Perfect Summer: Mason Creek, book 7

by Lopez, Bethany

  At some point the nurse came in and put cartoons on the TV for Hope and Faith’s parents arrived about fifteen minutes after I got off the phone with Grace.

  Now we were all drinking bad coffee and waiting for some news from the doctor.

  Eventually the doors opened, and rather than one of the nurses, Dr. Carlson came out holding a file.

  “Hello, Evans family. Sorry we have to see each other again under such circumstances … Mitch.”

  “Miles,” I said in greeting, before asking, “How is she?”

  “Her arm’s broken, and she has some bruising, but other than that, she’s doing well. She’s awake and asking for you and Hope.”

  I let out a sigh and asked, “Can we go see her?”

  “Of course,” he said, putting the folder under his arm. “Now, I did talk with Faith, and she confirmed that this isn’t the first time she’s broken this arm. It’s the fourth.”

  “Fourth?” I asked, not really understanding.

  “Apparently her ex-husband…” he began, then looked down at Hope and stopped talking. “Anyway, she’s going to be in a cast for a while and then there may be some physical therapy to get her back on track. But, if her track record’s anything to go by, she should have a full recovery. I know she was worried, since she uses that arm every day for work.”

  I didn’t really comprehend what he was saying, because my mind was still stuck back on … apparently her ex-husband.

  I’d never wanted to kill a dead man so badly in my life.

  37

  Faith

  I turned my head toward the door, the uncomfortable pillow I was laying on crunching under me from the movement.

  I was groggy and starting to feel all the places I was sore, which was a surprising amount considering I hadn’t fallen from very high. Although it was apparently a bunch of jagged rock that broke my fall, so it made sense.

  My arm ached, in a way that was all too familiar, and I felt tears gathering in my eyes when Mitch walked into the room with Hope in his arms.

  “Hey,” I managed, although it came out sounding like I had a frog in my throat. “Is she okay?”

  Mitch walked up next to the bed, rubbing Hope’s back in small circles, and said, “Hope, your mom wants to see you. She’s okay, I promise … You can look at her now.”

  “Little bear?” I called, worried over the fact that her face was tucked into Mitch’s shoulder, and she didn’t seem to want to see me. “Honey, I know I hurt your feelings back at the creek, but I didn’t want you to see me hurt. I’m sorry … Can you turn toward me so I can see that you’re okay?”

  She shifted but kept her head on his shoulder. I could see her eyes were puffy from crying and my heart broke a little.

  “I’m okay, see?”

  Hope looked down at the cast on my arm.

  “You can draw on it when we get home,” I told her, and when she looked sad I realized it was because she’d done that before, the last time Jed had broken my arm.

  I hate that she remembers it.

  “How are you feeling?” Mitch asked, and I really looked at him for the first time since they’d entered.

  He looked tired and stressed, like he’d been through a great ordeal, and I’m sure he had been. It couldn’t have been easy to see me fall like that, then have to deal not only with my panic attack, but I could also remember I had been kind of rude when all he’d been trying to do was help.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” I told him softly.

  “What? No! Don’t even think about it. I’d read that sometimes that would happen due to the fear and panic and you not wanting me to see you like that. I completely understand. I just wish I could have done more.” His face was so full of worry and regret. “I’m so sorry I called you up to the overlook. If I’d had any idea the wood had rotted over the years…”

  “Hey, no. Don’t do that to yourself,” I pleaded. “It was not your fault, you couldn’t have known. And you were so sweet. I was simply surprised, and the rest was really bad luck.”

  “Do you think the idea of me proposing triggered the attack? Because if you aren’t ready, I can wait, Faith. I’ll wait for you forever.”

  I did my best to sit up more comfortably and patted the bed with my free hand.

  Mitch sat down and Hope finally left his arms to curl up next to me on the bed, careful not to bump me and hurt my arm.

  “Actually, I felt it coming on right before you called me over. I was worrying about my parents and the whole mystery surrounding the dinner … it was silly and nothing to stress over. But I freaked myself out and then when I fell, I went into a full-blown attack. Crazy circumstances, but not because you were going to propose, I promise.”

  “Oh, no, the dinner tonight was because your parents knew I was proposing and they wanted to go out and celebrate,” he said, looking even more sorry. “I wish I would have known you assumed it was something bad, so I could have eased your fears. Maybe we could have avoided all of this.”

  “It all makes sense now,” I said, laying back and cuddling Hope closer. I did my best to try and smile and ease his worry, but I wasn’t sure I’d managed it. I was suddenly very tired.

  “Miles said once they complete your discharge papers, you can go home. Your parents are here, and they’d like to take you back to their place, but it’s completely up to you.”

  “They didn’t have to do that … but it does sound nice to go back to their house. At least I know Hope will be entertained and taken care of, and maybe my mom will make me some of her chicken soup.”

  Anytime I’d been sick or injured growing up, my mom always made me her soup. It was the best cure and when I’d been in Chicago, I’d always wished I could have it.

  “Okay, I’ll let them know,” he said, but when he was about to get up, I said, “Mitch,” and he remained seated. “Yeah?”

  “Would you come with us?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he replied, and when he started to rise him, I stopped him again.

  “Mitch?”

  “Yes, Faith?”

  “Can I have my proposal now?”

  “Here?” he asked, looking around the room that seemed to be tinged with yellow light. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded as eagerly as I could. “Please.”

  Mitch knelt down next to the bed and took my right hand in his.

  “Faith,” he began, before pausing to take a deep breath and smile. “My first memory of you is of you bossing Wilder around on the playground in elementary school, even though he was two years older. You were confident and pretty and I was awed by your sassiness. As we grew older, my awe for you grew and molded into something bigger. You were a natural leader, and you were so smart, at first I was afraid to ask you out. I was sure you’d think I was a dumb jock, and you wouldn’t give me the time of day. But you said yes, and from that moment on, I knew you’d always be my girl.”

  His tongue darted out to wet his lips and then he continued. “When I lost you, I lost a piece of my heart, and I was sure it was gone forever. I hoped you’d come back, but as the years went on, it seemed less and less likely. Then you did. And with you was Hope, the sweetest, funniest, most magical little girl I’ve ever met. She’s reminds me a lot of you when you were that age, and I knew, if given the chance, I would love her just as fiercely as I’ve always loved you.”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks and Hope was bouncing excitedly on the bed next to me. It didn’t feel great on my body, but I didn’t have the heart to ask her to stop. I didn’t want anything stopping this moment.

  “You’re the woman for me, you always have been. I have never, and will never, love anyone else. You coming home and agreeing to go out with me seemed like a gift from God, but you falling back in love with me has been more than I ever could have hoped for … Faith, I love you. And, Hope, I love you, too. I hope you’ll both agree to accept me into your family and let me be with you until my last breath. Faith, will you marry me?”

  I tr
ied to answer but was crying so hard I couldn’t get the words out.

  Meanwhile, Hope was chanting, “Yes, yes, yes,” as she bounced.

  I nodded furiously.

  “Is that a yes?” Mitch asked.

  “Yes!” I cried, finally finding my voice. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He stood up and looked down at my left hand, which wouldn’t be able to have a ring on it for some time.

  “We’ll use this one for now,” I said, lifting my right.

  He slid the ring on my finger and bent to give me a watery kiss.

  “I love you,” Mitch whispered.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I love you too,” Hope cried, and we looked over to see her holding out her hand. “Where’s my ring?” she asked, and we both started laughing.

  38

  Mitch

  The next few months went by at lightning speed.

  Because Faith’s arm was in a cast and she couldn’t work with any clients, she spent her mornings working on the business end of her salon and the rest of her time she threw into working on the new house.

  She met with contractors and designers and did so much shopping I began to worry we’d have nowhere to sleep because both of our houses were filled with bags and boxes.

  Faith also started planning the wedding.

  Sure, she’d been married before, but they’d simply gone to the Justice of the Peace and signed a paper. She hadn’t worn a wedding dress, had her father walk her down the aisle, or had any sort of celebration.

  Now that she was home and we were getting married, there was no way me, her parents, or the citizens of Mason Creek would allow her to get away with anything other than her dream wedding.

  We set the date for a year after my ill-fated proposal, so we would have time to plan and book everything and Faith could have a summer wedding.

  “I can’t believe it’s moving day,” Faith said, coming out of her house carrying a box.

  I rushed to take it from her. “Take it easy. You’ve only had the cast off a month, you don’t want to push it.”

  Faith tried to hide her eye roll, but I saw it.

  She said I acted like a mother hen, and she was fine, but the cast had been on for twelve weeks and she was still doing physical therapy, so I worried something could happen that would either slow the recovery or reinjure her arm.

  She said I was nuts, and unfortunately Miles agreed. He’d assured us she was doing great and had recovered fully, but I couldn’t help but worry.

  “We hired a moving company so you wouldn’t have to move anything,” I reminded her.

  We’d already packed up my things from the cabin and unloaded them at the new house, now we were working on hers. It was definitely a two-day job of moving and who knew how many weeks of unpacking.

  “It’s hard for me to be idle, you know that. Especially after so many months of not being able to use my arm. I just want to be useful,” she said, giving me the pout she’d perfected since her injury. The one she used whenever I didn’t want her to do something that might cause her harm.

  “Here,” I said, handing her the clipboard. “You can write down all the box numbers as the guys load up the truck.”

  Lord knew standing there had been driving me crazy and I’d be happy to unload the tedious task.

  “You just don’t want to do it,” Faith said, seeing right through me as usual.

  “Who, me?” I asked innocently. “I’m simply helping you stay busy, like you wanted.”

  She gave me a look.

  “Why don’t I go see about lunch for everyone?” I suggested.

  That perked her up. “Are you going to the deli?”

  “That sounds good. I can grab a few large party subs for the guys,” I replied.

  “Will you get me a Rueben?”

  “You got it,” I said, leaning over to drop a kiss on her lips before leaving.

  I grabbed the crew lunch … and then dinner. And after two long days of moving, we were finally in our new home.

  It was a log cabin. With a basement, standard ranch-style main level, and a loft. We figured the loft would eventually become Hope’s room, once she was older and Faith wasn’t worried about her using the ladder all the time. Until then, it was my office.

  There were three bedrooms on the main level, along with a living room, den, formal dining room, and an eat-in kitchen. The basement was decked out with a game room and a bar and also had an additional bedroom in the back. There were four bathrooms all together, and a deck leading off the back of the kitchen. We were planning to put in a hot tub and maybe a firepit and camping area out back by the creek that ran through the property, but that would have to come later.

  After the wedding.

  We were planning to have the wedding on our property, so Faith was having an arch lined with fresh flowers built, which would go in the place that would eventually be our firepit and camping area.

  I was thrilled with how everything had come together. A few weeks after the fall, Faith had told me everything about Jed and their relationship. It seemed incredible to me that with all the torture and abuse she’d endured; Faith had managed to pull herself and Hope out of their own literal hell to be where we were today. She was a superwoman as far as I was concerned, and as much as I hated Jed and what he’d put her through, I knew she was the strong, independent woman she was due to perseverance.

  I vowed to myself she would feel safe and loved with me for the rest of our lives.

  “Daddy, can you help me?” Hope called out tentatively. Faith was currently working on unpacking the kitchen, which was a daunting task and one I was happy to leave to her.

  Since we were now living together, and I’d soon be married to her mother, Hope had asked if she I would be her daddy. It was the sweetest most precious moment of my life and I’d been honored to the point of tears. She was still a little shy about saying it, but every time she did my heart swelled.

  “Of course,” I responded as I moved down the hall toward her bedroom.

  I looked inside to see her trying to make her bed, which was the only thing in the room not covered in boxes.

  For her seventh birthday we’d agreed to decorate her bedroom with Frozen 2 décor, and Faith had gone a little crazy with it. She had Frozen stickers on the walls, pictures, a hamper, toy and book organizer, lamp, and storage cubes. If they made it, Hope had it in her room. She even had an upholstered chair, which Prince Alice was currently curled up in sleeping.

  She was now struggling with the Frozen bedding, so I moved to help her get the fitted sheet on the mattress, which was sitting on the Frozen twin-sized bed.

  I sure hope she didn’t grow out of the Frozen 2 phase too soon.

  “Are you excited to sleep in your new room tonight?” I asked as we picked up the flat sheet and put it on.

  “Yeah, but I can’t find my Olaf, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to fall asleep.”

  She’d been sleeping with the stuffed Olaf we’d gotten her every night since her birthday.

  “I’ll look for it,” I assured her as we laid the comforter down, Anna side up.

  I started going through the boxes, both of us putting stuff away in its new home as I took it out of the box. Wouldn’t you know it, Olaf was in the last box I opened, and by the time I found him, we’d unpacked everything in Hope’s room and put it in its place.

  Of course, it was way past her bedtime and Faith was probably cursing me from the kitchen, but her room looked great, and I knew she would sleep better with it all done.

  “Thanks, daddy,” she said softly as I tucked her in and handed her Olaf.

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart. Sleep tight.”

  39

  Faith

  “Ah, I wonder what could be wrong,” I muttered as I parked my car and walked quickly toward Serenity.

  I’d gotten a text from Cheryl asking me to come to the salon ASAP. She said we had a Mayday situation, so I’d yelled to Mitch I was leaving,
hopped in my car, and gotten there as fast as I could without making Wyatt pull me over for speeding.

  A million different possibilities ran through my mind, but when I opened the door, I was faced with the one I had not thought of.

  “Surprise!”

  I dropped my purse and held my hand to my heart as I looked around my salon, which had been converted into bridal party central.

  “Oh my gosh,” I exclaimed, totally floored.

  “We know you said you didn’t want anything, but there was no way we’d let our girl get herself hitched without giving her a kickass party,” Cheryl said as she rushed over and put a lei of plastic penises around my neck.

  I looked around at the room full of familiar faces until my gaze landed on Olivia, who held her hands up and said, “I didn’t do it.”

  She was my maid of honor, and I’d forbade her from throwing any kind of bridal shower or bachelorette party. I figured I was too old, a mother, and this was my second time around, so I didn’t need any of those things.

  I guess my salon sisters had decided to ignore my wishes. But as I looked around and saw all my friends and mine and Mitch’s mothers, I was happy they had.

  Mitch’s mother and I’d had that wine and although our relationship wasn’t what it used to be, she’d understood my reason for leaving and we were working on bettering our relationship. I was grateful to have her back in my life, and since we were about to become family, we’d both agreed to leave the past behind us and start fresh.

  “Come on, guest of honor,” Stacey said, taking my hand and moving me to a chair in the middle of the room. “Let’s get this party started!”

  After I was seated, I was handed a glass of champagne. Music started up and a man came walking out of the back wearing a fireman’s costume, but it wasn’t Grayson. It was a strange man who opened his shirt and started running his hand over his oily abs.