Sing Me Back Home

by Eve Gaddy

  Sing Me Back Home

  Eve Gaddy

  Sing Me Back Home

  Copyright © 2014 Eve Gaddy

  The Tule Publishing Group, LLC

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-940296-88-3

  Dedication

  For Maverick. I hope you’re having fun swimming every day, chewing on sticks, eating all the treats you want, running the opposite direction when someone calls you, and eating dinner at least four times a day. I miss you, sweet puppy.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Montana Born Homecoming Series

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Many thanks to Jane Porter for allowing me to be a part of the Tule team. You all rock! Everyone involved is so supportive and so fun to work with. I’m having a blast. I also want to thank Katherine Garbera for recommending me to Jane. Thanks, Kathy!

  Chapter One

  He heard it through the grapevine.

  In Marietta, Montana, the grapevine was Sally Driscoll, the barista at the Java Cafe. Along with Carol Bingley, manager of the pharmacy, she knew everything there was to know about the town and its citizens. Or thought she did, anyway.

  Most mornings, Jack Gallagher stopped at the Java Cafe on the way to work. Ordinarily, he didn’t pay much attention to Sally. But today the gossip hit him in the chest like a kick from a horse.

  “Dr. Gallagher, have you heard the news?”

  “What news?” he asked, resigned, knowing Sally would hold his coffee hostage until he answered.

  “Maya Parrish is in town. You know, the famous model.”

  As always, her name gave him a jolt. Pleasure. And pain. “Her sister lives here. I imagine she’s in town to visit her.” He’d seen Maya a few times over the years, but only from a distance. They had managed to successfully avoid any closer interaction.

  “No, not for a visit. Maya and her daughter are here to stay,” Sally said with relish. “They’ve moved into her great-great-great grandmother’s house on Bramble Lane. The one old Dina Parrish lived in until she died a few months ago.”

  Maya’s ancient aunt had left her the house on Bramble Lane? Maya and her daughter had moved into a house the street over from his and he hadn’t even known it?

  Speechless, Jack stared at the barista. Maya, his high school love, the woman who’d broken his heart all those years ago, was home to stay.

  Well, shit.

  “Isn’t that cool? Who would’ve thought Maya Parrish would move back to Marietta?”

  Not him, that was for sure. Sally probably didn’t know of his and Maya’s history. Probably. It wasn’t a secret, though, so she might. Since she was waiting expectantly for a response, he said, “No, I hadn’t heard that. I’m running late, Sally. I’ve got to get to the hospital. Could I have my coffee now?”

  Jack tried his best to put Maya out of his mind after that, but that proved impossible. After he rounded on his hospital patients, he went to his office. Many of the town’s doctors had offices in the medical building across from the hospital, since it was so conveniently located. Jack had moved his own office into it shortly after the building was completed. He’d been back in Marietta since he finished his Family Practice residency and had never regretted coming home.

  He was beginning to regret it today, however. His first patient, Eileen Delaney, should have clued him in.

  He walked into the exam room and spoke as he washed his hands at the sink. “Hi, Mrs. Delaney. How have you been?”

  “Not good, Doctor.” She patted her heart as she often did, though as far as Jack knew, she’d never had any evidence of coronary artery disease. “I’m not feeling at all well. I don’t think these allergy shots are working. What’s the point of getting jabbed all the time if it doesn’t do any good?”

  Jack sighed inwardly. They went through the same exact conversation whenever Mrs. Delaney came in for her weekly allergy shot. The shot she insisted only Jack could give her. She didn’t trust Jack’s nurse, Vera Lancaster.

  The problem wasn’t one of trust, he knew. The two women had been at odds ever since Mrs. Delaney accused Vera of fixing the results of the bake-off at the Marietta Fair, causing Mrs. Delaney to lose to her archrival. Vera denied doing any such thing and maintained that Mrs. Delaney’s cooking was not as good as she thought it was. The feud had been ongoing for several years now. Naturally, Vera couldn’t stand Mrs. Delaney either.

  “I can stop giving the shots to you any time,” Jack said, knowing what her answer would be. “Just say the word.”

  “No, no. I’m here. Might as well take it.” She chattered on, talking about Marietta High School Homecoming, coming up in a few weeks. “Who do you think will be elected to the Homecoming court?”

  “I have no idea. Gina hasn’t mentioned the Homecoming court,” Jack said, referring to his daughter. And as far as he knew, she didn’t care. Now, the football team and players were another matter altogether. Though school had only started a couple of days previously, Gina had a crush on one of the football players. She didn’t realize her old man knew about it. He’d have to be an idiot not to, since Gina was constantly on the phone or texting to Mattie Guthrie or one of her other friends, and Kevin Taylor was one of their main topics.

  He was still dwelling on his baby girl being old enough to be interested in boys when Mrs. Delaney brought up another subject.

  “Have you heard about Maya Parrish?”

  “Yes,” he said, hoping to head her off. “I understand she’s moved back to town.”

  “That’s right.” Nodding decisively, she added, “I hear she’s divorced.”

  Jack made a noncommittal sound though he was well aware of Maya’s marital status.

  Mrs. Delaney leaned forward and said knowingly, “Maya never took his name, you know. There’s something odd about that.”

  Not really, he thought. “A lot of professional women keep their maiden name.”

  Mrs. Delaney sniffed. “I don’t hold with that foolishness.”

  Jack squelched the urge to defend Maya. What did it matter what Mrs. Delaney thought?

  “Didn’t you and Maya date in high school?” She raised an eyebrow and damn near winked at him.

  “Yes,” he said in his most imposing, abrupt voice. It had no effect on Mrs. Delaney. That was the problem with someone who’d known you all your life.

  “Maya’s little girl is the same age as Gina,” she went on. “The girl’s name is Carmen. Carmen Collins.” She sniffed again.

  He’d known Maya had a daughter, but had forgotten she was around Gina’s age. Great. Daughters the same age meant they’d see each other at school functions. Maybe Carmen wouldn’t have the same interests as Gina. His and Maya’s paths didn’t necessarily have to cross.

  Oh,
get over it, he told himself. All that was years ago and you’ve both been married since. Running into Maya again shouldn’t be a big deal. He’d probably find out he wasn’t even attracted to her anymore.

  Still, by the end of the day, Jack had developed a nervous tic every time someone brought up Maya. Which was every single patient. He wished he had “Yes, I know Maya Parrish is home to stay” tattooed on his forehead. Even that wouldn’t stop the talk, though.

  He had a feeling nothing would.

  Returning to Marietta had been the right thing to do, Maya thought as she shopped in the local grocery store for a few things she needed to make her famous variation of the dessert, Death by Chocolate. Moving had been the right thing for Carmen as well as herself. Months ago, when Carmen’s father, Graham Collins, had told them he was getting remarried and moving to Europe, Carmen had been terribly upset. While she liked her father’s new wife, she wasn’t ready for him to move so far away. The promise of trips to Europe to stay with Graham and Adele didn’t seem to help much, either.

  But for Maya it was a sign. There was nothing keeping her in Texas now. Her company, Maya’s Models, was slowly becoming Internet only, so she could base herself anywhere. Over the early summer, Carmen had been on the verge of getting in with the wrong crowd at her school, which gave Maya that much more reason to move.

  As for Maya herself, she’d never thought she’d be back to stay. But over the years she’d found that she missed Montana and the mountains. And oddly enough, she missed small town life. Her sister Amy lived in Marietta now too. Another person who’d lived elsewhere and returned.

  Maya had especially missed Montana during the Texas summers. The coolness of Montana summer mornings beat the hell out of Dallas traffic jams in the sweltering heat of the summer all to hell and back.

  Marietta had grown, of course, but it was still a small town, with that lovely small town flavor. Of course, there was also the “everyone knows everything about you and your business” angle of living in a small town, but that seemed a small price to pay for such a great place to raise her child. Marietta was a beautiful place, situated to the north of Paradise Valley, in between the Absaroka Mountains and the Gallatin Range. Copper Mountain rose to the west of town, lending dignity and majesty to the view with its purple and white peaks, and the green of the Evergreens and spots of yellow where the Aspens had only just started to turn.

  There was only one possible fly in the ointment. One tiny little thing she was worried about. Living in the same town as Jack Gallagher again. Dr. Jack Gallagher now. Along with the mountains and her family, she’d left Jack behind when she left Marietta to pursue her modeling career, in Dallas, Texas.

  Jack Gallagher. Her almost fiancé, whom she’d almost jilted at the altar, the night of their high school graduation.

  Maya had plenty of time before she needed to worry about seeing Jack again. Right now, she was driving to the high school with her daughter in tow. Some bright soul had decided the Spirit Club should have a party shortly after school started, so that all the students and parents could get to know each other. The same bright soul had also decided to make it a potluck supper. Maya had volunteered to make her famous Death by Chocolate dessert. It was always a crowd pleaser. Not to mention, it was one of few desserts Maya knew how to make.

  She asked Carmen to help her carry everything in, since she not only had the glass compote full of the dessert, but also various bags of paper plates, napkins, and plastic cutlery. So much for that promise. Maya hadn’t even turned off the car before Carmen dashed off to see some friends. “Carmen, wait,” Maya called, watching her daughter’s retreating back. Typical, she thought. Determined to make only one trip, Maya balanced the heavy dish in one hand and the bags in the other and headed for the gym doors.

  Holding the compote carefully, she reached with her other hand for the double wide doors just as they swung open. She jumped back to avoid being smacked by them, losing her precarious grip on everything, including the dessert.

  “Da—darn it!” she yelled, just in time to see her beautiful masterpiece slide right out of her hands and land upside down on the door mat in front of the entryway. She stared at it with her mouth open, then looked up, prepared to rip someone’s head off.

  “Don’t you look where you’re go—” Maya broke off staring into those gorgeous green eyes she’d never forgotten. “Jack?”

  “Maya,” he said, looking as taken aback as she was. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”

  She bit back the obvious response, wondering why in the world the glass serving dish hadn’t broken, and why she’d thought it a good idea to bring anything glass to a high school party. The dish looked intact, though, but the dessert’s lovely layers were a thing of the past. The stupid thing had taken all afternoon to make, an afternoon she’d spent cooking when she should have been working.

  Jack and she knelt down at the same time, bumping foreheads. They both drew back as if burned. “Let me help,” he said. “Maybe we can salvage it.”

  “Oh, sure,” she said, dripping sarcasm. “We’ll just turn it over and hope no one notices the nasty dirty crap from the floor on the top.” Why did it have to be Jack? And why now? She’d known she’d run into him after moving back to Marietta, but she’d hoped to have more time before seeing the man whose heart she’d broken all those years ago.

  He didn’t look heartbroken now. Sexy, good-looking, smoking hot, maybe, but sure as hell not heartbroken.

  He flashed her his trademark smile, another thing she’d never forgotten. “Do you have a piece of cardboard? That will make it easier to turn over without losing all of it.”

  Maya fished around in her bags and came up with a large paper plate. Jack took it, deftly sliding it beneath the dish and flipping the whole thing upright. “Here you go. We can scrape the top layer off and it will be good as new.”

  Death by Chocolate looked more like death warmed over. What had started as layers were now a jumbled mess, the remaining whipped topping sprinkled with little bits of dirt and debris.

  “Just leave it alone,” she snapped, trying to wrestle the dish back from him. “You’ve done enough.”

  He had the nerve to grin at her. “It’s a dessert, Maya. Not a priceless work of art. Besides, there’s plenty of food. Here, let me.” Rather than continuing to struggle, she let go of the dish. Taking the serving spoon from her unresisting hand, he carried the dessert over to the trashcan and scraped off the top layer. “There. It’s fine.” He handed it to her.

  “That depends on your definition of fine.” She inspected her once beautiful dessert and sighed. “At least the serving dish isn’t broken.” She should have known better than to use a glass compote, but that’s what she always used to serve this dish.

  Jack picked up her bags from the floor and opened the gym doors. Resigned, Maya accepted his help and walked through.

  “It’s good to see you again, Maya. I’d heard you moved back to Marietta recently,” Jack said walking beside her towards the food tables. “How are you liking it?”

  Heartbroken, hah! she thought. He was all grown up and smoothly sure of himself. “It’s not as if I’ve never been back,” she reminded him.

  “Living here is different from visiting.”

  “True. A lot has changed, especially here at the high school. The old gym was nothing like this one.” Maya looked around, taking in the polished basketball court, the retractable bleachers, the giant scoreboard hanging above it all. “How did they pay for it?”

  “Fundraisers and generous donors,” Jack said. “Same goes for the new football stadium. Have you seen it yet?”

  “Yes, I went to the first game with my sister Amy. Go Grizzlies,” she added, smiling.

  “Everyone is excited about this year’s team. We have high hopes for them.”

  “I take it Marietta is still football crazy.”

  He laughed. “Did you ever doubt it? Marietta hasn’t changed that much.”

  Ap
parently not. “There are some tables set up against the far wall,” she said, gesturing towards the long tables, decorated in red and white, the school colors. “We can take all this stuff over there.”

  “You never said whether or not you liked being back,” Jack prompted.

  Maya set down the compote, wincing again at the looks of it. “I like it. It’s Carmen I’m not so sure about.”

  “Your daughter?” he asked, as he set out the paper and plastic goods Maya had brought.

  Maya nodded. “She’s fifteen. Not a good age to uproot her and move across the country, but when I inherited the house on Bramble Lane from my great-great-aunt, I decided it was a sign.” Especially since it had coincided with her ex marrying and moving to Europe, and no longer having alternate weekends with their daughter. “I wanted a fresh start for both Carmen and me.” Maya glanced around, looking for Carmen without success.

  “A fresh start?” he asked.

  “It’s a long story. But both Carmen and I needed a change.”

  “You must have liked Texas, since you’ve been living there ever since you left Marietta.”

  He’d kept up with her. The knowledge perked her up. She didn’t want to analyze why. “I did. I still do. But Carmen started to get involved with the wrong crowd and I wanted her out of there before she got in any deeper.”

  “Marietta High is a good choice, then. My daughter Gina is Carmen’s age. She’s in Spirit Club, too, obviously. I’ll ask Gina to be sure and introduce Carmen to some of her friends.”

  “That’s very nice, but maybe we should just see how it plays out without our help. They’re pretty contrary at this age. At least, Carmen is. The last thing we want is for them to think we’re pushing them to be friends.”

  He laughed. “You’re right about that. Okay, we’ll leave them on their own.”

  He seemed about to say something, but a woman Maya didn’t know came up and took over the conversation. Jack introduced the two of them, but the other woman clearly had no interest in Maya, choosing instead to hang on Jack’s every word.