His Texas Forever Family

by Amy Woods

  “You and me both, kiddo,” Paige said as she got out and helped Owen out of the car. He looked great in his costume. All the kids were supposed to come dressed as school supplies to welcome the parents. Owen was dressed as an eraser. He looked ridiculous and cute and Paige had to smile each time she saw the gigantic pink rectangle. Owen didn’t seem to mind being dressed up like an office supply. He was just happy to be going onstage with the rest of his class. On some level, Paige thought he knew how important it was that he had speaking lines. Even though they hadn’t sat down to talk about it, mostly because she was afraid to question a good thing when she saw it, she knew he had to be aware of the significance of his accomplishments over the past few weeks.

  But that wasn’t the only thing she had avoided talking about.

  “This way, Mom,” Owen said, leading her through the front doors and down a hallway to the auditorium where the first-grade class was supposed to meet backstage.

  She had avoided saying much about Liam. She knew Owen felt his absence; he asked about his teacher almost every day. She was just glad that she hadn’t let Owen know too much about the relationship so that he didn’t expect more. He clearly missed Liam, but she had told her son only that Mr. Campbell was out of town for a few weeks, and she wasn’t sure if he would be coming back. After being glum for a few days, Owen had seemed to perk back up. She had Liam to thank for that. He had never made a big deal out of Owen’s talking, so Owen didn’t associate it with his presence and had been able to keep on going when his teacher had gone. Liam had been right about that. He had been right about a lot of things.

  Part of her hoped, by some chance, that she might see him around town, but she wasn’t even sure if he was still living in Peach Leaf, and she’d been too afraid to ask Rachel if he had moved away. All she knew was that he’d resigned from his teaching position and had recommended someone who had been hired in his place.

  She knew she owed him an apology, and so much more, but she needed to give him time. She had hurt him enough already. But God, she missed him. He brought so much light into their lives, and though she tried to stay upbeat to keep her son happy, she was struggling with the darkness in Liam’s absence.

  They met with Cam backstage and Paige offered to help. Her best friend’s red hair was wild and her eyes were darting every which way as she clamored to get all of the kids in line. Paige shouted at Cam through the ruckus to let her know if she needed anything and Cam grinned at her over Owen’s head. She gave a thumbs-up, pointing to an assistant teacher nearby, and Paige felt a little bit better knowing things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Kids were running around all over the place, but it looked like at least they were all dressed. Child-size pens and pencils were everywhere, along with a few juice-smeared faces and some hair-pulling. Paige wiped some mouths and stopped a few minor catastrophes before heading out to the audience.

  She found a seat near the back. After what had happened at Principal Matthews’s dinner, she wasn’t exactly dashing to mingle. Her boss had taken it well after the initial shock, and Paige found out a week later that another senior teacher had been offered the position—a good choice—and she’d been able to rest a bit, knowing that she was off the hook. She’d mourned for a day or two over the lost opportunity and then had decided she liked having the pressure gone. Her time with Owen was more relaxed and she was better able to concentrate on each moment they spent together. They’d gone to movies, the park and swimming at the local pool more times in the past week than they had in the entire last year and this year combined. She enjoyed it so much that she was seriously considering going back to teaching and giving up her job as assistant principal altogether, but her boss had had enough lately, and Paige would save that news for after the end of the semester. She looked forward to spending her days in a classroom again.

  She settled into her seat and looked around her before the lights dimmed. It was a great turnout. In the back of her mind, she had to admit that there was still a hint of fear that Owen might freeze up and not be able to say his lines. She had thought about sitting up front so he could see her well, but then she’d decided against it. If he could look out into the audience and forget himself, then he had a better chance of not panicking.

  The lights started to dim and Paige turned off her cell phone and tucked her purse under her seat. Her nerves shot up to the surface and she took several deep breaths.

  Just have faith in him. He’ll do fine. She heard Liam’s voice in her head as she calmed herself, and the intensity of missing him flooded her body all over again. She fought back tears until she realized that no one could see them, and then she let them fall silently one by one into the darkness. How she wished Liam was there to see Owen, to be with her while she watched her son do what she had, not so long ago, thought he might never be able to do again. How she wished Liam could see what he had accomplished, what he had brought back to life.

  She was surprised to find that her thoughts went first to Liam, and not to Mark. Somehow she knew that her husband would be okay with it. She knew he would want her to move on and to find someone else to love, which she had done.

  That is, before she had messed it all up horribly. She wiped her eyes and bit her lip as she saw Owen walk onstage and take his place. The next few moments passed quickly as she mouthed her child’s lines with him. He nailed every last one without a single mistake, though she wouldn’t have cared if he had given someone else’s lines entirely. She would have been happy all the same, just to hear his voice up there. She clasped her hands together and pulled them against her heart. And then, as Owen exited the stage, her heart throbbed with sorrow again, mixed with determination.

  Suddenly it was the most important thing in the world that she call Liam and tell him what had happened, what Owen had done. She waited on the edge of agony until the play was over—Cam would kill her if she found out her best friend hadn’t watched the whole of it—and then as the crowd burst into uproarious applause, she rose from her seat and made a beeline for the lobby. She dug around in the bottom of her purse, cursing as she grasped in vain for her phone, and finally she grabbed the hard plastic in her fingers. She pulled it out as though it were a hot coal and waited for it to wake up again. Dialing Liam’s number while keeping an eye out for Owen to come out from backstage with the rest of the cast, she waited with bated breath as she heard the first ring. As the audience began to file out of the auditorium, she lost the call. She managed to find a corner and dialed again. In the distance a phone rang parallel to her dial tone.

  It couldn’t be. There had to be a million phones in the place and one of them had just coincidentally synced up with her call.

  “Hello.” The voice was in her ear and also…a few feet away where the ringing had been a minute before. No way.

  “Liam.”

  “Paige.”

  She followed the real voice rather than the one in her ear and found him. They stood facing each other. He was even more handsome than he had been in the memories she’d carried around for the past few weeks. His hair was slightly shorter, but still tousled and sexy, and his eyes were the same intense green she remembered.

  Her heart pounded in her ears and for a long moment, they just stood there staring at each other, phones in ears, until she burst out laughing at how silly they must look. She put her phone away and Liam pulled his down from his ear. And then he reached out and pulled her into his arms. He held her out from him so he could see her face and she smiled into his face to let him know how glad she was to see him.

  And then she did what she should have done two weeks ago, when she’d stood with him in the classroom before she’d finally made up her mind and had chosen to do what she needed rather than what she thought she should do for a hoard of reasons that weren’t nearly as important.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, and he shook his head as though she didn’t need to apologize. But she did, an
d they both knew it.

  “I should have told you to stay. I should have figured it out sooner and told you how I felt so you wouldn’t leave.”

  “I’m here now,” he said, pulling her closer. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I was so worried about all the wrong things. I couldn’t see what was right in front of me. You were right the whole time and…”

  “And I’m sorry I didn’t fight you harder, Paige, but I knew you had to figure it out on your own. You didn’t need me for that, but I didn’t want to start a life with you until you were absolutely ready for one. I needed to know that you were ready for me. But I also want you to know that it’s okay for you to keep Mark alive for Owen. He needs that, and I’ll help you do it. There’s no need for him to forget his dad.”

  Paige’s heart swelled with all the words she’d longed to hear. He was really here to stay. And she was willing to do whatever it took to keep him.

  “I’m going back to teaching,” she said, hoping to see his face light up with the news. It would mean they could be together without worrying what anyone thought. They would be equals in the school with her no longer in a supervisory role. She would have no power to show favoritism and worry constantly about being reprimanded for rewarding him, which she knew she would have to do at some point because he was, without argument, an extraordinary teacher.

  Instead of delight, she saw something else. Something she couldn’t quite identify.

  “That won’t be necessary, Paige, unless you want to do it just for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been offered a full-time position as an art therapist at Peach Leaf Memorial. I’m going to have my own program and classroom, and they’re even willing to fund the remaining classes that I need to complete my doctorate.” The pure joy in his eyes made her own heart swell near to bursting with matched emotion. She couldn’t believe it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” She couldn’t help but feel slightly wounded, but whatever he said, she knew he would have had a good reason for withholding the information from her.

  “Because when I found out about it, it wasn’t a sure thing yet. I took a week off from teaching to meet with the hospital director and some other staff to see if it would really work. I had to compile a lot of research from my experiences and put together several presentations. It was pretty brutal, actually, but the director believed in the idea and wanted me to make the same impression on the rest of the board. They loved all of it. The research doesn’t lie about the effectiveness of art therapy, and I’ve worked with enough students that I knew I could prove it would help so many people in the hospital. And…there was something else. I needed to give you some time to work things out on your own. I couldn’t be the one to tell you if you were ready to make a go at this or not, and I didn’t want your decision to be clouded with anything—the school, your boss, Mark or even Owen. I needed to know if you felt the same way I do—just you.”

  She stared into those evergreen eyes and saw a future there with him. A future she would do anything for now. And she jumped in.

  “I love you, Liam Campbell, and I am so glad you’re here.” And with that, she kissed him in front of the entire staff of Peach Leaf Elementary and a hundred or more parents. And she didn’t mind a single shred what any of them thought. She forgot her father, the principal job and everything else as she gave Liam every part of her. When they pulled apart she saw Cam out of the corner of her eye, and her best friend winked from across the room.

  “Mr. Campbell!”

  “What on earth?” Liam asked, beaming as a giant eraser hurtled toward them.

  “You’re back!” Owen ran up and hugged Liam with epic force, pushing him even closer to Paige. Owen looked up at both of them, a huge grin plastered across his face. Liam reached down to hug Owen, and the three of them were wrapped into a family embrace.

  “Does this mean you’re going to come live with us?” Owen asked, and Paige blushed.

  “Well, I was actually hoping that you might come and live with me,” Liam said, “but we’ll have to run it by your mom first because she might want to come along too.” Love filled Liam’s eyes as he grinned at her over Owen’s head. “I’ve bought a house, and I think you’ll absolutely adore it,” he said to her. “And of course there’s a pool in the backyard and a room for Owen, if you’ll say yes.”

  Paige took a deep breath, and with certainty, she answered, “Yes.” She let him lift her off the floor then and didn’t care who saw her as the art teacher pulled her in for another kiss. It felt so good to do what made her happy, and kissing Liam was at the top of the list.

  “Would the two of you join me for dinner then?” Liam asked. “I know where we can find a great hamburger and some ice cream for dessert.” Owen agreed enthusiastically, and the three of them walked out of the school hand in hand.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Liam stood at the back of their house on the top step of the freshly stained, gleaming deck. He looked up as she began her walk through the yard, and the tears he’d sworn to himself he’d keep away pinched at his eyes and nose.

  Paige was dressed in a knee-length pale yellow summer gown, her feet bare in the soft dewy morning grass of their yard. She mirrored the sunshine that came from the sky and glinted off her hair. There were hardly any tears as she walked toward him; her face was filled with only hope and happiness, and Liam had everything he needed right there, with her and Owen. When she reached where he stood, he held out his hands and squeezed hers in them, his skin tingling with their touch and the anticipation of sharing his life with her.

  The minister said his part and when it was time for the rings, they turned to watch Owen make his way up the aisle, looking ever the handsome young man in his small tuxedo, with a butter-yellow rose pinned to his little chest. The boy grinned as he passed their few guests—Cam winked at him, and Paige’s sister, Emily, burst into happy tears at the sight of her nephew. The boy they’d all been so worried about not that long ago. The boy who was now thriving at school, playing Little League baseball with his friends and talking like a chatterbox to anyone who’d lend him an ear.

  Liam’s family was beautiful, and he couldn’t wait to start the rest of his life with them. He had left Peach Leaf Elementary and started full-time a week later at Peach Leaf Memorial, where he now spent his days helping kids like Owen. Sometimes he even brought Owen up to help him, along with their new family member, a rescue dog they’d chosen and trained together for service but who had quickly become Owen’s best bud. The kid had a calm, mature demeanor and Liam’s patients responded well to having Owen in the room. He gave them hope that they, too, would get better.

  Liam had purchased the house before he’d gone to see Owen’s skit that night, knowing full well he would have to back out of the contract if Paige didn’t want to share it with him, but he’d had a feeling she would. So he’d put all his eggs in that one, fragile basket and thanked his lucky stars when she’d said yes to being his forever.

  The house was perfect. It had a giant kitchen where they spent evenings cooking together, sometimes even with Owen, and a living room large enough for the three of them and Rachel’s family to spread out with a board game. Owen had picked his room immediately—a second-story bedroom with a window seat where he could spend afternoons reading or drawing, which he’d grown increasingly fond of and was getting quite good at.

  When Paige became pregnant a few weeks before the wedding, she told the new principal that she wouldn’t be coming back the following semester, and Liam supported her decision. He knew she’d always wanted to spend more time with Owen, and now she would be able to stay home with her son in the summers and spend her days with the new baby. His heart overflowed at his good fortune.

  As he slipped the ring on her finger, he thought of the tiny life growing i
nside her and hoped the baby would have the best of both of them—his passion and Paige’s determined strength. And mostly he hoped their child would have their combined bravery and never let fear get in the way of trying again, even when the world had knocked him or her down.

  If he had to pick one thing he’d learned from Paige and Owen to share with their new little one, he would tell their child that love was worth risking everything for, especially when it was for forever.

  * * * * *

  Enjoy this sneak peek from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer’s TEXAS BORN, the latest in THE LONG, TALL TEXANS miniseries.

  Forced from her home by her cruel stepmother, Michelle Godfrey is out of luck…until Gabriel Brandon comes to her rescue. The tall, brooding cowboy is devilishly handsome, but he’s her guardian—and nothing more. As Michelle grows into the woman she’s always wanted to be, can the shy beauty show Gabriel that she’s the only one he needs?

  ***

  Just for an instant, Gabriel worried about putting Michelle in the line of fire, considering his line of work. He had enemies. Dangerous enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to threaten anyone close to him. Of course, there was his sister, Sara, but she’d lived in Wyoming for the past few years, away from him, on a ranch they co-owned. Now he was putting her in jeopardy along with Michelle.

  But what could he do? The child had nobody. Now that her idiot stepmother, Roberta, was dead, Michelle was truly on her own. It was dangerous for a young woman to live alone, even in a small community. And there was also the question of Roberta’s boyfriend, Bert.

  Gabriel knew things about the man that he wasn’t eager to share with Michelle. Bert was part of a criminal organization, and he knew Michelle’s habits. He also had a yen for her, if what Michelle had blurted out to Gabriel once was true—and he had no indication that she would lie about it. Bert might decide to come try his luck with her now that her stepmother was out of the picture. That couldn’t be allowed.