When Love Arrives

by Johnnie Alexander

  “Please don’t hate this,” she said quietly.

  “How could I?”

  She shrugged, a pitiful movement that pulled his heart from his chest. At that moment, it took all his willpower to stay on the couch. Why did AJ have that chair anyway? If Dani was already beside him, he could put his arm around her shoulders, feel her hair against his cheek as she leaned her head on his chest.

  How easy then to forget the film and kiss her soft lips.

  Maybe it was best she was sitting in the chair after all.

  He squirmed and focused on the TV screen. The title image showed a boy outside a barn on a wintry night. A man wearing a POW uniform stood in the shadows. A star, reminiscent of the one that guided the wise men to Bethlehem, radiated light around them.

  To his own surprise, Brett became totally engrossed in the film. As the final credits rolled and Dani’s name appeared on the screen, he shook his head as if to awaken from the experience.

  “That was amazing. You’re amazing.”

  “Don’t tease.”

  “I’m not. Okay, to be honest, I was expecting some fluffy story. But this . . . I’m beyond impressed.”

  She turned away, and the light reflected a small glimmer on her cheek. Scooting forward on the couch, he lightly pressed his forefinger beneath her silent tears.

  “Why are you crying?”

  “I haven’t seen it in a while. I guess I’d forgotten how good it is.” Her hesitant smile almost did him in. “That sounded like bragging, but I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “It’s better than good.” His hand lingered against her damp cheek. For the tiniest second, she leaned into his hand, then moved away. He clasped his hands in front of him. Better for both of them if he didn’t touch her again.

  “You have a gift, Dani Prescott.”

  “You really liked it?”

  “More than liked it. You’ve got a way of, I don’t know, pulling heartstrings without being banal.”

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

  “Maybe we should hire someone else to—”

  “What?” Her eyes grew large. “You don’t want me anymore?”

  Brett blinked, momentarily confused by her outburst. He wanted her very much. But that’s not what she meant.

  “I think you should concentrate on a documentary, that’s all. Instead of it being something we might do, let’s make it a priority. Someone else can take care of the other projects.”

  “But I want to do it all. The documentary, the displays, all of it.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She started to answer then focused on the television screen. The DVD had returned to the main menu, and the same musical theme repeated itself.

  “What are you thinking?”

  She faced him, then sighed. “Have you ever had a time when everything seemed to be too perfect?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “That’s how I feel right now. The perfect job.” She gestured around the cottage. “The perfect place to live.”

  “Then why so glum?”

  “Because when things are too perfect . . .” She hesitated. “Some dreams just aren’t meant to come true.”

  “I don’t believe that. And neither should you.” He shifted to the trunk, his knees pressing against hers. “Unless it’s not a dream worth having.”

  “But it is.”

  “See?” He squeezed her hands and smiled. “Harness that passion, that drive, and someday you’ll write that award-winning script.”

  “You really think so?”

  “You’re not a quitter, are you?”

  She tensed, then seemed to consciously relax. “Things have been a little rough lately.”

  That was an understatement, he was sure. “Want to talk about it?”

  “You’d never understand.”

  “Give me a chance.”

  He wanted a chance.

  A chance to what? Understand her world?

  But how could he? Even though his own childhood must have been difficult, he had a financial cushion that softened any blows he endured. Any doors he couldn’t open with his good looks and charm were opened by his checkbook. He hadn’t worked two, three, sometimes four jobs to pay his tuition. He’d never seen his dream as a star shining dimly in the night sky, drawing his attention like a magnet but always too far away to grasp.

  The image of him outside the hospital pounded into her mind. The way he stared at the lighted window. How he’d leaned against his car, bowed by a weight he couldn’t escape. In that unguarded moment, she’d witnessed his vulnerability.

  But she couldn’t let him see hers.

  She pulled her hands from his and stood, intending to gather their plates. But he rose too, and she gripped his arm to steady herself in the awkward space between the trunk and the chair. Loosed from her hold, his hands naturally gravitated to her waist. His gentle touch surged through her body, and her pulse raced with a desire she’d never experienced before.

  His chin rested near her temple, then slid to her own. Before she could take a breath, his mouth was on hers as his grip on her waist tightened. Her senses seemed to spring to life apart from her as she simultaneously breathed in his expensive aftershave, felt the slight prickling of his stubble against her skin, and exalted in the tantalizing pressure of his kiss. Her response was quick and out of her control as she melted into his embrace. Her lips sought his with a passion she never knew she possessed as her hand crept to his neck.

  Time slowed as Dani lost herself in the exquisite moment. Brett’s fingers slid beneath the hem of her T-shirt, soft as a butterfly’s wing against her bare skin, before his palm pressed against the small of her back.

  Intoxicated with the sensations flooding through her, she gasped as he suddenly grasped her waist with both hands and pushed away.

  “I shouldn’t have done that.” He tried to step backward, beyond the trunk, while holding on to her as if reluctant to let her go.

  Feeling betrayed, not just by him but by her own desire, she averted her gaze.

  “Dani.” His warm voice caressed the space between them, but she still couldn’t raise her eyes to his. He pressed his forehead against hers. “I lost control. It won’t happen again.”

  She nodded as hot tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t understand why.

  She only knew she wanted him. Despite his arrogance, his conceit, and despite her own misgivings, she was falling in love with him.

  A hopeless love.

  An impossible dream.

  – 30 –

  Brett wanted nothing more than to pull Dani into his arms again. To kiss her lovely lips. To make her his own. Taking a deep breath, he struggled against his desire.

  Only one option remained.

  “Good night,” he whispered, then quickly walked out the door. Once outside, he paused on the concrete slab serving as a porch and took several more deep breaths.

  What had he done?

  Why had he done it?

  Digging his keys from his pocket, he strode to the Lexus. A few seconds later, he’d driven through the gate. When he got out of the car to close it behind him, he looked toward the cottage.

  What must she be thinking?

  He considered returning, to apologize, to make some attempt at an explanation. But he didn’t dare. She was too vulnerable, too alluring, and he was too . . . well, it had been about three months since he’d kicked Tracie out of his life.

  Once again, remorse smacked him for how he’d treated his former receptionist. The unexpected pang clutched at his chest.

  After latching the gate, he slid back into his car and drove the half mile to AJ’s bungalow. The house where Gran had lived out her last days before her death.

  The outside light shone above the porch, but AJ’s Jeep wasn’t in the driveway. It didn’t take a genius to know where he was. On a Wednesday night, he’d be at church. And after that, a couple miles over as the crow flies with Shelby and her daughters.

  Fo
rtunately, Brett knew where to find the spare key. He let himself in, turning on a few lights as he headed for the kitchen. After grabbing a sports drink, the only thing AJ had in the fridge besides a quart of milk, he unscrewed the bottle’s cap and walked out to the screened porch. He plopped onto the rattan settee and took a long drink.

  Though Glade Creek couldn’t be seen from here, the night creatures inhabiting it could definitely be heard. The deep croaks of bullfrogs interspersed with other sounds he couldn’t identify. A whippoorwill crooned its lonely call.

  He closed his eyes, wanting to hold on to the memory of Dani in his arms, the tenderness of her mouth, the softness of her skin beneath his fingertips. As if in a dream, her image blurred and it was Meghan he was kissing, not from desire but from conquest.

  He’d taken her from AJ, and at that time, nothing else mattered.

  Disgust filled his gut, and he retched after hurrying to the restroom. The vomit burned his throat as it spilled into the toilet bowl.

  He was rinsing his mouth when the front door opened.

  “Brett?” AJ called. “Where are you?”

  He rinsed again, then wiped his mouth with a towel. “Coming.”

  They met in the living room.

  “What are you doing here?” AJ took off his OSU ball cap and tousled his smashed-down hair. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Hope you don’t mind I came on in.”

  “Not at all. Just surprised to see you.”

  “A little surprised to be here.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know.” Brett pressed his lips together and swallowed the lump clogging his throat. “Things don’t . . . I’m not . . .”

  “Did something happen to Amy?” Concern squeezed AJ’s voice.

  “She’s . . . Amy.”

  “Is it Jonah?” The concern plummeted into panic.

  Brett almost shook his head again, but Meghan’s image stopped him.

  “Why did you do it, AJ?”

  “Do what?”

  “Find Meghan. Why did you go looking for her?”

  AJ blew out a breath and passed his hand over his eyes. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “Try me.”

  “God told me to.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Honestly. You want something to drink?”

  Brett passed his hand over his chest and abdomen. “I’m fine, thanks.”

  “Then let’s sit down.” AJ led the way to the porch, and they settled into the cushioned chairs. The only light came from inside the house.

  AJ hung his cap on his knee, an odd, almost awe-filled expression on his face. “This may sound crazy.”

  “I want to know.”

  He paused a moment, searching for the right words. “Somehow I knew I could never be the man I needed to be for Shelby if I didn’t make amends with Meghan. So I did an online search, got a lead, and, well, you know the rest.”

  “So you made a deal with God?”

  “It wasn’t quite like that. I didn’t know how things would work out with Shelby. There were no guarantees.”

  “But God told you to find Meghan?”

  “He did.”

  “You heard his voice?”

  “Not like I hear you. It was more like a strong impression. A . . . a whisper into my soul,” AJ said softly. “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Maybe it would have been better if we hadn’t known about Jonah. The truth, I mean.”

  Brett rolled the thought around in his mind, twisting it into different shapes, viewing it from different angles. “I needed to know. And so did you. Besides, if you hadn’t found him when you did, he might be . . .” He couldn’t finish the sentence, though he admitted its melodrama. Because of AJ, Jonah was getting the best possible care, but even that hadn’t been enough to bring him out of his coma.

  “It’s changed things, you know,” Brett said.

  “What things?”

  “It’s changed me. I knew Meghan was pregnant when she left. Even suspected she lied to you. But I never dreamed she’d go through with the pregnancy.” In the dim light of the porch, surrounded by the night’s darkness, he felt safe talking about things he never could have said in the daytime. Not even to AJ. “Knowing about Jonah, knowing I have a son, makes me want to be someone better than I am. For his sake.”

  “I understand that. I feel that way about Elizabeth and Tabby, and they aren’t even mine.”

  “But they will be. You’ll be the dad they remember. The man who walks them down the aisle someday.”

  “Don’t even talk about that. My heart can’t take it.”

  Brett chuckled, then turned serious again. “I was over at Dani’s a little while ago.”

  “Has she settled in?”

  “Looks that way. She was going to watch a DVD on Ohio history this evening. Research.”

  “Do you really think she’s got the experience for a job like this?”

  “Maybe not, but she has the passion. Why? Has Shelby said something?”

  “Shelby enjoys her company. They get along great.”

  “I’m glad.” Even with the poor lighting, Brett sensed AJ’s eyes upon him. “What are you thinking?”

  “You really want to know?” AJ asked.

  “Don’t tell me she’s not my type.”

  “I wasn’t going to. But she could be if you let her.”

  “She’s just a girl. A nice girl.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Me.” Brett leaned forward, elbows on knees, and bowed his head. “I’m what’s wrong.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I . . . kissed her.”

  “Like a”—AJ made a smooching sound—“kiss?”

  Brett glowered, then shook his head. “Never do that again.”

  “More than that, huh?”

  “Let’s just say it was a substantial kiss.”

  “I don’t think I want to hear any more.”

  “No more to tell. I kissed her and then I left.”

  “Without saying anything?”

  “I said good-bye.”

  “Brilliant.”

  “I think she was crying.”

  “And you left her?”

  “I couldn’t stay. There’s something about her that . . . I couldn’t stay.”

  For several minutes, they listened to the nocturnal symphonies. Once again, the ethereal whippoorwill sang its three-noted melody. Another one, further away, answered the lonely call.

  “What are you going to do?” AJ asked quietly.

  Brett shrugged. “Can you believe it? For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do with the women in my life.”

  “Women?”

  “Dani. Amy. Meghan.”

  “Didn’t you just meet Dani?”

  “Four weeks day after tomorrow.” Since the Labor Day picnic at Misty Willow, he’d spent as much time with her as he dared allow himself. It seemed he could barely go twenty-four hours without calling or texting her. He’d given up his sham of a dating sabbatical.

  His life made no sense.

  “Do you love her?”

  “It’s too soon for that. Isn’t it?”

  “Don’t ask me. I think I fell in love with Shelby before I even met her.”

  “Because of the letter she wrote you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did you know for sure? That you loved her?”

  AJ thought a moment, then said quietly, “I couldn’t breathe without her.”

  Brett rested his head against the back of the chair. He could breathe just fine on his own. But Dani drew him to her again and again without even trying. And when he was with her, he was more his true self than at any other time. No expectations to meet. No pretense.

  No games.

  Just a slip of a girl winding his heart around her finger. And totally oblivious to what she was doing. “It’s confounding, isn’t it?”

  “
Yep.”

  “Maybe God is telling me the same thing he told you.”

  “You mean . . .”

  “I have to make things right with Meghan. If I don’t, I’ll never . . .” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll never make it with anyone.”

  When Brett closed the door behind him, Dani rushed to the window. She peered through the crack between the blind and the window as he slid into his car. When he got out to shut the gate and looked toward the cottage, she backed away from the window.

  What had just happened?

  If she needed any more proof that her middle name was “loser,” this was it. Her face flamed as she relived her eagerness to accept his embrace. What must he think of her?

  Even worse, what would have happened if he hadn’t pulled away?

  She curled up in a corner of the couch and hugged a pillow to her chest as she fought back hot tears. If things had continued, he’d have discovered her inexperience. Though he’d teased her about being a “nice” girl, he probably had no idea how right he was.

  Never before had she been so tempted to break her resolve to wait for Mr. Right. A promise she’d made to herself after spending too many hours consoling lovesick girlfriends who had been dumped by love ’em and leave ’em idiots. Immature jerks who boasted about their conquests and gave no thought to the wreckage left behind.

  Agonizing pain struck the side of her head.

  Brett was no different.

  She knew it. To the depths of her heart she knew it.

  If he hadn’t left, and she hadn’t gotten control of herself, she was sure her story would be the same. One night of romance, then he’d have walked out of her life.

  But he’d done that anyway.

  If only she’d pushed him away first. Next time she would, holding on to her resolve no matter how difficult it might be.

  Except there wouldn’t be a next time. His brusque departure made that clear.

  The pain in her head increased. Hopefully AJ had left something in his medicine cabinet. Finding ibuprofen, she downed a couple, then washed up the supper dishes.

  As she was turning off the kitchen lights, her phone buzzed. A text message. She closed her eyes before looking at the screen.

  Shelby.

  She should have known it wouldn’t have been Brett.

  Via text, they agreed on a time to meet the next day, then Dani headed to the bedroom. She settled beneath the covers and gingerly laid her head on the thick pillow. Hopefully her headache would be gone by morning.