The Bachelor's Unexpected Family

by Lisa Carter

  Kristina’s stomach churned as she remembered one of Canyon’s painful admissions. Neither he nor his brother ever knew their father.

  Margaret shook her head. “The kind of love Eileen felt for Freddie Collier...so all-consuming.” Her eyes locked on Kristina’s. “Not meant to be given to any mortal. A love that should only be given to God.”

  Kristina bit her lip.

  Margaret exhaled. “Beech acted out to get attention. Good or bad, he didn’t care. As long as he got someone’s attention. As for Canyon, thank God for Hap. He was the making of the boy.”

  Yes, thank God for Hap Wallace. Because Canyon Collier was indeed a wonderful man. The best. Something she’d known to be true before he ever rescued those men.

  Her hero. And Gray’s. Most definitely Jade’s. If only Canyon could see himself as they saw him.

  “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, Kristina.”

  She remembered the odd conversation with Seth Duer at the pancake supper. That everyone had their own battles to fight and wars to overcome.

  “One of the things I’ve learned the hard way is a verse that talks about leaving the past and pressing forward to what lies ahead.”

  “Good advice,” Kristina whispered. “If only I knew how. I messed up everything with Canyon.”

  “How badly do you want to move forward, Kristina?”

  She glanced over the patio. “I don’t think he’ll forgive me.”

  “I believe in second chances. I think Canyon does, too.” Margaret squeezed Kristina’s hand. “And when you’re blessed with someone to move forward with, you must run toward him.

  Kristina tilted her head. “To run and not grow faint...to soar like an eagle.”

  Margaret let go of her hand. “I’m the one who found Eileen.”

  Kristina’s heart thudded. “The day she died?”

  “I’d begged her to live with me, but Eileen always told me...” Margaret’s voice wobbled. “She told me she had to be there to welcome Freddie when he returned home.”

  After what Pax’s sweet father had suffered with the dementia, Kristina hated that terrible, terrible disease.

  “I went over to the bungalow every day.” A tear trailed down Margaret’s cheek. “She’d go silent in the middle of a conversation, tilt her ear toward the ceiling or rush out into the yard at the sound of an airplane. Listening for him.”

  Kristina swallowed. And recalled Canyon’s remark about his grandmother’s white garden planted as a marker.

  “Of course, it was never him. She’d snap out of it after a moment and smile. ‘Next time. He’s close. I can feel it.’”

  Suppose Kristina never heard the sound of Canyon’s plane again? Suppose he never came back? Her temples pounded. But he must. If not for her, then certainly for Jade.

  “I awoke early one morning to the strangest feeling.” Margaret fretted the cuff of her silk blouse. “I couldn’t get Eileen off my mind. I rushed over to her house in my housecoat and slippers.”

  Kristina pictured the usually immaculate, always in-control Margaret disheveled and scared.

  “I panicked and called for her. But the house was deserted. The door wide open. That’s when I knew.”

  Kristina tensed. “Knew what?”

  “I knew where to find her.” Margaret stared across the tidal creek. “I’d found her there before, after a restless night. I ran through the woods toward the airfield. It had been abandoned since Hap’s death. Potholes in the asphalt, weeds growing through the cracks...”

  How hard Canyon must’ve worked to bring the airfield to its current pristine condition. No wonder he was proud of his business.

  “...and there at the end of the runway, she rested against the old sycamore tree—” Margaret’s voice cracked.

  Kristina’s heart broke at Margaret’s remembered pain and of the old woman so alone.

  Margaret gulped. “I have no idea where Eileen got them. She must’ve spent the entire night planting them.”

  Kristina had missed something. “Planting what?”

  “Eileen had lined both sides of the runway with tiny American flags. When I arrived, the flags fluttered in the wind.”

  Kristina leaned forward. “But what about Eileen?”

  Margaret’s eyes shone. “Her face was upturned to the golden glow of the sun, serene at last. Her eyes were closed. Her body still warm to the touch.”

  “Her soul flown to heaven’s beckoning call,” Kristina whispered.

  And very deliberately, she forever replaced the hideous image she’d carried—burning, jagged metal raining over a windswept Afghan mountain—with a new one of Pax.

  Margaret took a ragged breath. “Did she hear Freddie’s plane? Is that why she went out there? To welcome him home?”

  Kristina reached across the table and clasped Margaret’s hand.

  “Fanciful, but I know in my heart she and her great love are together again at last.”

  Tears slid down Kristina’s cheeks.

  “I pray, Kristina, you will not allow happiness to slide from your grasp—”

  “He left me, remember?”

  Margaret’s mouth thinned. “Are you talking about your dead husband or are you referring to Canyon?”

  “I’ll always love Pax, but I’ve let him go. I’m ready to move forward into a new life with Canyon.”

  “Does he know how you feel?”

  “Things escalated so fast.” Kristina blinked. “And then he was gone.”

  “I told you about Eileen because I wanted you to understand the baggage he carries. The insecurity he feels. Given the example of his grandmother and Hap, he believes his love for you could never compare to the love you and your husband once shared.”

  “That’s not true.” She clutched the edge of the table. “Pax is my past. But Canyon is my future. I know that now. I love him. But we got into this stupid argument...” Her throat closed.

  “If that’s how you feel, then you must come up with a way to help him see the truth, Kristina.”

  From inside, the doorbell chimed just as Kristina’s cell beeped. Rising, Margaret disappeared into the house. Kristina rummaged through the purse stashed beside the chair.

  “Hello? Jade—Where—”

  She frowned, trying to make sense of the girl’s garbled, rapid-fire speech. “What? Is something—”

  Margaret and Honey strolled onto the patio.

  Kristina’s gut tightened as comprehension dawned. “Canyon called to tell you he’s coming home?” Her heart fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird. “This afternoon?”

  Promising to call again later, she clicked Off. Her hand trembled.

  Margaret’s penciled eyebrows arched. “What do you want to do, Kristina?”

  “I want a life with Canyon.” She pushed back her shoulders. “I want to give him the happily-ever-after we both deserve.”

  Margaret smiled. “How can I help?”

  A sudden crazy notion took hold of Kristina. A surefire way to get his attention. Perhaps the only thing that might stand a chance of convincing Canyon how much she loved him. How much she’d staked on a future with him. To help him see himself through not only her eyes but the town’s also.

  “I need to cut some flowers in my garden.” She stood. “A lot of flowers. I’ll also need yards of ribbon.”

  Margaret steepled her bejeweled hands under her chin. “I think I see where you’re going with this. A hero’s welcome. Consider my garden at your disposal.”

  Kristina shook her head. “But it’s Garden Week. The judges will be here tomorrow.”

  Margaret shrugged. “There’s always next year.”

  A crease puckered Honey’s forehead. “If y’all are talking about what I think you’re talking about, coun
t the flowers from the inn’s garden, too.”

  Margaret sniffed. “Without Inglenook, the trophy will be yours.”

  Honey batted her lashes. “I prefer to win my laurels fair and square, thank you all the same. Like you said, there’s always next year. Right now, we need to be good neighbors.”

  Margaret raised her fist as if rallying the troops. “Kiptohanock must welcome home our hero.”

  “Exactly.” Honey whipped her phone out of her pocket. “I’ll text my sisters. Evy, too.”

  “I’ll telephone Agnes Parks, the rest of the guild and my book club.” Margaret hurried to a table inside the patio doors. “We need to buy every flower at the other two florist shops on the peninsula, pronto.” She poked her head out the door. “Call your dad, Honey. He’ll know what to do. Between him and the other watermen, they’ll set the village to rights.”

  “On it.” Honey tapped her foot as she dialed another number. “I’ll call the florists and tell them to reserve...”

  Kristina’s head whirled. Each woman a separate force of nature. And having marshaled forces, unstoppable.

  “But I can’t afford—”

  “On my credit card, of course.” Margaret waved her hand.

  “I can’t let you—”

  “Kristina!” Margaret bellowed.

  She and Honey jolted.

  “Do you love this young man or not?”

  To someone of Margaret’s age, she and Canyon must appear so young. As for so in love?

  Oh, how she hoped so.

  Chapter Twenty

  In the translucent glow of the late-afternoon sun, the barrier islands gleamed like strung pearls along the Delmarva Peninsula.

  Following the coastline, Canyon brought the plane low as if skimming the frothing waves. Shorebirds dotted the sandy beaches.

  He imagined his grandfather sighting the pristine shoreline after a hazardous journey chasing German subs. The joy, the anticipation, the rightness of coming home at last.

  Yet unlike his grandfather, no special love waited for him. Never would. In the ways that mattered, Canyon was nothing like his grandfather.

  Sure, he loved the thrill and freedom of flying through the skies. But if Kristina had offered him the kind of love his grandmother gave Freddie Collier, nothing could’ve induced Canyon to leave Kiptohanock or Kristina ever again.

  To his right, the blue-green hue of the ocean glimmered. To his left lay the tree-studded inland horizon. Despite the loneliness facing him, his heart felt a ridiculous surge of gladness.

  For the first time, he realized he’d come full circle. Found a home where he’d first begun. And even without Kristina, he was determined to make a better life for Jade.

  In everything but blood, she was already his daughter. On the mountain, he’d vowed—if he could take off once more and safely land at base camp with the men—to make it a reality on paper, too.

  His heart hurt thinking of Kristina and Gray. Thinking of the relationship he’d never experience with either of them. He would’ve loved becoming a father figure to the teenage boy.

  As for Kristina? Some dreams were never meant to be fulfilled.

  He’d left the Shore to wrap his mind around how he could continue to live next door to the only woman he’d ever love, knowing she’d never love him.

  But he was coming home—in the truest sense of the word—even without Kristina in his life. Home, where he belonged. He brought the plane to a higher altitude as he approached the outline of the Kiptohanock harbor.

  Canyon had thought about a lot of things over the last few weeks. He’d considered selling everything and relocating himself and Jade somewhere else. Anywhere else.

  He hadn’t welcomed the publicity over the rescue, but now he’d have his choice of plum opportunities. Aerial application specialists were suddenly a hot commodity.

  And a new dream had arisen. A dream of training a whole new generation of ag pilots. He’d cautiously investigated a flight instructor position with an old friend who ran a training academy in Georgia.

  But in the end, Canyon didn’t want to subject Jade to another upheaval. She’d tentatively found a place for herself in Kiptohanock. And he’d begun to suspect—despite her vehement denials—Jade was more attached to Gray Montgomery than she was yet willing to admit.

  He also didn’t want to yank her away from Kristina, the only positive female figure she’d ever had in her life. Nor from Margaret’s grandmotherly influence.

  Because of the children’s friendship, he was bound to encounter Kristina far more than his comfort level or his heart wanted. But he’d resolved to put Jade’s well-being first, not his own.

  He’d never been responsible for another human being. At least not since he left the Shore and Beech went to jail.

  Every night when he talked to Jade, they’d steered away from discussing Kristina, although this morning when he’d called to let her know his ETA, Jade had revealed Kristina had bought the storefront with plans to open a florist shop.

  Canyon was happy for her. Glad she’d chosen to move on with her life. To pursue her dream. Even if that dream didn’t include a life with him.

  He had more to his life than the airfield, too. After the pancake supper, he’d been recruited by the volunteer fire department. And thanks to Pruitt, he’d enrolled in the SAR Civilian Aviation unit.

  The church steeple appeared in his sights. Streaks of purple and indigo studded the sky. And something colorful fluttered from the town gazebo.

  What in the world?

  He pressed his face to the window, not believing his own eyes. Circling for another look, he buzzed the inlet.

  The plane’s shadow fell across the square. At the sound of the engine, people poured out of the café, the church and the library. The fire station, too.

  Why were they waving small American flags? What was going on? It looked like a hero’s welcome.

  As for the gazebo?

  Hundreds of red, white and blue ribbons were tied around every railing, every conceivable surface. He did a 180 to make another pass. Who was this for?

  It couldn’t be for him. He shook his head. Could it? Welcoming him home. It shouldn’t be. But it was.

  Canyon didn’t feel like a hero. He’d only done what anyone else would’ve done, getting his buddies out of harm’s way.

  Seeing the townspeople—his people—welcoming an outsider like him home to Kiptohanock... He swallowed. Maybe only an outsider in his mind?

  After one more loop around the green, he dipped the wing of the AT in grateful acknowledgment. Pulling up, he headed north. With a full heart, he left the fishing village behind for now.

  Farther along the shoreline, he passed the Neck, where the lighthouse stood as it had for a hundred years, tall and proud. A beacon of hope. He sighed.

  Canyon was determined to be the best dad Jade could have. He never wanted her to lack for anything again. His days of choosing avoidance were over.

  It’d be dark soon. He needed to get home. To Jade. To the rest of his life.

  Passing over the woods, he made adjustments to the controls as he neared the airstrip. But as he began the descent, his eyes widened. Hundreds more red, white and blue ribbons were tied around the trunk of the giant sycamore at the far end of the runway.

  And white blooms edged both sides of the runway. Spelling out the words Safe Landing. His heart quickened. Who—

  He lowered the landing gear. The wheels touched down and settled gently into the grip of gravity. He spotted a lone figure outside the hangar.

  A beautiful blonde woman in a blue wraparound dress. Kristina. Waving at him. His vision swam.

  He applied the brakes. The plane slowed. What was she doing here?

  What was happening? Was he dreaming? If he was, then
please, God, don’t ever let him awake.

  He cut the engine. The propellers continued to spin for a moment. Canyon’s heart leaped in his chest.

  Canyon eased open the door. Climbing onto the wing, he jumped to the ground. She hadn’t moved from where she waited. Did she wait for him?

  She wrung her hands. Her china-blue eyes appeared large in her face. Tremulous with uncertainty.

  A distance remained between them. An interminable length of space. A gulf he didn’t know how to bridge.

  But then she bridged it for him.

  * * *

  Why didn’t he say something?

  Kristina ached to embrace him, but he remained frozen beside the wing of the plane. Was he still so very angry with her? He looked more tired than the last time she saw him. Yet his eyes were as startling a blue as ever, a blue in which she’d willingly drown.

  She’d been afraid he wouldn’t arrive before the sun set to see the message. Did he not understand what was in her heart?

  Her heart was full of him. When he walked away after the sunrise service, she’d been angry, confused and hurt. Why was he just standing there?

  Perhaps her instincts were wrong. Perhaps he’d never loved her. Or at least didn’t love her now.

  Was Margaret right about his reluctance to share his feelings with her? Because of a false sense of unworthiness. How could she make him understand that the shadow of Pax would never again lie between them?

  Canyon was her future. Hers and Gray’s. Life belonged to the living. Her life and her love belonged to him. His for the taking.

  Why didn’t he move? Did he not understand what she’d spelled out on the ground? Why didn’t he—

  Kristina squared her shoulders. She was done with waiting for life to happen. She was done with life passing her by.

  She was taking her life in her own capable hands. No more waiting for the prince to mount a rescue. She was coming to his.

  One step forward. Two. And then she was running.