The Prodigal's Return

by Anna DeStefano

  Neal’s shoulders rose and fell.

  “You don’t have to sell me on staying, Jenn. I told you I’d keep trying.” He seemed to be trying to convince himself more than her. “I know Nathan doesn’t want anything to do with me now, but—”

  “That’s just it. I think he cares more than he wants anyone to know. He just doesn’t want to trap you here. Underneath all that crankiness, I think he’s more worried about what you need, and where you want to be. Why else would he keep all your things but not come after you when you got out of prison?”

  The look that flashed across Neal’s face reminded Jenn of Traci, when the girl told her parents she was willing to leave—but Jenn had been certain what she really wanted was for someone to make her stay.

  “Why are you here, Neal?” she asked. “Instead of home with your father?”

  “Nathan was sleeping.” At her disbelieving look, he gave her a good-ol’-boy shrug she remembered all too well. “When Traci told me about the meeting, I…I needed to see you.”

  “You needed to see me…. At church?”

  His scowl gave way to a sigh. “I knew what was going to happen here. I left you to face crap like this on your own once before. If I can help now…”

  To her rescue her father had said. Fast on the heels of the daydream image came the same panic as yesterday. Having him here, here for her, meant losing him again.

  “You…You should be focusing on Nathan.” She didn’t remember either of them moving, but he was closer. “He’s the reason you came back to Rivermist.”

  Neal was shaking his head in that absent way he had when they were kids and he’d been lost in thought.

  “What if Nathan’s not the only person I want to help?” The expression in his eyes was suddenly that of the boy she’d lost, rather than the stranger who’d walked back into her life. “I’m a fighter, Jenn. I discovered that in prison. But I never fought for what I wanted most. For the things I lost here. Lord knows, I’ve tried hard enough to stay away. And look at how much pain that’s caused.”

  “But you’re here for Nathan, now. That’s what’s important.” She clutched his arm, needing him to believe her. “You should be over there now, not here with me.”

  Neal held tight when she tried to inch away.

  Where was the cold stranger who’d showed up yesterday?

  “Nathan’s not the only one I hurt.” His hand cherished her cheek. His fingers were tracing the highlights in her hair. “I thought forgetting you was the right thing to do,” he said. “So I stopped feeling anything at all. Now being here, being next to you and seeing everything I threw away—”

  “You didn’t throw me away.” Her hand found his chest. Her fingers actually tingled. “You went to prison, and it was a long time ago. You have to stop feeling responsible for things that aren’t your fault.”

  It was a lesson she’d yet to master herself, but she’d preach it to him, regardless. Whatever it took to not keep from circling back to this every time they saw each other. She couldn’t take much more.

  His hand covered hers. “I didn’t mean to leave you alone, Jennifer. I thought you’d have your family…your future.”

  “Future?”

  Without him?

  He gently pulled her closer.

  “Don’t!” She put more conviction behind moving away.

  Where they were, what was at stake inside the church for her father and Traci Carpenter, was where Jenn’s attention should be. But Neal held firm, the familiarity of his touch as hypnotic as the deep pitch of his voice.

  “Is it so terrible that I want to help you?” he asked.

  It was devastating.

  “You… You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  Taking comfort and concern from others wasn’t her strong suit. From this man, it would mean disaster.

  “If you think these people are out for my blood,” she reasoned, “what about you? Do you have any idea what you’d be getting yourself into, jumping into the middle of my problems with the Carpenters?”

  “Probably not.” His chuckle sounded so much like Nathan’s. “And I usually make a habit of being the one person in the room who knows the most about whatever’s going on. But as long as you’re part of it, I think I’d be willing to get into just about anything. You were amazing up there in front of that room of vipers.”

  The pride in his voice completely did her in. His instinct to care about her, after every unfair thing he’d been through, clutched at her heart. Terrified her.

  “You’re an amazing woman, Jennifer Gardner.”

  Muscles along his jaw flexed, reminding her of just how good it had felt to kiss all that strength. How long she had needed just one more taste of what she’d never found with the countless boys who’d followed him.

  And then his lips were brushing hers with soft, gentle, almost-nothing kisses that were all the more erotic because of the fierceness of the memories and emotions igniting between them.

  “Stop. Please,” she begged, tears breaking through the beauty of the moment. “I can’t.”

  “Jenn?” He was still holding her, still making her want this. “Don’t—”

  “I can’t.” She pushed against the immovable strength holding her so safe and close.

  “Get your hands off her, you son of a bitch!”

  Jenn was ripped out of Neal’s arms before Jeremy Compton’s words fully registered.

  “You’ve got no business here, Cain.” Jeremy slid an arm around her.

  Dislodging herself would have made more of a scene, so she settled for shooting him a nasty look as more and more people exited the church to watch the spectacle.

  “Actually, this is none of your business,” she said. The proprietary way he was holding her was creepier than usual, considering the hateful stare he’d shot her inside.

  “Did he hurt you?” Jeremy turned until his back was to Neal. His arms circled her waist as he took stock of her from head to toe, like a man checking his car for damage after a fender bender. “I know my mom was rough on you in there, but no one wants you spending time with this guy. Do you want me to take care of him?”

  “And you’ll what, Jeremy?” The way Neal pitched his voice no one beyond the three of them could hear. “Manhandle Jenn some more, just to piss off me and your mama?”

  Sure enough, Catherine had joined the growing circle of onlookers, her hand covering her mouth in shock at the sight of her baby talking with the town outcasts.

  “I don’t give a damn what my mother thinks.” Jeremy rounded on Neal. “No one wants you here. I’m sure Jenn and her father have no interest in your help. I don’t know what you think you were doing in there, but you’re just making things harder for everyone.”

  “I’m making things harder?” Neal’s expression turned arctic cold as Jenn tried to step around Jeremy, only to have the younger man restrain her once more. “Looks to me like your assistance is the last thing the lady wants.”

  “What I don’t want, is to be talked about like I’m not standing right here.” A stomp to Jeremy’s instep allowed her to finally move away. The sight of Neal squaring off against Bobby’s kid brother had shot what felt like ice water through all the warmth his kisses had left behind. This wasn’t going to happen. Not again. “I’m a big girl. I don’t remember asking anyone for assistance of any kind. So back off, both of you. You boys aren’t going to get into it on the church lawn, not over me.”

  She caught the half smile teasing Neal’s lips. A quick atta-girl nod of respect. The tension eased from his powerful frame.

  “Don’t tell me you’re falling for this guy.” Jeremy sneered at the look that had crept across her face. “I was right. One whiff, and you’re using his sick old man, your problems with the Carpenters and this town, whatever you can get your hands on, to get back in his pan—”

  “You never did know when to shut up, Jeremy.” It was like Neal was channeling the brilliant attorney his father had once been, the way his voice smoothed
out and his tone made it sound as if he was talking about nothing more titillating than the evening’s weather.

  But the bite of each word was evidently too much for Jeremy. He hurled himself forward, his fists driving straight toward Neal’s face. Neal’s lightning-quick reflexes as he sidestepped the blow, Jeremy’s growl as his forward momentum caused him to trip and topple to the ground, shocked everyone, Mrs. Compton most of all.

  “Oh, dear God!” she shrieked as she ran up to the scene that must be straight out of her nightmares. “Stop it!”

  Gasps escaped from the growing crowd as Jeremy lurched back to his feet, battle-ready for a second pass. Jenn stepped forward, intending to hold him off. Neal hadn’t so much as raised his hands in defense.

  “Guess that’s my cue to leave,” he said, straightening the sleeves of his sweater as if he’d done nothing more than swat away a fly. “I’ll see you and Traci back at my father’s, Jenn.”

  He didn’t bother to look at Jeremy as he eased with quiet dignity into his car and drove away. Rivermist’s most dangerous son now carried himself with the sophistication of the businessman no one here had ever dreamed he’d become.

  “Do you really think I should stay with Mr. Cain?” Traci asked. She stepped closer, her parents following. “Would you move over there with me if I did?”

  “I—”

  “You can’t be serious!” Jeremy said.

  “Absolutely not!” Traci’s father concurred, as Jenn shot Jeremy a look to get lost.

  “Dad!” Traci rounded on her father as Jeremy skulked away. “If it’ll keep me from making more trouble for Reverend Gardner, then—”

  “You are not staying with that old drunk. Think about the safety of your baby, if not yourself. There’s no telling what Cain might do.”

  “Nathan Cain isn’t—” Jenn began.

  “He’s not a drunk, Dad. He’s sick.” Traci breathed in a sniffle, but she didn’t back down. Holding her own against her parents was such a major victory for Traci, Jenn wanted to cheer. “And you should be thanking him instead of talking about him in front of half the town like he’s a menace. He’s part of the reason I came tonight. I think spending the day with him actually helped me think some things through.”

  “Helped how?” Betty Carpenter asked, restraining her husband. “What is he doing…?” The woman gestured at Jenn with the hand not holding her husband’s arm. “What are she and Reverend Gardner doing that your father and I can’t at home?

  “They listen to me, Mom. They treat me like a grown-up instead of like I don’t have a brain in my head.” A fresh batch of sniffles sprinkled the discovery in Traci words. “And they’re letting me figure this out, instead of telling me what to think, no matter how hard it’s been on them to have me around.”

  “It’s been wonderful, honey.” Jenn squeezed her shoulder, feeling the truth of her statement. This was the payoff she fought for, when a young woman’s eyes finally opened to all she could still have instead of all she’d lost. This was her reward for whatever else in life she couldn’t have. “Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, you should be very proud of your daughter. She could have left at any time. She didn’t have to stay today and help Nathan, or come here tonight worried about my father and me.”

  “She didn’t run away?” Bob snapped. “That’s the high point of your day helping her figure things out? Is that supposed to reassure us?”

  “No, it’s supposed to show you that I’m not hopeless.” Traci’s little-girl voice was back. “To convince you not to turn the entire town against the people helping me just because you can’t have your way.”

  She took off, running past where Jenn’s father stood on the fringes of the milling crowd.

  “H-has she said anything else to you about keeping the baby?” Betty Carpenter asked Jenn, her attention divided between her husband and watching her daughter disappear through a crowd of friends and neighbors.

  “Just what you heard inside. That she’s decided not to have an abortion.” Jenn squared her shoulders as her father and Catherine Compton stepped closer. “I think she’s making real progress.”

  “Progress!” Catherine repeated, wiping at the tears that had erupted at the sight of her son and Neal nearly coming to blows. “Coming from you—”

  “Stop it, Catherine!” Jenn’s father demanded. His biting tone was such a rarity, everyone within earshot stared. “I’m sure the Carpenters appreciate your concern, but criticizing my daughter isn’t helping anyone. Bob, Betty, I’m asking you as a friend not to make the same mistake Olivia and I did. You have a chance to listen to your child before it’s too late, before things are taken even more out of your hands. Don’t turn this situation into a play for power, when it should be about loving your child the best way you know how.”

  He turned to Jenn.

  “If you think it’s best to move with Traci to Nathan’s,” he said, “then you have my blessing. Assuming the man’s even willing. I’ll miss having you and Mandy at home while you’re gone. But I trust your judgment, honey.”

  The small pat he gave her before walking away had the impact of a full body hug. Whatever she chose to do, he’d support her. Period. Just when she wouldn’t have minded his advice…

  Move into the Cain house? With Neal? If in fact his father let any of them stay.

  “Jenn?” Betty Carpenter asked. “What are you going to do?”

  Jenn gave Traci’s worried parents her full attention. “I’m going to ask Traci what she needs, and do whatever I can to support her. Why don’t you plan on stopping by? I think she’d be more than willing to talk with you again, if it were on more neutral ground.”

  “Neutral ground, where?” Betty asked.

  “Does it matter?” At least Neal’s impulsive offer had gotten the Carpenters’ attention. “As long as you and Traci are there together.”

  She had to wonder if Neal Cain’s return to Rivermist hadn’t been just the shake-up their picturesque snow globe of a town needed to help everyone refocus on what was really important. And since she could still feel the feather-light touch of his kiss on her lips, clearly she was the one most shaken of all.

  NEAL STOOD in his father’s garage, Jenn’s words ringing in his ears.

  I think he’s missed you…. He’s kept all your things…exactly the way you left them….

  He’d even kept the damn car.

  Not only that, the man had rebuilt the ’66 Shelby GT to vintage perfection, right down to the glossy blue top coat and center white racing stripe. It must have taken him years on his own. Neal glanced over his shoulder at his own car. He’d busted his ass doing the detailed work restoration required. Methodical work that he’d looked forward to day after day. Because doing it, and then driving the finished car, had been the closest thing he knew he’d have to sharing the experience with his father.

  Nathan’s Oldsmobile sat in the back of the driveway under the rusted-out basketball hoop, it’s paint faded from the sun. But the Shelby, the one he’d bought for Neal, was tucked carefully away in the garage.

  Headlights flashed up the drive, heralding the arrival of the woman he’d thought he’d never share anything with again, either. Certainly not the sweetest kiss he’d ever known. The woman that couldn’t bear the thought of finding happiness in something as perfect as their kiss, yet she seemed at ease taking the problems of the world on her shoulders. Proving to everyone, most of all herself, that she wasn’t the miscreant this town had labeled her.

  Watching her from the shadows at the church council meeting had changed him. Simple as that. He’d lost forever the ability to relegate Jennifer Gardner to his memories as a sweet, young girl. She was all woman now, mesmerizing in her passion for whatever and whomever was lucky enough to have her support. She’d blown him away, making him briefly think they could take the world on together. He’d been an ass, saying what he had in front of half the town. Stirring that snot Jeremy up. Causing a scene. But he’d meant every word. If moving in here with the Carpent
er girl was what Jenn needed, then that’s what was going to happen.

  “Mommy!” Jenn’s little girl called. She flew out the kitchen door and hurled herself into her mother’s arms.

  Jenn hugged her close, cupping the child’s head to her breast and kissing the golden curls at the girl’s temple. Neal should have left the garage’s shadows and let them know he was eavesdropping, but the shadows were what he liked best—just like when he watched Stephen do his thing in court. He’d sit in the back watching, analyzing, learning. But never getting too close to the lives being played out on the courtroom’s stage.

  Besides, the scene before him was too surreal to interrupt. A glimpse into Jenn’s life he’d thought he hadn’t wanted, but now couldn’t look away from.

  The daughter whose conception and birth had caused Jenn so much trouble was clearly the center of her world. The teenager whose problems had become Jenn’s in a very public way tonight was by her side, where Jenn refused to let anyone tell her the kid didn’t belong. And as she held those she cared for close, he realized that before his return to Rivermist all he’d known how to do was push people away. Now…

  His visit to her father’s last night should have been the end of it. Jenn needed him to move on. Only he’d had to see her again today. Had to help her. To touch her. To have her closer…

  He thought of her letters he’d brought back from Atlanta. Letters he’d brought for her, hoping it might bring her some peace to know he’d kept them. Only he hadn’t been able to part with them last night. As long as he had her letters, at least a piece of Jenn was still his.

  “It’s about time you got back,” his father grumbled, slowly joining the group outside. His steps dragged as if each one caused him pain. “What happened at the—”

  Neal watched his father catch sight of his Mustang, illuminated by the lights that kicked on every time someone came up the driveway. Watched some of the fatigue ease from the man’s body as he stood taller, anger and maybe a little bit of hope settling on his face.