“My life’s not simple right now.” And it wasn’t. But she was making plans to stay, wasn’t she?
Her mother smiled. “Nor will it ever be, darling.”
Wynn collected the plates and walked her mom to the door. “Thanks for coming tonight. It was good not to be alone.”
Watching her mom go, she thought about the conversation she would have with Latham tomorrow. He must have been stunned to see Preston in Red Hill Springs, every bit as much as she was. Preston had no hold on her anymore. She just hoped Latham would believe it.
Chapter Fifteen
Saturday morning, the day after Preston’s surprise visit to Red Hill Springs, Pop went to breakfast with the Old Geezers Club, as they called themselves, and Latham set out to replenish their wood supply, which was drastically diminished after the ice storm.
He swung the ax and split the wood. Maybe the physical exercise would exorcise some of the fears haunting his dreams last night. He hadn’t slept well and, consequently, was in a foul mood this morning. He kept telling himself he shouldn’t be worried about the congressman’s visit, but the truth was, Preston Schofield had a claim on Wynn and a history with her that Latham didn’t have. That ate at him, along with the fact that he’d let Pop talk him into getting the ring out of the safe-deposit box and carrying it in his pocket where he couldn’t forget about it.
Ever.
A car stopped in the driveway as he sent the last two pieces of the log flying off the chopping block. He stuck the cutting edge of the ax into one of the pieces and walked over to meet Wynn in the driveway. “Hey, did your mom drop you off to pick up your car?”
Her eyes were shadowed, the skin underneath looking fragile, and he wondered if she’d stayed awake all night last night like he did. She blinked at him in the bright sun. “I thought maybe we could have a cup of coffee, if you have time.”
“I have time. Pop’s out to breakfast with his friends.” He held open the door for her to enter and closed it behind them. “Do you want something to eat? There’s some banana bread left, I think.”
“No, thanks.”
He reached into the cabinet for a couple of mugs and poured coffee from the carafe, sliding hers over for her to doctor.
“My brothers told me you saw Preston in town yesterday.” She stirred sugar into her coffee and followed it with cream.
Latham picked up his mug, trying to figure out how to ask diplomatically. Finally, he just said what he was thinking. “What was he doing here?”
She opened her mouth to answer, and he put his hand up. “No, wait. I shouldn’t be asking you that.” He waved a hand in the general direction of her stomach. “He has every reason to be here, and it’s none of my business.”
A fact that galled him.
“C’mon, let’s go sit on the porch.” She didn’t wait for him to answer, just walked through the back door and settled in a rocker, looking out over his land, the coffee mug cradled in her slim fingers.
When he sat down beside her, she said, “I can tell you’re not happy with me. I want you to tell me why.”
“I’m not unhappy with you, but seeing him stirred me up inside.” All this time, he’d slowly been convincing himself that she could feel the same way about him that he felt about her.
“I don’t really understand. Unless you thought I might go back to him.”
“Would you?” He paced to the edge of the deck, setting his coffee cup on the railing, looking out over the fields, but not really seeing them.
“No! Preston asked me to come back to Washington and work with him. I turned him down.”
He swung around to face her. “What did he say about the baby?”
She took in a shaky breath. “Well, he doesn’t want anything from his past to hinder his political aspirations.”
“He’s a first-class jerk.”
“Precisely.” She walked to the rail and stood beside him. “What’s bothering you, Latham?”
She’d been honest with him. Spilling his guts wasn’t exactly something he relished, but he could return the favor. “I guess seeing him just brought home the fact that you could leave anytime. There’s nothing really holding you here.”
“That’s not true. I have my family. I have a home here.” Her hand touched his, and he wanted to grasp hold.
“I know, but your goals have always been for something bigger, brighter, more important maybe, than what you could find in Red Hill Springs.” And she’d made him no promises. She hadn’t really even told him how she felt about him. They’d shared some kisses, which made him think there was something there, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d been wrong about Wynn. How could he trust her—when everything had changed and nothing had changed?
She looked at him with those clear blue eyes. “You’re right. I did want those things—and I was confused about what was really important. I’m starting to figure that out now.”
He stuck his hand in his pocket, his fingers finding the diamond ring. “You’ve told me yourself you don’t know what the future holds for you here.”
Tension laced her voice. “I don’t know, but I’m working on it. I just need you to give me a little time to make some plans.”
He’d been thinking of asking her to marry him. Since he’d picked up that ring yesterday, and before, if he was honest with himself, he’d been imagining life with her. He just wasn’t sure she was doing the same. “Look. You haven’t made any commitment to me. I get that. It just slapped me in the face when I saw the congressman, that if you got a job somewhere, you’d leave.”
“For now, I’m staying.” She spread her hands. “That’s all I’ve got, but I’m trying.”
Now wasn’t enough. Maybe that wasn’t fair to her. Maybe it wasn’t even fair to himself, but he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t put his heart in her hands again. “Look, I’m just a country boy with half a PhD. I can’t compete with the Preston Schofields of the world.”
“They can’t hold a candle to you.”
He wanted to believe that she meant it, that he had a chance with her. That one day, when they were old and gray, they’d be dancing in the kitchen together. He just wasn’t sure he could. “I guess I need some time, too.”
“Okay. You can have as much time as you need.” Her phone buzzed, and she dug in her purse to find it. She checked the screen and then said, “I have to go. I’ll see you around.”
He watched her leave. He wanted to chase her car down the drive and beg her not to go. He was in love with her.
He couldn’t do that, though. She had to stay because she wanted to, not because he needed her to.
* * *
When she was out of sight of Latham’s house, Wynn pulled over to the side of the road and let her tears fall. It had been just an awful two days.
She’d been ready for the showdown with Preston, although she definitely hadn’t expected the grief that came along with her daughter’s biological father wanting to write her out of his life for the sake of convenience. Ada Jane would be better off without him.
But Latham... Wynn had thought he’d want to know what happened with Preston, but she hadn’t expected that the surprise visit would make Latham question her. She let out a long wavering sigh.
Maybe that was for the best, too. If he was still questioning her loyalty because of what she’d done ten years ago, she couldn’t blame him. It hurt her feelings a little, but he needed to work through it.
She swiped the tears from her face and put the car in gear. It was kind of ironic that she was trying to get her life together so she could go to him on equal footing and tell him she was in love with him.
His uncertainty made her question her whole decision to tell him how she felt. Maybe she was trying too hard to make things fit. She’d done that with Preston, and that hadn’t exactly turned out well.
Her mom had texte
d and asked her to come straight to the church. Maybe it would get her mind off all the things she couldn’t control to help her mom with her latest project, and then she would stop for one of Jules’s chocolate cupcakes on her way home.
Wynn pulled into the parking lot and groaned when she saw it loaded with cars. What had her mother dragged her into? She looked in the rearview mirror, wiped the mascara from under her eyes and fluffed her hair.
A few scattered raindrops were falling from the sky, and she ran for the door of the fellowship hall, flinging it open and skidding to a stop when she saw the room was filled with pink balloons and streamers. Her friends—many of whom she hadn’t seen since high school—were standing around in groups. She recognized her mother’s friends, too, and all the repair work she’d done on her mascara was for naught.
“Surprise!” Jordan grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her into the room. “Molly figured you would never give her a list, so we decided to surprise you!”
As people realized she’d arrived, they started to gather around her, offering congratulations.
“Y’all. I can’t even believe this. Thank you so much!” She smiled at the familiar faces and got a laugh when she waved at the food table stacked high with tiny pink cupcakes, little cocktail-sized sandwiches and fancy decorated cookies. “Please, eat and talk...and eat. Look at all that food!”
The true joy of people she’d known her whole life, but hadn’t seen in years, proved to her that she was in the right place. She was surrounded by people who had her back no matter what she’d done. Here in Red Hill Springs, she was finding everything she needed—except the faith of the one person she needed to believe in her most.
To find the organizers of this ambush, she went straight to the kitchen. Molly was pulling a tray of sausage balls out of the oven and Jules was putting tiny cheesecakes on a tray. “I will get you back for this one day when you least expect it.”
Jules whirled around, a guilty flush creeping up her cheeks. “Wynn! Molly, I told you we were going to be on borrowed time.”
Molly smiled and tossed the sausage balls into a basket lined with a pink napkin. “I’m willing to take that chance. I’m really happy you’re back in town, and I want you to stay.”
Was there never an end to the tears that she would shed during this pregnancy? “Thank you. I’m trying to make a plan for the future. Just not sure of all the details yet.”
“Good. Let’s go into the fellowship hall. It’s time to get the games started.”
Wynn gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, images of silliness with straw and cotton balls and stickers on her forehead filling her head. “Games?”
Molly laughed and tucked her arm through Wynn’s. “Just kidding. I said I want you to stay, not go running for the first flight out of here.”
Following Molly through the fellowship hall, Wynn greeted half a dozen friends from high school, her algebra teacher, two of her mother’s best friends and Lanna from the diner. She was seated in a chair at one end of the circle, her face muscles straining from the effort of looking like she was happy and having a good time.
Jordan handed her a plate and sat down next to her. She had a notebook on her lap. “You okay? You look a little tense.”
“I’m fine. What’s the notebook for?”
Her sister-in-law had on an actual dress and boots today, her red hair in a loose waterfall down her back. “I’m writing down the gifts that you get so you don’t have to try to remember who to write thank-you notes to.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Have you never been to one of these things before?”
Wynn shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think so. I worked seven days a week. I remember being invited to a few between college and law school, but I did a summer start program for law school so I could graduate early.”
“Of course you did.”
“I was ambitious, and see where it got me? Jobless in Red Hill Springs.” She took a bite of a sausage ball as Jordan laughed at her. “Wow, this is really good.”
“Hey, Jordan.” Mary Pat Haney, whose married last name completely escaped Wynn, slid into the seat next to her and gave her a shy hug. “I heard you were home. I’m sorry I haven’t been by to see you.”
Mary Pat was a curvy blonde, and if she was still the same as when they were kids, one of the sweetest people Wynn had ever met. “No worries. Life has been kind of chaotic for everyone. What are you doing back in Red Hill Springs?”
A deep breath from Mary Pat alerted Wynn to the fact that she might’ve just stuck her foot in her mouth. “You know what, if you don’t want to talk about your life, I’m your girl.”
Mary Pat laughed, her cheeks pink. “Thanks. It’s not a big deal and I should be over the embarrassment by now. I have two boys and I got a divorce about a year ago and moved home to be with my dad.”
So Wynn wasn’t the only one who’d come home to recover from life. What did you say to someone who just told you about her divorce? Ignoring it seemed like a sound policy. “I bet the boys love the farm.”
“They do. They’re covered in mud all the time and happy as they can be. My dad is—well, he’s just the best.”
“Are you working? I’m sure keeping up with the boys is a full-time job.”
“It definitely could be, but I finished nursing school after I moved here and got a job in Mobile.” Mary Pat ate a tiny cucumber sandwich. “What about you? Do you have any plans?”
“That’s the million-dollar question these days. I don’t. Not yet.” Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t be avoiding thinking about Latham because those tears were too close to the surface.
“That has to be hard on you, especially with a baby coming.” Mary Pat’s eyes were understanding, and for once, Wynn didn’t feel defensive.
“It is hard. When I first got home, I needed some time to think and recover—honestly—from a bad relationship. Now I’m ready to have a plan and I have some feelers out, but no job offers yet.”
“I understand completely. It looks like Jules is ready for you to open presents, but call me and let’s get lunch some time.”
“I’d love that,” Wynn said, surprised that she meant it. For months now, she’d wanted to hide from the residents of Red Hill Springs, and the rest of the world. Maybe that she was ready now was a sign.
Mary Pat slipped out of the chair, and Jules piled packages on it. She handed Wynn one wrapped in white paper with little pink footprints. “From Lanna.”
Her chest started to hurt.
She tore off the paper and pulled the box open. It was a tiny footed sleeper with dancing bears on it and a book called Wherever You Are. She held it up and all the ladies gave a collective sigh. “Thanks, Lanna. I love it.”
“I read that book to my grandkids. It’s a tearjerker.”
Awesome. Wynn definitely needed a board book that would make her cry when she read it.
“Pass it around,” Jules said.
“What?”
“Pass the gift around. People want to see them up close.” Jules handed her another package as Wynn handed that one to Jordan. “You really have never been to a shower before. You’re socially inept.”
“I’m not. Put me in the middle of a political fundraiser and I’m the life of the party.”
Her sister sighed. “Just open the present. This one is from Claire.”
Claire’s gift was a basket of baby-proofing items. She looked up and met her sister-in-law’s eyes with a smile. “Thank you!”
“It happens so fast. One day they stay where you put them, the next day they’ve crawled to an outlet and tried to stick their finger in it. I’m speaking hypothetically, of course.” Claire grinned, the new baby asleep in her arms.
Wynn tried to imagine taking her baby with her places, and she just came up with a blank. It was so foreign to her.
&n
bsp; A vibrating bouncy seat, a basket of toiletries for the baby, tiny socks, tiny T-shirts, tiny baby gowns. Her sister and mom had gone in together for a car seat system. Wynn didn’t even know there was such a thing, but it was amazing.
The ladies who had thrown the shower gave her a video baby monitor, which she was sure she would never need because the baby was going to be in her sight at all times.
When it was over, she cried again as she told them all thank you. “I feel very loved. This is the most amazing ‘welcome home–baby shower’ anyone has ever had. Thank you all for coming.”
She stood by the door and hugged and thanked each one again personally, and by the time they all left, she was dead on her feet. Her mom put her arm around her. “We packed up the leftovers for you and put them in your car. The gifts have been loaded and they’re on their way to be delivered to the cottage. Are you okay?”
Wynn hugged her mom. “Yes. This was so nice. I don’t deserve how nice everyone has been to me.”
“Oh, sweet girl. Of course you do. Now go home, fix yourself a plate because I know you didn’t get to eat, and put your feet up.”
She drove home in a fog of exhaustion, and when she got home, she was shocked to see Latham’s truck parked in the driveway. Her heart raced as she tried to think with her tired mind what she would say to him.
She opened the door and picked up the boxes of leftovers her mom had packed up. She met Latham walking around the path from the cottage.
“I put the gifts in the room you’re using as a nursery. I hope that’s okay.”
So, they weren’t going to exchange pleasantries, then. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Your mom asked me to since I have the truck.”
So he wanted her to know he hadn’t come for her, but as a favor to her mom. The tears were back, in her throat, behind her eyes, but she didn’t give in to them. She’d cried enough today. “Well, I appreciate it. I guess I’ll see you later.”
He nodded, but he didn’t smile, and she wondered if she had done that to him, if she had taken away his easy smile. She walked the rest of the way around the pond, almost desperate to get inside. So much had happened today that she couldn’t even process it.
Their Secret Baby Bond Page 15
