by Mia Ross
Tess drew her head back and nailed him with a warning look. “Don’t you dare. I love that old beast just the way it is, rust and all.”
“Spoken like a true Barrett.” They’d arrived at the back edge of his property, and he stopped in the middle of a faint deer trail, grinning like a fool. “Here we are. My place.”
He could tell she didn’t understand what he meant. Then comprehension dawned, and her eyes widened with the same kind of excitement he’d felt earlier.
“Your mortgage got approved? Heath, that’s wonderful!” After an exuberant hug, she arched back and beamed up at him. “How does it feel?”
“Amazing. Terrifying,” he added with a wry grin. “That’s a mighty big check to write out every month.”
“Once you get Blue Ridge Classics up and running, it won’t be so bad. Would you like to show me around?”
“I don’t have the keys yet, but we can check out everything else. The owners said I can move in and pay them rent until we close.”
“I’ve got a bunch of empty shipping boxes at the mill, with more coming in next week. You’re welcome to as many of those as you need.”
There was a real benefit to being involved with such a practical woman. She was always thinking. While that used to bother him, these days he saw it for the positive that it was. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
As they strolled around the yard to the front of the house, she pointed at the huge bay window. “You could have an enormous Christmas tree right there. Garlands around the porch columns, and candles in all the windows.”
“That could work.”
In his experience, when a woman started decorating your place for you, she was anticipating spending a lot of time there. In past relationships, that had been a major red flag for him, but because it was Tess, somehow it just felt right. He wished she’d tell him she was staying in Barrett’s Mill, but he managed to keep himself from saying so.
For too long, she’d gone along with what other people wanted, rather than doing what would be best for her. Her growing independence was a good thing, and he was proud of the strides she’d made. He’d never dream of trying to influence her on such an important choice.
But he was only human. If she eventually decided to leave, he’d miss her more than he cared to think about. Reeling her into his arms, he dropped in for a warm, leisurely kiss.
When he pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers with a sigh. “Love you.”
“Love you back.”
Snaking her arms around his waist, she studied him with a somber expression. He sensed she was weighing her options, trying to make the very choice he’d been dreading only a few moments ago. As they gazed at each other, her eyes darkened ominously, and he waited for her to tell him she’d come to a decision and would be leaving after Christmas.
But she didn’t. Instead, she turned and headed around the side of the house. “Show me what you’ve got in mind for the shop.”
When he didn’t follow, she pivoted back to him with a confused look. “Are you coming?”
Are you staying? He was dying to ask, but he clamped his mouth shut and simply nodded in response to her question.
Somehow, when he wasn’t looking, he’d allowed his future to become entwined with hers. While his business was on track, his personal life was in a holding pattern, waiting for her to make up her mind. From day one he’d suspected this woman had the potential to drive him to the edge of his sanity.
Today he knew it for sure.
* * *
After their little tour Heath walked Tess back to the mill. At the foot of the porch steps, he pulled her close and gave her the playful grin she’d come to adore. “I almost forgot. Mom asked me to invite you to dinner tonight. It won’t be anything fancy, but they’ve been hearing a lot about you and wanted to meet you in person.”
“I hope you told them nice things.”
She put a sarcastic spin on that, hoping to mask the rush of panic sweeping over her. Introducing a girl to your parents was the kind of thing you did when you were serious about her, but she hadn’t decided whether or not she was staying in Barrett’s Mill yet. One minute she thought yes, the next she worried she was limiting herself by taking the first job that had come her way. She was making herself crazy with all this hemming and hawing, but true to his patient nature, Heath hadn’t made any attempt to sway her one way or the other. Quite honestly, she didn’t know how he could stand it.
“I told them everything.” For about a second he kept a straight face then broke into a grin. “Don’t worry, magpie. They’re both half a bubble off plumb, and they’re gonna love you.”
“I’m not sure what bubbles have to do with anything, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“That way, you won’t have to meet them for the first time tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow...” Tapping her chin, she glanced up at the sky as if trying to remember what he was referring to. When he let out a mock growl, she laughed. “Oh, right. Turkey day.”
“Football day,” he corrected her with a quick kiss.
“About that. I have a confession to make.” He cocked his head with interest, and she continued. “I know more about the game than you might think.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“My dad went to UCLA, and he’s a huge fan. We used to go to the games with him, and he explained everything to us in great detail. Actually,” she added pensively, “it was one of the few things he and I both enjoyed.”
Sympathy shone in Heath’s eyes, and he frowned. “You miss him, don’t you?”
“He’s been traveling a lot, and I haven’t seen him since Easter. He and Mom were barely speaking, so it wasn’t exactly a warm, fuzzy kind of family gathering.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I know,” she acknowledged with a sigh. “Mostly because I’m not sure. I mean, Mom begged me to come back, but I haven’t heard a thing from him. I called and emailed, inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner, but he hasn’t responded. Maybe now that he’s on his own again, he decided he doesn’t want a family anymore.”
The last comment stuck in her throat, and she swallowed hard to keep traitorous tears from escaping her control. But Heath knew her well enough to see them, anyway, and he gathered her into his arms, resting his cheek on top of her head.
“He’s going through a tough stretch right now, Tess. Give him time, and he’ll come around.”
“You’ve never even met him,” she murmured against his chest. “How can you be so sure?”
Cradling her face in his strong, capable hands, he gave her an encouraging smile. “Because any man who taught his daughter to like football can’t be all bad.”
She let out a hiccupping laugh, and he gave her a bracing hug. “That’s better. I hate to leave, but I’ve got a bunch of firewood to stack this afternoon. Dad’s back has been bothering him, and I don’t want him doing too much.”
What a sweet, considerate man, Tess thought as he left her with a quick kiss and sauntered over to his truck. If she had any sense at all, she’d stop all this waffling and drop anchor in Barrett’s Mill. She’d never gotten good results from listening to her gut, but this time it was telling her something that actually made sense.
Hold on to Heath Weatherby and never let him go.
But that wasn’t in keeping with the self-reliant lifestyle she’d vowed to take on, she reminded herself as she went into the mill house. While she did a circuit to make sure the place was empty and everything was shut off, she let her imagination wander a little. No surprise, it ended up at the Cape Cod home upstream with the bay window and the big front yard.
The only thing missing from that picture was a family. It didn’t take much to envision a tire swing dangling from one of the oak trees, a bike or two propped up in the driveway
. As she locked the mill’s front door, it struck her that Heath had bought a house for the wife and children he wanted but didn’t currently have.
Now that was faith.
Driving along the winding road, she slowed down for a curve near the sign that read Barrett’s Mill Cemetery. On impulse, she took the right fork and followed the lane up to the rolling acres of grass that marked the resting places of people who’d lived in this lovely little town and would always be part of its history.
There was a car in the lot, and she idly noted that it had rental plates from Maryland. Someone in for the holiday, she assumed as she parked beside it. It was nice of them to take the time to come out here and visit their relatives.
She walked up the rise and was surprised to see a man in a gray trench coat standing in the general vicinity of Granddad’s grave. As she got closer, he came into clearer focus, and she hardly dared to believe he was really there.
“Dad?”
Startled eyes met hers, and he backed away from the marker like a child who’d been caught doing something wrong. “Hello, Tess.”
He continued backpedaling, and she hurried forward, grasping his arms to hold him in place. He still looked anxious, and he stood stiffly when she embraced him. Pulling away from him a bit, she gave him her biggest, brightest smile. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“You are?” He relaxed a bit but still looked ready to take off at the first sign of trouble. “What about the divorce? I just assumed you’d take your mother’s side.”
“Because I’m a girl? Please. I think there’s plenty of blame to go around on that one, don’t you?”
Deep circles shadowed his eyes, telling her the last few months had taken a serious toll on him. But now a tentative smile lightened his features enough for her to see that he’d made the right decision in ending his failed marriage. “I suppose so. I never expected you kids to understand that, though.”
“I’m starting to,” she said, doing her best to sound upbeat. Now that she’d gotten to know the family who’d raised him, she saw the contradiction between what he’d grown up with and what he and Mom had created in California. The difference was sobering, to say the least.
He stared down at his father’s grave with a frown. “Dad never could, and now it’s too late to tell him he was right.”
“About what?”
Grimacing, he hung his head before looking at her. “Your mother and I met in college, and I brought her home to meet my parents. Dad took me aside and warned me not to marry her. He said she wasn’t the kind of girl I needed, and I’d do better to keep looking. Obviously, I didn’t listen.”
“That’s why you never came back,” Tess filled in the blank for him. “You didn’t want him to see how unhappy you were.”
“I really hate being wrong.”
Boy, could she relate to that. Lately, though, she’d evolved a new perspective on that issue. Being wrong wasn’t the problem. Obstinately denying the truth was, especially when it hurt you and the people you loved.
“Don’t you think he knew?” She got a sharp look and hurried on. “I mean, he was your father, and he probably knew you better than anyone. Isn’t it reasonable to assume he put the pieces together on his own?”
“Then why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he was as stubborn as you are,” she shot back with a chiding look. “I’m finding out that’s a family trait. Apparently, it comes with the brown eyes.”
To her astonishment, he chuckled and shook his head. The reaction reminded her distinctly of her uncle Tom, and she felt a tug of empathy for this strong-willed man who’d come to his senses too late to mend fences with his father.
Tucking her arm through his, she drew him back to where he’d been when she found him. “Granddad’s happy to see you. I know it.”
He gave her a long, dubious look. “How?”
“Because that’s the kind of man he was. Even if he was standing right here, he wouldn’t scold you for being away so long. He’d ask how your trip was, or something like that. Right?”
His eyes fixed on the granite arch, he slowly nodded. “Yes, he would.”
“You know who else is gonna be thrilled to see you? Gram. I didn’t tell her I invited you for Thanksgiving, so this will be a great surprise for her.”
He didn’t reply at first, and it didn’t take her long to figure out why. “She invited you, too, didn’t she?”
“Last week. We were hoping to surprise you.”
It was all too funny, and they both started laughing. But he quickly sobered. “This isn’t the place for laughter, Tess.”
“I don’t think he minds a bit.” Now it was her turn to glance at Granddad’s resting place. Turning back to her dad, she added, “More than that, he’d probably think it was hilarious that we both ended up here at the same time. Isn’t that strange?”
“Very. But since it gave us a chance to clear the air, I’m not going to question it.” Relief flooded his tired features, and he put an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the footpath that led to the parking lot. When he saw the mill truck, he laughed again. “That thing was ancient when I was a kid. Are your cousins playing some kind of trick on you?”
“In their dreams,” she retorted with a grin. “I like driving it. It has character.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Why don’t you lead the way, and I’ll follow you to Gram’s?”
He shot her a suspicious look. “Making sure I don’t turn back onto the highway and run off again?”
“Something like that.”
Fortunately, he didn’t argue with that, either. Her father had always been a complex man, but while they made their way through his hometown—the place she’d come to adore—some of her old quarrels with him began to fade. He’d stood up to his own father to be with the woman he loved. It hadn’t worked out, but she had to give Dad credit for facing up to his mistakes and returning after so many years away. It couldn’t have been easy for him to do, and she admired his courage.
They turned into the driveway, and he stepped out of his car, looking around the neighborhood where he’d spent his childhood. Glancing over at her, he seemed totally bewildered by what he’d seen. “Nothing’s changed.”
“Around here,” she said, quoting Heath, “things pretty much stay the same.”
“Except my father’s gone.”
Seeing the misery in his eyes, she firmly shook her head. “He’s still here, watching over things, making sure the family’s okay. When we keep someone in our hearts, they’re never really gone.”
“I’m sorry you never met him.”
“So am I,” she confessed with a sad smile. “But I’ve gotten to know him in other ways, and I think he was a really great guy.”
“Yes, he was.”
Her father seemed ready to say something more when the creak of a door interrupted their conversation. Wearing a ruffled bib apron, Gram shielded her eyes with a flour-covered hand and squinted into the setting sun. “Tess? Who’ve you got there?”
He looked over at her, and her face broke into a delighted mother’s smile. “George?”
“Hello, Mom.” Hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, he stood awkwardly rooted in place. “How have you been?”
“Missing my boy, that’s how. Are you planning to stand in the driveway gawking at me, or are you coming up here for a proper greeting?”
He didn’t run onto the porch, but it was pretty close. As he swept Gram into a joyful hug, tears stung Tess’s eyes. She’d never been one for mushy reunions, but this one suited the day perfectly.
After all, she reasoned as she dabbed her eyes, tomorrow was Thanksgiving. And this year the Barretts had a lot to be thankful for.
* * *
Heath had been in
more precarious situations. Dangling off the sheer side of a canyon came to mind, and so did scaling the arm of a disabled excavator to repair the hydraulics. But nothing he’d ever done had scared him as much as introducing Tess to his parents.
He’d never done that before, he realized while he set the table for dinner. Mom thought he was being extra helpful because she’d just gotten home, but in reality he was desperate for something to do besides watch the hands on the old mantel clock drag toward seven. That afternoon at the new house, he’d sensed a shift in Tess’s usually cautious demeanor. While she hadn’t come right out and said she’d made a decision about where she planned to settle, he had the feeling she was pretty close to it.
Which way would she jump? he wondered again. During the time he’d known her, he’d learned it was best not to try to predict what was going through that quick mind of hers. He loved her more than he’d once thought was possible, and he believed her when she said she loved him. Since he didn’t have a choice, he was doing his best to stay light on his feet and accept whatever turn was coming his way.
But it wasn’t easy.
When the doorbell sounded promptly at seven, he called out, “I’ll get it!”
Setting down the last glass, he hurried into the foyer and opened the door to find her wearing the same flowered dress he’d admired at church. Smiling because he couldn’t help himself, he kissed her cheek and stepped back to let her in. “Hey there. Right on time.”
“Hey yourself.” Moving closer, she murmured, “Could I talk to you out here a minute?”
A wave of dread hit him like a truck before he got a grip on emotions that were hovering dangerously close to the surface. Trying to mask his reaction, he joked, “That depends. Am I gonna like what you have to say?”
In response, she gave him a siren’s smile and grabbed his arm to tug him out onto the porch. After following that up with a long, luscious kiss, she gazed up at him with joy glittering in her dark eyes. “I’m staying in Barrett’s Mill.”
Spinning her into a twirl, he kissed her soundly before putting her down. Studying her carefully, he searched for some sign that she’d spoken impulsively and might regret what she’d said. He saw nothing but certainty in her expression, but for his own sake, he had to be absolutely certain. “You’re sure? This is really where you want to be?”
