A Few Tables Away (Glenhaven #1)

by Deb Rotuno

  I saw what she was doing; she was giving me an opportunity to make a new memory, a different one. A truly better one.

  Glancing from her to the water and back again, I nodded, swallowing nervously. “Okay.”

  “Take your shoes off, baby,” she said, pointing to my sneakers. “Leave ’em.” She waited until I toed them and my socks off, and then she held out both her hands for mine. “C’mon, handsome.”

  I linked my fingers with hers, feeling the wet sand beneath my feet and between my toes. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that sensation. The closer we got, the harder I squeezed her hand, but just hearing her steady encouragement kept me putting one foot in front of the other.

  She stopped us just out of the range of the waves rolling in, and she stepped into my vision. “You’re okay, and I’m right here. We can go back if you want to stop. But I will tell you the water’s warm today.”

  Nodding fervently that I’d heard her, I held on to her hand as she stepped back while a wave slowly crept up with thin water and foamy bubbles and seaweed. I looked back at her face, meeting the gaze that had changed me, made me a better man, and I took that last step, splashing down into the water. Before I could panic, her lips met mine. Her kiss was pride and heat. It was squeals of happiness, and I couldn’t help but kiss her back, smiling into it all.

  As another low wave rolled over our feet, I wrapped my arms around Dani and lifted her up. Cupping my face and securing her legs around my waist, she laughed and kissed me again, and I heard cheers from behind us. I’m sure I heard Wes whistle and Faith cheer, but I only had eyes for the beautiful girl in my arms.

  The first time I saw her, I was broken and invisible. I’d been nervous and alone. I’d thought I was escaping my past, my life that had been filled with hate, guilt, and grief, but really, I’d landed right where I needed to be.

  I still wasn’t sure what I believed about life after death, but if my mother was somewhere watching, then I was pretty sure she’d had a hand in some of this. Only my mother would have set the strongest, most perfect, most beautiful girl down in the middle of a college library just a few tables away from mine so I couldn’t possibly miss her.

  Glancing down at my feet in the water and then back out across the ocean, glowing in the low sunset, I felt lips on my cheek and whispers of love. Instead of panic and fear, I only saw my future.

  Epilogue

  Evan

  “THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW, SEAN,” I said softly into the phone, ending the call and dropping it onto the bed next to me.

  I fell back, gazing up at the ceiling, my feet still hanging off the side of the mattress. I tried to figure out what I was feeling, but I wasn’t sure I was feeling anything. If I were completely honest with myself, I had been expecting that call long before now, well before I’d entered into the first semester of my senior year at Edgewater.

  I heard the door to the apartment open and close and then Dani’s sweet voice calling out to me. “Evan, baby! Where are you?” she asked, entering the bedroom, and I couldn’t help but grin when she was suddenly crawling up my body to loom over me. “Hi, handsome!”

  Cupping her face, I pulled her in for a kiss. “Hey, pretty girl.”

  “What are you…” She paused, reaching up to brush my hair from my forehead. “What’s wrong? Your eyes look…tense.”

  Snorting a little, I brought her in for another kiss. “Dad’s out.”

  To say my girl hated William Shaw would be a complete and total understatement. She narrowed her eyes and sat up, still straddling me. “Out where?” she asked slowly and through gritted teeth.

  “He was released, Dani,” I sighed, sitting up and situating her on my lap. “He’s at a halfway house in Bozeman, where he’ll remain for another six months or so. He’s…out.”

  Shrugging a shoulder, I tried not to dwell on it, but with Dani, it didn’t work. We’d been living together above the bookstore since the summer before our sophomore year. We were now seniors, with Halloween fast approaching, and we’d blended our lives together better than I’d ever imagined it. Not only did we live together, but I’d moved over from the café to work in the bookstore in order to take some of the pressure off Aunt Tessa. Sunset Roast and As the Plot Thickens were one big consolidated storefront. We were busy, but for me, working in the bookstore was easier on my writing and my homework.

  While Dani had finally chosen a major—business management, which was her idea to help not only Aunt Tessa but me as well—I’d still continued to turn to Daniel in order to be a writer. His guidance, along with his connections in the publishing world, had at least gotten my first book in the door. We were just waiting to hear back.

  But the girl on my lap knew me better than I probably knew myself, and her gentle touch was soothing as she raked her fingers through my hair. “If he called you…I swear to God—”

  I cut her off with another kiss. “No, no, baby, that was Sean on the phone.”

  “Oh,” she murmured, her brow wrinkling as she waited patiently for me to find the words.

  Toying with her fingers, I tilted my head at her. “It seems like I should be feeling something, but I’m not. Not a damn thing. I just…I don’t even care. And…and…Apparently he was hurt or something while in there, but he’s out.” I sniffed a bit, wrinkling my nose. “Sean says Dad will be staying in Bozeman, even after the halfway house situation.”

  “Okay. Does Ty know yet?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Sean said he’d call Tyler next. Though, I promised him I’d break it to Faith.”

  My brother and Jasmine had finally transferred last year to Florida State University just a few hours from us. They’d been married in a small ceremony right after they’d gotten settled in. I’d been his best man, and Faith and Dani had shared the duties of maid of honor. Tyler was working for a small architecture firm, while Jasmine was in her first year of law school.

  As I remembered the intimate ceremony, I gazed at Dani, wanting it more and more. I was ready to ask her, though I needed to find the perfect time. The ring was already in my possession, hidden well in the back of my nightstand drawer. Reaching up, I fiddled with the necklace I’d given her for her twentieth birthday. We’d just moved in together, and we’d been busy with our sophomore year, but I remembered that day so damned clearly. It was the very first time I’d set foot in water since my mother had died. But it hadn’t been the last. Dani and I went to the beach all the time—whenever we had a spare moment.

  “I love you,” I whispered, leaning in to kiss her lips. “And I’m okay. He can’t contact me, and he’s not allowed to leave the state. Even if he did, I can’t imagine that he’d want anything to do with any of us, pretty girl, so stop worrying.”

  “You’d think so, but you never know with him, Evan,” she stated, shaking her head. “Don’t forget he tried to write letters and call.”

  “I know, baby, but he’s got to learn to make a living now. No more medical license, so sleazy prescriptions are out.” I grinned at her evil smile. “I do believe he’s got enough shit to deal with besides angry, overprotective bookworms.”

  She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “He’d walk away with a limp. That’s all I’m sayin’.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt.”

  She was right; Dad had tried to contact all three of us at some point or other during his imprisonment. All letters had been returned, and every last one of us had changed our phone number, though mine had been changed before we’d even packed up our stuff in Key Lake, thanks to Wes.

  The thought of Wes made me think of Faith. “Damn, I really do need to tell my sister. Is she downstairs with Wes yet?”

  Dani nodded. “Yeah, she just got there, actually. She’s taking a break before the art show tonight with Mom.”

  “Gotcha.” I kissed my girl’s lips one more time and then gripped her waist and set her on her feet.

  When Faith had told me originally that she’d applied to Edgewater, I knew in some ways it wa
s to be closer to me and away from our father. I also knew that she’d really love it in Florida, and she did. What I never expected—none of us, actually—was that Faith and Leanne would develop a fierce bond. My sister had always loved art but had never been allowed to do anything with it thanks to Dad, but now she’d not only surrounded herself with art classes, she’d learned to love the history of it, the showing of it, and the process of it all. Leanne fed it, built it up, and gave my sister the encouragement she needed. It had been amazing to watch. Faith had needed a mother more than I could possibly explain, and she’d found one. And Leanne had found another hyper daughter and an art student in my sister, who soaked up everything like a sponge.

  I stood up from the bed, pocketed my cell phone, and turned to see Dani studying me. “What, baby?”

  “He’s…Your dad, Evan…He’s not important. You know that, right? Anything that’s happened since the moment he decided to lay a hand on you is his own doing, and whatever happens to him…he’s earned it.”

  Smiling at her fierceness, I nodded. “I’m well aware, baby.”

  Her brow furrowed as she fidgeted in front of me. “I know—deep down—that one day he…he’ll say or do the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person and—”

  I stopped her again with a kiss, but I was chuckling into it because I really did love that rambling honesty that never stopped. It was so Dani, and it flowed out of her adorably.

  “Easy, baby,” I soothed her, dropping my forehead to hers. “He no longer has power here.” I gestured between us. “I’m not sure he ever did, Dani.”

  “Well, I’m just sayin’…I just can’t wait until you’re published and you’re this awesome writer and you can prove to him that he didn’t win.”

  Grinning, I kissed her again. “My pretty girl,” I sang to her, shaking my head. “You seem to think there’s some impending Edmund Dantes revenge moment still to come, but beautiful, I’ve already won. I’ve already had my say, and I’ve found everything I need…right here.”

  Holding her face in my hands, I kissed her, smiling when she giggled at me.

  “The Count was badass,” she whispered.

  Laughing, I linked my fingers with hers and led us out of our apartment and down the stairs. I kissed her once more before she went into the bookstore and I made my way into the back of the café and out to the front counter.

  “Ah, hell, kiddo. What happened?” Susan whispered, leaning against the counter.

  Grimacing, I pointed to Faith, who was sitting in a booth with Wes. “I need my sister.”

  “Shit, he’s out,” she breathed.

  If anyone understood terrible fathers, it was Susan, whose own had just recently drunk himself to death. She’d barely batted an eye because their relationship had been so tense and she’d been expecting it for years. I nodded once and then went to the booth, sliding in next to Faith.

  “Hiya, big brother,” she greeted, but her smile fell immediately. “What? What happened?”

  Wes started to get up, but I stopped him. “You…might wanna stay, Wes.”

  “Ev, you all right?” he asked.

  Grimacing a little, I nodded. “Yeah, it’s just that I got a call a few minutes ago.” I turned to face my sister. “Sean called me. He wanted to let me know that Dad’s been released.”

  The happy glow in my sister’s eyes darkened. Her hatred for our father rivaled that of Dani’s. The very moment Dad had been arrested by Chief Clark on that Christmas Day after our fight, my sister had washed her hands of him. She had no desire to hear his side, see him, talk to him, or even sue him. We’d had no choice but to appear in court the one time. I wasn’t even sure she’d looked his way while on the stand.

  “So…the fucker’s free?” she sneered, her hands balling up into fists.

  “Not free but out of prison. He’s been released to a halfway house for the remainder of his sentence. He’s in Bozeman.”

  “He’d better stay in Montana,” she muttered, frowning down at her cup of coffee. “He…he can’t call or anything. Do we need to do anything? Like another restraining order?”

  “No, Faith, I think we’re okay. He’s not supposed to leave the state, and we’ve never allowed any contact since the trial, so I’m pretty sure he’s gotten the message. If he hasn’t, then Sean is happy to explain it to him.”

  Faith snorted, looking up at me. “I bet he will. He’s been awesome.”

  “He has,” I sighed, nodding in agreement.

  Pastor Sean, our mother’s old friend, had maintained contact with all three of us after Dad was arrested. He constantly checked on us all, had flown down for Tyler’s wedding, and he’d teased me about mine being next. He’d also helped with the sale of the house in Key Lake, kept us posted on news about our father, and refused to let us thank him. He’d become a very good friend, almost family, stating it was what our mother would’ve wanted, and he’d admitted more than once to me that it was his way of making up for what we’d been through.

  “You coming tonight?” she asked me, the glow in her eyes back to their happy sparkle.

  “Hell, yeah! Like I’d miss seeing your work, Faith,” I teased, leaning in to kiss the side of her head. “Tyler and Jasmine too. They were leaving after Tyler got off work. Dani and I will be at the art building as soon as she’s finished next door.”

  I slipped out of the booth, but Wes’s voice stopped me.

  “Hey, Evan? You think…You think he’ll try to contact you guys again?” he asked, and his gaze flickered to my sister. I could tell he was worried, already set on protecting her—us—in some way.

  I thought about it, remembering the letters to all of us and the phone calls our father had tried to make to Faith and Tyler, but they’d stopped eventually.

  Finally meeting his gaze, I said, “No, I don’t.”

  The eerie cry of the sandhill cranes made me smile and glance over at the tall gray birds. That otherworldly call echoed out again, along with the mimicking baby crane that was with them. I had no way of knowing if they were the same two I’d seen the first time I’d set foot on the Bishop property, but the daydreamer in me liked to think so. Dani had said they mated for life, so my hope was that they were the same two, raising a new little one.

  Gazing out over the small lake in the backyard, I tapped my pen on my open journal. Sometimes the sight of water made me melancholy, but the panicky feelings hardly rose to the surface anymore. I still saw the accident and I still worried endlessly whenever anyone was driving in poor weather, but I was working on it.

  Right at that moment, though, I couldn’t feel anything but hope and nerves. I hoped I was doing this the right way, but I was nervous about being able to pull it off. Rereading what I’d already written, I added to it. I found myself writing until the sun started to set. I still used the journal to write to Dani, and I used it to sort out tough conversations. This was both…and most likely the last tough conversation I’d ever have to work though.

  When arms wrapped around me from behind, I closed the book and grinned over my shoulder at Dani.

  “Dinner’s ready, handsome.”

  I brushed my lips over hers, chuckling when she landed across my lap, and I couldn’t help but cradle her in my arms. She gazed up at me with eyes that were happy, sweet, and curious.

  “Now what’s got you writing in this thing?” she asked teasingly, reaching for my journal—the same journal I’d left with her when I’d first gone home to Montana.

  Laughing, I pulled it away from her. “Just some stuff I needed to work through. It’s been a busy year, baby. I was just…Hell, pretty girl, we’re almost college graduates.”

  She beamed up at me, cupping my face and bringing me in for a kiss. “And you are almost a published author!”

  As awesome as that sounded, the words I’d just written down in my journal were more important than the book that had finally been accepted by a publishing house, even if they wanted more. The story I’d written so long ago with my mo
ther’s help—the same story I’d made up for my sister and the first story Dani had ever read of mine—was now going to be in print. Elven princesses and kings and archer boys would soon be out for everyone to see. Everyone wanted to celebrate, which was why we were having dinner at her parents’ house.

  Grinning, I kissed her again. “C’mon, pretty girl. Let’s eat, and then I can celebrate with just you.” I buried my face in her neck to kiss her just for the squeal into the giggles I lived to hear.

  She stood up from my lap, and I tucked my journal and pen away into my backpack. When we stepped up into the back deck, I realized this was where we would’ve eaten the first time I’d ever come to this house, but they’d moved dinner indoors due to my fear of water. As I gazed around the table, I saw what real family was, what it should’ve been all along. It was my own flesh and blood—Tyler and Faith—along with the family who’d loved me from the moment the girl at my side said she was keeping me. Jasmine had become another sister, not to mention my sister-in-law. Daniel, who’d become the father I always needed. Leanne, who was the mother to us all. Aunt Tessa was strength and humor and a calm in the storm.

  Wes had become not only my best friend but another brother—and most likely my brother-in-law because he’d already pulled Tyler and me aside to ask us for permission to marry Faith. We’d outright laughed at him because he didn’t need our permission; Faith was quite capable of making that decision all on her own, and I was pretty sure she knew it was coming.

  Then there was Dani. I gazed over at her, linking my fingers with hers beneath the table and giving them a soft squeeze. Without her, I had no idea where my life would be—not at that table, that was for certain.

  Dinner was fun and loud, with teasing and the usual name calling between Dani and Wes, which now included Tyler. Despite the fact that it was in celebration of my book, I stayed quiet, absorbing every second of it, but I needed to watch my time because there was someplace I wanted to be before it closed.