Hometown Hope

by Laurel Blount

  He kissed Anna Delaney.

  He couldn’t believe this was happening. Somewhere in the farthest corner of his brain, his last functioning brain cells were shooting up warning flares like crazy.

  He couldn’t have cared less.

  “Hoyt!”

  Mitch’s urgent call coming from the direction of the Connors’ kitchen had the effect of a shrilling alarm pulling him out of a dream. Hoyt broke the kiss and drew back. Anna’s eyes fluttered dazedly open, and she stumbled backward across the crunchy needles, her cheeks flaming.

  “Hoyt, come here!” He glanced over to see Mitch beckoning from the kitchen door. “Hurry!”

  Anna looked like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. He couldn’t understand much about what had just happened, but he understood that. He felt the same way.

  He’d just kissed her. This was huge. So huge, in fact, that he was kind of amazed that the world was still right side up.

  “Anna.” Her name came out hoarse and uncertain. Then he stopped because he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say at this point. “I—”

  “You’d better go see what he wants.” Anna’s voice didn’t sound any too steady, either.

  “I guess so.” Hoyt hesitated for another awkward second before turning toward the house. The minute he did, the thinking part of his brain jolted back awake and started buzzing like a freshly charged power drill.

  What did you just do, you idiot?

  “Hoyt.” Mitch had walked out into the yard to meet him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt—whatever it was I interrupted. But this is...well, it’s important.”

  Chloe zipped by them, sparing her husband one quick, disapproving glance. “You could have waited five seconds longer,” she murmured before lifting her voice. “Anna? Come back inside. Mitch is right, although his timing stinks. This is important.”

  “What is it?” Hoyt was having a hard time focusing. His brain had that kiss playing on some kind of loop.

  What was Anna thinking right now?

  A lot...maybe everything...depended on the answer to that question.

  “You’d better come see for yourself.” Mitch pushed him back into the kitchen.

  Things seemed normal. Jess and three of the younger kids were on the floor, absorbed in a lively game of tug-of-war with the puppy.

  The hair on the back of Hoyt’s neck prickled. Calm, steady Mitch was shaking with excitement. Something big was up, and Hoyt sure hoped he’d guessed what it was.

  He pushed the kiss to the back of his mind and leveled a don’t-play-with-me look at his friend. “Mitch, what’s going on?”

  “Just hold on a second. And listen.” Mitch raised his voice. “Jess? Honey? What’s the puppy’s name?”

  Hoyt’s overtaxed heart stammered to a complete halt, and his fingers clenched around the doorjamb. He zeroed in on his daughter and waited with everything he was worth.

  Jess teasingly—and silently—wiggled the old sock the puppy had gripped in his teeth.

  “Jess?” Mitch prompted gently.

  Jess looked up from her game, gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. “Uncle Mitch! I’ve told you and told you already. His name is Chester.”

  Hoyt’s normally trustworthy knees surprised him by trying to buckle for the second time in one night.

  “She’s talking to me,” Mitch murmured. “Chloe, too, and the kids. When my brothers are in the room, she gets quiet again. But this is still a big step forward, right?”

  There was no way Hoyt was going to be able to answer around the wad of feelings stuck in his throat, so he just nodded.

  Yeah. It was.

  He crossed the room and picked up his daughter, squeezing her gently against his chest and murmuring words that didn’t even make sense in her ear. So much for Dr. Mills’s instructions not to make a big deal out of Jess’s progress.

  He didn’t care. This was a big deal.

  Anna was standing in the doorway, and when he caught her eye, she offered him a shaky smile. Chloe narrowed her eyes and shot a thoughtful glance between Anna and Hoyt. Then she looped one arm around Anna’s waist and gave her a friendly squeeze.

  “This is definitely a day for surprises, isn’t it?”

  Anna glanced at Hoyt, and the minute their eyes met, he was right back under those pine trees again.

  Surprises didn’t even begin to cover it.

  * * *

  At three thirty the following afternoon, Anna stood behind her checkout counter, a phone cradled against her shoulder. She was ringing up a sale for a customer and using one foot to nudge Chester away from the trash can he seemed intent on knocking over for the third time.

  Anna mouthed a silent thank-you to the customer as she handed over his bag of books and then refocused her attention on the phone conversation. “Bobby, I really don’t think you should pay the full face value for the gift certificates. What about a twenty percent discount?” She listened, frowning. “Well, no. I wouldn’t want to mess up your accounting. Okay, if you say so. I’ll get them printed out and ready for you to pick up this afternoon.”

  The bells on the door chimed just as she ended the call. She glanced up, her heart pounding. It wasn’t Hoyt, just a middle-aged couple who joined the other customers already browsing through her shelves.

  She hadn’t had a Saturday this busy since...well, ever. She’d hardly found time to walk Chester, not that he was far enough along in his house training for that to matter very much. She had two books on puppy care sitting beside the cash register, and she planned to study them tonight. In the meantime, she’d carpeted the whole area behind the checkout counter with the disposable absorbent pads Chloe had handed her last night.

  “I’ve tried to start training him for you, but your new buddy here has a head like a rock,” Chloe had warned her with a rueful smile.

  Anna didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, Chester had no faults. Last night he’d whined in the crate Hoyt had provided, and Anna had used the excuse to unlatch the door and cuddle the puppy in her bed. They’d stayed that way all night, his cold little nose burrowed into her neck, his small warmth solid and comforting against her side.

  No, Chester wasn’t the one frustrating her today.

  She’d been expecting Hoyt all day, but he hadn’t come by yet. They hadn’t had any opportunity to talk after...what had happened. Jess had chattered all the way home, while Chester filled in the gaps with morose howls from his carrier.

  Hoyt had thrown her one long look as he’d pulled up in front of the store, but “I’ll see you tomorrow” was all he’d said.

  She’d stayed awake most of the night, stroking her snoring puppy and reliving that unbelievable kiss under the pine trees. She’d taken that moment apart and put it back together more times than she could count. Unfortunately, when morning had finally dawned, she’d been no closer to figuring it out.

  She was no expert on kisses. She’d experienced embarrassingly few of them, as a matter of fact. But as far as she could tell, Hoyt had certainly kissed her like he’d meant it. She’d expected him to be banging on her door first thing this morning. And he definitely wouldn’t catch her sporting crazy hair and yoga pants this time. She’d taken extra care with her clothes and her makeup, and she’d come downstairs with her squirming puppy half an hour before her regular time.

  As the clock had ticked away the minutes, she’d learned something.

  It was humiliating to have a handsome man show up unexpectedly when you were wearing your rattiest outfit and your hair looked like you hadn’t brushed it in a month, true. But it was even more humiliating to fix yourself up for that man, expecting him to drop by after he’d surprised the life out of you by kissing you right out of the blue—and then have him not show up at all.

  The door chimed again. Anna jerked her head up for the hundredth time that
day, but again, it wasn’t Hoyt. Instead, Chloe Connor walked into Pages, looking around herself as she adjusted a tangerine scarf she had flung over her shoulders. She caught sight of Anna, smiled and advanced with a purposeful step.

  “Hi! I’ve finally found a minute to check out your bookstore. I haven’t been in here two seconds, and I’m already kicking myself for not finding time to come in sooner! This place is charming.”

  She opened the clasps of the small purse that hung from her forearm and dug out a slip of paper. “Might as well jump right in. Here’s a list of books I’d like you to order. I always spend part of the summer looking for new books to add to my classroom library. The school budget’s really tight, so I usually just pay for them myself. Can you get them for me?”

  “Of course.” Anna scanned the elegant scrawl of writing. There were at least a dozen books listed. “You want all of these?”

  “Absolutely. And I’m open to suggestions. If you know of any others I should take a look at, just let me know.”

  “I’m sure I can find some more for you to consider, and Pages offers a discount for educators. I’ll get these ordered right away, and they’ll probably be here in a week or so.”

  “Perfect. I’ll have another list by then, probably.” Chloe’s brown eyes twinkled warmly. “I may as well warn you, I’m planning to be your very best customer. Although—” she glanced around the room, one eyebrow arched “—it looks like I’m going to have some stiff competition.”

  Anna smiled as she looked around her store. Most of the people milling around carried promising stacks of books in their arms, and she’d already processed more sales today than she had all last month. “Hoyt helped me set up some cross-promotions with local business owners. I was skeptical about it, but I have to say, it’s made an amazing difference.”

  In more ways than one. Yes, the promotions Stork and Bobby were running were bringing new customers in. And earlier today, when Bailey Quinn had popped in during her lunch hour to brainstorm ideas about how Bailey’s and Pages could work together, they’d come up with some really interesting possibilities.

  Best of all, she and Bailey had laughed together as Chester growled his high-pitched puppy growl and tugged on Anna’s sandal strap. Bailey had lingered to play with the puppy and pick out a newly released mystery to buy. Now Chloe was here with a nice, long list of books, and Pages was teeming with shoppers.

  And Hoyt Bradley had kissed her last night.

  What was that wonderful Bible passage in the twenty-third psalm? My cup runneth over. That was exactly how Anna felt right now, as if the life she’d been longing for had suddenly caught up with her and buried her in unexpected blessings. It was all wonderful and overwhelming—and a little bit scary.

  She heard a thump and looked down to see that Chester had managed to conquer the trash can again. He looked up at her, a sticky note stuck on the end of his nose, his tail thumping happily, as if he’d done her a favor.

  Anna laughed, and Chloe tiptoed to peer over the counter. She made a tsking noise behind her teeth. “I see your new friend is keeping you busy. I hope you’re happy with him. I warned Hoyt that surprising a woman with a puppy might not be such a good idea, but you know Hoyt. Once he gets an idea in his head, he’s unstoppable.”

  “That’s true.” Strange how just the mention of Hoyt’s name made Anna’s stomach flip over. “But don’t worry. I’m very happy.” Avoiding Chloe’s eyes, Anna knelt down to gather up the trash.

  She wasn’t getting away from Chloe that easily. The other woman knelt, too, and restrained Chester, who was licking all the carefully applied makeup off the tip of Anna’s nose.

  “Good. I was worried about the dog, but I didn’t argue too much.” Chloe spoke softly so as not to be overheard. “I was too tickled to see Hoyt so anxious to surprise you. He’s locked himself in his grief for such a long time. I’d started to think this would never happen for him again, you know? For some people it’s like that. I’m glad I was wrong.” Her voice rippled with amusement. “From the look of that kiss Mitch interrupted we were both wrong. I’d say you and Hoyt are definitely dating now, wouldn’t you?”

  Anna bit her lip, and her eyes locked into Chloe’s friendly ones. “I haven’t seen him since then,” she admitted in a nervous rush. “I expected him to come by so we could talk, but he hasn’t.”

  “Oh, he will.” A smile warmed Chloe’s face. “Don’t you worry.” She turned Chester loose and stood.

  The puppy immediately went for the freshly refilled wastepaper basket. Chloe snagged it first and placed it safely on the other side of the baby gate Anna had rigged up to enclose the checkout area. “So there, you little monster,” she said sternly. “Now you have to behave yourself.”

  Chester yipped sharply. He plopped his fat bottom on the absorbent padding and tilted his head at Chloe and the now inaccessible trash.

  It was a perfect and simple solution. Anna shook her head. “Why didn’t I think of doing that?”

  Chloe laughed. “You have other things on your mind today. And speaking of that—” she nodded toward the wide store windows “—I think maybe it’s time for me to leave.”

  Anna followed Chloe’s gaze. Hoyt’s work truck was parked by the curb just outside the store. He was sitting in the cab, with his phone held to his ear.

  Chapter Twelve

  Outside Pages, Hoyt listened for the tenth time to the voice mail message Dr. Mills had left on his phone.

  “Hi, Hoyt.” The normally chipper therapist sounded weary. “Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. That’s fabulous news about Jess. Sounds like she’s making steady gains. I wish I could come back to Georgia to do an evaluation of her progress in person. Unfortunately, my mother has taken a turn for the worse, and I’m not sure when I’ll get back home.”

  There was a pause before the older woman continued. “I listened to your most recent voice mail. You asked me to be honest with you, so I’m going to be. On the one hand, I think it’s wonderful that you’re considering a relationship. If you were my patient, I’d celebrate this as a huge milestone. But you aren’t my patient—Jess is. From that perspective, this situation causes me some concern. You’ve mentioned that you have a kind of up-and-down relationship with this Anna and that she’s been making plans to relocate. We know that Jess has a history of reacting very dramatically when maternal relationships are disrupted. So, I suppose my question is, do you see yourself with this woman long-term? Because if you’re not absolutely certain...until Jess’s recovery has solidified, you might want to exercise some caution. But again, since I’m following all this long-distance, I might not have the full picture. Until I’m back in the office, I’d like you to consider allowing the school psychologist, Dr. Lee, to work with Jess. She’s excellent, and I’m sure she’ll be able to help you figure—”

  Hoyt closed out his voice mail. He’d heard what he needed to hear.

  He stared through the windshield of his truck. He’d spent most of last night thinking about what Dr. Mills had said. He’d still needed to hear it one more time before walking into the bookstore and facing Anna.

  He’d landed himself in the middle of a mess.

  For the thousandth time, his mind made a beeline back to that moment under the pine trees, to the feel of Anna’s lips under his own. Why had he kissed her? He still wasn’t sure. But what he did know was every time he thought about looking down into Anna’s clear green eyes, so close he could count the little freckles spattered across her nose, all he wanted to do was find some excuse to kiss her again.

  He’d had every intention of doing just that—right up until the moment he’d listened to the voice mail and heard Dr. Mills say absolutely certain and long-term.

  If it wasn’t for Jess, he’d risk moving ahead with Anna and see where that unexpected kiss could take them. But there was nothing absolutely certain where he and Anna Delaney were co
ncerned. He sure couldn’t risk Jess’s recovery on the slim chance that a woman two shakes away from getting a PhD would want a long-term relationship with a construction worker who’d barely scraped through high school.

  But he couldn’t leave that kiss hanging in the air between them, either. He owed Anna more than that. He had to come clean and straighten this out.

  Chloe Connor was exiting Pages when he rounded the front of his truck.

  “Hoyt! What a surprise to see you here!” The teasing tone in Chloe’s voice made it clear that she wasn’t in the least surprised.

  He nodded to Chloe with a tight smile, and the amusement faded from her face. She stopped dead on the sidewalk, her dark brows pulled together. “Hoyt? Is everything all right?”

  “I can’t talk now, Chloe. Sorry.” Avoiding her concerned eyes, he edged past her and into the bookstore.

  There were several people waiting in line at the cash register, but Anna looked up as soon as she heard him come in. Her eyes met his, and the electric shock of that connection jolted him all the way across the room. There was something new in Anna’s eyes now when she looked at him, something soft and warm that hadn’t been there before he’d lost his mind and kissed her.

  Something that only made what he had to do that much harder.

  But all she said was “Hi, Hoyt! Be with you in just a minute.”

  He watched as she waited on her customers. Anna helped them all patiently, but her eyes kept darting over to meet his. When the last shopper had taken his book and left, she sighed and gave him a bright smile.

  “Sorry about that. Wouldn’t you know it? Every single person in the store came up to the cash register at the same time. Not that I’m complaining,” she added hastily. “I’m grateful for the business. If this keeps up, I’ll be out of the red before too much longer.” She offered him another smile. “I have you to thank for that. Bobby and Stork have been huge helps. And even Carl comes in to buy a book about every other day. Although I’m not entirely sure what he’s doing with them. The topics are a little...surprising. Today he bought one on making origami animals.”