An Allegheny Homecoming

by T. R. McClure

  “I see.” Wendy withdrew her hand and resumed her study of the busy dock area on the other side of the park. “They want you to go to Penn State.”

  “They want me to go to school. I thought I needed a change of scenery. So I applied to the University of Miami. Wonder of wonders, I was accepted.”

  At that, Wendy whipped around to face him, her eyes wide. “Here? You want to go to school here?”

  Josh recognized the look. It was the same look she’d had when Buddy had shown up on the back porch as a stray. “You know that no men, no kids, not even a pet motto works for Ms. King, but maybe it’s time you found your own motto.”

  “Look, Josh, I’m happy for you, but I still don’t know where I’m headed. I still want to find my...my niche as a reporter.”

  Josh held up one finger. “Hold that thought. For once, my timing is good.” He ran across the grass, over to the parking lot. Hope flickered in his breast.

  A van had pulled up outside the station. The driver opened up the back and said something to Josh. The young man reached in and carefully picked something up. Jogging back across the grass, he set a basket on the bench between them before kneeling in front of Wendy. “I’d arranged a present for you.”

  Wendy’s eyes narrowed, looking from the basket to Josh and back again.

  “Go ahead. Undo the latch.” Josh rested a hand on her knee.

  No sooner did she release the lid than a chubby bundle of black fur leaped onto her lap. Wendy laughed out loud as the Labrador puppy planted her paws on her chest and licked her chin. “Josh, what have you done?”

  “Wendy, meet Maggie. Maggie, this is Wendy.” Josh leaned back on his heels. He was fairly certain of the reaction the puppy would evoke, but, until now, wasn’t 100 percent. But Wendy’s wide smile and giggles assured him he had made the right decision.

  “Shh. Settle down.” Wendy smoothed the puppy’s fur until she stretched out on her lap and rested her chin on her big paws. Wendy tilted her head and gave Josh a half grin. “You’re not playing fair. Labrador puppies are almost irresistible, but how—”

  “You can still find your niche, Wendy. But I want to be part of your adventure.” He offered up a teasing smile. “Consider me your on-call dog sitter. Anytime. Although, everyone knows puppies are a chick magnet, so I won’t be held responsible if—”

  Josh’s persuasive words were cut off when Wendy leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Which is what he was hoping for all along.

  Maggie yipped three times, then curled up on Wendy’s lap. She was home. They all were.

  EPILOGUE

  WENDY PUSHED ON the thick glass door leading from the television station to the sidewalk outside. She looked across the street. Josh stood by the same bench they had sat on three years earlier when he had come to Florida to plead his case. Maggie chased after a tennis ball.

  Wendy had been resistant at first to the idea of keeping the dog, but Josh had convinced her if they took turns caring for the animal it could be done. Lifting her face to the midmorning sun, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She could smell the ocean. She had grown to like the smell.

  She crossed the street and rounded the bench. “Hi, Maggie.” The Lab jumped up and wagged her tail. She rubbed the sweet dog’s ears and smiled at Josh. “And hello to you, too.”

  Josh leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “How was the broadcast?”

  “Good. My parents texted to say they’ll be here any moment. So, are you ready?”

  “To graduate? You bet. It’s been a struggle at times, but having you by my side made all the difference.” He squeezed her hand.

  “We managed.”

  Josh was watching Maggie sprint toward them. “I can’t believe your sister is coming to my graduation.”

  “She’s proud of you. We all are.” She reached down for the ball and tossed it onto the grass. Maggie ran after it.

  The dog returned and dropped the ball at their feet. Maggie stood, tail wagging, looking from one to the other.

  “Does this dog ever get tired?” Wendy laughed and threw the ball as hard as she could. “Mom wants to go down the Ocean Highway to Key West while they’re here. Want to tag along?”

  “Maybe we’ll find some key lime ice cream to go with the key lime pie.”

  “You and your ice cream.” Wendy wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long, slow kiss. “Here they all come.” She watched Josh’s face as he stared at the crowd coming from the parking lot.

  “I wasn’t sure if my dad would come or not.” His voice was soft. He sat up straight. “Wait a minute, is that—”

  “Hawkeye and Betty.” Wendy poked Josh. “You’re quite the popular fellow.” She smiled as his face reddened. Despite his good grades and his volunteer work with the local veterans group, Josh still had trouble believing in his own worth. Today would go a long way toward showing him his misdeeds were in the past.

  Josh now stood, squinting into the glare of the sun. “Who is that walking behind your dad?”

  Wendy tingled with excitement for the coming celebration. She waited, anticipating the moment of realization on Josh’s face. She wasn’t disappointed. His jaw dropped, and his beautiful blue eyes widened. “No, it’s impossible,” he said.

  Wendy stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “What did Dr. Reed say?”

  “He said—” His voice cracked. “He said ‘medicine is part science and part miracle.’”

  “Well, there you go.” She tore her gaze from Josh and smiled as the group approached. Bernie and Babs, Sue and Joe, Brad and Katie, Hawkeye and Betty. They all paused, as if rehearsed, and stepped to one side. Hank and Vera Hershberger walked arm and arm through the grass toward Wendy and Josh. Hank leaned heavily on a cane, but his steps were sure.

  “Did you know?” Josh sounded hoarse, his soft words barely spoken.

  Wendy nodded. “I sure did.”

  When the group reached them, Hank extended his hand and took Josh’s in his. Josh swiped at the tears in his eyes. He wrapped the man in a bear hug. “How did this happen?”

  Hank gave his wife a sidelong glance. “When we started using the boat, I got to thinking what the doctor told me back when all this happened. He said I could walk again. That the effort I put forward was up to me. Your dad offered to drive me to physical therapy, and then afterward we’d pick up Hawkeye and take the boat out.”

  Josh shared a long look with his father. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “How about, let’s eat.” Bernie carried a picnic hamper. “Follow me, folks.” He led the way to a picnic table near the water.

  Josh started to follow when Wendy pulled him to a stop. “Wait, Josh. That’s not all.”

  Josh pressed a hand to his chest. “I don’t think I can take anything else.”

  Wendy slipped an arm around his waist and drew him in close. “About Atlanta in the fall.”

  He nodded. “I’ve been submitting applications to physical therapy groups. This is what you’ve been waiting for. You haven’t changed your mind about me coming with you?” He cocked one eyebrow.

  “Of course not.” She fingered a button on the front of his shirt. “The station offered me a special assignment for the summer. You don’t have a job for the summer, right?”

  “The one I want isn’t available yet. There’s a group that specializes in dealing with victims of trauma. One of their therapists is going on maternity leave in the fall. What’s this about?” His look of concern was endearing to her.

  “They’re supplying me with a motor home
so I can travel across the country and interview everyday people. I need a driver.” She glanced at Hawkeye and Betty, sitting side by side at the picnic table. She had never seen the man talk as much as he was today. “Starting with twin brothers in Pennsylvania who started a turkey call business in their seventies and became an internet sensation.”

  “You need a driver and I need a job. Sounds like the perfect combination.” He tightened his arms around her and kissed her with passion.

  “And something else.” She felt a little silly bringing it up, but she wanted to make a point. “Did you know I have a new motto?”

  Josh rolled his eyes. “No, and I’m afraid to ask.”

  “One man, one or more dogs and maybe some kids in the future.”

  Josh’s eyes lit up. “I like it.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “Okay, you two, break it up. We only have a couple of hours before the ceremony starts. Now eat up.” Bernie waved at them to join the others who were eating sandwiches and drinking tea.

  “Just a minute, Dad.” She turned to Josh. “I finally get to see a little bit of the country, but do you really mind coming with me this summer? Did you want to stay here? Or maybe go back to Bear Meadows?” She was having second thoughts about springing the news of her summer adventure on Josh.

  Josh took both her hands in his and stared into her eyes. “You saved my life, Wendy Valentine. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

  Relief coursed through her as she smiled. “You pulled me out of a snowdrift and saved me from exposure, and a lot else. We’re even.”

  “You saved me from being mauled by a mountain lion.”

  “You keep talking about this cat that I never saw, but okay. I saved you from a mountain lion. But we’re still even.”

  Josh shook his head and took a step closer. “You saved me from a life of solitude. I would still be running away from the guilt of what I had done to Hank and Vera—” he cupped her cheek with his palm “—if not for you.”

  Wendy, teary-eyed, kept smiling. Josh didn’t often talk about the past. They had been so busy with the new job and his classes. She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand, then wrapped her fingers around his. “For a while there I didn’t think this would happen.”

  “It’s what we in the medical community refer to as a miracle, Wendy.”

  “And what we in the news business refer to as a story with a happy ending.” And although they had the rest of their lives together and all the time in the world, she kissed him again. After all, she did have a new motto.

  * * * * *

  For the first HOME TO BEAR MEADOWS story, be sure to check out WANTED: THE PERFECT MOM by T. R. McClure. Available from www.Harlequin.com today!

  And look for the next heartfelt romance in the series, coming in fall 2017!

  Keep reading for an excerpt LAST CHANCE COWBOY by Leigh Riker.

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  Last Chance Cowboy

  by Leigh Riker

  CHAPTER ONE

  GREY WILSON WAS a mistake she wouldn’t make again.

  On what should have been a peaceful late morning in June, Shadow Moran peered out her office windows onto Main Street and felt another prickle of unease slide across her shoulder blades. She’d been having the same feelings for the past hour—no, since the night before—and for good reason. She had no doubts. As if she’d conjured him up after her midnight ruminations, Grey must be somewhere nearby.

  In the past year, since her return to Barren and the Kansas plains where they’d grown up, she’d had an almost daily sense of him, even when he couldn’t be seen. She’d been avoiding him, but she couldn’t avoid him any longer. She’d made her decision just before dawn, and it was more than time. Ten years, in fact.

  Now she just needed the courage to implement this first part of her plan at last.

  After another quick scan of the area, Shadow spied him on the other side of the street. Sure enough, he’d just come out of the Cattlemen’s Bank, the door swinging shut behind him. In spite of her decision and eternal misgivings, something deep inside her turned over. She should mind her own business. Literally. Her Mother Comfort Home Health Care Agency was still like a baby that had to be nurtured and fed and cared for 24/7.

  Still, she turned from the window, then right back again.

  Shadow watched Grey walk along the street then enter Annabelle’s Diner before she scooted her desk chair back. Her stomach clenched with nerves, she flipped the Closed sign around on the door, locked it, then went across the street and down two blocks to the fifties-style diner at the corner of Main and Cottonwood.

  At noon the place was already jumping.

  Shadow halted just inside the door, taking in the swathes of chrome and Formica at the front counter and on the tables. They were all filled. Several people glanced at her before their curious gazes flicked away.

  Frowning, Grey sat alone in the only four-person booth that might otherwise be empty, his long legs stretched out into the aisle as he studied his shined-up boots. His ever-present black Stetson was slung on a hook at the end of the booth. Ever the cowboy gentleman, he’d probably removed the hat as soon as he’d stepped inside.

  As if he could sense her presence, too, he looked up and their gazes locked. In those ten years apart he’d only gotten more attractive, turned from a boy into a man in his prime. His glossy, light-brown hair still had sun streaks from the long hours he spent outdoors. His eyes were the same blue-green with dark lashes that she remembered. His broad shoulders strained the fabric of his coming-to-town, Western-style suit, but denim and leather were more his style, and Shadow detected a grim set to his mouth. Like his defeated posture, the suit looked all wrong.

  Despite their differences, Shadow knew him well. She didn’t bother to say hello or wait for an invitation to sit down. She slid into the seat opposite him. Along with the old gossip she’d stirred up as soon as she hit town, she’d been hearing fresh rumors for weeks about his financial troubles with Wilson Cattle, which must explain his visit to the bank. “What happened?”

  Grey didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Nothing.”

  “Barney denied you a loan?”

  His frown deepened. “What makes you think I need one
?”

  “People talk.” And, in fact, it seemed everyone in the diner kept looking at them as if they wanted to say something now.

  Grey fiddled with his fork. “Barney practically warned me not to darken his door again. You want to gloat, go ahead.”

  “No, I’d rather watch you eat a good hamburger. You look like you need one.”

  He groaned. “Don’t make me think of beef right now.”

  She bit her lip so she wouldn’t ask, What will you do without that loan?

  As she knew all too well, farming—ranching, in his case—could be a tightrope walk over a huge, deep chasm. Yet for a long time, and until recently, Wilson Cattle had been a moneymaking operation, its thousands of acres and rich grassland studded with purebred Black Angus cows and prize-winning bulls. Shadow understood how important it was to Grey, but she had no love for his ranch or even the much smaller farm where she’d grown up.

  As a girl, escaping her family’s home had been a big part of her plans for her future. Now, Shadow would make a success of Mother Comfort and secure her independence—financial as well as emotional—from anyone else. She would never be poor again, and this was to be part one of the newer plan she’d formulated in the night. She should tell him what she’d come to say, then leave, let him digest the news on his own. But then, Grey had just had news of a different sort.

  “Guess I’ll have to tighten my belt another notch,” Grey said at last, as if reading her mind. “I’ll be downright skinny soon.”

  Shadow tried not to care. She stared at her shoes and lost her nerve, yet something drew her to stay. She hated to admit it was that look on his face and the hard line of his mouth.

  She and Grey weren’t together anymore, never would be again, but she had loved him once and her stubborn heart kept revisiting better times. Being home had only made that worse. More importantly, they shared a lifetime bond, one Grey didn’t know about. This wasn’t the right time to tell him after all.