Rekindled Ember

by Sara Arden

  Shit, that one was even worse. It spiraled right through her heart.

  “She’s good at that,” Sophie said. “Saying just the right thing that you didn’t know you needed to hear. It’s worse because it’s genuine.”

  “So you’re going to mess up my makeup. I knew I shouldn’t have worn it.”

  “Okay, we can’t have you raccoon-faced. Even though those suckers are cute. No more touching your feelings today. We’re just putting our offer on the table,” Grammie said.

  Livie snorted a laugh. “Like we’re negotiating a hostile takeover?”

  “Maybe.” Allison nodded.

  “I cried, too. Actually, I cried a lot. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Sophie squeezed her hand. “Have some more pie.”

  “Is there coffee?” she asked.

  “A woman after my own heart,” Grammie said. “We have pie before every Sunday dinner. We don’t tell the boys. They just know that we come into the kitchen before dinner without them and they’d best not disturb us.”

  She poured her a cup of coffee.

  Livie needed the support they offered. The camaraderie. She’d forgotten how good it was to have girlfriends.

  “So what are your colors going to be, Soph?” she asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from herself.

  “I know it’s a little silly, but I kind of want a Cinderella wedding. This is my fairytale.”

  “It’s not silly at all,” Allison rushed to reassure her. “Hayden will dress up as Prince Charming with glee if that’s what you want. Armor. Whatever.”

  “It doesn’t need to be that extravagant,” Sophie said. “What was your wedding like, Livie?” Then she bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

  “No, it’s okay.” Livie nodded. “We got married at the courthouse. We spent our money on the honeymoon. We backpacked around the highlands in Scotland for a week.”

  “That sounds amazing!” Sophie said.

  “It was great. We did a lot of traveling when Ben had his ‘use or lose’ vacation time. Until we opened the bar. Then every spare second and dime was invested back into that bar.”

  “Have you decided what you’re going to do with it?” Sophie asked.

  “No. Not yet.”

  Voices carried from the living room and she heard Noah arrive. “You know, if you really wanted a project, Allison, you could work on Noah and Erin. I think they’d be perfect together.”

  Sophie paused mid pie. “Oh, you’re right!”

  “Royce tried to invite her too, but she was in New York this weekend working on things for the calendar,” Livie said.

  Grammie grinned. “There’s always next weekend.” She narrowed her eyes. “Or maybe that bachelor auction is just the thing. Yes, I do believe I have a plan.”

  Sophie laughed. “This is much more fun being on the meddling end instead of the receiving.”

  “You got that right, sister.” Livie took her last bite of pie.

  4

  Livie emerged from the kitchen ritual looking none the worse for wear.

  He eyed his mother and grandmother carefully.

  “What?” Allison asked him.

  “You know what,” he said.

  “Sweetpea, have you’ve been tampered with in any way?” Grammie Rose asked her.

  Livie grinned. “No, Grammie Rose, I’m fine.” She turned to look at him. “Promise.”

  “And don’t you go trying to boss me in my own house, young man. At least, not if you want any more impromptu lunches.”

  His brother, Hayden, drew his brows together. “Lunches? Did you come over here and eat without me?”

  “I did. And I got a chocolate pecan pie for my trouble,” Royce bragged.

  “Chocolate? Pecan?” Hayden sounded like a kid who’d found no presents from Santa under the tree on Christmas morning.

  Royce patted his stomach. “Yeah, brother. It was the best.”

  “Royce also came over and fixed that stair for me.” Grammie squeezed Hayden’s shoulder. “Come do the work and get paid in pie.”

  “To be fair, Hayden’s been helping me plan the wedding. I think we need a pie to keep us fortified,” Sophie suggested.

  “You’re right, dear. What kind would you like? You’re doing the hard work, after all, marrying my grandson.”

  Sophie grinned. “Anything you’d like to make would make us happy.”

  “That’s the right answer,” Grammie grinned and set a platter of fried chicken on the table.

  “I see how this works,” Livie nodded. “Also, chocolate pecan? Where’s mine?”

  Grammie Rose touched a hand to her shoulder. “You know what you have to do.” She winked at her.

  “You like chocolate pecan? How did I not know this about you?” Royce asked.

  “Now that you do, you better save me a piece next time.” Livie offered him a grin.

  Hayden snorted. “My brother? Save a piece of pie for anyone? Not in this life.”

  “Hey, it could happen.” Royce made a vain attempt to defend himself.

  Hayden snorted again. “Seriously, if Grammie has pie, it’s like the Hunger Games in here.”

  His dad was too busy eating his fried chicken to involve himself.

  Before sitting down, Grammie gave Noah’s shoulders a squeeze. “And you, what kind of pie is your favorite?”

  “Anything on your table, Grammie Rose.”

  Royce noticed that his tone was unusually serious and he studied his friend. His eyes were hooded and his expression drawn, but when he noticed Royce’s scrutiny, he grinned, even though the expression didn’t match the look in his eyes. “I’m just happy to be included.”

  Again, it occurred to Royce that he was indeed a lucky man. His friendships, his family… He had roots that could survive even the most brutal storm thanks to the people around him.

  He wondered what sort of storm was coming for Noah.

  Maybe the right thing to do was let him take the test for LT first. Maybe he needed it more.

  “So Noah, how’s that side project going I’ve got you working on?” His dad asked.

  “All the guys from the Seven and the Nine have agreed to do both the calendar and the auction, but with Erin doing the asking, she didn’t really need me. She’s pretty persuasive.”

  “Good, good. Ember Harbor is important. Not only because it helps trafficked women and children, but it shows people that even if you live a small life that you can make a big difference. You don’t have to be a millionaire, or be a Hollywood star, or politician, or even an activist to change someone’s life for the better. This is small, it’s local, and it’s going to help so many.”

  “When you say it that way, I don’t feel so bad for getting paid to follow a pretty woman around.” Noah’s normal, joking demeanor was back.

  “Erin is rather amazing. You’d be lucky to follow her around for free,” Livie said.

  “She really is,” Sophie said. “I can’t believe she’s single.”

  Royce suddenly saw their plan in its full glory. They were trying to play matchmaker between Noah and Erin. Well, better him than Royce and Livie.

  “A woman like that single?” Allison shook her head. “You should take her out, Noah.”

  “I don’t date,” he said. “Besides, Bill already stole the only woman who has my heart.” Noah winked at her.

  “My little Allie-bean can keep your heart, but Erin could have your everything else,” Grammie said.

  Noah spluttered, and everyone at the table laughed.

  “What?” Grammie finally sat down and took a piece of chicken for herself. “Where do you think Allie gets her sass? It sure wasn’t her daddy.” She adjusted the napkin in her lap and took a dainty bite.

  “You know, Grammie, you keep trying to play matchmaker and turn about is fair play,” Royce threatened.

  “Pish.” She waved her hand. “There was no man in the world for me but my George. At least that’s what I tell these old farts who come knocking on my
door with a box of candy and a new prescription for Viagra.”

  “What about me, Grammie Rose? How about if I take you to dinner?” Noah teased.

  He really was incorrigible, but seeing his grandmother laugh, Royce wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Boy, taking me to dinner isn’t me making you pie and fried chicken. I may be old-fashioned, but I’m not falling for that.”

  “No, ma’am. Dinner in the city and dancing at Ben’s. No bingo, bridge, or going down to the feed store and shooting the shi—stuff—sitting around the pickle barrel.” He held up his fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  “Well, sure. If you bring Erin.”

  Noah lifted a brow and Royce could tell he was struggling not to make the joke he normally would.

  “And don’t give me that look. I know where your mind went, young man. On second thought, you might be too much for my old heart.”

  Bill snorted. “You’re going to outlive us all, Rosie.”

  “Maybe I just will.” Grammie grinned, gleeful.

  “Okay, let me see when Erin is free. But this means you have to go, Grammie. You can’t say you’ll go with us and then call off last minute.”

  “As if I would. I have a new pair of red cowboy boots that need breaking in.”

  “When did you get those?” Allison asked. “I thought we were going to Cavenders for your birthday?”

  “We will. I want a pair of pink ones, too.” She waved her hand. “Pearl and I went last week. She’s going to dinner with Rufus Breckenridge.” Grammie rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t do it, but I guess it’s a free meal.”

  “I know who you should go out with, Mama.”

  “Oh, lawd amighty. This should be good.” Grammie fixed her daughter with a hard stare. “Well, out with it. I don’t want to choke to death on my sweet tea when you make me snort.”

  “Wade Budge,” Allison said.

  His grandmother snorted so hard, she sounded like pig at a trough. “Wade Budge? Why in all of God’s green earth would you ever say such a thing? He’s too young for me. And pompous.”

  “He’s only ten years younger than you. He’s handsome, educated, and not looking for anyone to replace someone he lost. Or someone to take care of him. You guys could have fun.”

  The idea of his grandmother dating was a foreign one to be sure, but Royce thought it would be good for her to have someone.

  “That’s a great idea, Grammie. A partner in crime. After all, if Pearl marries Rufus, it’ll be back to hanging out at honkeytonks with your grandsons,” Royce said.

  “I should be so lucky!” Grammie grinned. “I like dancing. And I really like beer, but only on Saturdays, don’t ya know.”

  Sophie was watching the whole exchange with a smile, and Hayden reached over to grab her hand.

  “I guess we could see if the Mayor wants to go out with us,” Noah said.

  “Hmmm,” Grammie said, drawing it out. “We could. Then it would be a double date, wouldn’t it?”

  Noah narrowed his eyes. “I see what you did there.”

  “Good, because it was obvious,” Grammie said. “Livie, want some more chicken? I saved you a leg in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll get it for you,” Royce volunteered.

  “Don’t let him! He’ll eat it,” Hayden advised.

  “Pish,” Grammie said.

  “Pish,” Royce repeated, with a grin. “I know where my bread’s buttered.” He got up to fetch the chicken and put it on Livie’s plate.

  She rewarded him with a smile that might’ve been slightly better than Grammie’s chicken. Not that he’d admit that out loud, but the genuine joy on her face at something so small as a chicken leg caused warmth to bloom in his chest.

  He’d been wishing for the longest time that he could make her happy and it was as simple as this. It hadn’t taken a grand gesture, or a miracle.

  Just this.

  As dinner wound down and they laughed and chatted, it occurred to him how right it was for Livie to be there with them. How well she fit with his family.

  If only that’s where she wanted to be.

  When they were in the truck on the way back to her house, she said, “Thanks for today.”

  “Hey, anytime. You know my family loves you.”

  “I love them,” she said, her voice low and quiet.

  It would be so easy for him to tell her now that he loved her, too. The words were on the tip of his tongue. They wanted to live and breathe, they wanted to burn.

  He was going to let them, but not yet.

  “I don’t want to go back to the house yet,” she said.

  “Okay, where do you want to go?”

  “If you’ve got plans—”

  “It was so good seeing you smile today. I’d do just about anything to see you smile again. So if you want to go for a drive, that’s what we’ll do.”

  “You’re good to me, Royce. Have I told you that?”

  “I believe so, but you can tell me as much as you like. You should add funny, smart, and handsome, too. I mean, while you’re at it.” He shrugged.

  She laughed again. The sound genuine. “Okay, you’re funny, smart and handsome, too.”

  He made a big show of preening. “I definitely like that.”

  “I was thinking about what you said at the bar the other day. You know, about how you asked me out back in high school.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I didn’t think you were serious.”

  “Why not?” He drove aimlessly, heading toward the back roads to the lake. The ones that wouldn’t take them along any stretch of Highway 5.

  “Like I said in the bar. You were you. I was me.” She turned away from him to look out the window.

  “You believed Ben when he asked you. We weren’t so different.”

  “I keep telling you, chess club.”

  Chess club couldn’t have been the only reason she said no. “What about now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If I asked you out to dinner now, would you believe me?”

  She made a tittering sound he imagined was supposed to be a laugh. “We go to dinner all the time. We just came from dinner. So obviously, I believe you.”

  He was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but wanted to avoid the subject. That should’ve been all the answer he needed, but he couldn’t let it go.

  Apparently, he wanted her to kick him in the nuts. He guessed he just needed her to say it out loud so he could stop thinking about her.

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “What?” she squeaked. “You mean like on a date? That’s not what you mean. Is it?”

  “It is.”

  “Why would you do a thing like that? If it’s because your Grammie has decided—”

  “As well-meaning as they are, this doesn’t have anything to do with my family, Liv. It’s all you and me.”

  “I’d say no, of course.”

  “Why?” He just couldn’t leave it alone. He had to go picking at old wounds and new.

  She spluttered. “What do you mean, why? Because.”

  “Yeah, that’s a great reason. Come on, Liv. Tell me what’s wrong with me,” he teased. Only there was more truth to that statement than he wanted to admit.

  “Absolutely nothing,” she said, and she’d gone pale.

  He regretted he’d dropped this on her, seeing her reaction, but he couldn’t take it back. Nothing for it but to put his head down and push through it.

  “I’m not your type?”

  “Royce Cole, you know you’re everyone’s type. But aside from that, you know why not.”

  “No, I really don’t. We’re great friends. We do everything together.” He grinned. “Almost everything.”

  She laughed again, but the sound was high-pitched. Nervous. “You can’t be serious.”

  “What if I was the most serious as I’d ever been in my life?” Here. Now. This was where everything would change and he could finally dig this splinter out of h
is heart and let it go.

  “I’d say you’ve been spending too much time helping me at the bar and I depend on you too much. I’d say that I love you, but I can’t be in love with you, because of the job you do. I’d never ask you to quit because you could sooner stop breathing. It’s part of who you are, the same as it was Ben.”

  “McCade wants me to take the test for LT. That means a desk more often than not.”

  “You’d wither and die behind a desk, Royce. That’s not what you want.”

  “I’d do it.” He weighed his next words very carefully. He didn’t want to push, but Royce wanted her to know what she meant to him. What he’d do for her. That he wasn’t Ben, and he would always pick her over the job. “I’d do it for you.”

  She closed her eyes and looked away from him. “You’d hate me for it eventually, and as much as I love your family, Ember Lake isn’t where I want to live the rest of my life.”

  Her words were the punch to the gut he’d known was coming. She’d decided. “So you’re leaving.”

  “I have to, Royce. I’m so tired of being Widow Dodd. I’m tired of being a duty. I’m tired of mourning. Most of all, I’m tired of that damn bar. I never wanted it. I never wanted to stay in Ember Lake. Those were all Ben’s dreams.”

  She was quiet for a long moment. “Why me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can name a million things about you that would make any woman want you—”

  “Except you,” he interrupted.

  “No, not except me. I just know I wouldn’t survive you, Royce. I’m begging you not to break me.”

  He didn’t want to break her, he wanted to love her. Wanted to spend the rest of his life bringing her his Grammie’s fried chicken and driving around Ember Lake. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t want to be here.

  “Give me a chance to win you. Staying here doesn’t mean you never go anywhere else. Yeah, I love what I do, but the future I want, it means more to me than the job I do.”

  “If you left the Seven for me, your family would hate me. There’d be no more dinners with Grammie. Or Allison’s cupcakes. Or…”

  “Right now, if none of that mattered, what would you do?”