencer, who had just returned from walking her little dog around the park. Daisy passed the leash to Harlan while she exclaimed over how big Aiden was getting, her frail arms surprisingly strong as she held the boy in front of her to look him over.
Hesitating, Gabby peered up at Clayton. The tortured expression in his eyes made her decision easier.
“Okay.” She needed to tell him what she’d discovered about Mia, at the very least. She’d promised the girl she would try and make her case to Clayton.
Bluegrass music filled the air along with laughter from kids and adults alike. The tug-of-war game was the most raucous, with the teams shouting and taunting good-naturedly as the advantage went back and forth between sides. She walked with Clayton to the fringes of the party. He stopped by the open tailgate of Sam’s big pickup truck. Cases of water and some boxes marked “T-shirts” filled half the bed.
“Will you sit with me for a minute?” Clay asked, nodding toward the tailgate. “Please?”
No one would hear them out here. Sam had parked far from the action, perhaps so he could leave quickly if necessary. But they could see the party from here.
“Sure.” She turned to hitch herself up, but Clay’s hands curved around her waist as he lifted her easily.
The memory of his touch stayed on her skin long after his hands fell away. He hopped up alongside her, close but not touching.
How could she miss the feel of him so soon?
She folded her arms around her waist, tucking her hands under her elbows so she didn’t forget and slide her fingers through his. Instead she focused on her feet dangling off the tailgate. Her short red leather boots and jeans had been such fun, optimistic choices this morning when she’d tugged them out of the closet.
“Gabriella, I’m so sorry I didn’t speak to you first this morning before I bombarded you and Mia with my grand plan.” He gripped the edge of the tailgate with both hands as he spoke, his arms tense and muscles defined. “I was so sure that you’d both be excited, it never occurred to me that you would have ideas of your own about a future.” He hung his head for a second before he shook it slowly. “It sounds so obvious to say it out loud now—so clear that my plan wasn’t going to end well. But in my head, I thought it would be exciting for everyone to have a fresh start.”
“No one has ever said, ‘I love you’ to me before. Not, like, romantically.”
Clay shifted toward her, his knee bumping hers. “Then there are some damn fool crazy men out there, because you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. And I’m sorry I robbed you of such a special moment because I wasn’t thinking straight. With the break-in last night, and my father nearly dying—hell, I’m not trying to say that’s an excuse. But I’m not good at this stuff. I realized as soon as I started to unveil the plan that I should have spoken to you privately first.”
She nibbled her lip and braved a look his way, her arms still wrapped around herself to keep from touching. To make sure she listened and thought instead of just felt how much she loved him. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake about something so important.
But the bluegrass music and squeals of laughter all around the party couldn’t help but inspire some optimism. Some hope.
Besides, Lorelei Hasting had said Clayton might be hardheaded but never hard-hearted. It burned her throat to remember the way she’d said it—with so much pride in her son. So much trust in his goodness. Gabriella wanted that kind of trust in him, too.
“Then let’s say we were going to do things differently,” she suggested, daring to imagine a better outcome. Or at least, hoping for one. “What would you say this time if we were to pretend this morning never happened?”
Clayton covered her knee with one hand and the warmth of that touch soothed some of the hurt inside her. His brown gaze latched on to hers.
“I’d say, Gabriella, I was going crazy last night imagining something happened to you. When I couldn’t get in touch with you, I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He reached to stroke a finger along her jaw with his other hand, his eyes reflecting the fear he’d felt for her. “Moments before that, I made peace with my father, and I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. To share it with you and thank you, and tell you how right you were about that.”
“I’m glad,” she told him honestly. She’d been so caught up in her own ordeal, she’d forgotten how much he’d gone through last night, too. Mia had told her how Pete nearly died before his condition had stabilized.
“But when Mia told me about Connor and I figured there was a chance he might know where she was living, all my thoughts were about you and how I’d left you alone at that house.” He thumbed aside a strand of windblown hair, tucking it behind her ear and making her skin tingle all over. “I had a bad feeling in my gut right away, and when you didn’t answer the phone, I—”
He cut himself off, the hand on her knee fisting. He closed his eyes for a second.
“I think I knew even then that I loved you. But when I got to you in Zach’s basement and that door opened between us—I knew right then for sure. I loved you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
Her heart did a backflip, an unsteady somersault that left her a little dizzy. And melty. All her defenses were melting away under the warmth of his words.
“I love you, too, Clay.” She hadn’t told him t
his morning because she hadn’t been sure of his real feelings. But she was sure of them now. “I knew before last night. On one of the nights when you were holding me and you stayed with me. I think I’ve been waiting to love you for a long, long time.”
If she’d had any doubts about him left, they would have vanished to see the way he looked at her. His shoulders shifted like he’d just shaken off the weight of the world. He sucked in a breath like he hadn’t had a good, deep one in years. His brown eyes lit with warmth. Happiness.
Lightly he kissed her. A fleeting, sweet kiss.
“I wanted to taste the lips that spoke the sweetest words I’ve ever heard.” He lowered his forehead to hers. Threaded his fingers through her hair. “I never wished for anything as much as I wished you’d give me another chance.”
“What about the rest of it? The future you wanted?” She felt like things would be easier now that she felt his love all around her. That it wasn’t going away just because they had different opinions or wanted different things. They had something stronger than that. “I don’t know how I feel about Memphis.”
“I’ve built a business there, but I’m damn good at my job. I could rebuild somewhere else.” His gaze was so serious. “I don’t want to run from the people who care about me anymore. I’ve been doing that for too long. I lost my brother, and it will hurt forever. But I haven’t lost Lorelei and Daniel. I haven’t lost Sam. I don’t want to turn my back on them again.”
She rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry about Eddy.” She understood why that hurt him so much. He felt so responsible for the people in his life—stepping into the father role when Pete hadn’t done the job in the past. “But you’re right. There are a lot of people here who care about you.”
“No one I care about as much as you and Mia,” he reminded her.