Fire and Love (Hope Falls Book 13)

by Melanie Shawn

  No.

  “I know!” Bach enthused. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

  Apparently, you can, Eli thought. Because that’s not exactly what happened.

  Although Eli had to give this host credit, he did have the basic facts right. Some of the stories that had come out hadn’t even been versions of the truth, so this guy was all good in his book.

  It had always amazed Eli how people could take a grain of truth, embellish it, print it, and call it news. Years ago, when Eli’s uncle had played for the Waves, he’d been bashed by the papers for being an angry, alcoholic, asshole. And that was part of who he was, but that wasn’t the whole story. He did have a temper, enjoyed beer, and wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, but they exaggerated him into a caricature of himself.

  When Eli was around eight, the Waves played the Oakland A’s so his dad had taken him and his brothers to the game. After it was over, they’d all waited for him outside the locker room. When he came out, two reporters bum-rushed him and asked him about rumors and other players. He didn’t say a word to them, but he did lift his hand and flip them the bird. One of the reporters was walking backward and tripped over his own feet and fell right in front of his uncle who stumbled to avoid walking over him. The guy popped right back up and it was no big deal.

  At the time, Eli had thought it was funny that the guy had fallen. But the next day the headlines read, “Doug Bishop on the Attack.” And “Doug Bishop Out of Control.” From the angle on the photos, it sure looked like it was the result of a scuffle, but in reality, his uncle never touched him.

  In the ten days since the hotel incident hit the news, things had gone off the rails. The Gabe-Maguire-is-a-hero story had gone viral overnight. When he and Kenzie woke up the next morning, she had over twenty missed calls and he had a dozen. The story was everywhere.

  He wasn’t a big fan of all the attention, but it had worked for Kenzie. She and Theo had flown back and forth to LA twice to meet with possible distributors for the documentary. And Gabe had new sponsors coming out of the woodwork.

  “My money’s on Maguire, man,” the commentator concluded. “All the way. I mean how can you not root for the guy? He’s a fighter in every sense of the word.”

  Eli cut the engine after he parked in front of his mom’s house for his monthly visit. Every third Thursday of the month, he visited Kenny at Happy Trails and stopped by his mom’s house on the way back. He’d spoken to her almost daily since the incident and knew that she was worried about him. He braced himself for tears when she saw him. Connie Bishop wasn’t a crier, except for when it came to her family. She’d tear up at the drop of a hat if it had anything to do with her sons, good or bad. It didn’t matter if it was happiness, anger, fear, or pride; her emotions were expressed through tears.

  As he got out of the car, his gaze was pulled across the tracks to Kenzie’s childhood home. It was a massive, brick colonial with a large porch and tall, white columns. When Eli was a kid he’d been so intimidated by that house, by all the houses across the tracks. There were always sports cars and luxury vehicles parked in the driveways, and the kids always had better bikes, sneakers, and video games than he had. He’d assumed that the people that lived there were better than him in some way.

  It wasn’t until Kenzie and Kenny moved in that he’d seen behind the curtain. He realized where you lived didn’t mean anything. He’d found out that it was about the people that you loved and loved you. That was all that mattered.

  His hand brushed along the tree that Kenzie used to climb up to his room as he walked around to the back entrance of his parents’ house. The home he’d grown up in was a charming, craftsman but compared to the houses across the tracks it looked like a shack. It was small, with only three true bedrooms. But since his mom felt it was important that he and his brothers have their own room, his dad had converted half the garage and the attic into bedrooms. They had love, and as an adult, he knew he wouldn’t trade his childhood for anything. Not even Ricky Schroeder’s indoor train in Silver Spoons.

  “Hey, Mom!” he called out as he pushed the screen door open.

  His mom’s voice came from the dining room. “In here!”

  “Mmm.” He grabbed an oatmeal raisin cookie that was on a cooling rack on his way through the kitchen.

  He popped it into his mouth and found his mom sitting at the dining room table. It was littered with photos.

  “What’s all this?” he asked as he chewed.

  She stood and threw her arms around him, squeezing him extra tight.

  He hugged her back and kissed the top of her short brown hair. She barely came up to his chest and weighed a buck o’ five, at the most. It had always cracked him up how she’d not only made such giant sons but how she managed to keep them all in line.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She sniffed against his chest. “Don’t scare me like that again.” When she finally let go, she swatted his arm before she tugged on the cuff of her oversized cardigan and wiped beneath her eyes. “And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  A grin spread across his face. If he had a dollar for every time she’d said that to him or one of his brothers he’d be a millionaire. Connie Bishop’s mission in life was to raise men with manners, and she’d achieved that goal. Mostly.

  “What’s all this?” he asked as he sat down and started sorting through the photos.

  There were shots of holidays, sporting events, vacations, and candid shots of everyday life. His entire childhood was cataloged. He picked up a shot of him pitching in little league when he was ten. Going off his size compared to his teammates you’d think he was years younger. He had been a runt.

  She sniffed and used the cuff of her cardigan to dry her cheeks before setting her hands flat on the table and announcing, “I’ve started a project.”

  “I see that.”

  “Have you seen this?” his mother asked as she pushed a newspaper toward him.

  He looked down at the Sacramento Bee front page and saw himself standing beside Gabe with his arms wrapped around Kenzie, comforting her. He’d seen this same shot online. But he hadn’t seen that it had made it to his hometown paper.

  “Have you talked to her?” she asked pointedly.

  He looked up into blue eyes that mirrored his. His brothers and dad all had brown eyes and his whole life he’d felt a special connection with his mom since he was her only blue-eyed son. It was just one more reason he knew that he was his mom’s favorite.

  It was a running joke in their family: Who was mom’s favorite? All four claimed that they were. In his heart of hearts, Eli truly believed that he was and he was sure his brothers all believed the same thing about themselves. That was a testament to just how amazing his mom was. But all that amazing came with a whole lotta nosy.

  “About what?” he feigned ignorance.

  She called him on it. “You know what.”

  “No,” he exhaled. “Not yet.”

  Her lips pursed in disapproval.

  “I’m going to,” he assured her.

  “I understand you think you’re doing the right thing protecting her but Kenzie’s stronger than you think. Have a little faith in her.”

  Eli stood and walked over to the window that faced Kenzie’s childhood home. “How’s he doing?”

  “I’m not sure.” She sighed. “I asked Charlene, his nurse, when I saw her the other day and she said he has good days and bad days.”

  He heard the chair scrape the wooden floor and his mom joined him at the window. “You aren’t responsible for his health, his choices, or his actions. He is. I know you want to take care of her, but, she deserves to know the truth.”

  Eli wished it were that simple. He wished that it were as cut and dry as that. Since it wasn’t, he returned to the table and changed the subject.

  “So what’s this project?”

  “Oh, I’m scanning all these.” She pointed to a small scanner that was sitting on the buffet table. “And I’m glad you’re
here. You can help me organize. It’s taking forever.”

  He sat down and began to sort the photos according to her system. He toyed with the idea that had been nagging at him. He knew that it was too soon and that he and Kenzie had a lot that they needed to work out, but he also knew that when the right time presented itself, he wanted to be ready.

  “Do you still have Grandma Debbie’s ring?”

  A whisper of a grin appeared on her lips and she reached into the pocket of her sweater jacket. When she pulled her hand out, she was holding the ring.

  “You carry Grandma Debbie’s ring around?”

  As she handed it to him, her smile grew a mile wide and tears filled her eyes. “I had a feeling you’d be asking me for it.”

  “That’s a very different reaction than the first time I asked for it,” he remarked as he examined the princess-cut solitaire.

  The first time there had been tears, but no smile.

  “Well, the first time you asked for it, you were seventeen and in a secret relationship with the daughter of a powerful, cutthroat man. Call me crazy, but I was worried about you.”

  “I still don’t know how you knew it was her.”

  He’d never told his parents that he and Kenzie were in a relationship. He couldn’t. The only person that knew was his oldest brother, Evan. Eli had always looked up to Evan so he’d confided in him. But as soon as he’d asked his mom for the ring, she’d known he meant to give it to Kenzie.

  “You want to know how I knew?” She started fishing through the pictures.

  “Here.” She picked one up and turned it toward him. It was from his twelfth birthday party at the roller rink. Eli and Kenzie were skating in a group of kids. She was laughing and he was staring at her with an expression famously known as puppy love. “That’s when I knew you had a crush on her.”

  “And here.” She picked up another one. It was taken on the first day of high school in front of his house. It was Eli and Kenzie again with Kenny between them. Kenzie and Kenny were smiling at the camera and Eli was looking at Kenzie. His expression this time was more serious but not any less enamored. “That’s when I knew it was love.”

  “Did Dad know then?” Eli asked.

  “No.” She chuckled. “He thought you were just friends. But it also took him six months to figure out that I was interested and I followed that man around like a lovesick shadow.”

  Eli grinned as he put the ring in his pocket.

  He’d heard the stories of how his mom had set her sights on his dad after sophomore year of high school. She’d “accidentally” run into him in the halls between classes. She’d just “happen” to be at the athletic field as his practices were ending. She’d even got a job at the same ice cream parlor he’d worked at a week after he started.

  She used to joke that there were times she thought about giving up. One, in particular, was when Wilson Ransom asked her to Spring Fling junior year. His dad didn’t like it when she said that, to this day he’d get a possessive look in his eye and pull her in for a kiss. But she’d always finish by saying that the reason she never threw in the towel was that when she looked into her future, she saw his dad. Even at that young age, when they were just friends.

  The only future he’d ever seen was with Kenzie. And he’d given up on it once, he wasn’t about to make that mistake again.

  Chapter 20

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  Don’t get the hiccups. Don’t get the hiccups. Don’t get the hiccups.

  Mackenzie’s fingers twisted the loose skin of her elbow as she tried to maintain her cool. She was standing in Karina Black’s living room.

  When Deanna had invited her to a book club, her friend had been quick to point out that it was more of a wine and gossip club, so Mackenzie didn’t have to worry about reading the book. But she’d failed to mention that it was going to be here.

  So far, she’d made it through without any embarrassing hiccup or hyperventilating episodes. It had helped that she hadn’t really spoken to Karina, other than when the superstar had welcomed them to her home. But that had been brief, and Deanna had been by her side. All night she’d been surrounded by at least twenty other women, so they had served as a nice buffer.

  The night was almost over. Deanna had run to the back to retrieve their purses and then they were out of there. Five more minutes max and she’d be able to declare this night a victory and possibly even redeem herself for the Stamos encounter.

  The countdown was on.

  With the stopwatch ticking in her mind, Kenzie stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass wall that overlooked Hope Falls. Karina’s home sat nestled in the mountains above the small town. From this view, she could see the twinkle lights that ran along Main Street. She could see the JT’s Roadhouse sign that sat in front of the B&B Theo was staying at. And she could see the large clock that was illuminated on the front of the fire station where Eli was halfway through his forty-eight-hour shift.

  Her heart ached at the thought of not seeing him for the next week. She was leaving the next morning to head to Vegas with Gabe, so they wouldn’t see each other until she got back.

  It was still strange to her that she was going to go “home” to his bed. Things had been so crazy they hadn’t talked about what they were. She’d made two trips to Southern California in just over a week. The documentary had taken on a life of its own with Gabe’s popularity skyrocketing. She and Eli had barely seen each other and when they had there hadn’t been a lot of talking, other than of the pillow variety. If she were honest with herself, she’d have to admit that he’d tried to talk to her several times, but she’d avoided the conversation.

  She closed her eyes and flashes of this morning populated her mind. At breakfast, he’d turned serious. He said it was amazing to have her back in his life but they needed to talk. Before he could say more she’d removed her shirt and told him how much she was going to miss him. He’d then laid her out on the kitchen table and shown her exactly how much he was going to miss her.

  Kenzie’s walk down erotic memory lane was interrupted when she felt someone stand beside her. Opening her eyes, she expected to see Deanna with their purses. She didn’t.

  “So how are you liking Hope Falls?” Karina Black asked with the familiarity of an old friend.

  “I love it!” Mackenzie could hear that she’d put a little bit too much enthusiasm into that answer, but she wasn’t hiccupping, so she wasn’t complaining.

  Karina either didn’t notice her exuberance or she chose to ignore it. “How is Eli doing? I still can’t believe what happened. It’s crazy.”

  “He’s good.” Mackenzie nodded as she rested her hands on her stomach as it rolled with nausea. “Yeah. It was crazy.”

  She hated talking about what happened. It was a night that she’d rather not relive. But, she understood people’s curiosity. And it had done amazing things for Gabe. He’d just signed a sponsorship deal with Vita Splash. And selfishly, it did help with interest in their film. But, that didn’t mean that she didn’t want to throw up every time the subject came up.

  Luckily, she was saved from having to discuss it any further. One of Karina’s friends—she thought her name was Amanda—called from the kitchen. “Kar, we need a wine opener!”

  “Duty calls.” Karina smiled as she leaned in and gave her a quick hug. “It was so good seeing you, Kenzie. I hope you’ll come again. We try to meet once a month.”

  Kenzie smiled and nodded, still in shock that this was her life. Karina Black knew her first name and was inviting her to a once-a-month book club meeting. “Thanks, that sounds great.”

  When Karina walked away, she realized that even if she wanted to go to another meeting, she wasn’t going to be here in a month. After Vegas, she and Theo were going home. Back to New York.

  That thought made her sicker than thinking about the night at the motel.

  “Sorry that took so long. I got a call from the florist.”

  Mackenzie looked up and saw Deanna standing in t
he foyer, purses in hand, her head shaking in frustration.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No,” she admitted. “Everything is not okay. I was never the girl that dreamt of her wedding day. I never dressed up like a bride. I never fantasized about my groom standing in front of me, promising to love me forever. I never spent any time considering what kind of ceremony, cake, and music I’d want to have. And now I’m planning this day that I’ve never given any thought to, and nothing is going right.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kenzie commiserated. “Weddings can be stressful.”

  “Was your wedding big?” her friend asked as they headed out.

  “It was like a hundred people, mostly his family and friends.”

  She hadn’t been upset that ninety percent of the guest list and wedding party had been his people. Theo had been there. Her only regret was that her brother hadn’t. Well, that and getting married to someone she didn’t love.

  Kenzie knew now that part of what had drawn her to Oliver was his family. He came from a big Irish-Catholic clan. Her first clue that her feelings had more to do with them than Oliver should’ve been the fact that she’d “fallen in love” with him the first time he’d taken her home for Sunday dinner. Looking back, she knew now that what she’d actually fallen in love with was his family. There’d been so much happiness and laughter and acceptance in his family, and she’d always wanted that. After her brother’s accident, it was an emotional black hole that only Eli had ever filled in her.

  The marriage technically ended because Oliver cheated on her, but she wasn’t blameless. She was faithful, supportive, they had a decent sex life and on paper she was a “good wife.” But she’d just been going through the motions. When she’d found out about the infidelity, the only thing that had upset her was that she wouldn’t be able to go to Sunday dinners anymore.