When Love Arrives

by Johnnie Alexander

  “Know what?”

  Brett took a long, slow breath, then exhaled. When he spoke, he somehow managed to keep his voice low and even. “Dani’s mom piloted the plane.”

  “The plane that . . .”

  “Yeah.”

  AJ’s body stiffened, and his back slid along the railing until he hit the bleacher. “She knew? All this time, she knew it was us? We were us?” His head shook, almost like a spasm, as if trying to sort out the words he meant to say.

  Brett related the conversation he’d had with Greene, surprising even himself with how calmly he mentioned Dani’s mother’s name. AJ pulled off his ball cap and wiped his arm across his forehead.

  “You okay?” Brett asked.

  “I moved out of the cottage for her, Brett. You and Shelby gave her a job. Was that her plan? I don’t get it.”

  “Neither do I. Except she told Shelby it was an accident that we met. I’ve been going over and over it. I insisted she go to the movie with me that night. I was the one who wanted her out of that slum she was living in. Every time we got together, it was me pushing for it, not her.”

  AJ didn’t say anything. On the football field, the players counted and grunted in unison.

  “She lost the only family she had when that plane went down,” Brett said. “The only family that mattered.”

  “Sounds like you’ve forgiven her.”

  “It wasn’t her fault.”

  “She should have told us. Before we all got so buddy-buddy.”

  “Maybe she didn’t know how.”

  “She got to you, didn’t she?” Bewilderment and hurt hoarsened AJ’s voice.

  “There’s just something about her that . . . I don’t know. My world’s a better place when she’s in it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  AJ clapped Brett on the shoulder, then shifted his focus to the field and stood. “I need to get out there.”

  Brett rose too. The burning sensation in his gut had dissipated only to be replaced by a restless emptiness. A whistle blew on the field, and the team divided into smaller groups.

  “Are you okay?” Brett asked.

  “I will be. Are you?”

  “I miss her.”

  “Then you’ve got a decision to make.” AJ stepped off the bleachers, then turned and jogged backward. “Let me know what it is.”

  He pivoted and sprinted toward his players while Brett struggled to tame his restless feelings.

  After leaving the high school, he drove to the cottage and parked in front of the gate. As he walked up the gentle slope, memories flooded over him—childhood visits with Gran, a few barbecues with AJ. But mostly, every minute he’d been there with Dani.

  Helping her move in. Baking brownies. Movies and pizza.

  Never setting a countdown clock, at first because it didn’t matter and then because he didn’t want to ever say good-bye to her.

  He still didn’t.

  Somehow he had to make her understand how sorry he was—for what he’d said about her mom, for breaking her camera. For being a world-class jerk.

  Nothing says I love you like facing your deepest fear.

  AJ’s words taunted him.

  Brett stared at the empty cottage. Now that Dani was gone, it seemed to have lost some of its luster. He had to persuade her to come back. To come home. No matter what the cost.

  He broke every speed limit racing back to Columbus, rushed into his office a few minutes after five, and stood before Kimberly’s desk. “Good, you’re still here. Can you do something for me?”

  She gave him a wry smile. “Something personal?”

  “Afraid so.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “Find a camera shop in Boise. A mom-and-pop place, not one of the big box stores.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her a credit card. “Buy the best camera they have, a couple of lenses.”

  “Any dollar limit?”

  He shook his head. “They have to deliver it. Today. I don’t know where yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

  He pivoted, then turned back to Kimberly again. “One more thing. Charter a flight for tomorrow.”

  “For you?”

  He audibly exhaled. “For me.”

  He returned to his office and searched online for Boise radio stations, then dialed the first number. Turning on the Somers charm, he’d find where Dani was working. And then he’d bring her home.

  – 42 –

  Dani closed the last file drawer and stood, arching her back to ease the pain while once again swallowing her disappointment. After a tour of the station, a few introductions, and filling out paperwork for human resources, she’d done nothing but file a tremendous backlog of documents. Jeanie promised the mundane task was temporary. But how temporary?

  Had she really left everything behind to become a file clerk?

  She should have swallowed her pride and gone back to Cincinnati. Her stepdad probably would have let her stay with him long enough to find a job.

  Flipping burgers.

  Walmart greeter.

  Anything to bring in some money until she could find her own place.

  Now she was sleeping on Jeanie’s couch and doing a job she hated.

  Her phone buzzed, and she checked the screen. Gerald Greene. What could he want?

  She ignored the call.

  At least it hadn’t been Brett.

  Though in truth, she was disappointed it hadn’t been. She couldn’t talk to him, but that hadn’t stopped her from listening to his voicemail over and over again. And now when she played the YouTube clip, it was the same one that had gone viral and not the longer part of the interview.

  Only the laughing Brett, the dimpled Brett.

  In those moments, she allowed herself to remember what it felt like to have her hand cradled in his, to cheat at miniature golf, to wade in a sun-dappled creek beside an ancient willow.

  To remember the warmth of his lips and the magic of his kiss.

  All things she needed to forget if she were ever to find happiness in this world. If her heart was ever going to heal.

  “Some of us are going out after work,” Jeanie said. “Interested?”

  “I think I’ll pass,” Dani said. “I’m still a little road-weary.”

  “No wonder, making that trip as fast as you did.”

  Not wanting to spend any more money than necessary on lodging, Dani had driven from east of Omaha to Boise in one long, mind-numbing stretch. Jeanie hadn’t been too keen on being awakened in the wee hours of the morning, but her ill humor never lasted very long. She’d simply shown Dani the bathroom and the couch, then headed back to her own bed.

  The drive had been awful, but worth it. She’d had all day yesterday to mope around the small apartment feeling sorry for herself and indulging in torture by watching every Cary Grant movie she could find online.

  The tears had flowed as Cary saved Ingrid from the Nazis, saved Audrey from a thief, and saved Katharine from a wild leopard.

  She’d never enjoy her favorite classics again without thinking of Brett’s dimpled smile and gorgeous eyes. Or how often she’d lied to him. Spilled soda on his pants. Responded to his fervent kiss.

  “You should call him.” Jeanie’s voice broke into Dani’s thoughts.

  She shook her head. Jeanie didn’t know the whole story—only that Dani needed a refuge from a romance gone bad. But even if she did know the whole story, she’d probably say the same thing. Ever the optimist.

  “Sure you don’t want to go with us? It’d be good for you to meet some new people.”

  “Another day.”

  “If you say so.” Jeanie glanced at the files. “Sorry to saddle you with this. But it’s the easiest thing to start the newbies on.”

  “I get it.”

  “I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit.”

  One slow hour passed and then another. Dani had just about reached the end of the stack when s
omeone she hadn’t met dropped another pile of papers in the inbox. She inwardly groaned but smiled at her new co-worker.

  Only temporary. It had better be only temporary.

  A few moments later, Jeanie appeared. “You need to come to the reception desk,” she said excitedly.

  “Why?”

  “A surprise.”

  “For me?”

  “Come see.”

  Bewildered, Dani followed Jeanie through the maze of cubicles to the front office. The man standing by the receptionist’s desk wore a gray polo and black slacks. His hand rested on a large bag emblazoned with a camera logo.

  “Are you Dani Prescott?” he asked. His jovial smile puffed his cheeks.

  “Yes. I am.”

  “I have a delivery for you. Just need you to sign right here.” He handed her a clipboard and pen.

  Momentarily confused, her gaze flickered from the receipt to the bag and back to the receipt.

  “There’s been a mistake. I didn’t order anything.”

  “You’ll find a note inside the bag. It’ll explain everything.”

  “Is it from him?” Jeanie sidled next to Dani and elbowed her. “How romantic.”

  With everyone watching her, Dani was too self-conscious to do anything except sign her name. “Thank you,” she said as she handed the clipboard back to the man.

  “You’re very welcome, miss. And if you need anything else, just come down and see us. We’ll take good care of you.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  “Open it,” Jeanie urged.

  “I’d rather wait till I get back to your place.”

  “Party pooper.”

  “It’s best, trust me.” The last thing Dani wanted to do was read a message from Brett in front of people she’d just met that day. Or even in front of Jeanie. If the tears started to flow, she’d have to tell the whole stupid story. Including her ridiculous plan to humiliate the man she then managed to fall in love with.

  Because there was no doubt in her mind that the bag contained an expensive camera from Brett.

  She faked an enthusiastic smile at everyone in the reception area, then carried the bag to the filing room. She was almost there when a thought slammed into her brain.

  Brett knew where to deliver the camera.

  That meant he knew where she worked.

  But it didn’t matter. All he could do was call. And all she had to do was never answer the phone.

  Brett stood next to the chartered plane, a Cessna Citation Encore, and gripped his bag till his knuckles turned white. The ever-efficient Kimberly had arranged the charter to fly Brett from the Glade County airfield. AJ was skipping his morning classes to give Brett a pep talk before he got on the plane.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” AJ asked.

  “How many times are you going to ask me that?”

  “Probably once a minute until you get on that thing.”

  “It’s safe, right?”

  “So they say.”

  “You’re not being much help.”

  AJ clapped him on the back. “Actually, I’m very proud of you. Surprised, but proud.”

  “Sure you can’t come with me?”

  “I wish.” AJ checked his watch. “But I can’t miss all my classes.”

  “I thought she’d call after the camera was delivered.” He didn’t need to explain who she was.

  “I’m sorry she didn’t.”

  “You’re not mad at her?”

  “I talked to Shelby about it last night. Some things still don’t make any sense, but Dani didn’t cause that plane to crash.”

  “So if I persuade her to come back, she can still live in the cottage?”

  “And Shelby said she still has a job.”

  Brett grinned his appreciation, then grew serious again. “What do you think she’ll say when I show up?”

  “Haven’t a clue.”

  They were silent for a few moments while the pilot finished his pre-check.

  “What would you be doing?” Brett asked. “If you were in my place?”

  “Do you love her?”

  “I miss her.”

  “But do you love her?”

  Brett focused on the horizon, as if the answer could be found in the distant clouds instead of his own heart.

  “I want to say the words to her first,” he finally said. “This time, when I really mean them, I want to say them to her first.”

  One corner of AJ’s mouth turned up in a slight smile. “Then go say them.”

  “Pray for me?”

  “You know it.”

  “Thanks.” He pulled AJ into a quick guy-hug, exhaled, and headed for the plane. If this was what he had to do to get Dani back, then he’d do it.

  He settled into his seat and buckled the belt for takeoff. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the seat and said a prayer of his own. A prayer for safety on the flight. A prayer that Dani would at least listen to what he had to say.

  A prayer without words for the selfishness of his past and a changed life and a new beginning.

  – 43 –

  Dani shoved the folder in its proper slot and pushed the heavy drawer shut. After a sleepless night, she’d decided to return the camera. Though technically, ethically, morally, and even legally, Brett owed her a new one, she couldn’t accept it.

  If she did, he would always be a part of it, his handsome face a silent shadow in every shot she took.

  Besides, she needed a clean break from him. Keeping the camera required certain social niceties, such as writing a thank-you note. She’d already tried that last night, before she’d made up her mind to return the gift.

  Nothing she wrote worked. No words expressed the right amount of gratitude accompanied by distance surrounded by a “now leave me alone” air.

  Jeanie appeared in the doorway, a Cheshire cat smile on her face. “You’re wanted at the front desk.”

  Dani crossed her arms and sighed exaggeratedly. “Another delivery?”

  Jeanie’s eyes crinkled in amusement.

  “What is it this time? Because if it’s a new car, I’m keeping it.”

  “Come see.”

  Jeanie grabbed her arm and led her through the office maze. Dani prepared herself to say no to whatever delivery person waited for her.

  She turned a corner and gasped.

  Brett stood by the receptionist counter, an uncertain smile tugging at his lips.

  “Hi, Dani.” He held out his hands, palms up. Empty hands. “I was going to bring flowers, but I didn’t want you throwing them at me.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  His gaze flicked at the receptionist then Jeanie before resting again on her.

  “You wouldn’t answer my calls. So what else could I do?”

  The sheepish look on his face tugged at Dani’s heart. The Brett she expected to find when she went to Columbus would never have gone after a woman who’d left him. At least that’s what she’d thought. Yet here he was.

  “You drove all the way out here?”

  “I, um, I flew.”

  “On a plane?”

  The uncertainty that tensed his facial muscles lessened. “On a plane.”

  Oblivious to anyone’s presence but his, Dani focused solely on Brett. “Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper within the three or four yards that separated them.

  “To take you home.”

  “This is my home now.”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  The time had come. No more secrets. “You don’t know who I am.”

  He closed the distance between them but didn’t touch her. He seemed afraid of spooking her, that she might turn tail and dash away if he tried.

  “Yes, I do, Dannaleigh Christina Prescott. I know who your mother . . .”—he paused and took a deep breath—“I know your mother died in the same crash that killed my family.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “Gerald Greene told me.” He reached for her hands
, holding them loosely in his own. “I’m sorry for what I said in that interview. If I had known, if I could take it back . . .”

  Tears formed in her eyes and slid quietly along her cheeks. “I wanted to hurt you for what you said about my mom. But I wouldn’t have sold the photos. I’m sorry I took them.”

  He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers and gazing into her eyes. “All I care about is that God brought you into my life when I needed you most. The circumstances don’t matter.”

  His arms closed around her, and she buried her head in his shoulder.

  “Please come back with me, Dani,” he whispered into her ear. “I love you.”

  “You love me?”

  “With every beat of my heart.”

  His assurance floated inside her.

  “I love you too,” she said softly.

  He pulled something from his pocket, then pressed the key to the cottage into her hand. “I think this is yours.”

  Her fingers closed around the Secret Garden key ring, and she breathed a muddled thanks to God for answering the prayers she’d been too afraid to pray. Prayers born from loneliness and heartache. Prayers for belonging and love.

  The key to the cottage was hers again. She was going home.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Brett said quietly.

  She wiped her eyes, then gasped. “Oh, Brett. I got mascara on your shirt.” Her words tumbled out, broken but swift. “I’ll clean it. No, I’ll have it dry-cleaned. There has to be a cleaner—”

  He put his fingers against her lips. “Uh-uh. I’ll have it framed. To remember this moment.”

  “Frame—”

  The word ended as his lips covered hers, drawing her into a love she never dreamed possible with the only man who was exactly her type.

  As the charter plane taxied to a stop at the small Glade County airport, Dani patted Brett’s hand. “We’re here.”

  He loosened the death grip he’d had on the armrest. “That wasn’t so bad,” he said.

  She laughed at the fear mingling with relief that still showed on his face. “This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “You’re the bravest man I know.”

  “Just promise me one thing.”

  “Anything.”