Still, today when I saw Lyfe, he gave me a look that broke what was left of my heart. I won’t ask for him to forgive me. That is asking for the impossible. But I have to say, that if I had it all to do over again, I would’ve married Lyfe fourteen years ago with my daddy’s shotgun at his back. I would’ve had Melody and a dozen more babies with his eyes and his smile. And I would be proud today to say that I was the wife of a farmer, a gas station attendant or anything else he wanted to be. I have a feeling that I would be a hell of a lot happier than I am right now.
“Corona?” Tess inquired, dipping her head into her sister’s old bedroom. “Are you all right?”
Corona glanced up and closed her diary. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Tess lingered at the door as if afraid to cross the threshold. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “This is all my fault. I thought that if … I got you two together, that everything would work itself out. I figured that as crazy as Lyfe was about you that—”
“It wouldn’t matter that I kept him from his daughter?”
Tess dropped her head. “Given how he’s always felt about you … yeah, I really did. It just didn’t go down like I planned.”
“Things rarely do.” Corona chugged in a deep breath. “But … if you hadn’t put your nose where it didn’t belong, I guess I would’ve put off telling Melody about her father until she was eighteen. That probably would’ve been an even bigger mistake.”
“Soooo … does that mean that I’m forgiven?”
A small smile flickered at the corners of her lips. “Yeah. I guess so.”
Tess bolted into the room and gave her sister a much needed big hug. But when she pulled away, she went right back to her old ways. “You know, there’s still a chance that Lyfe may calm down and talk to you.”
Corona Mae shook her head. “No. It’s over,” she said, remembering his face that afternoon. “He’ll never forgive me for this one.”
An hour later, Corona Mae sat swinging on her parent’s porch swing, looking up at the blanket of stars while Christmas music still played inside. Every memory she’d ever shared with Lyfe in this small town scrolled through her head. It didn’t seem so oppressive now that she’d lived in the big city. She sort of enjoyed how much slower and calmer life was out here.
Despite her being the talk of the town, everyone was still pleasant when they saw her—and most told her how beautiful her daughter was. She guessed that meant Lyfe was out showing her off like a proud father.
“Looks like you sprung a leak,” her father said, stepping out onto the porch.
Corona Mae mopped at her eyes. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Hey.” He slid his hands into his pockets and then joined her on the swing. “I would ask how you’re holding up, but after watching you trip over your bottom lip all day, I think I get the picture.”
She smiled.
“You know, uh, I never got the chance to apologize for uhm … “ He searched for the right words. “Well, I guess for ruining your life.”
“What?” She twisted toward him.
He shrugged. “None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t overreacted when I saw you … in there … back then.”
“Oh, Daddy. You didn’t ruin my life.”
“Didn’t I? If it wasn’t for me, then you would’ve never ran away from home, never had to try and raise that child on your own … who knows? In all likelihood, you and Lyfe would’ve gotten together in your own time.” His eyes started glistening. “And if I wasn’t so stubborn, I would’ve apologized long before now.”
She reached over and took his hand. “It’s all right, Daddy. Turns out that I overreacted too when I ran away.”
“Does that mean that I’m forgiven?”
“Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes. I love you, Daddy. I know that you only did what you thought was right.”
“Thank you, baby. I really needed to hear that.” He inched closer. “You have to forgive yourself as well.”
Corona lowered her eyes. “I don’t know if I deserve it.”
“None of us deserves it, baby girl. But we all need it. I know it may surprise you to hear me say this, but Lyfe is a good man. And he would be so lucky to have you.”
She shook her head. “He doesn’t love me anymore.”
“Nonsense. When a man loves a woman for as long as he has loved you, it will take a hell of a lot more than this to change it. He’s just hurt right now. Go to him.”
The tears started rolling faster again. “B-but he won’t listen to me.”
“Then we’ll have to figure out a way to make him listen.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, baby girl.”
She smiled and then launched herself into his arms. They held each other and cried.
Bright and early on Christmas morning, Corona Mae opened her eyes and immediately wondered how Melody was enjoying herself over at the Alton’s house. No doubt that she would be smothered with Christmas gifts, which would probably take a week to pack and ship back to New York. For most of Christmas Eve, her daughter had texted photos of her and her new family. It looked as if half of Georgia had come down to see her.
“I’m happy for her,” she whispered up to the ceiling.
“Rise and shine,” Tess said, bursting into her room like she used to do when they were younger.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” Corona groaned.
Tess turned back around and knocked on the open door. “Better?”
“Whatever.” Corona rolled her eyes, picked up a pillow and then buried her head underneath it.
“Nah, huh. None of that. Time to get up. Time for presents.”
Corona groaned.
Tess placed her hands on her waist. “How on earth do you run a big agency when I can’t even get you out of bed?”
She lifted the pillow. “I’m on vacation!”
“No. You’re working my nerves.” She grabbed the pillow and tossed it across the room. “Now get up! Everybody is waiting.”
“Not everybody. Melody isn’t here.”
“Melody is downstairs.”
“What?” Corona finally jumped out of bed. “She’s here? Is something wrong? What happened?” She didn’t even wait for an answer before she shot out of her bedroom and raced downstairs. Sure enough, Melody was laughing in the kitchen with her grandma.
“Melody, baby. What are you doing here?” She grabbed her and wrenched her into a tight hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much.”
“It’s only been two days, Mom.” She laughed.
“But why are you here?”
“We always spend Christmas together,” Melody said. “I don’t see why today has to be any different.”
“Oh.” Corona’s squeezed her tighter, feeling her heart explode with love.
“Momma, I can’t breathe.”
“Ah, sorry.” She released her but continued to give her a weepy puppy dog look.
“All right now. Y’all gonna have me crying in these pancakes. Go on now. Get out of my kitchen with all that carrying on.”
“It’s okay, Momma. We’re going to stop crying now.”
“Uh-huh,” she said with a smile.
“So.” Corona turned back to Melody. “How did you get over here?”
“Grandpa Rufus came and got me. Then he and my uncles helped load up your Christmas present in his truck.”
“My Christmas present?”
“Yeah. It’s downstairs in the basement.”
“The basement?” She glanced over at her mother, who quickly returned her attention to her skillet. Corona turned toward Tess, but she was suddenly interested in the paint on the ceiling. “All right. I’ll bite. I’ll go look.” She marched out of the kitchen with Melody following closely behind.
She slowly descended the staircase, bracing herself for the unexpected. However, nothing in the world could’ve prepared her for seeing Lyfe strapped down and tied to a chair.
“Oh, my God, what is going on?”
“Morning, sweetheart,” her father said. “You’re up early.”
“Hmmmp, hmmpft,” Lyfe mumbled beneath his gag.
“You kidnapped him?” she asked, astonished.
“Well,” her father said, adjusting the bill on his cap.
“The way we figured, you two were going to waste an awful lot of time being mad at each other. So me and the Alton boys here thought that we’d just speed up the process so you two can talk.”
“Yeah,” Hennessey said. “Lil man here was working our nerves with his bottom lip hanging out these past few days. We all know that you love each other, so y’all are going to stay down here until you work this thing out.”
Corona shook her head while still trying to process it all. “Y’all can’t do this.”
They looked at each other. “Sure we can.”
“And we got something for you, too.” Ace held up some rope and then launched toward her.
Corona turned and attempted to take off up the stairs, but Ace and his brothers proved that they were still very athletic when they plucked her off the staircase as if she weighed nothing.
“Oh, no, sweetheart. We know that you’re a runner. But this time, you’re going to sit right over here next to your lover boy and work this out.”
“Daddy! Do something!”
Rufus chuckled. “I am doing something, baby girl. Whose idea do you think this was?”
Another chair was produced and set next to Lyfe. Next thing she knew, she was being tied to the chair.
“Wait. Wait. You can’t do this.”
But apparently they could … and they did. When they were through, the five Alton brothers and her father smiled with great satisfaction.
“Now, you two talk,” Rufus said. “We’ll be back down here after we think you’ve worked this thing out.”
“Daddy.”
“I’m only doing what I think is best, baby girl.” He winked and pressed a kiss against her forehead. He then walked over to Lyfe and removed his gag. “You two have fun.” He turned and marched out of the basement with the Altons behind him in a single file.
At the staircase Melody gave her parents a sympathetic smile, but she was definitely in cahoots with her grandpa and uncles. A few seconds later, the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, leaving Lyfe and Corona Mae all alone.
“It’s official. Your father is positively insane!”
“And what about those five mountains you call brothers?” she charged back. “Clearly they’ve all taken a couple of trips over the cuckoo’s nest too.”
Lyfe shook his head. “I should’ve known that you would take their side.”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. You might want to notice that I’m tied to a chair in the basement too. It’s not exactly how I planned to spend my Christmas.”
“Yeah. I believe that you were hoping to be on your honeymoon with Mr. Box-office by now.”
She gasped at the low blow. “How dare you! Look, I get that you’re mad. But that doesn’t mean that I have to sit here while you hurl insults at me.”
“Oh? Going somewhere, are you?”
“Look, I made a mistake! All I can do is apologize—but I honestly believe that I was doing the right thing at the time. I didn’t set out to deliberately hurt you. Why would I do that?”
“I honestly don’t know. Now I’m doubting everything that I thought I ever knew about you.”
Even the second time around, the jab hurt. But this time Corona fought the tears that rushed her eyes. “I’m sorry you feel that way—because I still love everything about you.”
Lyfe’s jaw hardened as he twisted his head away.
“Look, I’ve made a lot of mistakes while trying to do the right thing. Do my intentions not count? How could I truly believe that you wanted to marry me when my father had a six-gauge pointed at your back?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he spat. “You knew how I felt about you. The whole town knew.”
“Ridiculous?” she echoed. “I asked you that day, down here in this basement, if you really wanted to marry me.”
“And I said yes!”
“No!” She shook her head, her eyes turning accusatory. “You never answered the question. You opened your mouth, but you couldn’t give me an answer,” she reminded him. “Then when I told you that we didn’t have to go through with it, and that my father wouldn’t really shoot you, you joked that since he’d already tried once, he wouldn’t miss the second time. But you never answered the question.”
Lyfe’s face softened as he tried to review his own account of that conversation.
“I believe that you loved me like you said, but you weren’t sure about marrying at that time either. We were young—too young. Don’t you see? I loved you enough to set you free.”
The room dripped with silence, but the tension was slowly ebbing away.
“When did you know?” he asked quietly. “About Melody? When did you know that you were pregnant?”
“Three months later. And I almost came back home. I honestly did. It was senior prom time here, and I heard that you were taking Leanne Henry. You were going on and enjoying your teenage life like I wanted—and, at the time, it seemed selfish and manipulative to just show up. We would’ve been right back where we started, but with more pressure to marry.”
“So you chose to go it alone?” he asked dubiously.
“I was a teenager. What passed for logic then doesn’t make sense now. But once I started down that path, I couldn’t get myself to change course. If I couldn’t come back when I was three months pregnant, I couldn’t come with a newborn, or a one-year-old, or a ten-year-old, or a teenager.” Corona Mae sniffed, but kept up the battle against her tears. “All I can do now is apologize. But I can tell you that there wasn’t one day that I didn’t think about you. There wasn’t a single day that I didn’t wonder where you were. Were you happy? Had I made the right decision? Just like there was hardly a night when I didn’t think about that snowy night when we made love in front of the fireplace. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. My one joy was waking up every morning and staring into our daughter’s eyes and seeing you.”
Lyfe finally met her gaze and revealed his eyes glossed with tears. “I was scared that day,” he admitted. “It was all going … so fast. But the one thing I knew when I showed up in that god-awful tuxedo was that I loved you. And at seventeen, I thought it was going to be enough. Maybe it was—maybe it wasn’t. I guess we’ll never know.”
Corona Mae’s bottom lip began to tremble. “What about now?” She sniffed as her tears started to gain ground. “Do you really hate me?”
“No,” he said without hesitation. “Apparently that’s impossible for me.”
A bud of hope began to bloom. “Do you think that you can ever forgive me?”
“I already have. I think that’s why I’m mad at myself.” He chuckled.
It wasn’t enough. She pushed on. “Do you think you can ever love me again?”
“I’ve never stopped. I think that’s another reason why I was mad at myself.” To her surprise, the rope fell from his wrists, and he quickly unbound his legs.
“How?”
“Royce never could tie a good sailor’s knot.” He got up, untied her, and then kneeled by her chair. “I’ve wanted to do this for fourteen years.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a beautiful two-carat ring. “Corona Mae Banks, will you marry me?”
Tears poured down her face and she shouted, “Yes. A million times, yes!”
Their arms flew around each other and their lips melded together.
The basement door burst open with celebratory whoops as the Alton men raced down the stairs in black tuxedos.
“Looks like today is a good day for a wedding,” Royce shouted.
“What?” Corona Mae jerked her head back toward Ly fe.
/>
He smiled mischievously. “All right. So maybe … I wasn’t exactly kidnapped.”
“Oh, you!” She smacked him on the chest.
Bringing up the rear was their daughter in an elegant pink-lace dress. “Momma, we got to get you up to your room so you can get dressed. You don’t want to be late for your own wedding.”
Corona Mae’s smile continued to stretch. “I wouldn’t miss this one for the world.”
Epilogue
December 25, 2014 Dear Diary,
It’s hard to believe that today Lyfe and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone? Maybe this is just how it is when one is truly happy. I don’t even miss my former life in New York. How could I when every morning I wake up surrounded by love? But today was extra special. After we made love by the fireplace, I told Lyfe that he was going to be a father again.
I had a chance to tell Melody about the baby yesterday, and she’s as ecstatic as her father. It’s amazing how much of a daddy’s girl she is now. My move back to Thomason has also allowed me and my father to heal, and I’m now as much a daddy’s girl as my daughter.
Melody loves spending her Saturdays hunting and fishing and playing pool. She’s also the pride and joy of her five uncles, and all of them have been threatening every boy that comes within a mile of her. I think having a girl in their tight clan has changed those Alton boys’ attitudes toward women as well. One can only hope.
After Lyfe quit his architecture firm, he started a consultant business that he runs from home, and we also started our own grass-fed farm with free-range chickens. Turns out, it’s a booming business now that there’s such a local farm movement.
As for Tess, I think there’s something going on between her Hennessey. Those pranksters are like two peas in a pod—only they’re the only ones who don’t notice how alike they are.
We’ll see.
ISBN: 978-1-408-93701-3
A CHRISTMAS AFFAIR
© Adrianne Byrd 2011
First Published in Great Britain in 2011
Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, including without limitation xerography, photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
A Christmas Affair Page 16
