Never Say Goodbye_A Canyon Creek Novel

by Lori Ryan

  “Nice to see you too, sir.”

  “Sir, huh?” Warner asked, holding Emmett’s hand tightly and just a little too long.

  “I, uh…” Emmett stumbled.

  “Dad, stop.” Elle swatted her father’s shoulder. “He thinks it’s funny to make you nervous.”

  Warned grinned at Emmett. “I do. I’m sorry, it’s just—”

  Emmett noticed Warner’s eyes dart behind him as his words trailed off. He turned and followed his gaze.

  Aunt Sally.

  Yeah, there was history all over this mountain. And Emmett couldn’t wait to write it.

  Elle didn’t miss the way her father’s gaze couldn’t seem to move from Sally Sumner.

  Valerie walked toward them, drawing them over to the group. “Warner, Elle, I think you know everyone, except Shawn Braddock.”

  “Oh, we know Shawn. He’s done a few projects for us at the resort.” Elle smiled and reached out her hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Shawn.”

  Shawn grasped her hand and smiled. “Good to see you too, Elle.” His smile lit up the barn and Elle could see why half the women in Canyon Creek swooned anytime he was around, including her at one time. His smile was wasted on her today though.

  A hand tightened around her waist. She released Shawn’s grip and glanced over, not surprised to see Emmett’s arm holding her tightly. Men and their marking. She shook her head.

  Her father reached to shake hands with Shawn. “Yes, Shawn has done some amazing work for us at the resort. We even have some of his sculptures showcased there.”

  “Really?” Emmett’s cousin Lily asked. Her eyes shot wide and Elle had the sense that Lily hadn’t meant for the words to be spoken out loud.

  “Yes,” Shawn said, staring directly at Lily. “Really.”

  “That’s, uh, that’s…” Lily stumbled with her words. “That’s wonderful Shawn.”

  Lily’s compliment sounded almost pained.

  Everyone stood in silence, staring at the pair.

  “Why don’t we take a look around,” Maggie said, breaking the tension that swirled around the group thanks to Shawn and Lily. Elle would need to remember to ask Emmett if he knew what that was about. “Over here you can see…” Maggie’s words trailed off as she led the group one way and Emmett pulled Elle off to the side.

  “What are you doing?” she half yelped, half laughed.

  “I want to give you my own tour.” Emmett tugged her outside the barn.

  “Emmett,” Elle squeaked.

  “What,” he glanced behind her, “do you want me to kiss you in front of your father, my mother and half of Canyon Creek?” He leaned back against the outside wall of the barn, well away from prying eyes, drawing her close.

  “Are you ashamed of me?” she teased, running a finger up his well-defined bicep, then trailing it up his shoulder, loving the feel of the hard muscle beneath her touch.

  He grasped her hand, raising it to his lips and placing light kisses against the tips of her fingers. “Never,” he said, answering her question.

  She pulled back slightly. “Then why didn’t you stay overnight with me?”

  Emmett glanced down at her, his eyes darting between hers. She hadn’t meant it to sound so needy.

  “Are you angry?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “Just, disappointed. I would have liked to wake up with you.”

  Emmett’s face split into a teasing grin and Elle thought she might melt right there. God, he was beautiful.

  He kissed her nose, then her cheek, then softly brushed his lips against hers. “I’m sorry, I just know you needed some rest. You’ve been working hard at the resort and the dance studio.”

  “I’m fine, Emmett.”

  His fingertips traced under her eyes. “These dark circles prove otherwise, sweetheart.”

  Elle drew in a deep breath. She was tired, but it was a good exhaustion.

  “I can take naps.” She waggled her brows.

  Emmett’s face fell toward her shoulder and he nibbled on her neck. “I like naps,” he whispered against her skin.

  She moaned, tilting her head to give him better access. She loved the feel of his mouth on her skin, and the way the simple touch could reverberate through the rest of her body.

  “Emmett!” someone shouted from inside the barn.

  They bolted away from one another like guilty teens.

  “Shit.” Emmett glared at the door of the barn before turning back to face Elle, taking her hand in his. “This isn’t over.” He winked.

  Elle’s heart beat faster and a warm heat settled in her middle.

  “Nap,” he said quietly before leaning over and placing a small kiss on her lips.

  “Nap,” she repeated, excited about spending any time alone with Emmett, especially in bed. There would be no sleep. Emmett knew her body better than anyone, knew how to touch her, how to tease her, how to love her.

  “Emmett!” Another shout came from inside the barn.

  “It’s your mother, I think,” Elle whispered. “You go in first.” She shoved his shoulder.

  “What?” Emmett’s face wrinkled. “Why?”

  “I don’t want her to think…” Elle nodded toward the side of the barn. “You know.”

  Emmett’s lips curled into a devilish grin. “No, I don’t know. But I want to.” He moved closer, leaning in to kiss her again, when his aunt’s shrill voice rang out.

  “Emmett Daniel Sumner, get your ruddy ass in here now!”

  Elle slapped a hand over her mouth to bite down her laughter.

  “Fucking Sally,” Emmett muttered under his breath.

  “I like your Aunt Sally,” Elle said.

  “That’s because you don’t know her like I do,” he said over his shoulder, pulling her toward the entrance.

  No, she didn’t, but she wanted to. And more importantly, she wanted her dad to also. Elle couldn’t let go of the idea that her father would be happier if he had someone he cared about in his life. And someone to care for him. She had a feeling that that someone should be Sally Sumner.

  Emmett pulled Elle into the barn, ignoring her request to re-enter separately. Who was she kidding? Everyone inside the barn knew they’d been together.

  Sally raised a questioning brow as they walked through the barn doors but smiled knowingly at them both. “You two are missing the whole damned tour.”

  “We’ve seen the barn before, Aunt Sally. A lot. I was giving Elle my own tour.” Emmett said, winking at Elle. “Until you interrupted us.”

  “Umm, hmm,” Sally crossed her arms across her chest and stared between the two of them, “That’s what I thought. Dogs in heat.”

  “Oh, my god,” Elle squeaked out, covering her mouth to suppress a laugh as she blushed beet red.

  “Jealous much?” Emmett called over his shoulder to his Aunt Sally, ushering Elle back to the group. She was mortified.

  Emmett kept one hand at her lower back, his thumb working in small circles that shouldn’t be driving her crazy, given the fact that his aunt had just busted them. She’d discovered that any contact with him had that effect on her.

  Elle shook the thoughts off as best she could. It only half worked.

  Shawn cleared his throat, looking at the two of them with a sympathetic smile and a shrug, as if to say, Sorry, I tried to stop her.

  Elle bit back a laugh.

  “And over here,” Shawn pointed to the wall, “you can see where we replaced the rotting siding with original trees from the surrounding area. It was important to John to keep this building and the main lodge as natural as possible. He said he wanted guests to feel as if they were walking through the woods”

  Valerie smiled at Shawn. “You’ve done an incredible job of it, Shawn. John would love this.”

  “Uh, thanks.” Shawn nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, seemingly uncomfortable of the praise. “So, anyway, we found termite damage in some of the supporting posts and had to lift the barn a few inches to replace them and t
he foundation.”

  “You lifted the entire barn?” Elle said, her mind now on the rebuild as she gaped around the huge structure. “How?”

  “It’s pretty simple, really,” Shawn said.

  The group gawked at Shawn as if he’d grown two heads.

  “Well, not simple if you haven’t worked in construction or restoration,” he said, “but…”

  Valerie wrapped her hand around Shawn’s arm and peered up at him with a warm, genuine smile. “Needless to say, he’s been a lifesaver for me and my family. When I first heard he had to lift the barn, I thought we were finished. I thought, there’s no way that structure can handle that, but he got it done.”

  “It’s been a labor of love for me,” Shawn said, smiling down at Valerie with an expression of reverence.

  “Well,” Elle’s father said, “you’ve done a remarkable job, Shawn. You and your crew.”

  “Thanks.” Shawn nodded again. “Max really helped a lot too, with his past experience in construction and an engineering degree, he was a great sounding board.”

  “Max has a background in engineering?” Her father asked, his eyes going to Max, who looked a little stiff at the surprise.

  Elle was equally mystified, but she tried to keep her feelings off her face.

  A few times, she’d wondered if Max was a little uneasy about the two families working together and wondered if he felt the same way Pops and Tanner did. It was typically only older people in town who still gave any weight to the feud between their families, but every once in a while, someone younger would talk about it, like they just couldn’t let the history go.

  “Yes,” Valerie answered for Max. “He received a degree in engineering at Duke University before he was drafted into the NFL. Thank goodness he has a hard head like his father, otherwise all those hits he took on the field would have turned his brain to mush.”

  Everyone’s gaze fell on Max.

  Duke? Wow. Somewhere Elle was sure she remembered that but it was still impressive.

  “Your mom’s lucky to have you here to work with Shawn, Max,” her father said.

  Max glanced up at her dad, his expression morphing from semi-perturbed to surprised before gracing them all with a small smile.

  “It’s biomedical engineering,” Max said, as if that made his degree any less remarkable. “But I guess an engineer’s mind works the same way whether you’re dealing with body parts or a building.”

  “So, what do you think?” Maggie asked, sidling up next to Elle and her father. “Hasn’t Shawn done an amazing job?”

  “Yes,” Elle’s father nodded, “outstanding. I’m not going to lie and say I understand all the technicalities of lifting a structure like this and the ins and outs of the construction, but it’s really amazing. I remember what this old barn used to look like.”

  “You do?” Emmett and Elle asked at the same time.

  Her father’s eyes found Sally and held her gaze for a few seconds before both of them looked away.

  Again, everyone stood quietly, their eyes darting from Sally to her father. Neither offered further explanation.

  “While we have you all here,” Maggie said, breaking the awkward silence, “we wanted to talk about a couple of other marketing ideas we had. Things we might implement down the road.” Her voice was cheerful, as if she hadn’t noticed the look.

  Elle was beginning to learn Maggie had a way of trying to smooth things over anytime there was tension. She was thankful for the woman’s skill.

  Valerie glanced at Elle and her father, nodding with a huge smile. “I’m excited about these plans. I think you’ll all like them.”

  “You all know we’ve talked about a book festival,” Maggie continued, “but we were thinking we might be able to add a film and arts festival. Valerie and I were going to talk to Grant and see if he had any ideas since he’s in the industry.”

  Grant Sumner, in Canyon Creek? Yes, women would flock to the small town just for a glimpse at the actor voted World’s Sexiest Man. “Oh, that would be great,” Elle said. “I read that he’s directing an independent film now. Is that right?”

  Valerie all but beamed. “Yes, I think he’s found a new calling.”

  No one had to ask what she meant.

  In the last year, Grant Sumner had gone off the rails after his split with his famous singer/songwriter wife, Sophie Day. Although the press was happy to print anything they could get their hands on—including, Elle suspected, a lot of lies—it seemed no one knew the truth of why they’d broken up.

  Anyone alive could see how much it grieved Valerie. When a child hurt, their mother did as well, or at least that’s what Elle assumed, having no mother of her own.

  She had to fight the urge to close her eyes against the pain that washed over her at the thought of mothers and their children. Chemotherapy had saved her life, but it had likely taken any chance she’d had of conceiving a child of her own.

  Her father nudged her arm.

  She glanced up and saw the love in his eyes and she had a feeling he knew where her thoughts had gone. It wasn’t just mothers who hurt, obviously.

  Elle smiled at him. She had vowed a long time ago to take things one day at a time, and that included Emmett.

  There is no tomorrow.

  Her mother’s lyrics rang hauntingly through her mind. Elle couldn’t worry about the future, it would only ruin the present. Cancer had taught her that life lesson.

  She had to admit one thing to herself though, with Emmett back in her life—no matter how temporary his presence might be—she was thinking about the future, their future, more and more. The thought of not being able to give him the gift of children had to be put from her mind, for now.

  “Max, we were also thinking about a sports camp or something,” Maggie said, cutting into Elle’s thoughts. “Something for young kids?”

  Max shrugged.

  Emmett cut in when Max didn’t answer. “I can help with the kids.”

  Elle pressed her lips together as she watched the exchange.

  “You, with kids?” Maggie snorted. “I’m not sure I can picture any of you guys handling kids.”

  Emmett grinned. “Hey, I happen to love kids.” He squeezed Elle’s hand when he said it, and it was all she could do not to run. “I was a camp counselor two summers in high school and three in college. I rock with kids.”

  “We’ve got a huge lot on the other side of the resort,” Elle’s father put in. “We could re-landscape it and make it into a sports field, soccer or football or something.”

  Elle vaguely heard the conversation as she willed herself not to think of the future, for now. Not to think about the fact that Emmett was great with kids, or that she knew he’d always wanted kids of his own.

  Emmett squeezed her hand again.

  She glanced up and saw he was staring at her with a smile that warmed her heart.

  “A camp is a great idea, don’t you think?” he asked. “It would increase revenue in the summer when the mountain isn’t available for skiing.”

  Elle nodded, drawn back to the present. “It would. It’s a good idea.”

  “I like soccer,” Max finally said.

  “And football, right?” Emmett asked. “I heard you were pretty good at football, too.”

  Everyone broke into laughter, including Max and Sally.

  And just like that, Elle saw something change between the two families. The new alliance they’d been trying to build between the Sumners and Nobles was solidified, history be damned.

  Elle wrapped her arm around Emmett, no longer as self-conscious of their affections, and not willing to let her fears for the future invade on the happiness she felt today. Emmett was with her, he was her present, and for that she was thankful.

  Emmett bent down and kissed her head. The words I love you were so close on her tongue but she held them back.

  “We were also thinking of a writer’s retreat too,” Maggie said, with a smile and nod at Emmett. “Maybe before or after
the book festival we host, the authors could have a week-long retreat to write.”

  Emmett tilted his head. “That’s not a bad idea.” He looked down at Elle and smiled. “I’ve been writing a lot better, lately.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” her father said, “Elle told me you’re thinking of writing a historical novel next. I think Florence could help you with that. She’s got the town’s archives on microfiche at the library, I think.”

  “Oh, Em’s already been hanging out with Flo the—” Max’s words cut off. “Ow, Ma.” Max glared at his mother as she lowered the hand that had been pinching his ear.

  “Quit calling her that,” Valerie scolded.

  “Why?” Sally asked. “That’s what we used to call her when we were young.” She glanced around the group. “One time, Warner and I caught her back in the archives making out with Ed Thompson.”

  “Oh my gosh,” her father chuckled, “I totally forgot about that. It was horrible. Her skirt was bunched up around her waist.”

  “And her old lady bun was halfway knocked out,” Sally said, out of breath from laughing. She pointed at Elle’s father. “You screamed,” Sally could barely get out through her laughing, “Flo the Ho in action!”

  Valerie’s hand clamped over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at Elle’s father. “No, you didn’t scream.”

  Her father bent over, slapping his knee. “Yeah, I did. I screamed. I mean, it was like a horror movie, who wouldn’t?”

  “Yes,” Sally echoed, tears streaming down her face, “yes, he did. You’ve never seen two people break apart faster than Flo the Ho and Mr. Thompson.”

  “Wasn’t Mr. Thompson your biology teacher?” Valerie asked Max.

  Max looked like he was about to throw up. “That’s just…sick, man.”

  Elle had to agree.

  “Oh, yeah,” Sally continued to holler, “Mr. Thompson was giving Flo the Ho an exam for sure. An oral exam.”

  Their amusement was infectious and the entire group couldn’t help but join in. Finally, the laughter died down.

  Sally wiped the tears from her face.

  Her father straightened and stared at her. “We had some good times, huh, Sal” he said.

  Sally stiffened, her vibrant smile now slipping.