THE STARLIGHT HILL COMPLETE COLLECTION: 1-8

by Bell, Heatherly

  Brooke had worked herself up to the point that she was nearly out of breath when she completed her outfit with her favorite riding boots. She’d decide to dress for understated sophistication when she told Billy how much she loved him – in her favorite pair of jeans and the clingy black sweater he loved.

  Around seven she glanced outside and from the very corner edge of the house she saw lights on and movement inside the manor house— he was home early. No time for the movie.

  You can do this.

  She shut the door to her cottage and bounded up the short steps to the main house. I love you. Best to go for simplicity when in doubt. And better to do this before she chickened out.

  What’s the worst that could happen?

  Apparently the worst that could happen was seeing the ex-girlfriend of the love of your life locking his front door. “Fallon.”

  “Oh, Brooke. I didn’t hear you.”

  “I guess not. I can’t say that I’m shocked.”

  Fallon put up a hand. “Hold on. Don’t get carried away.”

  “Forget it, no big deal.” Even though, unfortunately, her cheeks felt like a flaming torch had been placed on each one. “An ex-cheerleader and a jock are a much better match.”

  Brooke turned to leave, but Fallon screeched from behind.

  “Wait! Wait, you idiot!”

  “What did you call me?” Brooke stopped and turned in her tracks.

  “I had to get your attention.”

  “Well, now you’ve got it.”

  “Look, Billy hired me to clean his place. I need a job and there’s not much I can do.”

  “I’m supposed to believe that?”

  “Believe it. Remember, I didn’t go to college. I got married right after high school. And anyway why would I lie to you? If I were with Billy I’m not the type to keep it quiet.”

  That much was true. She’d lord it over Brooke.

  “He hired you to punish me. That’s what he did.”

  “No, he hired me to help me. Because he’s the greatest guy I know. Don’t blow it with him like I did years ago by being jealous.”

  “Or maybe he didn’t want to get married at seventeen.”

  Fallon rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you still have such a huge chip on your shoulder. Why don’t you like me? This isn’t high school anymore.”

  “Who said I don’t like you?”

  “Seriously? Look, you’re the one that went to college. I didn’t. I have a kid and an ex-husband that says I’m a bad mother. Maybe he’s right, but I’m doing everything I can to get my baby back. Even clean the house of the local millionaire. My ex-boyfriend. You have everything now. You have a great job, and people respect you. Stop acting like you’re auditioning for Rebel Without a Cause because I’m sick of it. He wants you, and I’d give anything to be you right now. But I’m not.”

  Brooke didn’t know what to say to that so she didn’t say a word. Stood there staring at the gorgeous, tall ex-cheerleader, the most popular girl at Starlight High. She envied Brooke.

  “Were you coming here to tell him something?” Fallon asked softly.

  “Yeah. I have some news. And I thought he might like to hear it.”

  “Well, his plane gets in at San Francisco in an hour. If you hurry, maybe you can meet him in baggage claim.”

  For once, Fallon had a good idea. This could be her grand gesture. “Ok. Thanks.”

  Brooke rushed to the cottage to grab her leather jacket and the keys to her Harley, and she was off. The weather was dry though chilly, a good night ride. The Harley would calm her down and get her mind on track. Maybe Fallon was right. Without realizing it, she’d fallen into long ago set patterns the moment she’d seen Billy again. She’d been thrown back to that time when she didn’t feel like she belonged, nor did she want to.

  But everything had changed now. She loved Billy Turlock, and he loved her.

  She was still trying to get over the shock of being envied by one of the most beautiful girls she’d ever known when traffic stalled along 101. The wind at her back, Brooke throttled the Harley and it made a resultant sound that reflected her thoughts. Powerful.

  Mom hadn’t been ruined by the divorce. She’d told Brooke about an inheritance she hadn’t even known about. While it might have been better had Mom not kept that to herself all these years, it didn’t matter anyway. Mom hadn’t been ruined. She’d bounced back and created the life she wanted. It didn’t look like what anyone else expected, but somehow it worked for her.

  Maybe Brooke could do the same. Create the life she wanted, even if it might not look anything like what she’d thought she once wanted.

  And even if she wasn’t ready for marriage, she was finally ready for love.

  If only she could get rid of the stomach crushing fear that surrounded love. An almost certain feeling that disaster would ensue.

  Mom asked what Brooke would do if she were no longer afraid. For so long she’d tried to risk everything but her heart that she wasn’t even sure what it might look like. Not to be afraid to love. Like Billy, who’d been burned so many times but still kept trying.

  He was the brave one.

  Brooke rode up through traffic, splitting lanes. She probably should have taken another route, but too late now. If she didn’t hurry she’d miss Billy altogether. Sure, she’d see him at home but that wouldn’t have the same effect. This was going to be her grand gesture.

  She wanted to see his eyes when he saw her waiting for him – wanted to see those eyes tell her what they’d been telling her all along if she’d only listened.

  “I love you,” he’d said. She couldn’t wait to tell him that she loved him too. Even if it scared her a little bit. She’d been scared the first time she jumped out of a plane, too. It was part of the thrill.

  Like Mom said, facing fear is what made her brave.

  Next stop, conquering the dark, which was nothing more than the absence of light according to Einstein.

  Traffic sped up as she approached Marin, and Brooke shifted and turned in to the left commuter lane.

  The car came out of nowhere, side swiping her, and knocking her clear off her Harley. She flew across the lane, wondering how she could stop her forward momentum, reaching out an arm helplessly. She felt it twist unnaturally, followed by a hot and searing pain.

  I’m going to miss his flight, Brooke thought, as everything around her faded to black.

  18

  The plane was two hours delayed, and Billy was fed up, tired and in no joyous mood.

  “Merry Christmas! I’ll have your best Cabernet Sauvignon,” Pop said to the stewardess in first class. “What do you carry?”

  “I’ve no idea, sir. It’s in a box, if that helps,” The annoyed woman said.

  “Horrors! You should carry Mirassu wine on these flights. We sing to the grapes. Makes them sweeter,” Pop continued, and Billy began to wonder if he’d stop talking sometime this year.

  He checked his emails. Nothing from Brooke, not that he’d expected anything since they’d been avoiding each other. He had another email from Fallon, telling him she’d left the key under the mat and thanking him for the loan. Again.

  Well, if having money didn’t mean you could help your friends and family, then what good was it anyway?

  Pop finally let the exasperated stewardess go, and turned to Billy. “Is something going on with you and Brooke?”

  He hadn’t seen the point in telling Pop, who clearly adored Brooke. “Why do you ask?”

  “Every time you two are in the same room together you try too hard not to look at each other. And sooner or later one of you fails and then acts like they’ve stared directly into the sun during an eclipse.”

  He’d noticed far too much. “We had a disagreement.”

  “Ah. What about?”

  “I thought she should marry me, and she disagreed.”

  Pop laughed. “Say what? You asked the girl to marry you?”

  “Not exactly.” Billy stared straig
ht ahead and ignored the young stewardess who smiled at him and licked her lips.

  “Young people. What does that mean?”

  “I told her how I felt. I love her, and she doesn’t feel the same way. And now we have to work together.”

  “Son, you can’t convince me that girl doesn’t love you. She’s crazy about you.”

  “She has a funny way of showing it.”

  “It must have been hard for you, hearing no for once in your life.”

  “Excuse me?” He’d heard the word ‘no’ plenty of times in his life.

  No, your dad won’t be at the game.

  No, you weren’t our first choice in the draft. But you’ll do.

  No, you’re not starting this game.

  No, another surgery won’t do it. The shoulder is too damaged.

  He hadn’t experienced a lot of rejection in his life, but the few he had really mattered. And now this. Brooke, the only woman he’d ever wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  No, Billy. I don’t love you.

  “You’ve been lucky most of your life. Blessed, even. You even left baseball out on top. Yeah, the injuries were a shame but you had a good run. And you’ve always been a looker. Probably lost count of the amount of women you’ve said ‘no’ to, and now one of them says ‘no’ to you. It’s got to be hard.” Pop chuckled.

  Not funny. “Yeah, it isn’t pleasant.”

  “So what kind of ring did you get her?” Pop asked, clicking his seatbelt.

  “Ring?”

  Pop’s jaw gaped open. “Boy, don’t tell me you didn’t do it up right.”

  There hadn’t been time for a ring. Figured they’d do that later. What was the big deal, anyway? “If you’re asking if I got down on one knee, then no.”

  Pop shook his head. “This is what it’s come to. You need to hear about romance from an eighty-year-old man.”

  “Uh, no. I don’t. But thanks just the same.”

  “You may not need help getting the ladies, but you do need help with this. I blame myself. When your Dad left Eileen, I said I’d do my best to be there for you boys.”

  “And you did. We have no complaints.”

  “But I failed in the romance department. You had a gift for sports, and I nurtured that. But I should have told you about love. Should have warned you about the women that might come after you for the wrong reasons.”

  “Mom did, and Gigi finished the job.”

  “Ah Gigi, but she didn’t tell you much about the women who wanted you for the right reasons. Did she?”

  “No.” They’d never talked about it because it wasn’t business. Seemed as far she was concerned there were no women who would ever want him for the right reasons. And he’d never before this moment realized how insulting that was.

  “When you meet the right woman, you need to court her. Put a little romance into it. I don’t mean flowers and candy, though that’s fine. I mean make her realize she’s not one of many. Know what I mean?”

  “I did that.” At least, he thought he had.

  He’d made it clear to Brooke. Who hung on to a long expired membership card for ten years because it reminded him of the one girl he’d never stopped thinking about? He shouldn’t have to apologize for his history, for wanting to do the right thing when he thought he’d gotten Denise pregnant. He’d never offered her a proposal because it was more of a business agreement. They’d both agreed it was the right thing to do.

  Damn, he’d failed Brooke. He should have had a ring, at least should have bent the knee.

  “So you asked her to marry you?” Pop asked.

  “I didn’t come right out and ask. It was more like I said I wanted to have all that with her – marriage and babies.”

  “Babies?” Pop choked out. “Where’s the fire, son? At least let’s have a wedding first.”

  Billy shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. She’s not interested in any of that.”

  “Maybe she’s not ready now, but she will be someday. You have to decide if she’s worth waiting for. And if you love her, my guess is that should be a yes.”

  He did love her, but this kind of love meant commitment. Facing fears. If she couldn’t meet him halfway, he didn’t know what he could do with that. She could fall out of airplanes and bungee jump off a bridge but loving him was too much of a risk? He wasn’t buying it.

  He was no stranger to fear, even if he’d been reluctant to admit it. Worried he’d never throw again. Fear had settled inside his soul for a while, and built a stronghold in his heart. Only his family, Gigi and his coach had managed to pull him out. Three more surgeries had followed, and then the news that nothing more could be done. That he’d reached the end of his fairy tale.

  And until he’d met Brooke, he’d believed that. He’d assumed he would bide his time pretending to care about a vineyard. Until she made him care.

  When he got home, they would talk. It couldn’t be avoided any longer if they were going to work together, and live so near each other. And if nothing else, he’d tell her he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Before boarding the plane, he’d made the call to his agent. A big pass on the sports casting job. He’d called coach, and told him they’d work something out with the coaching job. The man had been ecstatic, and nearly sobbed on the phone.

  Billy had a vineyard to run, a little patch of land where he’d grown accustomed to seeing the sun set every evening. But baseball would never be completely out of life or his blood. Brooke, more than anyone, had helped him realize it. And if it meant for now he’d coach high school baseball, that’s what he would do.

  When they landed thirty minutes later at SFO, Billy turned his phone back on. A flurry of messages waited for him, none of which he wanted to see.

  “Call me when you land.” A text from Scott.

  “Brooke has been in an accident.” From Mom.

  “St. Francis Hospital.” From Scott. “Headed there now.”

  “What’s wrong?” Pop asked, grabbing his arm.

  Clearly, the news showed on Billy’s face. His stomach had dropped to the soles of his feet.

  “It’s Brooke. We’re going to the hospital.”

  * * *

  Someone wanted Brooke to wake up, but she couldn’t. Not now when the dream was so wonderful.

  In her dream she wasn’t afraid any more. The baby was cute, too. She looked to be around one and had Billy’s eyes. Like her father, she loved to smile. Everyone adored her, but none more than Brooke.

  “Wake up.”

  I’m a Mom, Brooke thought, but fear didn’t come into the equation. Only a love that reached far beyond fear. Love that made fear a chump.

  “Brooke, please wake up.”

  “I don’t want to,” she managed to mumble.

  She floated on air, sucking up all the happiness in the atmosphere. Feeling sorry for all the people in the world who weren’t her.

  When she finally decided to open one eye it wasn’t because anyone had asked. Her arm hurt as though a wild rabid animal had chewed on it, and before she could get back to her dreams she clearly had to do something about that. Also, her mouth was so dry that a drink of water would be nice.

  “Oh,” she heard someone groan. Possibly it was her. Ouch. Correction, her arm felt as though someone had lit it on fire, ripped it off and then tried to sew it back on. Someone cruel and inhumane. Her legs too felt sore and bruised.

  Her other eye opened to bright light, a comforting site.

  She recognized the first thing in her line of site— a full head of dark brown hair lying on her stomach. Fortunately, she’d know that head anywhere. She lifted her left arm, the one that didn’t hurt, and ran her fingers through his hair. Billy.

  Then she remembered it all— the drive to the airport in traffic, the lane change, the accident. Flying and landing. Not much after that, but she did seem to remember some screaming in the Emergency Room. Quite possibly coming from her also. They’d hooked her up to an IV and she didn’t remember mu
ch after that.

  She had a cast on her right arm. Great.

  Billy shifted, lifted his head and grinned. “Finally.” He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. He smiled and her heart did a silly ping followed by a somersault. Her heart had become a genuine acrobat.

  “Were you the one who wanted me to wake up? I was having a great dream.” She would like to get back to it but she needed water first.

  Billy read her mind and had a straw to her lips. “Here.”

  She took a sip, and then groaned. “My arm really hurts. Kind of bad. Strike that. Horrible. That’s the word I’m looking for.”

  “That makes sense since you broke it. A compound fracture. You had surgery.”

  “Oh, right. Now I remember. When I saw the bone sticking out of my arm I think I might have screamed a little. How long have you been here?”

  “Since Pop and I landed yesterday.”

  An entire day had passed? It wasn’t Christmas day anymore, but The Holidays seemed to be the gift that kept on giving.

  Brooke shifted and her arm hurt even worse. “That was yesterday?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been here all night. They tried to kick me out.” He grinned again, and her heart flipped in the now familiar way.

  “They wouldn’t do that. How many people wanted your autograph?”

  “Well, two or three but then they left me, I mean us, alone. For the most part. They’ve been coming in all night to check your meds. You probably need more of that, don’t you?” He glanced at the IV.

  “Where’s my Mom?” Brooke didn’t want to worry Mom, but she should probably be told.

  “She’s been here all night as well. I sent her home only a few minutes ago.”

  Then she remembered the rest. Trying to meet his plane at the airport. Failing big time.

  “I have to tell you something.”

  They both said it at once.

  “You go first.” She understood that he’d been waiting. Asking her to wake up, she had to assume because he wanted to say something important. She wouldn’t blame him if he’d changed his mind about her, since he’d had the misfortune to fall in love with a complete idiot. Someone who didn’t recognize the right man when he was right in front of her.