Hometown Reunion

by Lisa Carter

  But like the ex–Green Beret operative he was, Jax rallied to the unexpected. He cleared his throat. “Sir, if I could have a brief word with you?”

  The reverend swiped his hand over his face. “Is this about my daughter?”

  Jax went into parade formation, arms at his sides, posture straight. “I’d like to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage, sir.”

  Silence.

  “I’d like your permission to ask Darcy to marry me, sir.” As if the reverend had another daughter besides Darcy.

  An inexplicable sadness lined his face. “She’s not here, Jaxon.”

  The plan wasn’t unfolding as expected, but he’d been trained to adapt to changing conditions. “With your permission, sir, I’ll wait.” He gestured toward the tree house.

  “You don’t understand, Jaxon. She’s gone.”

  His heart hammered. “When will she be back?”

  “We love you, son, and we always hoped...” Harold Parks looked away. “But she’s not coming back, Jaxon. She left first thing this morning for Florida.”

  A roaring filled his head. Surely he’d misheard Darcy’s dad.

  “She wasn’t supposed to leave for two weeks.”

  “I’m sorry, Jaxon.” Her father touched his arm. “She came home yesterday afternoon and packed her bags. She phoned Chas to make sure you wouldn’t be left in the lurch during the busy Labor Day weekend.”

  A lurch was exactly what he was in without her. A lurch that had nothing to do with kayaking. Jax scrubbed his neck.

  This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be gone. Not after everything they’d shared. Not after everything they meant to each other.

  Not when all the unspoken promises might finally come true between them. God...where are You in this?

  “When did she leave?”

  “First light. We tried to get her to reconsider. But she was determined to go.”

  Taking a page from the Jaxon Pruitt playbook. He winced. Leaving without saying goodbye. Leaving unanswered the question he hadn’t had the chance to ask.

  Not true. Nausea roiled in his belly. A question he’d had years to ask, but hadn’t.

  “She’s gone...” Maybe if he said it out loud, he’d come closer to accepting it.

  Harold squeezed his arm. “By now she’s probably on the mainland, heading south.”

  Jax blanked out the next few minutes. His plan—the not-so-perfect plan—had fallen apart. He stumbled away, and found himself in the Pruitt kitchen.

  From the living room, a children’s show blared from the television. With Brody occupied, in short, clipped sentences, he told his parents what had happened next door. And what hadn’t.

  “Go after her,” his mother urged.

  “I think I already did that when I came back to Kiptohanock.” His chest squeezed. “Her response is clear. And this time, final.”

  His father’s face clouded. “I’m sorry, son. Let Brody spend the day with us. You need some time to yourself.”

  Dazed, Jax nodded. He should check on the part-timers at the store. Best to keep busy. As for processing the loss of Darcy? He had a feeling he’d be grappling with that for a long, long time.

  His mom wrapped her arms around him. “A son never gets too big for a hug.”

  Stooping, for a second he rested his head on her shoulder. “This son never gets too big to need a hug.”

  His dad pursed his lips. “We’ll bring Brody to your house after supper.”

  At the shop, Jax sent Savannah on the new winery paddle. Ozzie headed up a clamming trip. Business was brisk. His ideas and Darcy’s know-how were paying off. They made—his gut twisted—had made a great team.

  He kept close to the store. But when Chas arrived to lead the sunset paddle, Jax went home.

  The house was dark. Empty and soulless without Brody. He drifted from room to room, restless, consumed with grief.

  Until the gently lapping water called him outside. For better or worse, he was a born here. Meant to live his life within sight and sound of the water. It was who Jax was in the deepest part of himself.

  Out on the water, perhaps he’d find solace. Pour out his heart to God. Find a way to make peace with the hole Darcy’s leaving left in his heart.

  He glided out from the bank. His strokes smooth and even, he pushed himself, punishing himself, until his shoulders ached and he came to the end of his strength.

  Resting the paddle across his lap, he closed his eyes. Praying for wisdom. For courage. For Darcy, wherever she was.

  The kayak drifted, borne along by the swell of the incoming tide. He’d been drifting ever since Adrienne died. But here he’d found safe harbor. Because of Darcy.

  With her, he’d glimpsed the possibility of truly coming home. Without her, his mooring had been torn away. And when Brody realized yet another person he loved was never coming back...?

  Jax closed his eyes, his chin sinking onto his chest. Would the gains he’d made with Brody be undone? His son would need him now more than ever. And Jax would be there for him, whatever it took, no matter the cost. He wouldn’t let Brody down.

  But for now, he needed to get his act together. Find the courage to go on without Darcy. Take hold of the strength that could only come from God.

  Stilling his heart, he shut down the mushrooming panic. Quieted the clamoring images of what would never be.

  The screech of a seagull echoed across the salt marsh. Jax inhaled, releasing the breath slowly through his lips. His senses drank in the sounds and sensations around him. The plink of water dripping off the end of his paddle. The feel of the current against the kayak.

  Yielding to the pull of the tide, he floated on the water, surrendering his will to the One who’d always loved him the most and best. Despite Jax’s inability to see Him. Or his stubborn refusal to acknowledge Him.

  Peace soaked through the pain piercing his heart. Time to go home. To his son and the life they’d have to create without Darcy.

  Taking up the paddle, he turned the kayak. Dusk had fallen. He rounded the bend, expecting to find his home ablaze with lights, with his parents and Brody. But the house remained dark.

  His stroke quickened. Where were they? Had something happened? He sliced through the water.

  Jax drove the kayak onto the beach. He leaped out, the water cold against his ankles. As cold as the sudden fear gripping him.

  He dragged the boat above the waterline and came up the incline at a run. It was then he spotted the tiny pinpricks of light. The yellowish, greenish sparks skimming the blades of grass. Flitting through the branches of the trees. Hovering above the creek. Everywhere.

  At a rush of movement, he spotted his son. Zigzagging, Brody reached for the sky as he ran. Chasing the elusive lights.

  “Daddy! Whitening bugs.” His childish laughter floated across the yard.

  Lightning bugs. And behind Brody, another figure. In her hands, a canning jar glowed with fireflies.

  Jax’s throat closed.

  “Hello, Jax.”

  The flickering light illuminated her eyes. And in her gaze, he beheld a vulnerable uncertainty.

  Jax found his voice. “Long time no see, Darce.”

  Her lips curving, she held out the jar. “We’re catching fireflies.”

  “So I see.”

  “I got to North Carolina before I turned around.” She broke eye contact, searching for Brody. Following the sound of his laughter.

  “Why did you turn around, Darcy?”

  “It occurred to me the lightning bugs would be gone soon. And I couldn’t let summer end—” her voice wobbled “—without showing Brody the fireflies.”

  Brody dashed over. “Wook, Daddy.”

  A firefly had landed on his arm. Brody giggled as it tickled his skin. A glow pulsed from the tail end of the bug, and his son
’s eyes grew large.

  “Cool, Brode.”

  Opening its wings, the firefly lifted off and flew into the night. Brody gave chase.

  Darcy thrust the jar at Jax. “We’re having a contest to see who can catch the most.” Holes had been punched in the lid.

  “What does the winner get?” His voice went husky.

  A vein fluttered in the sweet hollow of her throat. “What do you want to win, Jax?”

  “You.” He handed the wrinkled paper to her.

  “What’s this?”

  “I’ll file the official forms at the courthouse, but I’m signing the business over to you.”

  Her mouth rounded. “What? Why, Jax?”

  “Because it’s rightfully yours.”

  “Kiptohanock Kayaking belongs to you, Jax. It’s your new start with Brody.”

  He brought her hand to his lips. “There is no life here for me without you. There is no home without you in it.” His voice cracked.

  “Jax...”

  “You, Darcy Parks, are the great love of my life. Marry me, Darce.” He gulped. “Please.”

  * * *

  Jaxon Pruitt loved her.

  “I—I haven’t lost you, have I?” he stammered, so unlike the ever confident, slightly arrogant Jax she’d known since childhood.

  Everything faded for Darcy. There was only Jax and her. In his eyes, a longing she could scarcely comprehend. A longing for her.

  “I went to the tree this morning, but you were gone. It’s been a bad day, Darce,” he whispered. “Believing you were gone forever. Thinking I’d missed my chance—again—to tell you how much I love you.”

  “You love me...” Her voice held a note of awe, as if she couldn’t quite believe it was true.

  He sighed. “I planned this whole thing to take place at our tree.”

  It had somehow always been their tree.

  She pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. “You and your plans, Jax.”

  Hands cupped, Brody ran over to them. The black-winged creature flashed in the cradle of his palms. “Dawcy! Daddy!”

  Jax’s brow furrowed. “I think it’s time to let the fireflies go.”

  She blinked. “Let them go? Why, Jax?”

  “No, Daddy!” Brody hugged his firefly to his chest. “Me catched them. Mine. They bewong to me.”

  “That’s what I used to think.” Jax shook his head. “But the fireflies don’t belong to us. They belong to God.”

  “No, Daddy. God not want my whitening bugs.”

  Jax laced his fingers, warm and strong, with Darcy’s. “They were given to us not to keep, but to enjoy for just a little while.”

  Goose bumps pebbled her skin. He wasn’t talking about lightning bugs. Her heart pounded.

  “Now it’s time to release them back to God, Who loves them more than we could ever imagine.”

  Jax’s words weren’t for Brody. His words were for her.

  “The past, with its mistakes and regrets.” His gaze locked on to hers. “The pain.”

  Brody’s lips poked out. “Me can’t, Daddy.”

  Handing her the jar, Jax squeezed Brody’s shoulder. “Yes, you can, my son. For the sake of our new life. A new love.” Jax’s dark eyes swallowed Darcy whole. “We can because we must.”

  A new life. For the sake of a new love... Her father had understood what she had not. His first family wasn’t lost.

  “We’ll release them together.” Her gaze shot to Jax. “I’ll help you, if you want me to.”

  “I want you.” Reaching out, he tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “But your dreams matter, Darce. If Florida is where your heart lies—”

  “My heart lies with you, Jaxon Pruitt.” She touched Brody’s cheek. “And with your son.”

  “Our son.” Jax’s mouth trembled. “God has given us the gift of making a life for him.” Then Jax bit his lip. “I mean... You never said... Does that mean yes?”

  “I love you, Jax.” She fingered the cleft in his chin. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She smiled through a blur of tears. “I’ll marry you both.” She cupped his jaw.

  Drawing her close, he took a deep breath. As if somehow he’d been afraid she wouldn’t marry him. Or love him.

  “I love you so much.” He pressed his lips to her palm. “I hope you won’t get tired of hearing me say that.”

  She smiled into his hand. “I won’t get tired.” A whiff of his sandalwood aftershave teased her nostrils, curling her toes.

  Brody raised the jar. “Fuwst count.”

  “One, two, three...” She let go of Jax to tick off the number of bugs crawling inside the glass.

  “Me thwee.”

  Darcy hugged Brody’s neck. “Not quite. Not yet.”

  Jax peered at the jar in Brody’s hands. “Four, five, six...”

  “Seben, ate...ten!” Brody grinned.

  Jax caught her eye. “We’ll keep working on his numbers.”

  “Me win!” Brody fist-pumped the air.

  “I’m the one who wins.” While Brody did a happy dance, Jax set her dangly earring in motion with his fingertip. “How does Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt of Kiptohanock Kayaking sound to you?”

  “Great.” She pursed her lips. “But what would you think of spending winters in the Keys?”

  “An adventurous life.” He slid his arm around her waist. “I love it.”

  Life with Jax Pruitt promised to be more than adventurous. It promised to be glorious.

  Darcy fluttered her lashes. “Maybe we could even throw in a treasure-hunting scuba dive in the Caribbean.”

  “I like the way you think.” He looked at her. “But always, there’ll be summers in Kiptohanock.”

  Was this really happening? To her, Darcy Parks, the PK from Kiptohanock, Virginia? Thank You, God...for dreams come true.

  Jax smiled at her in that half-lidded, ridiculously stomach-quivering way of his. “By the way... ” he jerked his thumb at the house “...I’ve got a box of lime-green freezer pops waiting for you.”

  Her happiness felt a mile wide and as tall as their tree. “My favorite.”

  “Mine, too. I think I’m also going to build a tree house here.” He winked. “For convenience sake, of course.”

  “And a swing.” Tears pricked her eyes. “Brody would love that.”

  “He’s not the only one.” Jax wound a strand of her hair around his finger. “I’ve always kind of had a thing for redheads, Darce.”

  “I’m not a—”

  “One redhead in particular.”

  Her heart turned over. “Oh.”

  She knelt beside Brody. “Did you say goodbye to the lightning bugs, Brody?”

  Crouching, Jax heard his knees crack. “Such fragile, beautiful creatures.” He sighed. “Here for such a short time.”

  She knew he was thinking of someone else, but Darcy no longer felt insecure about what Jax had shared with Adrienne. The past had ultimately made him a better man. And there was Brody. For him, Darcy would forever be grateful.

  After kissing her palm, Jax held her hand against his jaw. “But oh, the joy they bring to us.”

  She wasn’t second choice or a runner-up in Jax’s heart. What they had with each other was for them alone. New. Complete. Enough. Like the family her father had created with Darcy’s mom.

  Tears slid down her cheeks. “It will be okay, Brody.” Jax swam before her vision. “There’s always next summer.”

  “As many summers as God allows.” His voice deepened. “I love you, Darcy. I always have.”

  Her heart soared. Because this time...this time she was sure he meant it. She could trust Jax with her heart, her dreams, with everything.

  “I love you, too, Jax.”

  Brody nudged them. “’Kay, Daddy. I’m weddy.” He held on t
o the bottom of the jar while Jax unscrewed the lid.

  Darcy rose. “Make a wish, Brody. Say a prayer.”

  Standing, Jax wrenched off the lid. Brody swirled the jar until the fireflies flew out.

  His face puckered. “Me woozing them, Dawcy. They gone, Daddy.”

  “They’re not gone forever, Brody.” She pointed to the indigo sky. “Come next summer, the fireflies will be right where you let them go.”

  Leaning, Jax draped his arm around her shoulders. She smiled. The man couldn’t stand up straight to save his life, but he was exactly where he should be. Next to her.

  He pressed Brody against them. “They’re headed home, son.”

  She swallowed, thinking of the half brother she’d never met. Yet... “And nothing’s ever truly lost if you know where to find it.”

  Jax picked up Brody, and she hugged them both.

  Something passed over Jax’s features. “When I feel your arms around me, Darcy, I know I’m home.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered.

  In the longing for home, a yearning as old as the human heart. A place where “goodbye” need never again be said. A place of hello, a place of welcome, a place of grace.

  They exchanged a long, slow look before lifting their gazes to the sky. And they watched the blinking flashes of the fireflies, floating ever upward. Going home. Becoming one with the star-studded summer night on the banks of the tidal creek.

  * * * * *

  If you loved this tale of sweet romance,

  pick up these other stories

  from author Lisa Carter:

  COAST GUARD COURTSHIP

  COAST GUARD SWEETHEART

  FALLING FOR THE SINGLE DAD

  THE DEPUTY’S PERFECT MATCH

  THE BACHELOR’S UNEXPECTED FAMILY

  THE CHRISTMAS BABY

  Available now from Love Inspired!

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from AN UNEXPECTED FAMILY by Jenna Mindel.

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