“Yet you still did it. You were willing to take that kind of risk. Why?”
“Why?” The disbelief echoed in her voice when she repeated the question. “Why? How can you ask me that? If I hadn’t taken the chance I would have had to go on living with the pain of regret. I wasn’t going to go through that again, no matter what.”
“I see.” He leaned back, resting his palms on his knees as he regarded her carefully. “And you and me, no regrets there, huh?”
“You know I have a mountain of regrets where you’re concerned.”
“Then isn’t it worth it to take the same kind of chance on me you were willing to take on Nick?”
She hadn’t thought about the similarities until he pointed it out, but now that he had they were undeniable.
“Shay, what’s the worst thing you think could happen if you put yourself out there and told me what you really want for us?”
“I guess I’m afraid you wouldn’t want the same thing. Or maybe you’d want more than I feel capable of giving right now.” She pressed her fingertips into her temple as the pressure of trying to sort everything out continued to mount. “I’d put too much pressure on you, or the relationship or…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not making any sense, am I?”
“Because you’re overthinking it.” He moved to the couch, reaching for her hand until she was seated next to him, her legs stretched out across his. “You’re not willing to open up, tell me what’s in your heart.” She heard the hurt in his voice when he asked, “Since when do you hold out on me? I remember a time when we could tell each other anything.”
She smiled at the memory of all their silly teenage fantasies. “We were going to buy some land overlooking the water.”
“So I could fish every day.” He chuckled. “And you were going to have a vegetable garden.”
“We were going to ride our bikes—”
“Because you thought we’d need the exercise.” He smiled. “But I promised there were more fun ways to burn calories.”
“I remember.” She smiled, looping her arms around his neck. “You were going to build the house by hand, a log cabin, you said.”
“I thought my dad and brother could help. Bryce too. I didn’t realize my dad would be gone before I made my dreams come true.”
“That’s not true,” she said, kissing him. “Your dad got to see plenty of your dreams come true. He was so proud of you. You have to know that.”
He leaned into her, nestling his face between her neck and shoulder. “He didn’t get to see us make our dreams come true though.”
“No, he didn’t.” She closed her eyes when he started dropping kisses along her jaw.
“Tell me your dreams.” His voice was deep and thick with emotion. “Let me see what I can do about making them come true.”
“I want this. I want you. Every night.” Sharing a bed with him at the inn made it easier for her to sleep soundly. It’s not that she was afraid to be alone. She wasn’t. She just felt safer wrapped in his arms.
“Mmmm.” He brushed his lips over her ear. “Me too, sweetheart.”
“I want to watch you build a relationship with Nick.” She curled her arms around his neck.
“What else do you want?”
She realized she hadn’t asked what he wanted, but looking into his eyes, seeing how much he adored her, made it easier for her to jump without looking for a net. “I want to be your wife someday.”
His smile spread as he brushed his scruff against her cheek, whispering in her ear, “I like the sound of that. Go on.”
“I want another chance to be a mom.”
His eyes softened before he inhaled deeply. “I so want to give you that. Do you know how much it killed me to admit to myself and you that I wasn’t man enough to take care of you and our baby?”
Hearing that outraged her, on his behalf. “What are you talking about? You were just a kid. We both were.”
“I was man enough to get you pregnant. I should have been man enough to do right by you. Signing those papers was the worst experience of my life. You know why?”
She bit her lip, trying to suppress the tears as she shook her head. “No. Why?”
“Because I could see how disappointed you were that I caved. I was so tempted to tear them up, to swear to you that I’d find a way to take care of both of you, but then reality came crashing down on me. I heard your old man’s voice telling me that we’d end up living out of my old beat-up truck.” He sat back, running a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk messing up your lives that way. I loved you too much.”
“I hate that my father made you doubt yourself,” she whispered, reaching for him. But she’d been no better. She doubted herself and him too. She’d let her parents get inside her head, convince her they only had one option.
“None of that matters now.” His eyes traced her face. “What matters is I’m gonna do it right this time. We’re going to have the most beautiful wedding this town has ever seen.”
“I don’t need that.” Though she had to admit it would be nice to exchange their vows in front of everyone who thought they’d never make it, that their love wasn’t real.
“But you’re going to get it.” And this time when you get pregnant,” he cleared his throat. “I’m going to be the happiest man alive. No fear this time. Just excitement and pride.”
Shay gasped when he reached into his pocket and produced an engraved white gold ring with a modest diamond.
“I can’t think of a better day than the anniversary of our very first date, to ask you to be my wife.”
“Oh my gosh!” Her hand flew over her mouth as she scrambled to remember what day it was. He was right. Eighteen years ago today he’d asked her out on her very first date. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
“Baby, a man doesn’t forget the day he meets the girl he’s going to spend the rest of his life with.”
“Wait.” She gestured to the ring now clasped in his hand. “So you’d planned to do this all along? Today? Tonight?”
He laughed, rolling his eyes. “No, I carry my grandmother’s ring around in my pocket all the time, just in case I feel like popping the question.”
She knew none of this mattered now, the only thing that mattered was the man she loved wanted to marry her, still she had to add, “But you weren’t even going to come in. You were upset with me—”
He kissed her, threading a hand through her hair as he whispered, “Silly girl. You really thought you could get rid of me that easily.” His grip tightened, his expression fierce as he whispered, “Never again, Shay. You and I are never going to be apart again.”
She kissed him, trying to draw him closer when he pulled her arms from around his neck with a laugh.
“Oh no, you don’t. I’ve got something to say and you’re not going to distract me.”
She still couldn’t believe he was down on one knee getting ready to present her with a family heirloom, which would mean more to both of them than any expensive, impersonal diamond he could have given her.
His paternal grandmother had lived in Landon all of her life. She’d been a staple at every event in town for as long as Shay could remember and she’d treated Shay like family even long after she and Chase broke up, so wearing her ring would be an honour.
“So, here’s the thing.” He cleared his throat. “When, um, my grandmother got sick and I came back to spend some time with her before she passed, you were away at school, finishing up your degree.”
“I remember.” She’d hated to miss the funeral, but she’d been cramming for exams at the time. And she’d been afraid to face Chase again.
“I went to visit her in the hospital and she gave me this ring.” He held it up, pursing his lips as though he was fighting back tears. “I’d never seen her take it off, so I was stunned.”
Shay couldn’t remember ever seeing her without it either. Her husband had died years before, yet she’d continued to
wear the ring he gave her, vowing to wear it ‘til the day she died.
“She told me that this ring carried with it good luck, because it had seen them through a lot of tough times. She said they’d made it even though everyone said their relationship was doomed.”
Shay smiled, remembering how many people had said the same thing about them years ago.
“She wanted me to have it, as a reminder that sometimes things work out even when we think they won’t.” He drew a shaky breath before kissing Shay’s hand. “She knew I’d never really gotten over losing you. I guess because every time she called me I’d hang on every word she had to say about you.”
“Really?”
“She was the only one brave enough to mention your name to me.” He grinned. “You know she was fearless.”
“Yeah, she was.”
“She told me that it was never too late to make things right and maybe this ring would help guide me back to the woman who was meant to wear it.”
Shay felt a tear slip down her cheek.
“And it did. It led me back to you, back to the life we were supposed to have. Shay, will you give me another chance to give you the life you deserve?”
“Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him back into the coffee table before he caught her. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
He laughed as he slipped the ring on her finger. “I love you,” he whispered, his lips against hers. “Can you believe it? You’re finally going to be Mrs. Wright.”
“It’s about time.”
If you enjoyed Small Town Billionaire, read on for a sneak peak of Small Town Boss.
Now available at Amazon!
Small Town Boss
No home. No car. Only blood money she refused to spend. That was Claudia’s reality as she stared at the “Help Wanted” sign in the window of Landon’s one and only inn. She was just passing through, but with only a few hundred dollars in her purse, she knew she wouldn’t get very far, especially if she had to pay for rooms along the way.
She didn’t know where she was going. She only knew she had to get as far away from her hometown as possible. The pity, coupled with the memories everywhere she turned, was more than she could stand.
As she climbed out of her car, she wondered how long it would take before she could have a mechanic look at her car and send her on her way. If Landon was anything like her hometown of Brockville—and she knew it was, since the towns were only an hour apart—there was only one or two mechanics to service the entire town, which meant people often had to survive days without wheels. Normally she wouldn’t complain, since she preferred walking or biking to driving, but Landon was still a little too close to Brockville for her comfort.
Someone might have read her story in the local newspaper, and if they had, it would only be a matter of time before the offers of help came pouring in. Claudia was tired of being the town’s charity case. She just wanted to feel normal again, or as normal as she could expect to feel in a world that no longer included the people she loved most.
“Can I help you with that?”
Claudia had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t heard the man approach, so she gasped when he reached around her to grab her suitcase out of the trunk of her Honda Civic.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was out here.” In her beaded flip-flops, she had to look way up at the dark-haired, blue-eyed stranger, but instead of feeling apprehensive about being alone in a parking lot at dusk with some strange man, she reminded herself this was a small town where people helped each other.
That was the very reason she was headed to a big city where she could get lost. No one would care to know her sad story because everyone had one. She looked forward to being just another face in the crowd.
“I was just checking on some nuisance bear my security guard reported.”
“A nuisance bear?” Claudia’s gaze darted around, looking for the animal in question. Then she noticed the gun tucked into the waistband of his worn jeans.
“Sorry,” he said, moving the weapon to the back of his jeans, where it was hidden beneath his black T-shirt. “You can’t be too careful. Some of these bears are pretty bold when they’re trying to protect their food source. It seems my dumpsters have become their new favorite feeding ground.”
It wasn’t that Claudia had never seen a gun before. She’d grown up on a farm with her grandparents and parents, and her husband had been a hunter. She just wasn’t used to seeing a man with a Glock 20 in plain sight unless he was wearing a badge.
“Do guns make you nervous?” he asked, setting her suitcase in the gravel parking lot and closing her trunk.
“No.” She assumed the guy managed the place, since he’d referred the dumpsters as his. “Do you have any rooms available?”
“You don’t have a reservation?”
“No, I wasn’t planning to stay. I was just passing through when my car started overheating. Hopefully I can get a mechanic to look at it tomorrow so I can be on my way.”
He grimaced, looking genuinely sorry to be the bearer of bad news. “I’m afraid the only mechanic in town is away for a few days. His daughter is graduating from college, and he and his wife drove out for the ceremony.”
“He doesn’t have an apprentice or anything?”
He smiled, looking sympathetic. “Yeah, his son. But he wanted to be there for his sister’s graduation ceremony too.”
“Maybe someone else in town could have a look at it?” she asked, feeling slightly panicked at the prospect of being stuck there while she watched her money dwindle to nothing. “Someone who knows his way around a car? I’d be happy to pay for his time if you could point me in the right direction.”
“Overheating can be caused by a number of problems,” he said, giving the car a quick once-over. “Radiator, thermostat, cooling system leak, hoses, belts, water pump. The point is, you’re likely going to need Mike to order parts for you. That could take a while. Probably a few days after he gets back on Monday.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip as her gaze hit the ground. “Um, how much do you charge for a night?”
“A hundred and a half, unless you want a room with a view?”
“I don’t care about the view,” she said, sinking against the car as misery bled into her voice. “But I can’t afford that. Is there another place I could stay? A little bed and breakfast or motel, maybe?”
“Mrs. Harper used to run a B&B on the outskirts of town, but she sold her place and went to live with her sister. The family who bought the place wasn’t interested in renting out rooms.”
“Of course they weren’t,” Claudia muttered, fighting back tears as her cell phone rang. She knew it was probably her grandmother or mother wondering where she was, but she couldn’t deal with their questions now.
“Look, I don’t know what your situation is,” he said, pointing at the sign in the window, “but I could use some help around here until I can find a new waitress. The last one left me high and dry when she left town with one of my guests.”
“I’ve never done any waitressing before,” Claudia said, wondering if she was up to the challenge. “But I’m willing to try, if you don’t mind showing me the ropes.”
“You got it.”
He grinned, and it wasn’t until that moment Claudia realized how striking he was. She’d stopped looking at men that way a long time ago, so she was a lot slower on the uptake than most women.
“Brady Wright,” he said, extending his hand. “I own this place.”
“Oh.” She glanced at the impressive one-story log structure that seemed to stretch on for miles. Brady seemed young to own a place like this. “Um, my name’s Claudia T—” She cleared her throat when she realized it wouldn’t be wise to use her married name if she didn’t want people to connect her to her story. “Armstrong,” she said, offering her maiden name instead.
He frowned slightly, as though he suspected she was lying to him about her identity. “Okay, well, you can stay here for
free in exchange for waiting tables six hours a day, and the tips are yours. Sound okay?”
“Sure, thanks.”
He picked up her suitcase and led her toward the double doors. “We’ll just have to fill out some paperwork and—”
“Brady,” she said, stopping him with a hand on his forearm. “I know this is going to sound strange, but since this is a temporary arrangement, do you think we could forego all that?”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re running from something?”
She was running… from her own nightmares. Except no matter where she woke up, she would still be alone. “It’s a long story.” And not one I intend to share with you.
“And you’re a pretty private person, I’m guessing?”
“Something like that.”
She hadn’t always been that way. In fact, she’d once been the friendly, outgoing one. The first grade teacher all the students and parents had nominated for the Teacher of the Year award year after year, because she gave everything she had inside that classroom. Until one day she realized she had nothing left to give. She was empty now.
“Okay, fair enough,” he said, holding the door for her. “I don’t need to know your whole life story.”
Thank God. “I appreciate that,” she said with a shaky smile. “And I appreciate you helping me out with this job until I can get my car fixed.”
“No problem, that’s what we do around here. If someone’s in trouble, we help ‘em out.”
Claudia understood that mentality—she’d grown up with it. Like Brady, helping people had always been a part of her DNA. Until she reached a point where she couldn’t even help herself anymore. She was too broken, too grief-stricken to breathe sometimes, much less lend a helping hand to a friend or neighbor in need.
“Hey, Dana,” Brady said to the older lady behind the front desk. “This is Claudia. Her car’s giving her some trouble, so she’s agreed to wait tables for me ‘til Mike gets back.”
Small Town Billionaire Page 20
