When You're Back

by Abbi Glines

  Mase was tense beside me, and Maryann looked shocked at Charlie’s outburst. I couldn’t say anything. I could hardly breathe.

  “I don’t want that pie. I’m going home,” Charlie said, and he headed out the door.

  “I am so sorry. He’s just . . . he has ideas of how things should be done. He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s excited about this baby. Just give him time,” Maryann said.

  “He’s got a funny way of showing it,” Mase said tightly.

  Maryann walked over and hugged him, then turned to me and kissed my cheek and hugged me. “I couldn’t have asked for a better mother for my grandchild. Thank you,” she whispered in my ear.

  As she stepped back, I wanted to burst into tears. Having her accept this and be happy about it helped. “I’m leaving the pie with the two of you. I have a man to straighten out,” she said, then gave Mase an apologetic smile.

  Mase didn’t reply. His mother finally turned and left the house.

  I had no idea what to say to him.

  “He’s wrong. He’s got old-fashioned ways. Ignore him,” Mase said, still holding on to me.

  As much as I didn’t want to talk, I knew I had to say something. I had to clarify that I wasn’t expecting a ring. I certainly didn’t want one under these circumstances. “I don’t want a ring. This baby is not meant to force you into something you weren’t planning on doing. I’d never allow you to be pressured to marry me. So, please understand, I won’t marry you if you ask me now, not if it’s because I’m pregnant. The baby can have your last name. We don’t have to be married for that to happen. Just don’t . . . don’t think about anything he said.”

  Mase frowned. “I’d never ask you to marry me because I felt pressured to do it,” he said, his voice sounding sincere.

  Letting out a sigh of relief, I nodded. “Good.”

  Mase

  The teardrop-shaped pale pink morganite stone was set within a halo of diamonds embedded in a rose-gold band. It was unique, and it was beautiful. It had stood out to me from the thousands of diamond rings I’d been shown, and the simple setting had struck me as perfect. I could see it on Reese’s hand. I didn’t need to see another ring.

  Having it sized had been tricky, because the diamonds ran along the band of the ring, so it had taken a few weeks for it to be done correctly. Holding the finished product in my hand was exciting and terrifying. Timing was important, and I was afraid I’d royally screw this up.

  Reese was adamant that I not propose to her because she was pregnant. If only I’d been able to give her this ring just a week ago. But I hadn’t been, and all I had now was proof that it had been purchased three weeks ago. This had to be handled delicately. I didn’t want her memory of our engagement to be tainted by my begging and pleading for her to believe me. I wanted it to be special. Something she would love to remember.

  My mother knew about the ring—I’d told her when I found it—so she had been aware that I was going to propose before the pregnancy news came. Charlie knew that, too, now. My mother had made sure he understood how out of line he’d been. Given that he had apologized to me this morning at the stables, Momma must have been hard on him.

  I tucked the small black velvet box into my jeans pocket and headed to the house. I had to plan this, and I had only three hours left before I went to pick up Reese from work. Momma was going to help me, and even Charlie was going to play a part. I just had to pull it all together.

  Reese

  The door to my office opened after a brief knock, and I looked up to see Aida walk into the room. I hadn’t seen her since we had returned home. Apparently, my luck had run out; she’d come to find me.

  “Hello, Aida,” I said as she took a seat across from the desk.

  “I thought we could talk privately. I have a few things I’d like to say to you. Things you need to hear, because from what I can tell, you’re not that smart,” she began.

  Her insult stung, as if I’d been slapped. I’d heard those words a lot in my life.

  “I heard you were pregnant, but I see you’re still not wearing a ring on your finger. Mase isn’t proposing. That should tell you something. If he was as in love with you as he claims, you’d be engaged.” She smiled at me with steel in her eyes. “When a man wants you, he puts a claim on you, one the world can see. You don’t have that, do you? Nope. Think about that, Reese. Think about all the sweet things he says and how he doesn’t follow through. Hooking him with a baby isn’t going to work. Bad idea.” She stood up and tossed her hair over her left shoulder.

  I had nothing to say. I didn’t want to believe a word she said, but it was hard not to. Charlie had basically said the same thing. Was this my stupidity?

  “When he gets bored and moves on, I’ll be waiting for him. I’ve been waiting for him since I was a little girl. You’re not taking him away from me. He’s just sidetracked. I’ll get him in the end. Enjoy him while you’ve got his attention.”

  I watched as she shot me a triumphant smile and left my office with a slam of the door.

  I sat staring at the closed door. Mase loved me. I knew he did. So why did her words sting? Why did I let her get to me like this? She was angry that I had Mase. That was all this was. I would not get upset and worry about it. I wouldn’t.

  But I did for the rest of the day.

  When I walked out to see if Mase had arrived to pick me up, I was surprised to find Charlie sitting in his truck instead. He’d never sent his stepdad to pick me up before. After last night, I was nervous about getting into the truck with him. I was surprised Mase had sent him, of all people.

  Gripping my purse tightly, I walked to the passenger side and climbed inside. “Thanks for coming to pick me up,” I said, feeling awkward.

  Charlie nodded. “My pleasure. Besides, we need a minute to talk. I was out of line last night.”

  He sure was. I didn’t reply, though.

  He backed up the truck to head out to the main road. My grip on my purse turned my knuckles white as I stared at the beige dashboard in front of me. “Seems I was speaking without knowing all the specifics. I judged Mase when he didn’t deserve that. He’s a good boy. He’s always been so dependable, and I felt like he was letting you down. I didn’t want to see him make a mistake and screw up his life. Wasn’t my place to say so, though, and I’ve apologized to him, and he’s explained some things to me. I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, of course,” I said. I hadn’t been mad at him anyway. Just embarrassed. I was glad he’d apologized to Mase, though.

  “Good, good. Glad to hear it,” he said, and he slowed down to drive through the gates of the Colt ranch. “Maryann ain’t real happy with me right now. I’ve got some making up to do where she’s concerned. But knowing the two of you forgive me, I think I have a chance to make my woman happy again.”

  Maryann loved Charlie. I had no doubt she would forgive him easily enough. I knew how easy it was to forgive a man you loved. Especially if he was truly sorry.

  “Oh, one more thing,” Charlie said as he pulled up in front of his house. “Mase left this for you. I think he needs you to get something out of the stables. I’ll just let you out here.”

  I took the white envelope he was holding out for me. “Uh, all right. Thanks,” I said, wondering what in the world this was about. I didn’t know where anything was in the stables, and the sun was already setting. Walking up to the house in the dark across this huge ranch wasn’t my favorite idea.

  Charlie nodded and opened his door, then got out. I did the same as I opened the envelope to find a copy of a receipt. There was a red circle drawn around a date. It was exactly three weeks ago. The item and the price were both blacked out, but the store was Tiffany.

  I had started walking toward the stables when I saw flickering candles to the left. Stopping, I turned to see that the path that led up to our cabin was lit by candles in jars. There were hundreds of them flickering in the setting sun. It was beautiful. What was g
oing on? I started to put the receipt back but noticed another piece of paper. There was a note in Mase’s handwriting: Follow the candles.

  Confused, I turned and headed up the path toward the flickering lights. As I came to the first one, I saw rose petals sprinkled along the ground. Smiling, I bent down to pick one up. What was he up to?

  I continued walking and saw red, white, and pink rose petals decorating the pathway. As the house came into view, I noticed a flat box sitting at the end of the path. It was wrapped in silver paper with a large iridescent pink bow on top. My name was written in bold print on the front of the attached card.

  I carefully unwrapped it. Inside, I found the first book I’d ever read to Mase. It was a children’s book that I had been given by my tutor. I had struggled the first few times I’d read it, but I had gotten better as the week progressed. Mase had cheered me on and made me feel I could do anything. It was the first time in my life I had believed in myself.

  Holding the book in my hand like the cherished memory it was, I continued up the walkway and toward the steps, where the candles continued to light my path. Once I got to the door, I saw another small package wrapped identically to the first one. It also had my name on it. Placing my book down on the chair beside me, I carefully opened the package. In it was a piece of broken mirror. As I stared down at it, the day I’d met Mase came back to me, when I’d fallen and broken Nan’s expensive mirror and sliced my hand open while cleaning her house. He’d been staying at her house and had taken care of me that day better than anyone had done in my entire life.

  I reached up and opened the door, still holding the small box with the piece of mirror in it. Then my eyes met Mase’s. He was standing just inside our living room, which was also filled with candles. He wasn’t dusty and in his work clothes; he was all clean and dressed in a pair of his good jeans with a button-down flannel shirt.

  “I kept it,” he said.

  Frowning, I tried to figure out what he was talking about.

  “The mirror. I kept a piece. I didn’t know why at the time. But when I cleaned it up, I kept a piece. I wanted to remember you. I didn’t expect to see you again. So I kept that piece of mirror.”

  Wow. Oh, wow. I held the box tighter in my hands as I stared up at him.

  “I kept the book, too,” he said. “When you conquered it, I called your tutor and had him sell me the book. I wanted to remember you reading those words to me. How you were so shy at first but with each sentence and each day, you grew stronger and more sure of yourself. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

  My heart felt like it was going to explode from my chest. I even placed a hand over it to keep it from breaking free.

  Mase walked toward me and held out a piece of paper. It looked like a receipt. “This isn’t something that a man normally shows a woman, but I need you to see that date and understand what it means. Because of timing and circumstances, it took three weeks to get from that moment to this one.”

  I took the receipt from his hand, but before I could look down at it, Mase was lowering himself to his knee.

  No. This wasn’t happening. I didn’t want this. I had told him I didn’t want this. I started shaking my head as tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want all this sweetness to become part of a bad memory.

  “I need you to look at that receipt, baby. Please,” Mase said as he stared up at me.

  My stomach was in knots. My throat burned, and my eyes were blurry. Had he not listened to me? I didn’t want to force him to do anything. I blinked and tried to focus on the receipt. Once again, the date was circled in red. Just like the one he’d given me a copy of. It was the same receipt. However, the item wasn’t blacked out on this one, only the price.

  Pear-cut pink morganite ring with rose-gold band.

  I reread the words and even said them under my breath as I let the information sink in. It was a ring he had bought three weeks ago.

  “It was perfect for you. It just wasn’t your size,” he whispered.

  I lifted my gaze to meet his and saw that he was now holding a ring in his right hand.

  “I had to get it sized to fit your finger,” he said softly.

  “Oh,” was all I could manage to choke out past the lump in my throat.

  “Reese Ellis, you came into my life and lit it up. Everything that was dull became shiny. You changed me. You made my life complete. So please, give me all I want in this life and say you’ll be my wife.”

  My cheeks were wet by the time he finished talking. All I knew was that this was right. This was it. This was the way it was supposed to be. And I’d never love another man the way I loved this one. “Yes,” I managed to say past the sobs that broke free.

  Mase slid the ring onto my finger and stood up to claim my mouth with his.

  This was the best fairy tale of them all.

  Epilogue

  Mase

  Reese hadn’t been insistent that we get married before the baby was born, but I wanted her last name to be Colt Manning before we brought a child into this world. We would be a family. The kind she and I hadn’t started out in life with.

  Today Harlow had come to Dallas to shop for a wedding gown with my mother and Reese. Tomorrow Reese, Harlow, and I were going to L.A. to tell Kiro about the wedding and the baby. He wasn’t drinking himself to death, but Emily was getting worse, and Harlow was worried about him. I didn’t want her to visit him without me, and I needed to tell him about Reese and me. It just wasn’t something I planned on doing over the phone.

  I wasn’t sure he’d even care about the baby or the wedding, but he was my father. He should at least be told. I did the best I could with him for Harlow’s sake.

  Dad pulled up in front of the stables and held out my mail, like he did most days when he drove out to check our mail-boxes. “Got a few things today,” he called out.

  I headed up the hill to his truck to get them from him. “Thanks,” I said, taking the small stack of envelopes.

  “You’re welcome. It’s been quiet around here with Major in Rosemary Beach and Aida gone. I’ve got more time on my hands without having to listen to your momma telling me about the drama they’ve stirred up.”

  Chuckling, I went through the mail in my hands. “Yeah, Major kept things interesting. How’s Uncle Chap doing with him working in the restaurant business?”

  Dad shook his head. “Not proud of him, but I told him at least he’s got a job. Don’t think Chap’s ever gonna get over the fact that his son slept with his wife. Don’t know what he expected, marrying a woman four years older than his son.”

  I had to agree with him. “It’s got to be hard being Chap’s son, though.” I never envied Major his father. Chapman Colt was a hard-ass to deal with. He was never my favorite uncle.

  Dad grunted. “Probably so. Well, I got shit to do. I’ll see you later. I reckon we’re on our own for dinner, with the women out shopping.”

  Smiling, I nodded. “We’ll make do.”

  He pulled away, and I went back to going through my mail. One envelope caught my eye, and I placed the other ones in my jacket pocket so I could open it. The simple white envelope had no return address. It was postmarked from Chicago and addressed to me.

  I opened it and pulled out a thick set of folded papers. Something else fluttered to the ground. I opened the papers first, and my eyes immediately saw the words Trust Fund at the top. Just under it was Reese’s full name.

  I scanned the papers to see that Reese had a trust fund worth ten million dollars, which she was entitled to the year she turned twenty-one. Confused, I continued reading, and Benedetto DeCarlo’s name appeared. He’d done this. He had known where her mother was at one time, because he’d set up this trust fund. I wasn’t sure how to tell Reese about this. Was this Benedetto’s way of asking me for help in telling her?

  I bent down to pick up the paper that had fallen out of the envelope. The small, square note looked familiar. I’d seen it before.

  Turning it ove
r, I saw that it simply said For My Little Girl.

  Acknowledgments

  First of all, I want to thank the Atria team. The brilliant Jhanteigh Kupihea. I couldn’t ask for a better editor. She is always positive and working to make my books the best they can be. Thank you, Jhanteigh, for being awesome. Ariele Fredman for being not only brilliant with your ideas but listening to mine. Judith Curr for giving me and my books a chance. And everyone else at Atria that had a hand in getting this book to production. I love you all.

  My agent, Jane Dystel. She is always there to help in any situation. I’m thankful that I have her on my side in this new and ever-changing world of publishing. Lauren Abramo, who handles my foreign rights. I couldn’t begin to think of conquering that world without her.

  The friends who listen to me and understand me the way no one else in my life can: Colleen Hoover and Jamie McGuire. You two have been with me from the beginning. Knowing I can call you both at any time when I need advice or just an ear is priceless.

  My beta readers, Natasha Tomic and Autumn Hull. You both are brilliant and know exactly where to point out what is missing. Thank you so much for keeping up with my hectic schedule. Beta reading for someone who is always writing a book isn’t an easy job.

  Last but certainly not least: My family. Without their support I wouldn’t be here. My husband, Keith, makes sure I have my coffee and the kids are all taken care of when I need to lock myself away and meet a deadline. My three kids are so understanding, although once I walk out of that writing cave they expect my full attention, and they get it. My parents, who have supported me all along. Even when I decided to write steamier stuff. My friends, who don’t hate me because I can’t spend time with them for weeks at a time because my writing is taking over. They are my ultimate support group, and I love them dearly.