Wanting Forever (A Nelson Island Novel)

by Diana Gardin

  Lillian forced a smile. “Actually, no. I’m starting to think of Sam like a son. He’s absolutely darling, and there would be nothing wrong with you feeling an attraction toward him. Why not?”

  “Um, because I don’t cheat, Mom. I have a boyfriend.”

  Lillian chose to ignore Aston’s rudeness and waved her hand dismissively. “Aston, you and Princeton are the only ones who think you and Princeton are going to make it much longer. You two are about as hot for each other as your grandparents. When you finally realize it, it’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make.”

  Aston rose, adjusting her halter-top bikini as she did so. Without another word, she strode into the house, slamming the door behind her. The windowpanes rattled in her absence.

  “Well, that went well,” murmured Lillian.

  “It’s going to take time,” Ashley said sympathetically, patting Lillian’s hand.

  “It’s been years, Ashley. She knows it was the biggest mistake of my life. Is she going to hold it against me forever?”

  Ashley blew out a breath. “Aston’s one of the most pigheaded people I know. But she also loves harder than anyone else. You’re her mother. She was hurt when it all came out. But she’ll come around eventually.”

  Lillian nodded tightly. She pursed her lips until they were white. “Thank you, Ashley. At least one of my children still loves me.”

  “They both do,” Ashley responded as she stood. She raised both arms above her head and arched luxuriously in the sunlight. She threw one last smile at Lillian as she went inside in search of her friend.

  Five

  Ten years Previously in Nelson Island

  Come on, honey,” Gregory said as he watched his only daughter shut the car door. “You’re moving like a turtle.”

  She grinned her happy smile at him, the one that always tugged his heartstrings and made him do whatever she wanted. Whenever she smiled, it made him want to give her the entire world. Because most of the time, she was oh-so-serious, much too melancholy and focused for a little girl. She was a people-pleaser. She always wanted to be the best, and not just for herself but also for the other people in her life. Especially her father.

  And as she entered her adolescent years, he was worried that she may never get the happy, carefree childhood he’d always wanted for her. She was always worried about the future, and about what was going to happen next in life.

  “I’m going as fast as I can, Daddy.” She giggled. “You could help me carry this stuff, you know.”

  “Oh, I guess I could,” he answered, walking back to grab the sack of groceries from her skinny arms.

  He hefted the sack in one arm, and placed his other around his daughter as they walked inside the house.

  They walked straight back to the kitchen and set the sack on the counter. Aston climbed up onto a barstool at the counter while Gregory began putting the things away in the pantry.

  “So, you’ve got a big science fair coming up this weekend,” Gregory commented. “Is your project ready?”

  “Yep,” Aston murmured. “It’s all ready to go. Will you be there, Daddy?”

  “Of course, I will, sweetheart,” he answered. “When have I ever missed one of your big events?”

  She considered that, and then shook her head. “Never.”

  Ballet recitals, school plays, science fairs. He’d always shown up. Her mother was a little on the flighty side, but she always knew she could count on her father to remember where to be and get himself and her mother there on time, seated in the front row.

  “And I don’t plan to start now,” he answered.

  THUMP. The sound from upstairs sent both of their gazes up toward the ceiling. No one was supposed to be home; Lillian was out shopping with friends, and Reed was at a sleepover. Gregory and Aston were supposed to be out still, but they’d gotten done with their errands early.

  Gregory’s face went hard, his expression cold and determined.

  “Go outside, Aston,” he ordered. “Right now.”

  “But, Daddy—” she protested.

  “No,” he cut her off. “Outside. Don’t argue!”

  She did as she was told, looking back once before she scurried out the door.

  Gregory walked to his office and over to the tall, locked cabinet in the corner. He bypassed his shotgun and retrieved the 9 mm Glock in the back. He grabbed the ammunition from its separate case and deftly loaded the weapon.

  He left his office and crept slowly up the stairs, listening hard for more sounds of the intruder.

  When he reached the door to the master suite, the voices coming from inside were too soft for him to make out. But then, faintly, he heard the muffled sound of his wife’s giggle.

  And he knew. He just knew that she was in there, with another man.

  His world crashed down around him, one jagged piece at a time as he slowly opened the door to the bedroom he shared with his wife.

  He didn’t stop at the threshold, just continued walking until he was right beside the bed. His bed. Their bed.

  “Gregory!” she gasped, sitting up quickly and pulling the sheet up over her bare body.

  At least she had the courtesy to look ashamed. The man she was with, however, had a lazy grin spread over his cocky face.

  Gregory raised the gun.

  “Gregory!” Lillian screamed. “No!”

  He stared at them both, the gun pointed directly at the man’s head. A business associate. He’d laugh if it weren’t so screwed up.

  “Get out,” he said flatly.

  The man, no longer grinning, quickly got up from the bed and grabbed an armful of clothes from the floor. He ran out of the room.

  Lillian and Gregory stared at each other for a long moment. He couldn’t read the expression in her eyes, and likewise, she couldn’t read his. In that moment, something between them had shattered, even though Gregory realized it had already been broken.

  “I can’t be here,” he finally said. “Your daughter’s outside. Go and get her, and try not to fuck anyone else while she’s in the house.”

  He turned, and walked out of his bedroom. He stumbled numbly down the stairs and out the front door, where Aston was sitting on the porch steps.

  “Daddy!” she screamed.

  Tears were streaming down her face.

  “Who was that man who ran out of here?”

  The panic in her voice was evident, and as he looked down at her he realized her clever brain had already figured things out. But he couldn’t stay to console her. He had to get himself together first, before he would ever be able to comfort his daughter.

  “I have to go, honey,” he said, kneeling down beside her. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

  “Daddy,” she sobbed. “I don’t want you to go. And you promised you’d never miss the science fair.”

  He gazed into her shockingly blue eyes, the ones that had always managed to wrap him around her little finger, and his heart broke all over again. This time, he was going to have to say no to her. And it was going to kill a small piece of them both.

  Six

  Did you know that I didn’t grow up here in Nelson Island, Sam? Or Charleston, either. I’m actually from Tennessee. My parents owned a farm outside of Nashville.”

  “No, Mr. Hopewell. I didn’t know that.” Sam pulled his earlobe. He couldn’t see far enough ahead in this story to tell yet whether it was going to end with Gregory turning him in.

  Gregory Hopewell nodded. “It’s true. I ended up here in a roundabout way in my early twenties. A lot like you.”

  Sam brushed a hand over his hair. He cocked his head, staring openmouthed at the older man, still puzzling over the fact that Gregory obviously knew he was hiding something vital. It was likely that he knew that Sam was on the run.

  “I had a girlfriend back then. High school sweetheart. We did everything together. Now, I had an okay family life growing up. My parents were loving, but they had to work hard for everything we got. And what we got wasn’t mu
ch. So I wanted out. I wanted to break out of that small town and find more for myself. I told my girl I was leaving and that I wanted her to come with me.”

  Sam shivered. Gregory Hopewell’s story so closely mirrored his own. What kind of bomb was Gregory about to drop?

  “She didn’t want me to go, Sam. She begged and pleaded. I told her I wanted her with me, but she loved our town. She loved the slow, familiar life it provided. She said she was okay with inheriting my parents’ farm one day and living out the rest of our days the exact same way they had.

  “It wasn’t me. I couldn’t do it. So that last day, we argued. A kerosene lamp fell over in the barn on my parents’ property. I knew it was only a matter of time until the whole place was engulfed in flames. So I got her out. But instead of staying to fight the fire, I ran. I was too scared to stay and face up to my mistake. I took off out of town that day and I never looked back. My parents’ farm burned to the ground.

  “They lost everything. But they never knew I was the one responsible. I came here, found a job, and worked my way through college. Then I started my company and built it up to what it is today. But the fact that I ran when I should have stayed will never, ever, be too far from my mind. It haunts me every single day of my life.”

  When his story ended, he studied Sam. Sam stared back, unblinking. His heart squeezed as sadness overtook him, and his eyes burned. His story wasn’t like Mr. Hopewell’s. He hadn’t done the cowardly thing. It was just the opposite. But he’d still left his girl behind. And the possibility that he’d made a mistake haunted him.

  “Sam, look at me.”

  He glanced back up at Gregory.

  “I don’t know what your story is, son. And maybe you aren’t willing to share it with me. But I can see the same haunted look in your eyes I see when I look in the mirror every day.”

  Every muscle in Sam’s body tensed. The gears in his brain were moving too slowly to keep up with his emotions. Suddenly, he felt close enough to Gregory to disclose everything. The father figure he’d missed growing up was sitting right in front of him with open arms. All he had to do was walk into them, and everything would be okay.

  “I can’t,” he whispered, his voice thick and full of pain. “I can’t tell you.”

  Mr. Hopewell sighed. “That’s okay, son. I understand you still don’t trust me yet.”

  “No, it’s not that…you’ve been a saving grace for me, sir. You don’t even know how much your taking me in means to me. I just…it’s not my secret to tell. I promised her…I promised someone back home I’d keep her safe no matter what the cost. I did that, and now I can’t tell anyone what happened or her security would be threatened. I just can’t.”

  Gregory Hopewell’s eyes softened. He looked at Sam across the desk, and felt the bond of a son forming that he’d never expected from a kid who just happened to be working on his ranch.

  “Okay, Sam. When you’re ready, just know that I’m here. You clearly need someone to talk to, and I hope I can be that for you. Or if it’s not me, I sure as hell hope it’s someone soon. Because the secret and the pressure of keeping it, is clearly killing you.”

  Sam’s chest constricted and he let his head fall into his hands. Gregory came around the side of the desk and put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, son. Whatever it is. It will be okay because you’re a good man. Remember that.”

  Sam only nodded.

  “Listen, now. We’re going to take it slow. I have to have your ID and forms for HR, but I can’t do that if you’re hiding from the law. So there’s some things you obviously need to work out. In the meantime, though, you’ll need to look the part of an administrative intern in a corporate environment.”

  Sam bristled. “All I have are jeans and work shirts.”

  “That’s why I’m going to give you this.” Gregory walked back around his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a credit card. It was black.

  “Take it and go shopping. You need to get a few suits, but also just some slacks and shirts to wear around here. New shoes wouldn’t hurt, either.”

  He laughed again at Sam’s vacant expression. “I know that look. You need help, don’t you? I’ll send Aston with you. That girl knows style and fashion about as well as she knows business. And that’s a hell of a lot.”

  Sam nodded blankly. “I don’t even know what to say, Mr. Hopewell. This is…a lot. Thank you.”

  “First of all, you may call me Gregory when we’re not at the office. You’re welcome, Sam. Now go and find my daughter.”

  Aston stumbled away from the door where she’d been eavesdropping on the conversation between Sam and her father. She’d been about to storm upstairs when she’d heard her father usher Sam into the office.

  With every word she’d heard, a tiny jolt of shock frayed her nerves. The story her father had told Sam…she’d never known any of it. Her lungs contracted, and she struggled to draw deep breaths. She retreated from the office door and turned the corner into the kitchen, where she ran smack into Ashley.

  “Hey!” Ashley exclaimed. “I was just coming to look—Aston? What’s the matter?”

  Ashley’s arms went around her. “What is it, A? What happened?”

  Aston stared at Ashley without really seeing her. Her dad had never told her that story…but he’d told Sam. She was halfway between jealousy toward Sam, and sympathy for his pain. She’d heard what he had to say, too. What he’d said about having a secret he couldn’t divulge, and the fact that he was protecting someone else. She knew it had to be the girlfriend he’d left back home. She wondered angrily if that girl was worthy of Sam’s love. He’d given up so much for her. Was she doing the same for him?

  Aston’s legs wobbled dangerously and she quickly pulled out a chair to sit down. She’d never felt such a tumult of clashing emotions pulling her in all directions at once. She thought she’d been emotional when she’d found out about her mother’s affair.

  At that time in her life, she’d just down her emotions before they could bury her. Her father had needed her. She had refused to crumble to pieces because of her own heartbreak and disappointment in the woman who’d birthed her. The way she was feeling about Sam was different. She could try to turn it off, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to if she tried. The ocean of feelings crashing over her in regards to Sam Waters and his mysterious secret was devastatingly big.

  “Aston?” Sam’s voice wafted through the kitchen from his place just outside the door.

  She looked up and saw him filling the entrance.

  “Yeah?”

  Ashley’s curious stare flickered between the two of them. “Are you okay, A?” she asked again. “You look…”

  “Are you sick?” Sam moved briskly into the kitchen to stand next to Aston’s chair. “Can I get you something?”

  He stared at her with concern, his head tilted to one side as he gripped the back of her chair.

  “No, I’m fine,” she told them both. “I just…I’m fine. Do you need something, Sam?”

  She steeled herself and rose from her chair, looking up into his eyes.

  “Well, actually…I was going to ask you to come shopping with me.”

  She must have missed that part. She’d been reeling about the revelations they’d made in the office; she hadn’t even heard the end of their conversation.

  “Shopping?” she asked faintly.

  “Yeah,” Sam answered, shifting his feet uncomfortably. “Your dad wants me to start interning for him, you know…and he thinks maybe I should, uh, restock my wardrobe a bit. Buy some more formal clothes for work. He gave me the expense card. Can you help me?”

  The plaintive tone in his voice and those lost little boy eyes…she couldn’t say no. Just thinking about helping him out of the clothes he was wearing…a bead of sweat trickled slowly down her back. She wasn’t going to be doing that. She was only taking him shopping.

  “Of course,” she answered. “Let me go upstairs and change. Give me fifteen minutes
.”

  She wasted no time practically flying from the room.

  Closing her bedroom door behind her, she closed her eyes and leaned against it. She could do this. She could spend time with Sam Waters. It was shopping. Granted, it was shopping for an internship she didn’t necessarily want him to have, but she loved shopping. And the more time she spent around Sam, the more she realized he didn’t have designs on moving up in her father’s company. Maybe he had just been in the right place at the right time and he deserved a shot at something good.

  Maybe.

  Actually, she’d been itching to get her hands on his wardrobe since she met him. Not that the clothes he wore weren’t sexy, in a country boy kind of way. He had simple tastes. But holy hell…how delectable he could be if she could sink her stylish teeth into him?

  Okay. Thinking like that wasn’t helping. The heat that had been building in her center since he’d approached her in the kitchen was only getting hotter. He’d been so genuinely concerned about her, and the nurturing reaction from him made her want to curl up into his body and just let him hold her.

  This line of thought wasn’t helping her calm down at all. Not a bit.

  She took a cool shower, dressed quickly in short white shorts and a low-cut red tank top, and topped the outfit off with wedge-heeled sandals. Sam wasn’t blind. If he was elevating her blood pressure like this, then she sure as hell was going to set him aflame as well. Two could play at this game.

  She descended the staircase to find him waiting for her by the front door. Ashley was standing next to him, smirking as she watched Aston walk down the stairs. One look at Ashley told Aston her friend knew exactly what she was doing with her outfit…and liked it. Aston narrowed her eyes, and Ashley laughed.

  “Well, y’all have fun, okay? I can’t wait to see your new look, Sam. You’re in good hands with my girl Aston here. But I think you know that, now don’t you?”

  She opened the front door and left before Aston could throw her another dirty look.

  “Well,” Aston asked Sam. “You ready?”

  “You recover fast,” Sam commented.