He Belongs With Me

by Sarah Darlington

  By the time he set me back down, my chest was buzzing with warmth. I'd never felt so alive or so loved. “We better make sure Leo's okay in there,” Dean said, rubbing at my wet cheeks. My eyes were surely all red and puffy from crying, but I didn't shy away from him. “But first, are you okay?”

  “I feel a whole lot better than I have in a long time,” I responded.

  He nodded. “You know, Leo's a good friend to you, but I knew all along you weren't in love with him. I just needed to make sure you knew that.”

  I gently shoved at his arm and we went inside. “You shouldn't suggest crazy things like that when people are feeling vulnerable and lost. They might just believe you.”

  “Well, I learned my lesson on that one.”

  We walked into the living room and found Leo passed out on the couch. He'd been doing that in odd places lately. “Did you guys kiss and make up?” he asked, apparently not as asleep as I’d thought.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Good.” He rubbed at his tired eyes and stood. “I'm gonna get going then. Call me in the morning. I need to come up with a new plan. I think Steph's going to be a dead end. She's clearly worried about Clara—I don't think she would have come home with us if she wasn't—but she's not gonna crack.”

  “What's going on with Clara?” Dean asked.

  “She ran away,” I answered with a shrug. “Leo got in an argument with her and then she disappeared a couple days ago. Dad's pretty worried this time.”

  “Our argument wasn't even that bad,” Leo insisted, like he'd been insisting for two days. “But I was an ass and she won't even answer her phone. We already checked her friend’s place in New York and she wasn’t there, so I don't know where she could be.”

  Dean scratched at his jawline. “She probably went to Arizona then.”

  “Arizona?” Leo asked, his face paling dramatically.

  “Yeah. She mentioned it once or twice to me way back when. I can't really remember, but I think she used to call it her ‘Arizona Escape Plan.’”

  Leo and I both just stared at him for several long moments. Maybe I'd heard her mention Arizona before—years ago—when she'd been upset about something stupid. Had her juvenile threats to run away been real? Why Arizona? And could she even pull something like that off? She'd need money and I doubted Clara had any saved.

  Leo must have believed it was possible because he muttered, “Thank you, Dean.”

  “I'm not sure I did anything. Arizona is a big state.”

  “It's more than I knew two minutes ago,” Leo said sincerely. “Now...could you please go put some clothes on, pack a bag, and grab the rugrat? I'm sick of looking at you in that towel and this neighborhood isn't safe enough for a kid. I'm actually a little afraid that my car's been stolen in the thirty minutes we've been inside your place. I have a giant home with enough rooms to house an army, and you and Valerie can stay with me until you figure out something better. Or stay however long you want. Whatever. Just go put on a damn shirt already.”

  A cheesy grin lit up Dean's face and he walked over to Leo. Then he did the most shocking thing imaginable—he hugged him. Not just a tap-tap on the back either, but a full-on bear hug. I nearly fainted at the unexpected sight of it. Well, goodness gracious, Dean did it. He won over Leo, just like he said he would. And it barely took him ten minutes to do it.

  Leo immediately pushed Dean away from him. “Don't turn this into a bromance. Go put on some fucking clothes.”

  Dean laughed before turning and heading through a door. I mouthed a quick omigosh in Leo's direction and then quietly followed after Dean. His room was smaller than my walk-in closet at home. He already had a duffel bag unzipped on his bed and he was filling it with a few of his belongings.

  “So just like that, huh?” I said to him, closing the door behind me. “Leo says move in and you immediately start packing.”

  Dean stopped what he was doing and looked at me with an oh-so-serious expression on his face. “If it were just me, do you think I would take Leo up on his offer?” Before I could respond, he continued, “I can tell you that the answer to that question would be a ‘hell no.’ But it’s not just me…I have Valerie to think about, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I’d bite whatever bullet, sell whatever organ, do whatever needs to be done to give her the best life that I can. And if that happens to include taking Leo up on his offer to give her a safer place to live for a short while, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  He shrugged, shoving a few more things into the bag, as if he didn’t just rock my world with the words he just spoke. I was also reminded of some unanswered questions that I couldn’t wait another minute to ask.

  “Dean,” I said, the tone of my voice stopping him in his tracks, “I don’t necessarily need to know who Valerie’s mom is, but I do need to ask why you have her.”

  His body tensed immediately and he asked, “Why does it matter?”

  I could tell he had misunderstood the motivation behind my question so I gentled my voice and said, “It matters because, from the few times I’ve met Valerie, I can see myself falling in love with her…the same way I love you. And I need to know that there isn’t a chance that someone will walk in one day and take away someone that I love.”

  His eyes shone as he responded, “After I found out that Valerie’s mom was pregnant, I contacted her to see what I could do to help. She told me she was putting her up for adoption, that she was too young and there was too much she wanted to do in life. I couldn’t let her give away my kid, so I told her I wanted to raise the baby and she happily signed over all parental rights. So, to answer your question, I have her because her mom didn’t want her and I did. And even if she decides one day that she does want Valerie, she can’t have her so you have nothing to worry about.”

  He grabbed some jeans and a shirt from a drawer, tossing them onto the bed. His hands moved to the little pink towel still wrapped around his waist. “I'm gonna change now. So, unless you want to see the show, you better go back out to the living room.”

  He gave me exactly two heartbeats to decide. When I made zero effort to leave, the little towel dropped and my mouth dropped along with it. Searing heat exploded in my chest and I stood there in a trance, watching him. He had a body like a prized stallion—sharp lines, hard muscle, thick thighs, and a slim waist. His unwavering confidence made him twice as sexy. When my eyes finally finished tracing over his body and finally made their way up to his face, I found him smiling at me.

  My face burned red hot. My hands needed something to do, so I tugged at a strand of my hair. Wow, he was one sexy beast. Then Dean moved toward me. God, help me. I took a step backward, my butt hitting his dresser. I'd seen my share of naked men before, but he was the first to turn me into a trembling little girl.

  He reached around me and grabbed something off the top of his dresser. Oh. Boxers. He pulled them up over the most intimidating part of his anatomy and then continued to put on the rest of his clothes. Once he was completely covered, I could breathe again. Always a good thing when there were still important things I needed to know.

  “What about us?” I asked, biting at the inside of my lip. “What happens now? You have a daughter. I have school to finish. Do we just pick up where we left off?”

  “Those are some heavy questions.” He shook his head, grinning.

  “Sorry.” I felt foolish for jumping ahead of myself.

  “Don't be. I like those questions.” He came over, planting one big hand on each side of my waist. His touch made my heart race even harder than his naked body had. And that scared me most of all. If he wasn't one-hundred percent on board with this, I'm positive it would leave me broken-hearted all over again.

  “Those questions are the exact reason I came back to Blue Creek. I don't have all the answers, but maybe together we can figure them out. The first step is dinner.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Yes, dinner. I'd like to take you out on a date this weekend. First,
we have to help Leo find your sister, of course, but then I would love nothing more than to take you somewhere fancy enough where you can wear that red dress of yours again.”

  “You liked my red dress?” I stared into his chest, feeling my cheeks burn all over again. Dang it, I needed to learn how to control myself around him.

  He moved his hands to tilt my chin up toward him, the way he used to do when we were younger. Being that he was so much taller than me, sometimes it was easier to avoid looking directly into his eyes. He always liked to correct that. “You in that dress...it's been haunting me. I used to have all these expectations about what it might be like to see you again after so many years of missing you. Then you go and exceed every single one of them. It nearly knocked me to my knees when you walked into my bar—so sexy and confident—in that dress.” He swallowed hard. “I'd like to see you in it again.”

  “Fine. I will have dinner with you, and I will even wear the red dress. But I have one condition…Valerie gets to come with us.”

  The easy smile left his face for just a moment, a serious expression replacing it. “I love you, Maggie Ryder. You never cease to amaze me.”

  CHAPTER 26

  CLARA

  So freaking amazing. I sat on the hood of my new used car, watching the sun sink over the Grand Canyon...bawling my eyes out. I literally could not stop the waterworks, which unfortunately was starting to gain some attention. Three different tourists had come over to ask if I was okay, and I told them all the same lie—It’s so beautiful, I just can't help it.

  And it was beautiful—swirling pinks and oranges, contrasting perfectly against various shades of brown—but I realized that it would be so much more beautiful if I had someone to share it with. I came all this way to stupid Arizona and it was perfect, but something was still missing. I hated that that something had to be Leo.

  With the world's biggest sigh, I scrambled off the hood and climbed into my car. Pissed and hurting, I started the long drive back toward Phoenix. As I drove, one thought took root and blossomed in my mind. I loved Leo. Go figure. Maybe he was a little rough around the edges, but that was just who he was. And actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was my favorite thing about him.

  Damn him and his blue eyes.

  On the verge of breaking down in a crying fit all over again, I dug Leah's phone out of my pocket and dialed Leo's number. It rang and rang. It was after eleven on the East Coast and Leo probably wouldn't answer, but then suddenly he did.

  “Hello.”

  I froze. My tongue turned fat and heavy in my mouth. His words—Is it really so terrifying to love me?—echoed in my head. Translated from Leo-speak, those words actually meant just love me for who I am. And what did I do? I ran away...again—like a little pansy. Just like his mother did to him all those years ago, I realized. What had I done?

  “Hello?” he asked, groaning. “I can hear you breathing on the other line. If you're selling something, I already own it and—”

  “Who is it?” I heard a deep male voice ask.

  Shit. I really needed to hang up right about now, but I kept the phone pressed to my ear. Even if Leo was annoyed and cranky, it still felt comforting to hear his voice.

  “I don't know,” he replied to the other person. “But look...there's plenty of food in the kitchen, towels in all the bathrooms...help yourself, okay?”

  I couldn't hear the other person's response. I guess Leo had company over. It seemed like he was carrying on with his life just fine. Or was he? Leo never had guests in that big house of his. Outside of the holidays, of course. So, why would he now?

  His voice interrupted my thoughts. “Clara?” he whispered softly. “I know it's you and don't you dare hang up on me.”

  Double shit.

  “Your mysterious silence tells me it's you, baby. You don't have to say anything. I realized something today. That—”

  Holy dead cell phone! Worst. Timing. Ever. I pulled over to the side of the road and screamed bloody murder at the steering wheel. I'd been too boneheaded to remember to get Leah's charger from her when we'd exchanged phones, and now Leo was probably thinking I'd hung up on him. And just as he was about to tell me that he realized something. My luck couldn't get any worse. I had to go home...now.

  I didn't care that it was Leo I loved. I didn't care if that scared the shit out of me. I didn't care that a relationship with him would probably take tons of work, because we both certainly had issues. I didn't care...because I loved him. Maybe a part of Leo had always been deeply ingrained in me, and that's why I'd held my virginity and my heart so close to me all this time. Maybe I was waiting for him. Whatever. I didn't need to analyze it a second longer. I just needed to get back to Blue Creek.

  CHAPTER 27

  MAGGIE

  We were at the airport—Dulles this time, which wasn’t too far from Washington DC. There weren't any direct flights from Roanoke to Phoenix, so our fastest option had been to pile into the Range Rover late last night and head up north. Dad was missing his tournament in Miami, but that seemed like the least of his worries. We knew where Clara was now and that's all that mattered.

  After Dean and Valerie had gone over to Leo's house, I’d decided to do some snooping at mine. A simple look at the search history on Clara's computer and there was no doubt she was in Phoenix.

  About the same time I figured that out, Leo came rushing over to my house—Leah Longerburger at his side—with the same exact information. I guess Clara and Leah were better friends than I’d ever noticed, and Leo somehow figured out that they'd switched cell phones. I'm not sure what Leo said to make her so verbose, but Leah had offered up information like a convict who was minutes away from the electric chair.

  He’d tried to suggest we wait for Clara to come home on her own, but the second he found out she was staying in one of his hotels—information courtesy of Miss Loose-Lips Leah—he'd demanded we all get in the car immediately.

  “Is the airplane gonna be fun?” Valerie asked after we’d already made it through airport security. The little girl had a giant smile on her face and her excitement was contagious. “Will it hurt my ears?”

  “It kind of sounds like a loud buzzing noise while you're in the air, but it won't hurt. I bet you'll fall asleep for most of the trip. I like to sleep on planes.” I stood with her in one of those airport mini-stores. It was a family tradition to stock up on goodies before a flight, so I was buying her one of everything. “They have coloring books. Do you like to color?”

  She nodded so I added that and some crayons to my purchase. After I paid, we left the store to find Dean. The three of us—plus Dad, Leo, Stephany, and Anita—were all waiting for our nine o'clock flight. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Clara. I wanted her home, safe and sound. Our relationship would never be perfect, but I still loved my sister and wanted her happy. I especially wanted Dad and Leo to relax, so getting her home was my number one priority. Getting to spend a little more time with Dean and his daughter was my second priority.

  He'd agreed easily when Leo asked if he and Valerie wanted to come with us. Even Anita wasted no time in jumping in the car. My heart swelled when I thought about how my family already had a lot more love in our lives than we ever realized.

  “You really didn't have to come,” I told Dean when Valerie and I met back up with him by the bathrooms. I rubbed at my tired eyes. Today was one of those days I wished I drank coffee. I could barely function. “But I do love that you're here...even though I’m so sleepy, all I want to lie down on this carpet.”

  “I know I didn't have to come,” he said, wrapping an arm around my waist. His touch made me shiver, even though I wasn't cold at all. “But I missed six years of being present for all of your family's shenanigans, and I couldn't miss this. Plus, I've got a funny feeling you guys will be talking about this one for years.”

  “Come on, kids,” Dad said, walking up to us from among the sea of moving people. “They're boarding in ten. We need t
o get to the gate and these crowds make me nervous with Valerie here.”

  “Leo's still in the bathroom.”

  “I'll go get him,” Dean said and disappeared for a moment. I held Valerie's hand for the short time he was gone. Soon both guys emerged from the bathroom. Dean gave me a small shrug and then took Valerie's other hand.

  Other than the five o'clock shadow he had going on and the fact that he wasn't wearing one of his suits—only regular jeans and a t-shirt—Leo appeared completely normal. I knew better though. His face was a little too pale and his eyes a little too jumpy. How had I never noticed before that he loved Clara? Maybe others couldn't see it so easily, but Leo Maddox wore his heart on his sleeve.

  “We've got another five hours to go. Calm down, Leo—”

  “Jesus Christ. Fuck me.”

  “Leo! Language!” Dad and I scolded at the same time. He'd been doing a good job about not swearing around Valerie. I shoved at his shoulder, but stopped when I noticed where his eyes were fixated.

  Clara was here. In the airport.

  CHAPTER 28

  CLARA

  Leo ran toward me through the crowded airport like a crazy person. I couldn't believe he was actually here, and I hardly had a chance to breathe or think before he was suddenly standing in front of me. His chest rose and fell, his eyes taking me in, but he stopped just short of closing the last of the distance between us.

  My suitcase slipped out of my hand, falling to the ground beside my feet. It wasn't heavy, but my shaky hands couldn't carry it another second longer. I'd just gotten off a red-eye flight from Arizona by way of Chicago. I was utterly exhausted and I could barely stand.