by Joanne Rock
“You didn’t even know about her until two weeks ago,” she reminded him, unwilling to let him take on any more blame.
“Because I purposely avoided my father and I should have thought through things. I should have realized given his history there could be a Mia...or more. I can’t fix the past, but I’m here now.” His voice anchored her in the moment, helping her know she wasn’t alone in this tiny safe room even as the noise outside the door grew louder.
There was thumping and bumping. Someone shouting?
“Clay.” She held her breath, listening. “I think Sam might be outside, or someone else. There’s a lot of noise out there.”
“Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
“I won’t.” Her heart squeezed around the thought, along with the idea that Clay wanted to be there for her. To keep her safe.
Maybe even more.
She’d already fallen for him and the knowledge that she cared about him so much was a tender ache in her chest.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Or Mia.” His words were a promise she trusted.
“I know that.” She wanted to tell him that it was because of him she was able to be so brave today—to banish the old ghosts for good. Her throat burned with the need to share that and more, but she knew it wasn’t the time when the intruders were tearing Zach’s place apart and Sam was risking his life to save her. “I don’t want to think about what’s happening outside the door, though. Talk to me more. About Mia. What happens with her now?”
“I’ll ask Mia what she thinks would be best for her—where she wants to live—after my father passes.” Clay sounded more certain about his course of action with Mia than he’d been in the past. More at peace.
She wanted to ask about his father, but just then a pounding sounded on the safe room door.
“Open up! Police!” A voice Gabriella didn’t recognize shouted through the heavy barrier.
Swallowing a hiccough of fear, she hugged her knees tighter.
“Are you almost here, Clay?” She needed to see his face and hold him. Needed to be held, too.
“I’m pulling into the driveway now. But you’re okay. The cavalry has arrived, Gabriella. Three cop cars plus Sam’s truck.”
“Be careful.” Closing her eyes, she imagined him outside the house. Entering the front door. Finding her.
She had been waiting for someone to protect her for a long time, she realized. Too long, in fact. Now that she understood how deeply her mother’s abandonment had hurt her, she could see how she’d let her brother play protector for so long. Sam Reyes, too. But they had their own lives now. More recently she’d expected Clayton to swoop in and save the day for her and for Mia, too.
But as much as she cared about Clay, that wasn’t realistic. He told her he had built a life for himself in Memphis. Now it was time for her to get to work on building a life of her own. The time had come to stand on her own two feet.
A part of her heart was still in this town and she wouldn’t run from it after the trial was over. She had friends here and a support network that she had forgotten about. Nina and her grandmother, Daisy Spencer, for instance. Amy Finley. Her brother and his soon-to-be bride. Sam.
She was ready to put down roots, and the best place for that was right here in Heartache. If only Clayton felt the same way.
* * *
CLAY HAD HIDDEN in closets as a kid to avoid his father’s drunken rages. He’d left home more than once, spending nights in the woods in the hope Pete would sleep off a bender. But he’d honestly never been so scared in his life as he had been for the last half hour, afraid something would happen to Gabriella.
Now, standing outside Zach’s safe room, he knocked on the door. He still had her on the phone. He wasn’t hanging up until he had his arms around her. Behind him Sam and another cop waited to make sure Gabriella was released safely. Every now and then the radio chirped on the uniformed officer’s hip.
Four teens had been taken into custody for breaking and entering as well as robbery. Two of them were still in the living room being read their rights.
“Gabby?” He cleared his throat, emotions threatening to swallow him whole.
The hits kept coming today. His father. Mia. Gabriella. Clay hadn’t been there for a single one of them when they’d needed him.
“Clay?” Her voice sounded more clearly through the phone than the door.
He leaned closer to the door to hear her. “Are you okay?”
“You’re here.” Her words hitched on a sob.
He told himself it was adrenaline letdown, but her distress tore him up inside.
“I’m right outside the door, sweetheart.” He didn’t care who heard him. He pressed his palm to the steel barrier. “Do you know the code to get back out?”
“I’m entering it now.” She sniffled and then gave a sharp bark of laughter. “It took me three tries to get it right the first time. I’m lucky they didn’t find me before I got inside.”
Nausea rose at the vision of her struggling to stay hidden from the intruders. He knew she’d suffered nightmares for years after her attack, and she’d returned to Heartache to put the past behind her. He hated to think this night might have stolen that from her.
“Take your time. No rush.” He remembered holding her just a few hours ago, peeling off her clothes and making love to her.
Because he loved her, he realized.
That was the reason he wanted to spend every night with her since finding her again. The reason that it was killing him to think about anything happening to her. He loved Gabriella with a fierceness that he’d never felt for anyone before.
And after the trial was over and Covington was behind bars, he was going to take her away from here. They could start over again without the reminders of all the ways Heartache had lived up to its name for them. Go someplace safe where they could be their own family. He had never had much luck with relationships in the past, but for Gabby’s sake, he was willing to try.
“I’ve got it,” Gabriella said right before the alarm system buzzed and the door opened, blue light spilling out into the closet.
For a frozen instant, Clay and Gabby stood face-to-face, phones to their ears in mirror images of one another. But a moment later he had her in his arms. Holding her tight. Breathing in her soft floral scent as he buried his face in her silky hair.
He didn’t want to let her go. He knew they would be here for a while tonight. Sam Reyes would need her to give the police a statement. Her brother was already on his way back to Heartache to make sure she was okay.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her words a light brush of air over his lips while they stood in the closet, the scent of cedar winding around them. “I couldn’t have gotten through this night without you.”
“Yes, you could have.” He wanted her to know she was stronger than she realized. “But I’m glad you didn’t have to. I’m just damn sorry I wasn’t here with you.”
He eased back just enough to take in her expression. To cup her cheek in his hand and kiss her tenderly. “I wanted to face my old room by myself,” she admitted, trembling against him. “That part wasn’t as bad as I feared. The house is so different now and I realized that overdose wasn’t just a response to my attack. I mean, it was a response to that, of course. But it was also a plea for my mother’s attention. I never realized how much it hurt that she was so willing to just...let me leave.”
He edged back to look at her, whistling softly. “I’m so sorry she wronged you.”
She nodded. “I’m just glad that I sorted through those old hurts. I think that’s why I’ve been so insistent that someone step in and be a family for Mia. I’ve been living out my past through her. Too much, I guess.”
He kissed the top of her head. Sliding his jacket off, he draped the leath
er around her shoulders, wanting to stop her shivering.
“Mia is lucky to have you.” He stroked a hand over her hair. “And I’m damn lucky that your brother is a high-tech genius with a safe room. I owe him more than I can ever repay.” Clay wished he could take her in the safe room now, in fact, and close the door on the rest of the world until he caught his breath again. Until the fear in his gut eased away completely. But he knew they needed to face Sam. “Are you ready to talk to the police yet?”
She nodded firmly, scrubbing aside the tears with her wrist. “I think so. But then I want to go to the hospital to be with you and Mia. Is she okay?”
“It was a rough night.” Briefly, he brought her up to speed with Pete’s failing condition. “But yes, so far, she’s doing well.” He led Gabriella out into Zach’s basement office to speak with the police, more certain than ever that he had the right idea to leave town with her and Mia so the three of them could have a fresh start in Memphis.
As soon as he could, he was putting Heartache behind him forever.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ON THE TOWN square playground, Mia dug her toes into the sand and pushed off on the swing to start herself in motion. Davis had invited her to the Hasting reunion brunch today since they’d had so much fun at the party the day before. He was still working in the coffee tent, but he would be done soon so they could have brunch together.
She’d spent the night in the hospital, unwilling to leave her father’s side even though Gabriella and Clay had urged her to get some rest in a real bed back at the Chance house. But she couldn’t sleep while Pete fought for his life.
Strangely, though, her dad had gained strength after those terrifying moments when they’d almost lost him. The nurses all said they’d never seen anything like it. His color was better. His vitals were stable. He’d had enough energy to berate her for ten minutes straight about the “truly dumb-ass idea” of spending her day in “hospital hell” when she could be outdoors enjoying life.
His cursing hadn’t convinced her, but the energy behind the words had. She wasn’t worried about Pete dying today. His doctor said if he continued to stay stable for twenty-four hours they were moving him to an assisted living facility.
Two days ago that might have seemed like the end of the world since it meant she would no longer be able to live with him. But after seeing him nearly die in front of her eyes, Mia knew she couldn’t think about herself anymore. Her father had given her all he could by getting her out of foster care and showing her someone cared. Even better? He’d introduced her to her half brother who seemed sincere about letting her weigh in on her next living arrangement.
Even if that was a foster home.
Now that Connor was in jail for robbing homes all over Heartache and along the interstate heading toward Franklin, Mia could think more clearly about her own future. She didn’t have to worry about her foster brother trying to find her anymore.
So the time had come to think about what she wanted.
For today, however, she only wanted to have fun and hang out with Davis again. She gripped the chain swings tighter and slowed herself down, her eyes seeking him in the coffee tent. The lawn behind Lucky’s Back Porch wasn’t quite as full today as it had been yesterday. Some of the families had already gone home and there was no live entertainment or dance floor. But someone had hooked up an amp to a truck stereo playing country music. Two fire pits were going instead of the patio heaters. Tables were full of families eating pastries or sandwiches from a cold buffet. Gabriella was over there, she knew, since they’d ridden together.
Clay would be here soon. He’d spent the morning at the hospital to discuss the assisted living idea with Pete’s doctors.
While Mia scanned the party, she spotted two older girls headed her way—Bailey McCord and Megan Bryer. She kind of knew them from school, but Davis had introduced her to them yesterday and they seemed sort of cool. Megan played in the band with Davis, so they were friends. And even though Bailey had all the traditional trappings of homecoming sweetheart right down to the girlie clothes and beauty queen blond hair, she’d fallen out with the popular kids when her mother had an affair with Jeremy Covington.
Poor girl.
Mia understood how it felt to have kids judge you based on your parents’ actions.
The two of them carried matching coffee cups from the beverage tent. And, actually, it looked like they had an extra.
“Hi, Mia,” Megan called, hurrying her step to plop down in the swing on her right.
Bailey walked slower, stopping a few feet from Mia and holding out the second cup she carried. “Davis gave us an extra coffee to bring to you. I saw him put cream and sugar in it, so I hope that’s okay.”
Mia grinned, remembering how he’d tried to distract her from worrying last night by dragging her to the coffee station.
“He knows how I fix it. Thanks.” She took the cup from Bailey, hoping it was a good sign that these girls had come over to hang out with her.
She didn’t have the emotional resources to put her guard up today after the long night in the hospital. Warily, she watched Bailey take the swing on her left so the girls flanked her.
Mia took a bracing sip of the coffee, readying herself for anything. What if they were here to warn her away from Davis? She could tell Megan was close to him, judging by how easily they’d gotten along yesterday.
“So how are you liking Crestwood?” Bailey asked, tucking her jean jacket tighter around her as she spun in her swing toward Mia. Her purple floaty skirt dragged in the dirt a little, but she stopped fussing with her clothes to sip the coffee, holding the cup under her nose afterward to inhale the steam.
“I like it fine on the days no one throws spitballs at me or accuses me of seducing someone else’s boyfriend.” Another time maybe she wouldn’t have given such an honest answer. But she was too exhausted to be fake and socially acceptable right now.
Bailey froze in place, like she hadn’t been expecting the honesty. But behind her, Mia heard Megan laugh. She shuffled around so she could see her better.
“Do you seduce other people’s boyfriends often?” Megan asked, a teasing light in her eye that didn’t seem malicious.
“Never, actually.” Mia tried to keep her words light and easy, like she wasn’t taking herself too seriously. “So you can see why it’d be such a downer.”
“The joys of high school,” Megan observed drily. “If it wasn’t for my band friends—and Bailey—I don’t know how I would have survived this long.”
“I hate spitballs,” Bailey added, slouching a shoulder into one of the swing chains. “Wouldn’t you think that trend would have ended by third grade?” She glanced over at Mia. “That’s a killer jacket, by the way.”
Mia was slow to respond, carefully reviewing the girls’ words to hear if she’d been slighted. But if there was any agenda of meanness here, she didn’t detect it. And she appreciated the nice words about the jacket—one of two that Gabriella bought for her last week, along with a new backpack.
“My brother’s girlfriend got it for me.” She liked thinking of Gabby that way. A huge improvement over calling her “my hotline worker” or “my support group leader.” And way better than calling her a traitor—something she’d regretted practically as soon as she’d said it. But it had been an emotional few weeks and Gabriella had seemed content to move forward.
Mia picked at the heavy zipper teeth on the olive-green army jacket big enough to wear like a duster over her long tunic and dark leggings and boots. “I think Erin Finley helped pick it out—you know, the lady who runs the secondhand place?”
Megan started her swing in motion. “Erin is the coolest. Well, maybe she’s tied for coolest with her sister Heather. Have you heard her play guitar?”
They talked a little about music. About the Covington trial. About Bai
ley’s new boyfriend, Dawson, who lived in the Hasting house where Clay had lived as a teen. Mia’s coffee had been finished for a while by the time she realized she was enjoying talking to them both.
She might have sat there longer except her phone buzzed with a message from Clay asking her to meet him and Gabby over by the fire pit.
“I’d better go.” Hopping out of the swing seat she picked up her empty coffee cup. “My brother is looking for me.”
“I hope you know you can sit with us at lunch anytime you get tired of fending off spitball fire alone,” Megan told her, spinning her swing in a circle so that her flannel shirttails sailed out around her. “We could make our own ammo, maybe.” She tipped her head back. “Launch a counter offensive on the haters.”
“I’ll tear the paper,” Bailey offered, “but I will not provide any spit.” She stuck her tongue out and made a face. “Too gross. Although I agree, you can sit with us anytime, Mia.”
Mia almost embarrassed herself by bursting into tears.
Leave it to her to tough it out whenever someone called her a slut or a whore. But be nice to her? She wanted to weep with gratitude. Her throat closed up and she didn’t trust herself to speak for a long moment. She nodded fast instead. Swallowed, and finally croaked out, “Thank you.”
If her new friends noticed anything unusual, they didn’t say so. She set off quickly to find Gabby and Clay, thinking life in Heartache was getting better every day.
Leaving this place when Pete passed was going to tear her right in two.
* * *
CLAY’S FATHER WAS IMPROVING.
The doctor said Pete’s progress might be due to the old man’s steely will as much as anything. There was no medical reason he should have turned such a corner after those touch-and-go moments when his heart stopped the night before. But there could be no denying the rapid improvement of his condition. The doctor said he could have months or even a year or two left if he was lucky, so they wanted to transfer him to a local assisted living facility.
