Her Homecoming Wish

by Jo McNally

  “Do you take Chloe fishing?”

  “I’ve tried, but containing all that energy to a boat this size is...challenging.” Frankly, the girl freaked him out on the water. She had zero fear, and sitting still was next to impossible for her.

  Mack laughed, sitting up again. “I can imagine. And with you being Mr. Safety and all, I bet you’re a nervous wreck. That girl is always on the go.” Her smile faded. “Have you talked to her about us seeing each other? Is she okay with it?”

  Dan jiggled the fishing rod to move the bait around before setting it back down again. “She was excited about it. She likes you, Mack. We made sure she got counseling after the divorce, and she still goes once a month.” Dan hadn’t want to think his little girl needed professional help at such a young age, but Susanne had insisted. And she’d been right. Having someone to talk to had helped Chloe process all the changes in her life without taking things personally. “She’s already seen her mom dating and getting ready for a wedding, so I think she gets it. Don’t be surprised if she starts talking weddings, though. I think she figures that’s how it works after Susanne and Samir got engaged. Boy meets girl. Boy dates girl. Boy and girl get married. Little girl gets a pretty dress and a part in the wedding.” The tip of his fishing rod dipped and he reached for it, but it was just a nibble.

  Mack’s forehead furrowed. “I hope you told her not to expect any wedding bells with us.”

  He absorbed the sting of her words and tried to smile. “Is it such a revolting idea? Wedding bells?”

  “Slow down, Danger Dan.” Mack moved her fishing pole, mimicking his actions. “We’ve been together less than a month. I’m looking for fun, remember? Not a shotgun wedding.” She laughed. “I don’t mean that kind of shotgun wedding, but you know what I’m saying. We haven’t even said the L word yet, and I think the proper order of things is for that to come before wedding bells.”

  Dan swallowed hard. There were some big things in those few sentences. The first was the reference to a shotgun wedding. Meaning she’d be pregnant. He hadn’t even considered more children, but the idea of Mack carrying his baby filled him with anticipation. Pride. Desire. And then she’d mentioned love. Not directly—she’d used “the L word” as if saying it would be some sort of jinx. But he’d already been dealing with feelings for her that felt a hell of a lot like love. She was right, though. It was probably too soon for that.

  “Do you want kids?” The words tumbled out before he could stop them. Mack’s eyes went wide.

  “Where did that...? Oh, the shotgun-wedding thing.” She looked off into space for a moment before continuing. “It never happened for Mason and me, but the doctors said they couldn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t have. So I guess it’s possible it could happen, even at this late date.”

  “Mack, you’re thirty-six. That’s not a late date.” He hesitated, not sure if this conversation was a good idea. “If that’s what you want. And that’s all I was asking.”

  A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I’ve wanted a lot of things, Dan. And I got a lot of them. And most turned into dust. I don’t mean to sound melodramatic, but I kinda stopped wishing and wanting. If it happens, it happens. And if a baby happens someday, I’d be thrilled. I think.” She gave her head a quick shake, nearly losing her brimmed hat in the process. “I have a hard time picturing that, but it would definitely qualify as an adventure, wouldn’t it?”

  Dan thought of his boisterous daughter and grinned. “I can tell you that every day is an adventure with the one I have.”

  “As long as we’re on the subject, how do you think Chloe will feel if there’s a new family member? Are Susanne and Samir planning a child together? Would Chloe welcome that?”

  “Would she?” Dan laughed. “She’s already asking for a brother or sister or both or several of each. Chloe’s always been a the-more-the-merrier kind of kid. I know she’s only eight, but she’s never been selfish about people or things.” He paused, emotion filling his throat. “She has the biggest heart of any kid I’ve ever met.”

  There was a gentle rumble in the distance, and Dan pulled out his phone to check the weather. “Looks like more rain might move in. Let’s get back while we’re still dry.” They both started reeling in their lines. He hadn’t had a chance to address the whole L-word thing. But Mack was staying in Gallant Lake, and they had plenty of time.

  * * *

  Even with a storm on the distant horizon, Mack was relaxed as Dan steered the boat toward the public docks at the park. Getting him away from town had done a world of good for all that tension he’d been carrying. No one was around to bug him about solving crime, and he’d gradually shed that hero cape that usually weighed him down. His joy when the fish started biting was infectious, and they’d both been laughing and teasing as they brought the fish into the boat. He said it was plenty for a meal and promised to fry them up that night. Mack had never eaten a meal she’d caught herself—unless you counted shopping at the fish market—so it was another adventure to add to her list.

  Dan helped her out of the boat, then had her hold the lines while he backed his trailer down the ramp and into the water. A few minutes later, he drove the truck forward, with the boat safely on board and secure. She hopped into the passenger seat, and he started to drive, then stopped abruptly.

  “Look at that!” Dan pointed past her, out the window toward the lake. Although it wasn’t raining where they sat, it clearly was raining on the other side of the water. A soft gray curtain of rain blurred the rounded mountains in the distance. As the rain approached, the surface of the lake changed from smooth blue gray to rain-dappled pewter. They watched as the little downpour came all the way to the shore, then swept over the truck and over Gallant Lake. It pounded on the roof of the truck cab.

  “Wasn’t that cool?” he asked. His eyes were bright and...happy. Mack thought about what Susanne had said. That Dan seemed happier since meeting her. The thought filled her with warmth. She nodded in agreement.

  “Very cool. At one point it was raining on the end of the dock but not over us. We got back just in time.”

  His smile dimmed. “We weren’t in any danger, Mack. That thunder we heard was off to the north. I’d never—”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Oh my God, Dan. Do you become Captain Responsibility the minute your feet touch land? I never once thought we were in danger. I just meant we didn’t get wet.” She looked back out at the rain, still coming down straight and heavy. “But then again, what’s the big deal about getting wet?”

  When she grabbed the door handle, Dan reached for her, but it was too late. She was out and jogging backward away from the truck, gesturing for him to join her. “Come on, Danny boy. You won’t melt!” She twirled, arms outstretched. The rain was cold, but it felt great. Refreshing. Daring. She turned away from the truck, away from Dan’s shocked and disapproving face, and looked out over the now-silver lake. If only that carefree guy she’d seen in the boat could find a way to exist on shore.

  The clouds looked so low she could almost touch them. The top of Gallant Mountain was completely hidden. She lifted her head, closed her eyes and let the rain hit her face. This felt better than the best facial she’d ever had. Her eyes snapped open when she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist. She was tugged back against a solid chest. A familiar voice spoke right next to her ear.

  “You’re crazy. You make me crazy, Mackenzie Wallace.” His voice lowered so she barely heard the next. “And I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  “What?” She spun in his arms, laughing at the sight of his hair plastered on his forehead, raindrops rolling down his face. She could only imagine what she looked like, but...she honestly didn’t care. “What did you say?”

  He shook his head with that half grin she’d thought was his mask to hide his emotion. The one that said the world amused him, but that he wasn’t part of the world. But
the deep, dark flame in his gaze told her he was very present in this moment.

  “I’m not going to repeat what I know you heard.” He lifted a shoulder. “Probably shouldn’t have said it so soon, but the sight of you out here, dancing in the rain... Thinking I’d join you...” He kissed her, hard and fast. The rain made the kiss taste fresh. “And here I am. You do something to me, Mackie. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I’m pretty sure that L word is behind it. And I’m falling. I’m free-falling. You pushed me—or maybe pulled me—right over the edge.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. The rain was coming down so hard she could hardly keep her eyes open, but she couldn’t not look into his emotion-filled gaze. “So tell me, baby. Are we falling together?”

  She felt a quick shiver of fear, followed by another shiver...of desire. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “The question isn’t if we’re falling, Danny. It’s where are we going to land? And what’s going to happen then?”

  “Well, girl. You said you were looking for an adventure. Tumbling through the unknown is about as adventurous as it gets. Let’s see where it takes us.” He tugged her arm and took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “At least we’ll have good company. But you didn’t really answer my question. Are you falling, too?”

  “I’m falling, Dan. Believe me, I’m falling.”

  The truth was, she’d fallen already. She was in love with Danny Adams. Before she could say so, he looked up at the still-pouring heavens and tugged her toward the truck.

  “We’ll both have pneumonia if we don’t get out of this rain.”

  They went to Dan’s house. Susanne had Chloe that day, and Dan didn’t expect her to bike over for a surprise visit in the rain. They parked the boat next to his garage. Dan tossed the fish into the spare refrigerator in the garage. Then they ran inside to take a steaming hot shower—together. And then, well...then they made love, of course. In the shower. Then again in his bed. They probably would have continued the activity straight into the night, but Dan reminded her they had fish to clean.

  “Uh-uh. You have fish to clean. I’m not going there.” They’d tossed their clothes into the dryer, so she was fully dressed again, standing in the kitchen.

  He shook his head. “Haven’t you ever heard of the rule—you catch ’em, you clean ’em?”

  She lifted one brow. “Haven’t you ever heard of the rule—you could have thrown them back?” She pulled a head of lettuce from his fridge. “I’ll put a salad together and mix up a box of brownies. While you take care of the fishies.”

  An hour later, they were sitting down to a delicious meal of pan-fried perch. The small fillets were mild but still flavorful. She thought of their conversation and realized that if they landed like this, sharing meals they caught in Gallant Lake and laughing about who did the most work, she’d be a very happy woman.

  They were talking about her dad and Cathy while they were washing dishes later, and Dan asked how Ryan took the news.

  “He’s fine with it.” Mack set her towel down and turned to face him. “What happened between you and Ryan, Dan? You were best friends, and now you have no contact at all. He said he understood, but I’m not sure I do.”

  Dan’s smile was gone in an instant, and his face went gray. “You know what happened. The accident...”

  “Uh, yeah. I remember. But you weren’t even in the car. Ryan was in the hospital for weeks, and you barely showed up. You stopped coming to our house. You avoided my parents...”

  He put the last of the dishes in the strainer and stood staring at it as if he wished it could remove him from this room. But they’d handled some big topics that day, and she wasn’t going to let this one slide. She really wanted to know. She put her hand on his shoulder, shocked at how tight and tense he was. He kept staring at the clean plates when he spoke, his voice devoid of emotion.

  “I couldn’t face your parents, Mack. I never knew when they’d show up in Ryan’s room, and I couldn’t face them. Or the Michaels family, for that matter. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Why couldn’t you face them? I don’t understand...”

  He closed his eyes, his fingers curling into the towel he held. “I got them the booze that day, Mack. I wasn’t in the car, but only because my dad had grounded me for mouthing back at him. He was drinking a lot back then—hell, so was I—and we had a stupid argument. One of those rite-of-passage arguments where teenage boys take their first swing at their dad. It was a mess. Anyway, he grounded me for the first time ever. I had to go straight home after baseball practice at school. But I didn’t go to practice. I met Ryan and Braden up on Hill Road, and I gave them two bottles of gin I’d lifted from my grandparents’ liquor cabinet.” He shook his head, his eyes still tightly shut. “I got them drunk. It was my fault. My fault Ryan was in the hospital.” He finally turned and looked at her. “My fault Braden was dead. I’m sorry—I didn’t know how to tell you. If this changes anything...”

  Mack started to laugh, low and soft. Dan recoiled from the unexpected reaction. She took his hands in hers and held tight.

  “Dan, have you really been thinking that all these years? That night wasn’t your fault.” He started to object but she talked right over him. “Okay, fine, you contributed some booze. But that was in the afternoon, and they didn’t hit that tree until three in the morning. I remember the night as if it was yesterday. Ryan and Braden took something like half a case of bourbon from Dad’s store. And by took I mean stole. Mom and Dad were visiting my grandparents in Syracuse. The boys were supposed to be watching me, but they were playing video games and doing shots for hours that night.” Her parents kept trying to give Ryan responsibility in hopes that he’d grow up, but it didn’t work. “I put myself to bed. Ryan told me afterward that they got into an argument about whether Braden’s car was fast enough to catch air on that little rise out on Marshfield Road. They got the bright idea to go try it.” Dan was scowling at the counter, and she squeezed his hands again to make sure he was hearing her. God, had he been carrying this around all these years? “I don’t know how they even made it to the car, much less drove it up there, but they did. Those two bottles of gin eight hours earlier didn’t cause it. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Maybe I could have stopped it if I’d been there.”

  “I just let you off the hook for one guilt trip, and you’re grasping at another one? Stop, Dan. You didn’t do this. And honestly, I’m glad you weren’t there. I’m glad you were safe at home that night. The thought that you could have been killed, too...my God.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the mouth. He didn’t respond at first, but then his hand came up to cup the back of her neck, tugging her closer.

  The kiss deepened, and Mack felt something shift between them. As intense as their lovemaking had been before, she hadn’t realized until this moment that there’d been something between them. Something he’d been holding in. But that something was gone now. His head tipped for better access, and he murmured her name against her lips. His arms went around her, sliding up under her top, hot against her skin. Yes, please.

  “I need you, Mack. Spend the night.” She hadn’t done that yet—stayed at his place. He’d been worried about Chloe stopping by on the way to school or something.

  “Dan...”

  “It’s okay. It’ll be okay. We’ll make it all work. Stay the night. Stay with me...” His hand slid beneath the waist of her jeans, his fingers curling around her backside and pulling her in tight. She let out a low moan. Who was she kidding? She was putty in his hands when he let down his guard like this.

  “I’ll stay, Dan. I’ll stay.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Wow, what a view!” Mack was staring out the windshield as Dan parked the truck in front of Asher and Nora’s log house on Gallant Mountain.

  Dan stared at her for a moment. Her hair was pulled back in a low
ponytail. She was wearing crisp white jeans and a fluttery blue top that just brushed across her curves. It was low cut, and as she leaned forward, he couldn’t help but smile and agree.

  “Yeah. The view’s very nice.”

  She looked over, then followed where his eyes were focused, promptly sitting up.

  “What are you, sixteen?” She frowned at her outfit. “Is it too low? Too fancy? Not fancy enough?”

  “Whoa, calm down, girl. You look perfect. Just do me a favor and don’t bend over like that in front of Asher.” Dan opened the truck door and winked over at her. “I’d hate to have to punch my best friend in the nose because he couldn’t keep his eyes where they belong. And relax. It’s just dinner with friends.”

  They walked up the steps hand in hand. Asher was an architect as well as a furniture maker, and he’d designed the big house to look like it had just grown there at the edge of the trees. The dark green metal roof blended with the pines, and a wide porch wrapped around three sides.

  “I know I’ve said this already,” Mack said, “but...wow.” She stopped and looked at the lake far below. “When Nora said she lived in a log house, I pictured Little House on the Prairie, not Architectural Digest.”

  “It was actually featured in the magazine last year. Asher designed it and basically built it all himself, too. Wait until you see the...” The door flew open, and Nora stood there with a dish towel in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

  “You’re here! Come in! I just pulled my famous shrimp toast out of the oven, and Asher and the guys are out front at the grill.” Nora waved them in. “Mack, why don’t you join Mel, Amanda and me in the kitchen, and Dan, you can go watch the fire with the other cavemen.”

  “Actually,” Dan started, not ready to lose Mack’s company just yet, “I was going to give Mack the grand tour, if that’s okay.”