by Rebecca Shea
I sidle up behind her and reach around, lacing my arms around her stomach. She startles when I touch her until she leans back into my embrace .
"You scared me," she says, looking over her shoulder, her blue eyes finding mine .
"Sorry." I lean in and press a kiss to her soft lips. "You looked so cute dancing and what are you making?" My stomach rumbles. "It smells amazing ."
"I had to improvise with what you had." She chuckles as she stirs the pot. "I found veggies, noodles, and chicken, so it's homemade chicken soup. Healthy and perfect for today since it's getting cold." She looks out the window and I see the overcast skies and the trees blowing in the wind .
"Well, it smells amazing ."
"It should be ready in about a half hour." She sets the spoon in the spoon rest and turns in my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. "Until then, I was thinking maybe we could grab a shower together ."
At her suggestion, I instantly get hard and she feels it, eliciting a smile from her. "Or maybe we can just go back to bed for a little bit," she adds .
I smirk against her lips. "You're insatiable, Ms. Callaway ."
"Only with you, Mr. Ryan." She opens her mouth and her tongue finds mine .
"I think I'll take the bed option," I mumble as I lift her into my arms. As I begin carrying her out of the kitchen, her phone starts ringing, stopping the music .
"I should get that. It might be Faith." She wiggles out of my arms and walks across the kitchen to her phone. After looking at the screen, her body tenses and she silences the ringer but doesn't answer it .
"Everything okay?" I ask and she turns around to show me the screen that's illuminated with Ted's name scrawled across the face of it. My hands immediately clench. "What the hell does he want ?"
She shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. The one thing we haven't discussed yet is Ted and how everything between them was ultimately severed. "Don't know and don't care." She looks at me and I can see the apprehension on her face. From what, I don't know .
"Let me go start a fire in my office and let's talk," I suggest, knowing we can always resume our bedroom activities later. It's important to me that Frankie is safe and comfortable moving forward with us and leaving that fucker Ted in the past. It's not a conversation I'm looking forward to, but it's necessary and now seems like an appropriate time .
She nods and I notice her white knuckles gripping the phone. I reach for it and gently pull it from her hands, setting it on the kitchen counter. "Come on." I lace her fingers through mine and walk her down the hall to the office. Our last conversation in this room didn't go as well as I wanted it to, but this room is comfortable and where I handle business. Ted is nothing more than business to me. Failed business if I'm being honest, but I'd like to clear the air and leave him behind us once and for all .
Frankie's right, there is a chill throughout the house from the changing weather outside and the fire feels amazing as we settle onto the couch. I pull her close, draping a blanket over her bare legs as she snuggles up next to me .
"So let's pick up where we left off in L.A.," I start .
She swallows hard before taking a deep breath. I can only imagine the last thing she wants to do is talk to me about Ted. However, I want to know what we're dealing with when it comes to this asshole .
"So after you left that morning, I stayed in the hotel for a few more days," she begins, her thumb stroking mine as she speaks. "I enjoyed the space and the time to think with no one else around. Then I moved in with Eduardo and Jeremy. It just made sense. Eduardo offered their spare room. We worked together, they had the extra space, and he was helping me put my plan in place." She looks at me and her lips twist into a half smile .
By plan, she means the plan to come back here…to me. My heart skips a beat knowing that she spent so much time planning her future here—with me .
I nod, encouraging her to continue .
"While I was exploring and finalizing the details, Eduardo helped me pack everything I had at Ted's house. It wasn't much, mostly clothes and a few personal belongings. We had them shipped to his house so that once I get settled here he can ship them here. I wanted to get what I needed from Ted's house and be done ."
"So it was a clean break, no separation of property or anything? There's nothing left to take care of with him ?"
She shakes her head rapidly. "No. Everything was either in his name or belonged to him with the exception of my clothes, my phone, and my car. I even left the engagement ring on the bathroom counter. I wanted nothing to do with him…there is no reason for him to reach out to me ."
I exhale a breath, satisfied with this answer .
She sighs. "He contacted me by text message a few times before I left Los Angeles, and then I got another text from him last night that said this wasn't over and he'd get me back ."
"Not happening," I say firmly, not for her benefit but to keep from punching a wall .
She forces a smile. "I know. There is literally no reason for he and I to communicate. There are no joint bills, no exchange of property…it's done between us ."
My stomach begins to settle when she says that .
"The only reason he's reaching out is because he has to be in control. He didn't end the relationship, I did. He hates not being in control ."
I scoff at that. Fucker thinks he’s that great, does he? "He ended it when you caught him in bed with another woman, Frankie ."
She shakes her head again. "No. He didn't. He thought I'd just forgive him and we'd move on ."
“So this is a power trip to him .”
She nods. "That's all this is. I'm going to block his number and we'll never hear from him again." She stares into the fire before turning to look at me. "Cole. I chose you. I want to be with you. Please don't think for a minute that Ted is a threat to us ."
I've never been an insecure person, but when you put down on paper everything Ted is that I'm not, it's hard not to compare us. I can't compete with him .
He's a Harvard graduated lawyer. He owns a prominent law firm. His money could buy this entire town while I try to rebuild it piece by piece. I'm just a local guy, who works hard for what I have…and I do well, but not Ivy League lawyer well .
"Cole," she says my name, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Look at me." Her soft hands pull my face toward hers. "I chose us. I chose you ."
"Us," I say, reminding myself .
"Us," she repeats .
* * *
I knock on the front door of Frankie's house, just like I did when we were kids. I'm a grown ass man, but I'm still giddy with anticipation at seeing her. After our talk this afternoon, we spent some time in bed before she decided to head back across the street to her house to see her mom. We made plans for dinner this evening, and I told her I'd pick her up around eight o'clock. Now here I stand, on her doorstep at seven fifty-seven, three minutes early because I cannot fucking wait .
I shuffle the large bouquet of flowers from hand to hand as I wait for her to answer the door .
The door creaks open and there stands Maggie Winthrop with her hand propped on her hip. "What do you want, Ryan ?"
I stifle a laugh. "Well nice to see you, too, Mags. Gonna let me in ?"
She narrows her eyes at me and shakes her head. "Grams is already in bed—" she starts, as if I'm here to see Grams with a bouquet of flowers. This kid loves to bust my balls. She knows why I'm here and who I'm here for. Her feisty personality and desire to protect those she loves reminds me so much of a younger Frankie that I can't find it in myself to even be upset with her .
I cock my head to the side, matching her. "I'm he
re for Frankie, Maggie ."
She leans forward and whispers loudly, "I know who you're here for and if you hurt her again, I'll burn your house down ."
I actually throw my head back and bust out laughing. Because goddamn the women in this family are fierce, and because I know she probably would .
"Cole!" Frankie's voice interrupts my laughter .
"I don't know what you see in him," Maggie mutters loud enough for both Frankie and I to hear as she walks away. "I'll be in Grams’s room," she tosses over her shoulder .
Frankie's eyes grow wide as she watches her niece disappear. "I don't know what's gotten into her," she says, ushering me into the house .
"I don't want to wake your mom. Just throw these in some water and let's get out of here." I hand her the bouquet of mixed flowers. Roses, peonies, and giant daises all in different shades of pink .
"These are beautiful." She leans in to press a kiss to my lips. I snake my arm around her waist and hold her close to me. I used to sneak kisses from her on this threshold every chance I got. Only I won't sneak now…I'll take. I'm never letting her go .
"I never thought I'd see the day," the frail voice says from behind Frankie. We both turn to see Martha moving slowly toward us with a walker .
"Mama," Frankie gasps .
"Always knew you two would work through your problems." Martha's voice is quiet and slower than normal, but better than I expected .
Frankie glances at me and I chuckle. "Martha." I walk over and try to help her, but she shoos me away and takes one slow step after another, moving her walker in perfect coordination with her steps. Melinda is right behind her in case she loses her balance .
"I've been working with those darn therapists," she mumbles just as she reaches the couch. She braces herself on the arms of her walker before she slowly lowers herself down .
"I can't believe how well you're moving," Frankie comments, sitting down next to her mom .
"Enough about me. What’re you kids up to tonight?" She pats Frankie's leg and winks at me with the side of her face that doesn't have paralysis .
"Was going to take Frankie out for a bit—" I pause when I notice the twinkle in Martha's eyes. Except it's not a twinkle, it's unshed tears. Frankie rubs her mom’s hand and I walk over and squat down in front of her. "I told you that no matter what happened…I'd always take care of her ."
Martha nods her head slowly .
"I love her, and I will keep that promise to my last breath ."
Her chin trembles and her thin arms reach out for me. I lean in closer and she wraps them gently around my neck. With a little squeeze, she whispers, "thank you," before releasing me .
"You kids go have fun. I'm going to call it a night." Melinda jumps in to help get Martha up off the couch and to her walker. It is nice to see her getting around, albeit slow, but she's a fighter. I know where Frankie gets her fighting spirit from .
"Night, Mama." Frankie kisses her mom's cheek and grabs her jacket. "Ready?" She looks at me as I watch Martha make her way back down the hall toward her room .
I smile at Frankie, feeling so complete for the first time in years. "Ready ."
Frankie locks up behind us and I walk her across the street to my Jeep. "I was going to make you dinner, but then I had a better idea." I open the car door for her and she climbs up into the Jeep .
"Better idea?" Her eyebrows shoot up .
I know what she's thinking. There isn’t a damn restaurant in this town other than the American Legion and it's past dinner hours there and Gus's diner is closed for the night. So unless I want to take her to the Sonic Drive-In, there isn't much choice for dinner out here in Crescent Ridge .
"It's a surprise," I tell her, sliding into the driver’s seat, "but first I want to show you something ."
Frankie settles into the front seat of the Jeep, resting her head back against the headrest as she looks out the window. "Everything looks so different," she remarks quietly as I drive down our street and toward Main Street where most of the revitalization is happening. "I used to think everything here was so big, and it's not…it's so small." She turns her head to look at me. I still see the eyes of eleven and sixteen-year-old Frankie looking back at me and my heart swells that she's here with me .
"Bigger isn't always better," I say, pursing my lips. I'm not sure where she's going with this, so I don't pry .
"It's not. It's definitely not. In Los Angeles everything was so big. The buildings, the houses, the roads, but the details and the character were lost," she sighs. She's right, the homes here are far from luxury, but they're beautifully constructed and have lasted decades .
"It's really nice to see this town coming back," she huffs out a small laugh. "I never thought I'd say that ."
I nod and drive as she really takes in all of the change that's happened around here .
"I can't believe you're responsible for this, Cole." I can feel her eyes on me as I focus on the road. I've been lucky to make good money and reinvest in Crescent Ridge, but I'm not responsible for this. It's the people that never gave up on this town. There are good people here who need jobs, and I'm just glad I can give that to them .
"I'm not responsible — "
"Yes, you are," she cuts me off. "You invested back into this town when everyone else abandoned it. Look at this place." She points to The Fault Line Bar and Grill as I pull up in front of it. "This place is like no other. This town needed a place like this; you saw that and made it happen ."
I love her enthusiasm and my heart thrums as I can see how proud she is. I kill the engine and turn to face her. "Come with me, this is what I want to show you." I open the car door and walk around to open hers .
She steps down from the Jeep and reaches for my hand. "Where are we going?" she asks as we walk past The Fault Line Bar and Grill and down the dimly lit street .
The old streetlights barely cast enough light to see the buildings, the part of town that used to be full of businesses but has died slowly over time. What Frankie doesn’t know is I bought every building on this street…and there's one in particular I want to show her .
"Where are you taking me?" she asks curiously as we come to a stop in front of the small red brick building .
"Do you remember what this was?" I look at the boards that are nailed up to protect the large glass window. It's a non-descript square brick building with huge glass windows in front and a gorgeous custom-built wood door .
She squeezes my hand tighter as she remembers. "It was a second-hand thrift store. I remember it well ."
"Good memory." I kick a rock off the sidewalk .
"I used to get my clothes here." Her voice becomes softer, and I can hear the emotion. "Faith and I used to get two outfits for every school year. God, I can't believe that's all we could afford." She presses her fingers on the rough, exposed brick .
I reach into my pocket and pull out a single key, squeezing it into the palm of my hand. "Here." I hold out my hand toward Frankie .
"What?" she asks, confused and looking at my closed fist .
"Open your hand ."
She pulls her hand off of the brick and opens it slowly. I carefully drop the key into her palm and she just looks at it, perplexed. "What is this ?"
I turn back and look at the building. "It’s the key to your building." My heart soars, knowing I can give her a piece of the town she once so badly wanted to escape from. I want her to set up roots here, with me, in Crescent Ridge. I never want her to feel like she has to escape again .
"My building?"
she asks, amused. "This isn't my building, Cole ."
I turn back to look at her and I see a million things flash before my eyes. Memories from our past and visions of our future .
"It is now, Frankie. Open the door ."
Twenty
"W hat in the world?" is all I can say when we step over the threshold and into the old brick building. "Cole!" I call to him as I tip my head back and look around. "There's nothing in here ."
"It's a clean slate," he says, shoving his hands down into his pockets. It's dark and chilly in this drafty old building, and I have to use the light from my cell phone to take a quick look around. "Do whatever you want with the place ."
"I don't even know what to say," I keep spinning in slow circles, looking at every wall, up to the ceiling, and down to the floor, "except, thank you." My heart races with the possibilities that could happen with this space. I race over to Cole and slide my arms around his waist .
"You're welcome," he says softly, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "Come on, let's lock up. I have surprise number two for you tonight ."
We lock up and Cole wraps his arm around me as we walk back toward his car. But before we get to his car, he turns us left down the dark alley that runs next to The Fault Line. There’s a small light above a side door casting a halo of light around the area and we walk toward that .
As we approach, I see a sign that says, 'Employee Entrance Only' and Cole slides a key into the handle before pulling the door open. When we step inside, we're instantly surrounded by warmth and greeted with the aroma of fresh food cooking .
"This is where employees will enter. There are lockers for their personal belongings and a tablet where they can sign in and out." Cole points to the wall lined with small lockers and an iPad secured to the wall for timekeeping .
