by Cassie Hayes
All three of her brothers smiled broadly as they gathered around her.
“You all knew about this?”
Nash rolled his eyes. “Of course. Who do you think filled out all the paperwork? And trust me, there was a lot of paperwork.”
Her gaze ping-ponged between them and Grayson, completely at a loss for words, a fact Nash took great joy in pointing out.
“Call Guinness! This is the first time in the history of the universe that Lex Luther has been rendered speechless.”
Brett elbowed him in the ribs, effectively shutting up their troublemaker of a brother. Lex turned back to Grayson, but kept her eyes on the letter of approval.
“You did this?” she whispered.
“Mmmhmm. With some help from my well-connected dad.”
“But…why? What about your precious parking lot?”
“I took care of that,” Brett interjected. He had a hard, yet satisfied, glint in his eye. “Turns out the county clerk who had been causing them grief was none other than my ex, Tassie. She was messing with Grayson to get to us. Never knew that woman was such a bitter, miserable, conniving—”
“Yes, you did. That’s why you divorced her.” Nash laughed, slapping Brett on the back. “You should have seen it, Lex. It was a thing of beauty. He stormed into that office like Rambo. Told her if she didn’t stop jerking Grayson around, he’d make some calls and ask for an investigation. She tried to put on a brave face, but you could see she was scared he’d follow through. Signed the original permit on the spot.”
Brett shrugged, his usual humble self. “Just wish I’d known about all the trouble sooner. Maybe all this could have been avoided.” He gave Lex a sympathetic smile.
Did everyone know about her heartache?
“Wow,” she breathed, still unsure what she thought about all this. “I just don’t understand why you all bothered. Mom doesn’t want it anymore.”
Charlotte took Lex’s free hand in hers, thinking for a moment before she spoke. “Honey, as much as you think otherwise, I love you. But I’m not a fool. I know you and your father had a special bond. I can’t deny that it hurt that you loved him so much more than me, but I didn’t hold it against you.”
Hale cleared his throat, and Charlotte looked abashed.
“Mostly,” she added. “But I honestly just want you to be happy. Look at the rest of the papers in that envelope.”
Lex flipped through the stack of papers and couldn’t believe what she saw. She flipped through them again, scanning the pages more thoroughly, then looked back at her mom, dazed and thoroughly confused.
“You’re selling the inn to…me?”
Charlotte smiled and tucked a strand of Lex’s hair behind her ear. “For one dollar.”
“Why?” she asked, overwhelmed by all of this.
“Honey, this was never my dream. It was your father’s. I went along for the ride because I loved him to distraction. I didn’t care where we were, or what we were doing, as long as we were together.”
Grief hit Lex in the stomach with a punch. An all-consuming sense of shame filled her. She’d always known her parents loved each other, but the soul-shattering loss Charlotte must have felt when the love of her life was taken from her so early — suddenly Lex couldn’t breathe from the horror of it. What kind of daughter was she that she only focused on her own pain?
Pulling Charlotte into a fierce embrace, Lex clung to her mom and they cried together. They cried for Russell Luther, they cried for each other, and they cried for their cracked relationship. They might not be able to mend it overnight, but if they both worked together, maybe someday.
Charlotte pulled away, brushing the tears from her daughter’s face. “Now it can be your dream. If you want it.”
She did. She wanted it more than anything she’d ever wanted, and she hadn’t even realize it until this moment. Holding onto it would keep the memory of her father alive, to be sure, but even as a little girl, she’d dreamed of owning a place as beautiful as the Alpine Inn. Now it was hers…if she decided to stay in Yosemite Flats.
“Where will you live?” Lex asked her mother.
“Not with you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Charlotte said with a wink and a smile. “Your father was diligent about contributing to our retirement account. I’ll be fine in my little condo in town.”
“Lex?”
She turned to Grayson, who was holding Sophia in his arms. Her heart lurched so hard at the sight, she nearly stumbled.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you can’t forgive me, but I need to apologize again. What I did was thoughtless and totally inexcusable. I should have been completely forthcoming with you. Sophia here reminded me that I needed to make it right by you, whether you forgive me or not. I hope I’ve done that.”
Lex swallowed hard, her emotions choking her. “You have.” She could barely hear her own words.
“If you still want to move back to LA,” he continued, “that job at The Conrad Group is yours. My dad was very impressed with you and wanted to hire you immediately, but I asked him to hold off so you could make an informed decision.”
“Informed?” Now she was having trouble breathing at all.
Grayson smiled down at her, his dimples deepening, and took her hand in his. Sophia laid a tiny hand on her shoulder, completing the circle. This felt so right. Like home on steroids.
“I love you, Alexandria Wonderwoman Luther.”
Lex’s heart stopped beating entirely. She was going to die. At any second, she’d topple over, dead at their feet. But she’d die happy. Before she did though, someone else was going to die.
“Who told you my middle name?” she demanded, trying to glare at her double-crossing family, but gave up when they all grinned at her.
“I’ll never reveal my source,” Grayson laughed. “And I love you even more for having such a wonderful name. I hope you’ll stay, Lex. I hope you’ll give yourself, and us, a chance. Just know that if you decide to leave, I’m never going to stop trying to get you back home, where you belong.”
Lex stood on tiptoe and took Grayson’s face in her hands. She pulled him down until their lips touched, then he pulled her body tight into his. She was keenly aware they had an audience — one just inches away — but she still managed to pour all of her love into that kiss while keeping it G-rated. Well, PG anyway. She couldn’t wait to get him alone so they could bump that rating up to R.
Pulling back, Lex grinned up into his searching, questioning eyes. “Of course I’ll stay. How could I leave behind the two greatest loves of my life?”
Her family burst into applause, her brothers hooting and hollering, while her mom sniffled happily into a hankie. Jacob and Marissa clung to each other, and Sophia clapped and lunged for Lex, then gave her the bear hug to end all bear hugs. When Grayson wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead, she leaned into him.
Yes, she was home. She’d spent so much of her life trying to convince herself she wanted out, that happiness couldn’t be found in a town where everyone poked their noses into your business. But the anonymity she’d sought ended up being so much more lonely than she’d ever imagined. And it only took two months to realize it. Ten years and two months.
Hey, I never said I was smart, she laughed to herself.
The clamor startled a covey of quail into flight, drawing squeals of delight and much oohing from Sophia. When the quail were out of sight, she turned and stared hard at Lex.
“I knew you’d stay with us,” she said so quietly that no one but Lex heard.
“You did? How?”
“Because it’s what I wished for in front of Big Buck. That we would be a family.”
Love filled Lex’s heart, not for the first time, and definitely not for the last. Stroking a finger down Sophia’s soft cheek, she smiled.
“Me too, baby. Me too.”
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> About the Author
Cassie Hayes grew up pretending she was Laura Ingalls (before that pesky Almonzo arrived on the scene) in the middle of Oregon farm country. She lives with her husband and cat on the Pacific Ocean, and loves to hear from her readers.
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© 2017 Cassie Hayes
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www.CassieHayes.com
Cover design by EDH Graphics
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The characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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