by Jackie Braun
Ree felt a sense of satisfaction as she watched the old floors being sanded and refinished until the wood gleamed. But her heart still ached. She’d only heard from Dane twice since Thanksgiving.
The first was a note that Ali delivered that first Tuesday on which she’d showed up at the house in his stead.
“I think it’s for the best, until current circumstances change, that we don’t see one another,” the brief missive read. Only the fact that he’d signed it “Love, Dane” kept her from panicking.
The second communication arrived the day before Christmas along with the delivery of a fully furnished dollhouse—an exact replica of the one they’d seen in the shop that day in Petoskey. It’s exterior had been painted the same colors Ree had chosen for the outside of her Victorian. The card read: “So you’ll always have your home.”
As the months slipped by and her divorce inched forward at a maddeningly slow pace, Ree comforted herself with the thought that the home she really wanted was one with Dane.
“Work on the house is really clipping along,” Ali said as she sat in Dane’s office on the second Thursday in May.
He flipped absently through the stack of photos she’d provided, only half paying attention. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on much of anything in months. He missed Ree, even though he knew that avoiding her was for the best. She apparently agreed. She no longer came to Saybrook’s on Fridays to offer an update on the restoration.
Ali was doing that for her now.
“Cole says the new windows he ordered for the tower room should be installed by next week at the latest,” his sister was saying.
“Great.”
And, because he didn’t want to appear completely out of it, Dane decided he’d better ask some questions. So, for the next couple minutes Ali patiently answered his inquiries about chimney repairs and the new kitchen appliances that had been ordered. But then she put her hands on her hips and sighed in exasperation.
“Why don’t you ask me about Ree instead of pretending you give a damn about the condition of the flue in the parlor fireplace?”
Staying away from her was killing him, but it had to be this way. When she was free—if that ever happened—he would go to her. Until then, he needed to keep his distance in order to hold on to what remained of his sanity and self-respect.
He rubbed his eyes now. And because he did want to know, he asked, “Is she okay?”
His sister had told him that Paul was long gone from the house and that, although he was contesting the divorce, Ree was moving ahead with it. Dane wanted to give the other guy a well-deserved poke in the eye for basically trying to extort money from her. And, while part of him wanted to just pay Paul whatever amount it would take to make him go away, Dane respected Ree for holding firm. The man didn’t deserve money—whether he planned to use it to finance a dig or blow it on gambling. It was the principle of the matter.
“She’s doing about as well as you are,” Ali replied. “Why don’t you go see her?”
“You know why.” He rubbed his eyes. A night of quality sleep was a long forgotten luxury. “I don’t want to just see her, Al. I don’t want to be her boss or her friend or anything else that platonic and impermanent. I want to be her husband. And until that position is vacant, I…I can’t spend time with her and pretend otherwise.”
“I know,” Ali said, coming around the desk to give him a hug.
She was just straightening when Audra walked into his office holding a package the size of a shirt box that was decked out in festive paper and a bow.
“It came special delivery,” she said, excitement brimming in her blue eyes as she handed it to him. “The return address is Ree’s.”
That announcement had his mouth going dry.
“It’s awfully light,” he remarked, his curiosity mounting as he tugged off the bow and peeled back the paper.
When he lifted the top and saw the contents, his heart lurched into his throat and he lurched out of his seat. Even so, he somehow managed to choke out the words, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the afternoon.”
He was out the door before they could even open their mouths.
“My God! What got into him?” Audra said.
Ali was more practical than to ask questions. She reached into the box and snatched out the documents nestled inside.
“I’ll be damned,” she murmured, breaking into a grin as she read the top sheet.
“What is this?” Audra asked.
“Regina’s divorce decree.”
Ree was expecting Dane or at least hoping outrageously that he would arrive once he received the delivery she’d arranged for that afternoon.
So she was standing in the bay window, watching the fat thunderclouds gather, when his truck pulled up the driveway. She’d lit candles, half a dozen of them. They burned on every available surface in the Victorian’s newly refurbished and furnished front parlor. Music, soft and slow, played on the stereo. She’d already uncorked the champagne—again being hopeful.
But then her heart did a little dive when she opened the door to his neutral expression. She’d expected a smile, maybe even laughter. Instead all she got was a dry, “Hello.”
“Did you get my…message?” she asked cautiously.
“I got it.” Something flickered in his eyes and she thought, for just a moment, she saw that dimple wink before he asked, “New dress?”
“Uh-huh.” She smoothed the fabric over her hips. “Do you like it?”
It took an effort not to fidget as his frank gaze swept down the length of her, lingering for a moment where the neckline scooped low.
“It looks good on you,” he said on a nod.
“Thanks. I bought it this afternoon. I…I felt like celebrating.”
She still couldn’t quite gauge his mood.
“You put your hair up.”
“Yes.” As her heart hammered, she added, “I thought you might like to take it down.”
His eyebrows arched and this time she knew she saw the dimple, but Dane remained on the porch, a good arm’s length away.
“So, how does it feel to be a single woman?” he asked in a maddeningly conversational tone.
“Good…great.”
“Well, don’t get used to it.” And, finally, he reached for her.
Regina melted into his arms on a laugh that turned into a sob. He was laughing, too, his eyes just as bright, his heart beating just as unsteadily against hers. This was where she wanted to stay forever, encircled in his arms, near to his heart.
“God, I’ve missed you, Ree. These past months have been hell. You—being with you—it’s all I’ve thought about, dreamed about.”
“I know, I know. Me, too,”
“I love you, Ree.”
“I love you, too.”
Lightning scored the cloudy May sky as he lowered his head to kiss her with all the passion that had been forbidden before. Thunder rent the afternoon’s silence and the rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally came down in a gushing torrent as the kiss ended.
Ree grinned, feeling insanely happy in spite of nature’s furious assault.
“This is where it all began,” she mused. “Right here. Just like this.”
“No.” Dane scooped her up in his arms, carrying her over the threshold and then kicking the freshly painted door closed with the heel of his shoe. It would leave a mark, but that was okay. Memories sometimes did.
The kiss he gave her now was infused with impatience, but the words that followed it were spoken slowly and with thrilling conviction.
“This is where it begins.”
EPILOGUE
GUESTS milled about inside the gorgeously restored Victorian. They sauntered over the lawn and through the newly planted flower gardens, admiring the blooms. They traversed the wooden boardwalk down near Lake Michigan and swayed to the music on the dance floor that had been erected near the gazebo.
Saybrook’s on the Pointe would
not open officially until the fall, but on this sunny summer afternoon, it was hosting a wedding reception.
Dane sat with his bride in the gazebo, taking a break from the dancing. Audra and Seth sat across from them, beaming proudly as LeeAnn pulled herself up to standing and managed a few steps while holding on to the seat.
“Did you see her? Did you see her?” Audra shouted excitedly and gave Seth a quick kiss. “Eight months old and already walking. Can you beat that?”
The question was rhetorical, but Ali answered it anyway. “Maybe.” Patting the mound of her stomach, she added, “I think I’ve been having contractions for the past couple of hours.”
While the others grinned, Luke paled beneath his tan. “Con-contractions?”
“Uh-huh. They’re getting a little stronger and a little closer together. I think this might be it.” She sounded a little nervous and a lot excited.
Luke helped her to her feet and the others gathered around her, offering hugs and encouragement.
“Let’s have one last toast,” Dane said. He poured more champagne in their glasses, skipping Ali’s since she still had some club soda left from earlier.
The Conlans stood in a circle in the gazebo, a circle made larger and more complete thanks to love.
“Here’s to forgiveness,” Audra said and Seth nodded.
“Homecomings,” Luke murmured.
“Reunions,” Ali added.
“How about honor and patience,” Ree said, smiling at her new husband, but she thought Dane summed it up best with his toast.
“Here’s to family.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6697-4
SAYING YES TO THE BOSS
First North American Publication 2006.
Copyright © 2006 by Jackie Braun Fridline.
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