by Liz Isaacson
“Hey.”
“Elise,” Gray said, and how he could say her name with so much power and grace baffled her. He made her feel like a queen, even from across so much distance, and with so much unsaid between them. “I’m sorry I had to run earlier. Our bread was moldy.”
“Definitely an emergency,” she said.
Gray sighed. “Not really, but it kind of felt like it at the time.”
Elise turned off the car and got out. The cabin stared back at her with dark, soulless windows, and she cursed herself for forgetting to turn on a light inside. “I just got home, and I forgot to leave a light on.”
“Ah,” he said. “Well, I’ll stay on the line in case something happens.”
“Not helping,” she said, her steps slowing. Had she heard another footstep crunching in the snow? She glanced around, but only blackness stared bak.
“The porch will activate, sweetheart,” he said. “Keep going.”
How he’d known she’d slowed, she didn’t know. But urged on by the kindness in his voice, she took another step. When she reached the bottom of the steps, the porch light kicked on, flooding the area with bright light.
She actually flinched, pulling in a breath and holding it tight.
“There you go,” Gray said. “Just go inside. The lights are right by the door. There’s no one there, Elise.”
“I don’t even think I locked it,” she whispered. “There was so much going on. Wes and Bree were in and out….” She let her voice trail off, hating this weakness in her. Her heart pounded, and she took the stairs quickly, using her adrenaline to propel her through the tasks. If she could just make it inside, lock everything down and flood it all with light, she’d be okay.
The front door was not locked, and that only sent her heartbeat into a tizzy. She snapped on the lights, scanning the living room quickly. “No one here,” she said, stepping inside fully and closing the door behind her. “Door locked.” She twisted the lock. “I’m going into the kitchen.”
“I’m right here,” Gray said patiently, and Elise cleared all the rooms with his soothing, supportive voice on the other end of the line.
“All right,” she said. “I’m in my room. Doors locked. I think I’ll survive the night.” She let out a shaky breath, wishing it could be a fun, easy, flirty laugh. “I’m sorry, Gray. I’m such a baby.”
“You are not,” he said. “You live out in the middle of nowhere. It’s fine to be afraid.” He cleared his throat. “In fact, that’s the reason I’ve done a few things with you. I’m afraid.”
Elise paused in removing her shoes. “You are? Of what?”
“Of messing up as a dad,” he said. “Of having this relationship with you when it might not be what’s best for Hunter, because I want it so badly.”
Elise didn’t have children, and she didn’t want to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do as a father. That wasn’t her call to make. So she just waited while he stayed silent on the other end of the line. She could imagine him in the room with her, a tortured look on his face as his chest rose and fell, as his mind spun to find the traction it needed.
“My last girlfriend,” he finally said, his voice a tad lower and definitely without as much emotion. “Her name was Maddie. She was everything I thought I wanted. Everything I wanted for Hunter. He really liked her too. They got along really well.”
“Okay,” Elise said, just to have something to say. Was he still hung up on Maddie? He’d said he hadn’t dated in years.
“Turned out, she was only using us. Both of us. For money. She wanted my money. She actually used my son to steal from me, and then laughed at him when everything came out.” Gray’s breathing came through the line. “I’m still very angry about it, and I need to work through that. I know you’re not like her, Elise. I know that. But I have not dated since her, because my son is an amazing human being, and he deserves to be treated as such.”
“I agree,” Elise said, her heart wailing for Gray.
“He thought he was doing something that would make her happy, because he loved her.” Gray’s voice broke, but he continued with, “I will not put my son through anything remotely close to that again. He went to therapy for a year, and he’s doing really well now.”
“I understand,” Elise said gently. “I’m fine with what we had going, Gray. Honestly, I am. I thought we weren’t telling anyone about us, so I was surprised when Wes seemed to know.”
“I don’t know what Wes heard,” Gray said. “I did not tell him we were dating.”
“I believe you.”
“I’m overprotective of Hunter.”
“As you should be.”
“But I did tell him about us.”
Elise’s eyebrows went up, and she thawed from her frozen state. She kicked off her shoes and asked, “You did?”
“Yes,” Gray said. “He said he’s okay with me dating. Honestly, he is.” He made his voice sound different on the last few words, as if mimicking his son. He chuckled. “We brainstormed what girls like to get for Valentine’s Day tonight, and I think it’s a fairly decent list.”
“Okay, let’s hear it,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. “We’re open to feedback. Hunter has this girl he likes—I just found out tonight, believe it or not. And I kind of have this woman I have a big crush on….” He let the words hang there, and Elise could only smile to herself locked in her bedroom.
Gray cleared his throat. “Okay, so we’ve got flowers. Chocolate and-or candy. Stuffed animals. Scented candles. Perfume. Jewelry. Cards.”
“Hmm,” she said, falling into a flirtatious tone pretty easily. “I think for a twelve-year-old girl…getting a card and a flower is pretty special. Maybe the candy. Girls of all ages definitely like candy and-or chocolate.”
“Noted. What do you think about the stuffed animal idea?”
“Here’s the thing,” Elise said. “Women aren’t like men. For men, bigger is better, right? Big truck. Big cowboy hat. Big ego.” She shook her head. “No. Women like small. Think of how we coo over baby animals on social media. Tiny ribbons and bows and stationery. Little things are cute. Little things are adorable.”
“I’m taking notes,” Gray said. “Keep going.”
Elise giggled. “So for Hunter and his girl, go with a baby stuffed animal—not too big—with a tiny little bow, and hey, a tiny card would be amazing too. Tiny bag. All of it little. Girls love little things.”
“Candy or no?”
“Sure,” she said. “Get one of those mini assortments you can find at the corner stores. It’ll fit in the tiny bag.”
“Got it.”
“As for more adult women….” She thought for a moment. “I mean, it depends on the person.”
“What might you get for someone who doesn’t like living alone but has to do it? Who has a boyfriend in another state she can’t see all the time? Who sometimes makes mistakes and makes her angry and just wants her to know he’d be there if he could?”
Elise’s eyes and nose began to burn with unshed tears. Gray had said exactly the right thing, and she did wish he was here with her with all the energy of her soul.
“Elise?”
“I’m thinking,” she said, her voice thick. She wiped her eyes and took a big breath, trying to steady her emotions. “For someone like that, I think you should get her a dog.”
“A dog?”
“Not a stuffed one,” Elise said. “But a big dog who’ll protect her and warn her if something is happening. Who can sort of act like the boyfriend when he can’t be there.”
“But what if this woman has already vetoed the idea of a dog?”
“Maybe ask again,” she said, smiling even as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. She sniffed and wiped it away. “And for the record, I was not angry. I was frustrated at the situation and where I found myself inside it.”
“I know that,” he said quietly. “Though I wouldn’t blame you if you’d been angry.”
“I miss y
ou,” she whispered, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She missed him so much. The distance between them felt so great, and so wide, and yet she could feel him right beside her too.
“I miss you, too,” he said.
Elise started thinking about her life in Coral Canyon, and what it might look like if she transferred most of it south to Colorado. She didn’t have any real ties to this town or the lodge. Yes, it was the first place she’d felt loved and accepted. The first place of her adult life that had felt like home. But she felt like that with Gray too.
“Is bigger better with adult women?” Gray asked. “For dogs, specifically. But also for flowers and chocolates and all of that.”
“Yes,” Elise said. “In this case, bigger is better for adult women.”
“Got it,” he said. “Let’s talk about Valentine’s Day.”
“Okay.”
“Wes said he might have a celebration down here close to then so our parents don’t have to travel. Would you come to that?”
“It depends on when it is. We have a big thing at the lodge.”
“Yeah, I remember. I highly doubt Bree would plan it when her friends couldn’t come.”
“Unless she’s going to do something up here too,” Elise said. “But that doesn’t sound like her. She doesn’t like the spotlight too much.”
“So I guess we’ll wait and see what they do,” Gray said. “Before we make any plans.”
“Okay,” Elise said.
“Follow-up question,” Gray said, and Elise heard the lawyer in him.
It made her smile, and she said, “Go ahead, counselor.”
Gray paused, then burst out laughing. Elise basked in the sound of it for a few moments before she joined in.
“That was great,” Gray said. “I’ll try to be less lawyer-like.”
“I enjoyed it,” Elise said, teasing him.
“How would you feel about meeting Hunter in an official girlfriend capacity?”
“I feel fine about that,” she said.
“Just fine?”
“Great.” She’d met Hunter before, and he really was a great kid.
“It’s different as soon as you’re the girlfriend,” he said. “Trust me on that.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not saying it’ll happen right away,” Gray said. “We might still go off on our own and keep him isolated from the relationship. I’m going to see how I feel about it.”
“It’s your call,” Elise said. “And I respect whatever decision you make.”
“It’s not a personal thing against you,” Gray said. “It’s more like…unchartered ground I need to figure out how to navigate.”
“I’ll try not to take it personally,” Elise said, though she knew she’d already started to take it as such. Why can’t Gray just introduce me to his son? He’s already told Hunter that we’re dating. What’s the big deal?
She pushed those doubts and worries away, because she knew that it really wasn’t about her. No, this thing with Hunter had everything to do with Gray, and what he’d missed last time with Maddie that he was determined not to miss again.
“Can we video chat tomorrow night?” Gray asked. “I want to see you.”
“Yes,” she said. “That sounds fun.” The call ended, and Elise sighed a happy sigh as she gazed up at the ceiling. “Thank you, Lord,” she prayed. “Bless each of us with clear minds and open hearts to know what to do and what not to do. Especially bless Gray with this as he tries to know what to do for his son.”
Elise changed into her pajamas and stole across the hall to brush her teeth. Back in her bedroom with the door locked again, she noticed a flashing light on her phone.
Gray had texted: What breed of dog might a woman in the woods like to have? This kind?
He’d sent a picture of a great big hairy beast that looked like a Sasquatch with four legs. Elise giggled and sent back Definitely not. Too much hair. A woman in the woods who’s very busy in the summertime needs a non-shedding dog.
Non-shedding. Writing that down now….
Elise felt herself falling in love with this man though he was miles from her. She was as excited as she was afraid, because she’d felt like this before, and that relationship had ended so poorly.
Don’t make me go through that again, she prayed before climbing into bed and picking up her phone to text with Gray some more.
Chapter Fourteen
Wes woke up, the peach scent of Bree’s shampoo in his nose. A smile crossed his face as the sound of the shower met his ears. He sure did like waking up with Bree, and he couldn’t believe she was his wife.
“Thank you, Lord,” he said, rolling over in bed and groaning. He took a moment to stretch his arms high and lean toward the wall, pressing one palm against it and puling the muscles in his side. He repeated the action on the other side, finally standing up and padding into the bathroom.
Bree had wrapped herself in a towel and stood at the sink.
“Hey, pretty lady.” Wes pressed his lips to her temple and trailed his hand along her waist. She smiled at him with foamy toothpaste in her mouth, and he continued into the bathroom. When he finished, he came out and picked up his own toothbrush. “What are we doing today?”
“I have to go to work,” she said.
“Are you going to quit?”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
Wes wanted to argue with her, but he didn’t. Bree loved her job at the lodge, and she wasn’t working at the employment office anymore. Wes had agreed to stay on as a business consultant for the lodge, but he wasn’t the butler anymore. Graham had hired someone else, and apparently, he practiced his comedy routine with the guests when he checked them in and out, and he made a lot in tips.
Wes went into the kitchen and made coffee while Bree continued getting ready. When she joined him, he had toast and eggs in front of him, and he got up to make more. “Eat mine, love,” he said.
“Just toast and coffee,” she said, picking up one slice of toast. He put two more pieces of bread in the toaster and watched her doctor up her coffee with cream and sugar. She wore a tight pair of jeans and a pair of boots that went halfway up her calf.
“I’m going to call my mother this morning,” Wes said. “Can you talk to Patsy about a good weekend or a couple of days to go to Ivory Peaks?”
Bree turned toward him and lifted her mug to her lips. “Not for the wedding celebration, right?”
“Just to meet them,” he said. “Just me and you.”
She nodded and sipped. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thanks.” His bread popped up, and he turned to butter it. “And when do you want to go get the rest of your stuff from the cabin?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “We don’t need the furniture here, and it just makes me sad to go there. I hate that Elise is there alone.”
“I know you do.” Wes left his buttered toast and turned to Bree, easily wrapping her in his arms. “She seems okay, though.”
“I think Gray helps a lot.”
“Gray is extraordinarily good with supporting someone,” Wes said. “That’s true.”
“You know, she told me once she’d never go out with one of Colton’s brothers.”
“Did you ever make that same promise?”
“No.” She gazed up at him with a smile on her face. “Colton handed me the phone before I even knew he had brothers, and then you started talking, and the rest is history.”
Wes laughed. “History, right.”
Bree kissed him, and that was one way to get him to stop laughing. He kissed her back, this beautiful, wonderful wife of his. “Remember, I have therapy this afternoon,” she murmured. “Four o’clock.”
“I’ll pick something up for dinner.”
“No meat for me,” she said. “I used to be semi-vegetarian, and I want to get back to that.”
“Semi-vegetarian? Why have I never heard of this before?”
She just smiled and shook her head
. “I don’t want red meat. Chicken is probably okay.”
“So a chicken salad or something.”
“Yes,” she said. “The pizza parlor has great salads, so you can get something you like too. Win-win.”
“Win-win,” Wes repeated as Bree stepped out of his arms. “Okay.”
She picked up the second slice of toast from his plate and took her coffee with her. “See you later.”
“Bye.” Wes stood against the counter and listened to the door close behind Bree. The garage door rumbled up and then down, and Wes was alone in his house. He tossed out everything he’d made for breakfast, because it was cold now. He remade it all and sat down to eat, wondering what Colton was doing that day.
He texted, and Colt said he was going to Springside to assist in the lab. Wes called his mother next, comforted when she picked up with, “Wes, dear, hello.”
“Hey, Mom,” he said, smiling at the sound of her voice. “How’s Dad?”
“Oh, he’s doing far too much on the farm,” Mom said with a sigh. “Yesterday morning, he went out and he never came back in. About eleven, I realized how late it had gotten, and I called him. He said he was in the stables, trying to catch his breath. He almost passed out.” She clicked her tongue, and Wes could see her shake her head.
“He should call Ames.” Gray had given everyone an update on their parents, and everyone—except them—seemed to know it was time for them to move off the farm.
“Ames has a very busy job,” Mom said.
“Gray then.”
“Gray has Hunter, and the man runs and trains for hours every day.”
“Mom, the two of you can’t manage that farm.”
“We’re doing fine, honey. How was Hawaii?”
“Amazing,” Wes said. “You’d love it there, Mom. We should go.” The weather had been a bit humid for his liking, but there was nothing better than the bright sun and the tropical greenery. The sand, the surf, the waves. Wes had loved all of it, even when it rained.
“Heavens,” his mother said. “I don’t even own a bathing suit, Wes.”
