Blue Ridge Sunrise

by Denise Hunter

  Zoe winced. “Yikes.”

  “Welcome to my world. I haven’t had a second date in almost a year. If I had a guy who looked at me the way Cruz looks at you I’d hog-tie him to my bedpost.”

  Zoe chuckled. “You’ve never been subtle.”

  “I’m almost twenty-five, Zoe. That’s thirty-five in Southern years. I thought I’d be a radio sensation and married with a whole passel of kids by now.”

  “Your career is going great. Your show’s so popular. And I’m single too, but frankly, better single than in a bad relationship.”

  Hope tilted her head, looking Zoe in the eye for a long beat. “I’m glad you see that. And I’m glad—” She darted a look at Gracie. “I’m glad he’s out of your life. I feel like you’re coming back in bits and pieces. I missed you, Zoe. You have no idea how much.”

  Zoe’s eyes burned. “I missed you too. And I’m sorry I pushed you away. I just knew things weren’t right with—him—and it got harder and harder to pretend everything was okay. It was easier to just put up walls.”

  “Well you don’t have to pretend anymore.”

  “Thanks. I wish it wasn’t too late for Granny though.” A lump welled up in her throat. “I waited too long. She never even got to meet Gracie. I have so many regrets.”

  Hope squeezed her hand. “Granny loved you. That never changed. And she knew you loved her too. She’d be so happy that you’ve come home. So proud to see you making a go of the orchard.”

  A breath left her lungs. “I just hope I can do it.”

  “You will. Granny believed in you, and so do I.”

  “Look, Mama!”

  Zoe turned to see Gracie’s mouth rimmed with a vanilla coating. “I have a mustache and a beard!”

  How she loved her silly daughter. Zoe laughed, the burst of emotion a welcome release. “Well, look at you, Mister.”

  “I’m not a mister, Mama! I’m a little girl.”

  “Well let’s get you cleaned up then. Little girls don’t have beards, not even vanilla ones.”

  “I’ll go get a wet wipe.” Hope was still smiling as she entered the Dairy Barn.

  Zoe gave a contented sigh as she finished wiping the mess from Gracie’s face. She had her girl. She had her best friend, her brother, and her grandmother’s vote of confidence. It was a good start.

  chapter twenty-two

  Zoe set the screw on the tip of the screwdriver and pulled the trigger. The drill whirred to life, driving the screw into the wood wall. The barn’s air was filled with the smells of sawdust and pine cleaner. A warm breeze wafted through the open windows, fluttering her bangs, and a country singer crooned from the battery-operated radio Cruz had left behind.

  When the screw was in place she tested the sturdiness of the shelf and felt a sense of pride when it remained snugly attached to the wall.

  I guess I’m not completely useless after all.

  “It’s coming along.” Hope set her hands on her slim hips and looked around the barn. “Is that the last of the shelving?”

  “Yeah. If you’re looking for something to do there are more tables in the truck.”

  “I’ll run and grab them. Wanna help, Gracie?”

  Gracie grabbed Hope’s hand and they headed outside.

  Zoe wandered over to the other side of the barn where Brady sprawled on the plank flooring under her new, partially assembled bakery case.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Give me a car engine any day. The directions that came with this thing boggle the mind.”

  “You read the directions?”

  “For all the good it did me. I think I’m doing it right, though.”

  “That’s comforting. Need any help?”

  “No offense, but I think I’m better off on my own.”

  “Probably right.”

  Zoe brushed back a few strands that had escaped her ponytail. Her shirt clung to her, and a trickle of perspiration ran down her back. She should’ve had the electricity done and the second-hand air conditioners installed first thing. Now probably wasn’t the best time to ask Brady what he was doing tomorrow.

  “Doing a great job, darlin’.” Hope was carrying a small table into the barn, Gracie at the other end “helping.” “Where do you want this one, Zoe?”

  “Over here by the register, I think. I was going to fill it with impulse items.”

  “Good idea.”

  Noah was coming later today to wire for electricity. She had to find some light fixtures on eBay. They still needed a bunch of baskets to display the varieties of peaches and apples. She was hoping to introduce some locally grown vegetables too.

  She needed to find a used cash register and figure out how to handle credit cards. Then there was all the accounting that would need to be done. Phil could handle the paperwork, but she’d still need to figure out how to keep track of stock and how much of what was sold. She had no idea how one went about such a thing. She rubbed her temple. What had she gotten herself into?

  “Hey, look at this place.” Cruz entered the dim space, surveying their progress. He looked like temptation personified in his snug white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. His dark hair was wind-tossed, making Zoe want to run her fingers through it.

  “It’s really coming along,” he said.

  “Cwooz!” Gracie ran up to him and hugged his leg.

  Zoe’s heart gave a squeeze at her little girl’s easy affection. She’d taken a shine to Cruz as they’d worked on the barn together the past week.

  “Hello there, Bella,” Cruz said.

  “You just called me beautiful!”

  Cruz widened his eyes playfully. “You know Spanish already? And you’re only four years old.”

  “No, silly. You call me Bella all the time.”

  So many emotions swamped Zoe as Cruz smiled down at Gracie, ruffling her hair. Guilt. Regret. Longing. They all closed in, smothering her with their weight.

  She had to tell him. Hope was right. The longer she waited the angrier he’d be. She had to get past the dread and just do it.

  She’d do it tonight. She’d ask Miss Ruby to watch Gracie, and she’d go over to his place. It would be wrong to wait any longer. Who was she kidding? It had been wrong to wait this long. Even if her heart did stutter in fear at the thought of sharing her girl, he deserved to know the truth.

  Cruz watched as Zoe walked toward the window, palming the back of her neck. Something was wrong. He’d known it almost from the moment he’d entered the barn. She was probably overwhelmed. In need of a pep talk. He was just the man for the job.

  Hope was busy arranging tables. Gracie had joined Brady on the floor and was handing him tools. She was adorable in a little pink jumper, her red curls framing her face. Zoe’s mini-me.

  “Hey.” He came to a stop beside Zoe. “You all right?”

  Her hand dropped to her side. “I’m fine.”

  “You seem a little frazzled. It’s all coming together. You should be set to open by the time we get some peaches in. Just in time for Peach Fest.”

  “I know, it’s just . . .” She placed her hand at her throat, avoiding his eyes. “Listen, Cruz . . . Do you think I could come over tonight? For a few minutes?”

  He stared steadily at her until she looked at him. He tried to read something in those green depths, but whatever was there remained a mystery. But she wanted to come over—that had to be good, right? Maybe she finally wanted to talk about their past. Maybe she wanted to talk about their future. His heart tugged at the thought.

  “Sure. That’d be great.”

  “Mama!”

  Zoe’s eyes jerked to her daughter’s. “Yeah, honey.”

  “Bwady has a necklace just like Kyle’s. Look, Mama. It’s got a black stwing too.”

  “Uh-huh. Do you want to help me carry in a table?”

  Cruz couldn’t hear any more. His ears had caught on something Gracie had said. Kyle. Why would she call her dad by his first name? Zoe would never allow that.

  Cruz’
s eyes darted to Gracie, laser-focusing on the girl’s face. On her pretty red hair and elfin chin—all Zoe. But he looked a little closer this time. He studied her as she handed a tool to Brady. Noticed her big brown eyes, the same shade as his.

  He tried to remember how long Zoe had been gone when he got word that she was pregnant. No more than several months, surely.

  Gracie smiled just then, and that too looked familiar. Because he saw those little brackets at the corner of his lips every time he saw a photo of himself.

  Blood rushed in his ears, blocking out all other sound. As realization rushed in, a wave of wonder about knocked him flat on his backside.

  She was his.

  The girl’s eyes sparkled as she laughed at something Brady said. His own flesh and blood. Gracie was his daughter.

  His four-year-old daughter. Who didn’t even know he was her dad. His eyes fastened on Zoe, who’d gone still, her green eyes wide.

  “I-I think I’ll go grab a table,” she said.

  He caught her elbow, holding her fast. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  She looked up at him. If he’d still had any doubt, the fear in her eyes would’ve told him everything he needed to know.

  She looked at him, wary. “Cruz—”

  “She’s mine.” There was as much wonder as anger in the words.

  “I-I tried to tell you,” she whispered. “Back when I found out I was pregnant. I tried to tell you at the creek that day.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Hey.” Brady was there in a flash. “What’s going on? Let go of her, man.”

  Cruz loosened his grip but didn’t let go. And he didn’t look away from Zoe as he addressed Brady. “Did you know, amigo?” Betrayed by both of them—he didn’t think he could take it.

  “Know what?”

  “Does he know, Zoe? Does Hope know too? Am I the last flipping person to know?”

  “Know what?” Brady asked again.

  “All right, guys, let’s just simmer down.” Hope was there too, getting between them. “Bear in mind there are little ears in the room.”

  It was the sight of Gracie looking at them, wide-eyed, that broke through the swirling fog. Cruz blinked. Pried his fingers from Zoe’s arm and let his hand drop to his side. His breaths felt stuffed in his lungs. His body was tense, his muscles quivering with a need for release.

  “What’s going on?” Brady asked. “Zoe?”

  “We need to give them a minute,” Hope said. “Gracie, let’s go to the house to uh . . . check on Miss Ruby. We’ll have pie! Brady, you should come too.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “It’s okay, Brady.” Zoe looked everywhere but at Cruz. “Cruz and I need to talk.”

  Cruz felt the weight of Brady’s gaze for a long moment before the other three left the barn. A few minutes later a truck roared to life, and then there was nothing but silence.

  chapter twenty-three

  Zoe’s heart beat like a bass drum in her chest, and her breath came shallow and ragged. Brady’s engine grew quiet as he and Hope stole away, leaving her to face this alone. Face her past alone.

  Face Cruz alone.

  The song on the radio ended, ushering in a beat of awkward silence before the next one began. Cruz was across the barn, had put as much space between them as possible. He faced the other way, his hands laced behind his neck, his shoulders rising and falling on deep breaths.

  She swallowed hard and told herself to suck it up. It was time to face this. Past time. “I’m so sorry, Cruz. I-I don’t know what else to say. I did try to tell you but—”

  He whirled around, a flinty look in his eyes. “That last time we talked? Was that you trying to tell me? Because I don’t remember the words pregnant or baby even coming up, Zoe.”

  “Because you accused me of being with Kyle! You assumed I was leaving to go off with him and his band, which I was never going to do.”

  “Oh, really? Well, that’s not what Kyle said.”

  “Kyle?”

  “And you didn’t exactly correct that notion, best I recall.”

  “You didn’t give me a chance!” She wiped at the sweat on the back of her neck. Blinked against the tears of frustration. “I thought you didn’t care about me. All you did was accuse me of stepping out on you with Kyle. I was angry and hurt.”

  “I thought you’d chosen him and your big dream over me.”

  “That was never the case. You’re the one who pushed me away.”

  “So you weren’t in a relationship with him at all while we were on a break?”

  “Of course I wasn’t! I was in love with you, you idiot! So he just tells you this, and you believe him? You didn’t have any more faith in me than that?”

  His eyes widened. “You’re mad at me? What about Kyle? He went behind your back and lied to me!”

  “Well, I’d expect that from Kyle—at least I would now. You, though . . . I cared about you, and it hurt that you believed so little of me.” Just like my dad.

  He gave his head a shake. “Don’t you try to change this around. This is about you keeping the truth from me. For four years, Zoe! I’m a father, and I didn’t even know it! How can you excuse that? Do you know how I felt when I got word that you were pregnant? I was devastated to think you and Kyle had shacked up on the road and made a baby together.” He turned around, muttering something in Spanish.

  She swiped at the tear that had escaped. “I know I should’ve made more of an effort. But when you jumped all over me about leaving with Kyle, I couldn’t think straight. I was angry and hurt that you didn’t believe in me, and I was afraid you’d pushed me away because you didn’t care about me as much as I cared about you. I didn’t want you to be with me only for the baby’s sake.”

  “So you just ran off without telling me about it?”

  “I was scared. I knew my dad wasn’t going to have any of it with my mom gone. I just didn’t see any other options at the time, and Kyle had that opportunity with the band. He promised to take care of me.”

  “Oh, I’ll bet he did.” He spat the words out.

  “We were only friends, Cruz. I know you don’t believe that, but we were only friends until well after Gracie was born. And at that point it was more about loneliness than Kyle.”

  He shoved the palms of his hands into his eye sockets, as if he was trying to scrub away the image her words invoked.

  “I never wanted that break,” she said. “You know I didn’t. I was head over heels in love with you. And I was so afraid if I told you, you’d do the right thing, but only for the baby.”

  “You kept my baby from me, Zoe.” The quiet tone was somehow worse than his raised voice. “There’s nothing you can do to bring back the four years I’ve missed. She doesn’t even know I’m her father—do you not understand how hard that hits me?”

  Guilt weighted her chest as she thought about Cruz and his absentee father. After what he’d been through he would never willingly desert his own child.

  She swallowed against the lump that rose in her throat. “I know. You’re right.”

  “You could’ve told me as soon as you came home.”

  “I-I was going to tell you tonight.”

  He huffed a laugh. “Sure you were.”

  “I was. That’s why I asked to come over.”

  He drilled her with a look, staring so long and hard it was difficult not to wither under his gaze. “I want to see her tonight. I want to spend time with her. I’ll be over at seven to pick her up.”

  Fear clawed at her throat. He was so angry. What if he wanted custody? Would he try and take her baby away? She could already feel Gracie slipping away, and the helplessness stole her breath.

  “She . . . she goes to bed at eight.”

  His eyes snapped with irritation. “Five, then.” He tugged on his ball cap and stormed past her without a second look.

  Zoe didn’t breathe again till the roar of his engine had faded into the distance.

  chapter tw
enty-four

  Cruz’s palms sweated against the leather steering wheel. He’d had a few hours to simmer down, and it was a good thing. He didn’t want to scare Gracie by scowling all night.

  Gracie—his daughter. He was about to see his daughter.

  The words sounded foreign in his mind. Strange. Wonderful. Terrifying.

  What did he know about kids? About little girls? What would he do with her? What would he say to her? What if she didn’t like him?

  She already likes you, idiota.

  He’d been wondering since he’d left Zoe standing alone in the barn what Gracie had been told about her father. Clearly she knew Kyle wasn’t her dad. He could be grateful for that at least.

  Cruz had come to a decision in the three hours he’d spent pacing his house like a madman. He wanted Gracie to know he was her dad, and he wanted her to know tonight. Zoe had waited long enough. It was time the little girl knew she had a daddy who loved her.

  And he did, he thought, half dazed by the realization. He couldn’t wait to be with her. He wanted to spend a few hours just staring at her, memorizing her features. He wanted to make her giggle and watch her eyes light up again when he called her Bella.

  He might not know anything about being a dad or about little girls, but he knew one thing. He was going to make sure Gracie knew her daddy loved and wanted her. He knew all too well the repercussions when a child didn’t have that assurance.

  As he turned into the farm’s gravel drive his mind whirled with memories of Zoe and the past. The anguish he’d experienced when she’d left with Kyle, when he’d heard of her pregnancy and nearly doubled over. Kyle had not only lied to him about Zoe and him being together back then, he’d been all too happy to let everyone believe Gracie was his. Cruz wished more than ever that he’d gotten in a few more good swings that night at the Rusty Nail. Kyle’d had it coming more than he’d even known.

  He took the slight bend in the drive and blew out a deep breath. He had to forget about all that. Put it all aside for now. His anger toward Kyle and Zoe would have to wait. The only thing that mattered tonight was Gracie.