by Sonya Weiss
“I thought I wasn’t good enough for your sister.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at the stars. “I thought I was faking everything, but I was lying to myself. I love her.” A smile spread across his face. “I love Casey. I’ve always loved her. I want to date her. I want to marry her. I want to be with her forever.”
Lincoln laughed and slapped him on the back. “Then what are you going to do about it?”
Kent’s smile faded. “She probably hates me right now.”
“Probably.”
He blew out his breath. Convincing Casey to forgive him for being an idiot wasn’t going to be easy, but he’d do whatever it took. “I’ve always loved her.”
“You mentioned that,” Lincoln said.
Kent paced back and forth in the parking lot. “All those times we hung out together, I was drawn to her. The first time we m—” Realizing who he was talking to, he choked that part off.
“You might want to tell her how you feel,” Lincoln suggested.
“That’s it. I’ll tell her.” Kent stopped pacing. He was going to do better than just tell her. He was going to show Casey that he loved her, that she was the one for him.
Chapter Fifteen
Ever since the fiasco between her and Kent at the wedding, her phone had blown up with text messages—sad emoticon faces, notes, and virtual hugs from Josie saying that Casey would be okay. Then her brothers had texted her. Followed by her parents, then Kent’s parents. On an almost continual cycle until she wanted to scream. Everyone meant well, but each message was a reminder of what she’d lost. She’d gritted her teeth and dutifully responded but by Friday after the wedding, she couldn’t take it anymore.
She’d turned her phone off and hidden it under a stack of sweatshirts in her dresser. The worst thing about breaking up in a small town was everyone knowing about it. At least she didn’t have to worry about Kent dropping by if he did regret what he’d done. He was working today. Lincoln had let her know that, but Casey told herself she didn’t care. Kent’s work schedule—or anything else about him, for that matter—wasn’t her concern. Just like her life wasn’t his concern. He’d tried texting and calling but she’d ignored him. He’d dropped by but when she’d seen who was at the door, she wouldn’t answer.
She was scrubbing the kitchen countertop for the second time when her grandmother whisked the cloth out of her grasp.
“Forget the cleaning, Cinderella. Let’s go shopping.”
“Retail therapy?” Casey asked doubtfully.
Jean picked up the to-do list Casey had created first thing this morning as a way to keep busy so she wouldn’t dwell on Kent.
“Sure as hell beats scrubbing a toilet.” Jean winked.
“Okay,” Casey said. Then she saw the flower delivery van at the curbside.
Jean opened the door and eyed the deliveryman as she took the clipboard to sign for the flowers. “You married?”
The man looked surprised, then smiled and gave Jean a smirk. “I think I’m a little young for you.”
“You wish,” Jean snapped. “I was asking for my granddaughter.” She grabbed the vase from him. “Beat it.”
“Grandma, I am not interested in dating a random guy that you pluck off the street, okay?”
“The best way to get over a broken heart—”
“Is not to fall in love again,” Casey said. She crumpled the note with the flowers without reading it and tossed it in the trash can. As soon as she did that, another delivery truck pulled up. This one from a local gift shop. Casey shook her head. She opened the door as the delivery woman was about to ring the doorbell. After signing, she brought the package in. Curious, she set it on the coffee table and opened the lid.
A small chalkboard with an eraser attached was in the center of the box. If I could erase what I said, I would. Casey traced around the letters of Kent’s name.
“Clever,” Jean said after she peered down into the box. “There’s something else in there.”
Casey reached for the envelope. “It’s a note mentioning the movie the town puts on tonight. Like I’d go.”
She put the envelope back into the box and grabbed her car keys, hoping that a few hours of shopping with her grandmother would help take her mind off things.
“Will you look at that?” Jean said when they were on Main Street waiting for the light to change.
Casey looked at the feed and seed store. “What?”
“The marquee.”
In neon red, the words “I’m sorry, Casey” scrolled by.
Jean chuckled. “It’s funny that he didn’t want his mom’s help with his love life, but to pull this off while he’s at work, he had to have someone’s help. Bet it was his mom.”
As soon as the light changed, Casey drove past the store and coasted to a stop at the sign while she waited to make a right turn. She blinked, then closed her eyes, sure she was imagining things. Hundreds of rose petals covered the sidewalk in front of the florist shop, and a sign in the window said, I’m sorry, Casey. Please forgive me.
On the bottom of the sign was a photo taken last year at the firemen’s gala. She and Kent had their arms around each other and were smiling without a care in the world. Looking at the picture now, she could see things a lot clearer. The way her face shone as she looked up at Kent. Her body language as she leaned slightly toward him.
Casey was quiet as they continued the drive toward the shopping center. She found a parking space, then shut off the engine.
Jean took a mint from her purse and popped it into her mouth.
“I know what you’re not saying, Grandma. Yes, Kent’s apology tour is a nice thought, but—”
“But you’re still feeling the sting of what he said.”
Casey nodded.
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. When a man acts like the back end of a horse, you have to remember that not everything is at it seems.”
Casey frowned. “I think I got the picture pretty clearly.”
“Sometimes a man will have strong feelings for a woman and push her away because he’s afraid.”
“Kent wouldn’t do that,” Casey said adamantly. “He’s not afraid of anything. He runs into burning buildings and headlong into danger for a living. Even as he was healing from being injured, he couldn’t wait to get right back to it.”
“That’s because for some men, helping others is a calling and not just a career. Kent is that type of man, but you already knew that. And you misunderstood me. I’m not talking about him being afraid of physical danger but of what he sees as emotional danger.”
Casey lowered her head as her voice dropped to a whisper. “At his cousin’s wedding, he made it publicly clear that he didn’t want me.”
“Just like Dominic,” Jean said.
Casey raised her head. “I’m not projecting Dominic onto Kent’s actions.”
“Aren’t you? Being so publicly humiliated can make a woman close ranks around her heart to protect herself. Which is what you did.”
“Are you trying to say that I’m to blame for Kent dumping me?”
“No. What I’m saying is that you two were thick as thieves in the middle of what you both thought was fake. Things progressed, you boffed the man, and bippity boppity boo, you think things are progressing. Meanwhile, he’s thinking about all the ways things can go wrong.” She shook her head. “I don’t think Kent pulled back because he doesn’t care, but because he does and he’d rather lose you than hurt you.”
“He doesn’t act like he cares.”
“Well, honey, men aren’t women. They don’t have all the answers.” Jean winked.
Casey thought for a second. “I think I’ll go to the movie. I’ll at least meet him there and hear what he has to say.”
“Good idea,” Jean said.
Casey wasn’t so sure about that, but she knew she didn’t want things to end with Kent the way that they had. Since their lives were so interconnected, they would run into each other in the future. For bo
th of their families’ sakes, she wanted to make sure that they could at least keep things civil between them.
…
Kent couldn’t stop thinking about how badly he’d screwed up. His life over the years with Casey had flashed through his mind, playing in his head like a home movie. He’d dropped the ball. Boy, had he dropped the ball. He’d tried texting and calling, had even stopped by her house repeatedly but Casey wouldn’t talk to him. Every time he’d driven to Finding Mr. Right, hoping to see Casey, it was her mom who’d been in the office running the place.
Replaying the hurt look on Casey’s face had driven him to do something he’d never thought he’d do—reach out to his mom and Casey’s for help. He knew he wanted Casey. He knew he loved her. He just didn’t know how to show that after screwing up so badly. So he’d called in favors, asked for help, and probably made a fool of himself all over town, but that didn’t matter.
With a little bit of luck, his plan would work. Casey would forgive him. He’d tell her that he loved her, and hopefully it wouldn’t end there, because he didn’t want their lives to go back to the way that they’d been. He wanted more, a life with her, and he wasn’t sure how he’d make it if she didn’t want the same.
“Are you all set?” Rafferty asked as Kent waited for him in front of his house.
Rafferty held out a bag from a toy store.
“Yeah, I’m all set.” Kent took the bag. “Thanks for arranging to have Grayson pick that up for me.”
“You owe me big for this, man. He laughed his ass off until I told him it was for you.”
“Thanks. I’ll catch you later.” Kent didn’t care what any of the Bradford brothers thought about it. He needed Casey to forgive him. Give him another chance. He’d already put things in motion with his attempts to apologize. But he’d heard nothing from her end. Not a phone call or a text message, and he desperately needed…something to give him hope that he hadn’t lost her. But maybe she would show up at the movie and he could plead his case there.
He drove home and was unlocking the front door when his mother’s car pulled into the driveway behind his truck. She looked flushed, as if she’d rushed to get there. “I’ve got it.” Her smile was triumphant as she handed him a small box.
A muscle worked in his jaw. “Thank you for your help.”
As if she could read his mind, she said, “It’s not too late.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. Casey’s the girl for you. She always has been.”
He huffed out a breath in exasperation. “Then why’d you push all those other women my way?”
“Because I was hoping it would make you realize none of them could compare to Casey.”
“No woman does,” he said as he opened the box. He rubbed his thumb nervously across the diamond ring that had belonged to his great-grandmother. Closing the box, he stuck it in his pocket. “I’m going to change and head to the movie.”
“You sure you want the entire town in on this?”
“Yes. I want everyone to know that it was me who screwed up, not her. And I want them to know how much I love her.”
“Good luck, son,” his mother said softly.
Kent nodded, gave her a quick wave, and went inside. He was acutely aware of each step he took, every move he made, on his quest to make things right. He’d practiced what he wanted to say to Casey over and over again. Once in front of the mirror at the station, saying how much he needed her. Then one of the other firefighters had walked in and given him a strange look.
He took a quick shower and shaved, then dressed in a dark suit with a white dress shirt and a tie Casey had given him after his first anniversary as a firefighter. After slipping on his dress shoes, he sat on the edge of bed, waiting impatiently for the text message to come through. When the words “all set” popped up on the screen, he grabbed the keys to his truck and headed for the movie. He drove with his fingers tightly gripping the wheel. Casey’s response to what he had to say was either going to seal his future or crush it.
He parked the truck close to the lake and got out. Casey’s car was there, and his hope surged. Don’t screw this one up. Every step he took, the ring dug further into him. He hoped he’d be able to attach it without dropping it.
His mouth was dry. His stomach dipped like he’d plummeted off a cliff.
There was already a crowd gathered around the outdoor movie screen, and he spotted Casey sitting near her grandmother and Josie. He looked at the guy manning the movie projector. “Go,” he said, and the story began to play.
Chapter Sixteen
Lights flickered across the screen, and a swell of music started. In large red letters, the words “The Years of Us: A Love Story” hovered in the middle of the screen for a second, then slowly faded. A photo of Casey and Kent popped up. Casey’s breath caught, and she pressed her fingers to her lips.
The screen lit up again with a photograph of their mothers standing side by side. His mother held him; her mother held her. They were around seven months old at the time. Kent was leaning forward, determinedly reaching for Casey.
The image eased from the screen to be replaced with one of Kent and Casey in a playpen together. She’d taken all his toys and stacked them behind her, guarding them with a mutinous expression on her face. A ripple of laughter went through the crowd gathered around Casey.
A photo of them in the first grade with Kent pulling her pigtails slid into view, and Casey chuckled at the memory. Minutes after that, she recalled, she’d pushed him into a mud puddle during recess.
The two of them on his father’s boat, both of them holding fishing rods, popped onto the screen, then faded. A summer with them at the beach, her in a bikini and Kent staring as if he’d never seen her before came into view. She could see the heat simmering in his eyes from where she sat.
Casey leaned forward, her mouth dropping open. From the photo someone had taken, it was easy to see that Kent wanted her. She started breathing faster. Sure, he wanted her, that much she’d figured out on her own, but she needed more than that from him.
The next image showed her at her college graduation, Kent’s arm around her waist, looking down on her with an expression that could only be described as tenderness. Casey swallowed the lump in her throat. Next, there she was beside him at a town Christmas event the year he’d decided he wanted to become a firefighter. His mother had been worried over his choice. She’d found him in the crowd and could remember telling him she’d support whatever decision he made.
It was there, in the way he looked at her. Not as a friend who appreciated her words, but as a man in love with a woman. Casey’s eyes filled with tears, and she blinked them back. The final collage of photos showed the two of them dancing at her parents’ anniversary party, and there was no mistaking the way he looked at her. As the images faded to black, the crowd cheered and clapped.
Bowing her head, Casey cried. She looked up to see Kent coming toward her with a rectangular box beneath his arm.
“You had time to do all that?” She motioned to the screen.
“Our parents rounded up the photographs, but I put it all together.” He knelt beside her chair and took her hand in his. “I’m really sorry for the way I acted and what I said.”
She nodded, her emotions whirling around like they were in a blender.
“I was so stupid, Casey. I pushed you away because I didn’t want you to get hurt, and I ended up doing exactly what I didn’t want. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever done.”
Casey still didn’t say anything. After he’d pushed her away, she’d felt that pain he described.
He tipped her chin up. “Those photos…that’s our history.” He swallowed. “They spell out the story of us. From the first time I reached for you as a baby to this moment where I don’t want to let you go.” He leaned back on his haunches to search her face. “Please tell me it’s not too late.”
Casey couldn’t keep the tears from tracking down her face. She wiped them away
with the heels of her hands as she made her decision. She’d rather work through the hurt than not have him in her life. “It’s not.”
“Then you forgive me?”
“I do.”
“Good, because otherwise, it would make this next part really awkward.” He handed her the rectangular box.
Casey took it and tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a fashion doll in a wedding dress.
Kent tapped the doll’s face. “I didn’t draw a mustache.”
Laughing, Casey said, “Are you trying to make amends for destroying my dolls?”
“Look closer.”
Casey gasped. Tied with a ribbon around the doll’s waist was a diamond engagement ring. She touched it and looked at him. “Kent…”
He pointed to the theater screen. “Help me continue that love story. Will you marry me?”
Too overcome to speak, Casey could only nod. He fumbled as he tried to untie the knot he’d put in the ribbon, but he finally got it undone and presented it to her. As he slipped it on her finger, she admired the way it sparkled.
Kent got up to take the seat beside her that her grandmother vacated and put his arm around her shoulders. He leaned in to kiss her, and they were both lost in the moment. When they finally drew apart, Casey put her hand on his chest and said, “So now what do we do, my sexy fireman?”
“Whatever you want,” he said as his fingers stroked the side of her neck.
A thrill rippled through Casey at the promise in his deep voice. She gave him a come-hither smile as she stood and held out her hand for his. “Can you guess what I want?”
Kent swallowed as he took her hand. “Yes, and I’m thinking we should get out of here, because the rest of our story isn’t for public viewing.”
“I would enjoy a private show,” Casey teased.
He laughed, then sobered. “I do love you, Casey. Even when I was only pretending you were mine.”
“I love you, too. I can’t believe I ever thought you were just a friend. My heart raced every time you came near…and the way you did all this…” She indicated the screen and started to tear up again. “I did notice that you ended the photo collage with the words ‘to be continued’ on it. Was that because you weren’t sure what I’d say?”
