Snowed in with the Single Dad
Page 24
The babies were I-smell-bacon unhappy.
“Please don’t tell me that decision makes you feel better.” When she didn’t deny it, Mitch put his arm around her, resting his hand on her hip. “It doesn’t make me feel better. For the record, it makes me want to shout at something.”
Laurel refused to look at him, at the good man she was giving up for the good of all involved. “Mitch, you don’t understand.”
“Oh, I understand all right. In your head...” He touched her temple with his. “You believe going back is the best way to protect everyone you care about. Ashley and her career. Your babies. Maybe even me and Gabby.”
He read her all too well. “But if you know this, then you realize it isn’t the right thing to do.”
“Have you forgotten what’s important in life? The joy of becoming a mother? The passion for a business in a place that your grandfather loved? Putting the needs of your kids first? Thinking about what makes you happy?” He whispered in her ear. “Like the love of a good man?”
“Mitch, it’s much more complicated than you make it sound.”
“Is it?” He pulled her closer, his voice enticing. “You’re up here because you love this spot and you don’t want to leave.”
“Yes, but—”
“You’re in my arms because you love me and you don’t want to leave.”
“Yes, but—”
“If your biological baby daddy was Joe Schmo from Cleveland, you wouldn’t leave.” He edged apart from her so he could turn and take her gloved hands in his, so he could stare into her eyes and she could see into his. “You wouldn’t leave this valley. You wouldn’t leave Second Chance.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “You wouldn’t leave me.”
He was right.
He was right, and he knew it. But that didn’t change anything.
Tears filled her eyes. “You don’t know what a circus my life could become if the situation with Wyatt isn’t handled right. He could call me unfit. He could try to take my babies away from me. He could ruin Ashley’s reputation, her credibility, her career.”
“Laurel Monroe, I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen.” He sounded so certain. “And if by chance it does, I don’t care. I love you. I love how you like to dress up. I love that you’re creative enough to make things from scratch. I love that you want everyone to be happy and get along.”
“But—”
“I love you. That’s all that matters.” His gaze was kind and yet filled with regret. “I should have remembered how much I loved you when all your knots unraveled. I underestimated you, how good a person you truly are and what a positive example you’ve been. I also underestimated Gabby. I’ll be apologizing to you both for the rest of my life.”
The babies fluttered happily.
“The point is, I love you. I can’t live without you.” Mitch dropped down on one knee. “And I’m no slouch in the legal department. Your mother has a plan? So what.” He shrugged. “Shane and I have a plan, too. And do you know what it involves?”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to kidnap Wyatt and bring him to Second Chance.” She was joking through her tears. Mitch loved her. He was willing to endure the circus that came with the Hollywood Monroes.
Not that she was going to let him, but she loved him for suggesting it.
“Kidnapping? That’s close, but no. I want to marry you. Let me rephrase. I have to marry you, because I can’t live without you. And when Ashley brings Wyatt to our wedding—as her date—”
“Oh, Mitch. No. He’ll think that they... That he... And then she...”
“Ashley can handle herself,” he reassured her. “At least, that’s what she told Shane when we spoke on the phone this morning.”
Laurel’s spine straightened. “You called Ashley?”
“Technically, Shane called Ashley. Woke her up at 5:00 a.m. Explained that you needed her help, for once, and she was ready to put Wyatt on a plane tomorrow.” His gaze turned sly. “That is, if we were going to get married tomorrow.”
“Oh, Mitch.” He stole her breath.
“That is, she could have gotten him on a plane if Wyatt was in town.”
“He’s not in LA?”
“Nope. Apparently, he just left to shoot an action movie in South America and won’t be back for four months.” He squeezed her hands. “So you see, if you let your mother drag you back to California, it would’ve been for nothing. The man isn’t even there.”
If he thought that relieved her stress, he was wrong. “Four months.” Her voice rose louder than his had ever done since she’d come to Second Chance. “I’m going to have to live with uncertainty for four months?” She stood. “I need to fly to South America.”
“Hold up.” Mitch drew her into his lap. “I’ve been talking about love and marriage, and you’ve said nothing.”
She kissed his cheek. “I said a lot.”
“Nothing about love,” he grumbled.
He loves us. The babies swooned.
“I love you, Mitch.” Laurel removed her gloves and framed his cheeks with her hands, needing to touch him skin to skin. And then she pressed her lips to his, needing the reassurance of his kiss. “Why wouldn’t I love you? You remind me of what’s important when I get all tangled up in protecting others and keeping the peace. You remind me that I’m important.”
“You’re one of the most important people in my life,” he murmured, touching her nose with his. “Let me help you with this. We can face this together, I promise.”
She closed her eyes, knowing she should refuse, but unable to do so. “All right, Mitch. I love you. I love that you aren’t afraid to stand up to people in power. And I love that you aren’t afraid to extend an olive branch and admit that you’re wrong.”
He drew back slightly. “I was wrong? When?”
“You were wrong about me opening a boutique in the mercantile. If I stay, it can’t fail. Even if it doesn’t make much money, it’ll be a place that brings happiness to me.”
“I was wrong,” Mitch admitted with a broad grin. “If it brings you happiness, it is a huge success.” He kissed her briefly. “Are you sure you don’t want to pursue that dress design contract?”
“There will have to be a new set of terms.” His eyes softened, and his smile was the kind one that had won her heart weeks ago.
“Now, that’s exactly what a lawyer would say.”
He made her forget complications. He reminded her to be happy. How could she ever have considered leaving him?
“Marry me, Mitch Kincaid. Marry me and my babies.”
His smile turned wicked. “I thought I was the one doing the asking.”
“Humor me.”
“Yes.” He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her long and slow, as if they sat on a warm beach in the Bahamas and not on a cold, snowy slope in Second Chance, Idaho. “Yes.”
EPILOGUE
THE EMAIL IN Mitch’s inbox was from the historical society.
It was a reply back to his query from two weeks ago.
Since Laurel had agreed to marry him, or him her, depending upon who you asked, Holden had left as soon as the pass to Boise was open, taking the sulking Dragon Lady with him.
Although Dr. Carlisle hadn’t accepted the position of town physician, she hadn’t had Shane, Zeke or Roy arrested. In fact, she claimed the two days she was at the inn were the best two days of sleep she’d had in months.
Gabby’s nose had emerged from the bruises, as small and pert as ever. Those bruises had earned her the respect of her elementary school peers, but she was glad to have her old face return. She hadn’t worn makeup since. What she had done was dedicate her evenings to knitting scarves. She might make enough to buy a phone yet.
Laurel and Sophie were making slow progress on their retail endeavors across the road. During breaks in
the snow, others in Second Chance came to help put the buildings in order. Flip and Odette had agreed to sell their work, and Roy had agreed to help Sophie go through other buildings to find items to sell.
Laurel entered the inn with Shane and the twins. The boys shucked their boots and jackets and ran across the room to Zeke, begging him for a game of checkers. Shane was wearing a new pair of sensible snow boots. He had yet to wear a pair of blue jeans or snow pants, but there was hope for him yet.
Laurel came to stand beside Mitch, wrapping her arms around him. “Shane, I don’t want you to drive me to my doctor’s appointment. The last thing I need is my doctor upset to see her would-be kidnapper.”
Mitch covered one of her arms with one of his as his heart filled with the love of her presence, especially at the feel of an ever-growing baby bump. “Since I’m going to be Laurel’s labor coach, I’m the only one allowed to drive her to the doctor.”
“Dr. Carlisle was our best and only lead.” Shane flopped onto the couch. “We have to keep things running smoothly here if we want to convince Holden that Second Chance is worth preserving. My consultant’s report is due in three weeks and who knows what he’ll recommend.”
Mitch opened the email. He had to read it three times before the words sank in: Second Chance was a candidate for historical protection.
“Does that email say...?” Laurel leaned over his shoulder to read the missive.
“Uh, Shane.” Mitch grinned. “You might want to come over here. I found just what we need to save Second Chance.”
* * *
In case you missed the first installment of
The Mountain Monroes, check out
Kissed by the Country Doc
by Melinda Curtis,
available at www.Harlequin.com!
Coming next, sparks fly for
Sophie and Zeke in
Rescued by the Perfect Cowboy!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Almost a Bride by Rula Sinara.
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Almost a Bride
by Rula Sinara
CHAPTER ONE
GRAYSON ZALE BIT back a curse as he ducked between the weather-beaten posts that hoisted the pier at Turtleback Beach over the clawing surf. He crouched down, pulse racing, as he pretended to reach for a shell stranded by the low tide, and waited for the guy in the backward cap and sunglasses to finish taking a panoramic shot with his cell phone. The last thing Gray needed was to have his face plastered on social media and recognized by the wrong people. Or worse yet, what if this guy wasn’t some random tourist? Not many tourists ventured this far south along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and those who did usually stayed away from the areas roped off and marked as turtle breeding grounds. Most vacationers settled on staying in towns farther north of Hatteras Island, like Duck or Kill Devil Hills, where they could have their pick of hotels, amenities, shops and attractions, like the memorial where the Wright brothers took their first flight. Granted, Turtleback and neighboring towns, like Rodanthe or Avon, did get some visitors—usually more peace- and nature-loving types. It was just that being cautious and suspicious had become a twisted, unsettling part of who he was...like a leech or parasite, unwilling to let go.
Laddie, Gray’s rough collie rescue, positioned himself stoically between Gray and the stranger. No barking or growling. That was a good sign, but getting caught in an online photo was a threat in and of itself. It was more than out of the question. It was a matter of life or death.
Sure, he was the town’s veterinarian, which meant just about everyone had come to know him in some capacity or another since he’d landed in town five years ago. He was their pet’s doc, a friend of a friend, the guy who grabbed his coffee and bear claw at the local bake shop the second it opened at six in the morning with Laddie ever at his side. He was the guy they’d wave to as he took off on a motorcycle ride down Highway 12. But as much as he’d integrated himself into the town, he’d also become adept at skirting photos, and he almost always wore his “Save the Turtles” ball cap and Oakley sunglasses when walking the beach during the busier summer season, just in case he did end up in the background of a tourist’s photograph. He took every precaution to stay under the radar and live a low-key life.
Nonetheless, it was a tiny town. Everyone knew everyone and news traveled faster than the infamous riptides could suck a person out to sea and drown them. He was surprised he’d survived the gossip and side-glances when he was abandoned at the altar by Mandi Rivers, the town’s sweetheart and former mayor’s daughter, two years ago. As privately as he lived his life, having his heart shredded so publicly had been unbearable—not because of humiliation or pride, but because she must have known that having his personal life laid out for everyone to dissect was akin to physically stabbing him in the heart and leaving him to bleed out. Yet, she’d done it. She had deliberately hurt him. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what hurt more...the pain of losing the only woman he’d ever loved and trusted, or the pain of knowing that she had cast him off like fisherman’s chum and never looked back.
He glanced across the waves toward the horizon. It hadn’t been the first time everything in his life had been cast away, but Mandi’s leaving him would probably be the one loss he’d never fully recover from. He knew this because every time she entered his mind, a spot deep in his chest, beneath bone and heart, cramped and ached with pain and longing. And what bothered him even more was that he couldn’t, in all honesty, place all the blame on her. He’d destroyed his own life. Every choice he made seemed to doom him—not that keeping that truth from her about his past had been a choice. But she had wanted more from him than he could give. Openness and honesty. And telling her that he honestly loved her clearly hadn’t been enough.
The stranger’s voice broke through the rhythmic cries of seagulls and crashing surf as he called out a name. A woman emerged from the tall grasses that flanked a narrow, sandy path leading from the road to the beach. Similar paths, some paved with weathered, wooden planks and some not, ran all along the Outer Banks. This one trailed over a short sand dune that masked the view of the road beyond. The young woman hoisted a toddler onto her hip and adjusted what looked like a baby supply bag that hung from one shoulder as she trudged through the sand toward the man, who belatedly tucked the phone camera in his back pocket and jogged over to give her a hand. He planted a kiss on her lips and took the child in his arms. Husband? Partner? Boyfriend? Whatever the relationship, one thing was clear. They were a family. Something Gray would never have again.
“Not this time. Come on.”
The calming scent of salt water filled Gray’s lungs once again. He tucked a shell in his pocket, stood and started for the lighthouse at the end of the beach. Laddie jogged alongside without complaint, distancing himself from Gray only long enough to skirt a log of driftwood strangled by seaweed. His ears perked at the sound of that toddler giggling in the distance, but he stayed on course for home.
The poor dog adored children, so much so that there were times when Gray could have sworn his expressive face and eyes seemed to say, “When are you going to get me some human kids of my own to look out for?” Yeah. That wasn’t happening.
His past had ceased to exist five years ago, and the only people who’d come close to being family since then were Mandi and her grandmother Nana. His throat constricted and a sudden gust of wind slapped against his chest, forcing him to exhale. As of three days ago, Nana was no longer with them, a fact that still felt surreal. Nana was gone. There would be no more waving to her during his evening jog or stopping by for an afternoon cup of coffee. There would be no more deals or compromises where Nana would insist on his coming over for a home-cooked meal and he’d agree only if she let him pick up groceries for her. She would no longer be there to comb the beach for turtle nests with him at the crack of dawn—her favorite activity and time of day. As for Mandi?
Gray muttered a curse as he passed the white, two-story beach cottage that everyone knew as Nana’s house. Raised on solid posts, like most homes here because of tropical storms and hurricanes, it stood much taller than a standard two-story and boasted just a touch of Victorian flair with gingerbread trim along the upper gable and around the small turret-style attic. That tiny space was more of a lookout and storage nook than a full room, according to Nana, who had always kept it locked. It was the window to the room just beneath it that caught his eye now. Nana had always referred to it as Mandi’s room, even if she had technically lived with her father. That room beneath the attic space had been Mandi’s spot, made cozy with an old sofa, painting easel and numerous canvases stacked against the wall. It had been her hideaway. The one place he knew he could always find her if her father had been giving her a hard time about seeing too much of Gray. Well, John Rivers got what he wanted.