Just One Kiss: A heartwarming Christmas romance (Whisper Lake Book 4)

by Barbara Freethy

  "You're sorry?" he asked with surprise.

  "That your father put that burden on you."

  "I hated him for it."

  "Now I understand what went down between you."

  "I could never look at him the same way again. It wasn't just what he did, it was the promise."

  "I understand. That was the worst part. He was willing to sacrifice your relationship for his bad behavior." She paused, tilting her head as she thought about what had transpired over the past hour. "But you came here together. How did that happen?"

  "Oh, right. I went to tell him I wasn't going to keep his promise anymore. After last night, I knew I had to do that. I told him I wasn't going to tell my family, but I was going to tell you, because I needed to be completely honest with you."

  "I can't believe you decided to do that after all this time."

  His arms tightened around her. "I'm in love with you, Hannah. I've been in love with you since I was seventeen years old. But the love I felt for you then doesn't compare to what I feel for you now. If you would be willing to give us a chance, I would be the happiest man alive."

  "I'm willing," she said, her heart swelling with love for him. "I love you, too, Jake. I could only hate you as much as I did, because I still loved you. I tried to fight it. I tried to stay angry, because I was afraid. You hurt me in a way no one else ever has."

  "I wish I could take it back."

  "But you can't, and it's part of our story. But it's not a part I want to think about anymore. I want you to know that you have also made me happy in a way no one else ever has—back when we were teenagers and now. You know me better than I know myself. You know what I need sometimes before I know I need it. You push me, and I like that."

  Happiness filled his gaze. "I'm glad I make you happy, and I will never hurt you again," he promised. "I would die for you, Hannah."

  "You almost did tonight."

  "But you saved me. You picked up that gun, and you took the shot. You were incredibly brave, Hannah."

  "You saved me, too. And I'm not just talking about that horrible man inside the house. When you picked me up on the side of the road last week, you forced me to stop hiding from you, stop hiding from myself. I've been closed off for so long. I've felt like I had to only depend on myself. But then you kept showing up, and it scared me because I was starting to depend on you, too."

  "You can depend on me. But you're strong on your own, and I love that about you. When I saw your texts today, I was scared, but I knew you would take care of your sister. I knew you would bring that baby into the world. I never had any doubt that you couldn't handle yourself; I just wanted to be there to help."

  "You did help. So did your dad. I still don't really know why he came along."

  "Because you were in trouble. I told him what I knew, and he shocked me when he grabbed his bag and said he was coming with me, that you might need him."

  Even though she was feeling a lot of fury for his father at this moment, she was touched that he'd jumped into action the way he had.

  "On the way up here, we talked a little more," Jake continued. "I started to realize that I couldn't ask you to forgive me if I wasn't willing to do the same thing for him. We both made big mistakes."

  "We all make mistakes…" She paused and smiled. "Except me, of course. I've been perfect."

  He laughed. "That is true, Hannah. You really haven't done anything wrong."

  "I'm joking. I'm not perfect. I'm stubborn, bossy and opinionated, and I have a great capacity and willingness to carry a grudge. I'm going to try to work on all of that."

  "Not too much. I don't want you to change, Hannah. I love you as you are."

  "Thank you for telling me your secret, Jake. I won't say anything to anyone."

  "You can do whatever you want. I don't want to put the burden on you. And if you want the details, they're yours."

  She felt honored by his willingness to trust her, because if the secret could hurt his family, then she could hurt his family. She was also starting to understand that the Jake who had hurt her so badly had done so because he'd been hurt himself. It didn't excuse his behavior, but it made her happy to know that she hadn't completely misjudged his character the first time around.

  "I don't need to know anything more," she said. "And I promise not to brag about your dad as much as I have in the past. I partly did it just to annoy you."

  "It worked. I hated that you had so much respect for him when… See, I still want to tell you. I'm never going to stop wanting to tell you."

  "You don't have to tell me. I know. He cheated on your mother."

  Jake frowned. "Are you guessing, or do you actually know that?"

  "I'm guessing from what you just said about protecting your mom and brother."

  "He swore it only happened the one time and he has tried to make it up to my mother every day since then. I told him he should tell her, but I don't know that he will. And maybe he shouldn't. They do seem happy. I never wanted to break the family up."

  "Keeping his secret didn't stop that from happening, because it broke you. And you broke with your family."

  "But they were still okay. That was what kept me going."

  "I get it. I have looked up to your father, and I am grateful to him for a lot of things, but I never thought he was perfect. I'm disappointed in what he did. Maybe it will change how I feel about him going forward. On the other hand, he helped save my life tonight and the lives of my sister and my niece. I can't discount that."

  "He does have some good qualities, but I don't want to talk about him anymore," Jake added with a smile. "Actually, I don't want to talk at all." He lowered his mouth to hers and his hot kiss made her heart melt and her body shiver all at the same time. They kissed for several long minutes until somewhere in the distance, she heard sirens. Help was coming.

  "They're here," she said breathlessly. "Should we go down to the bridge and help?"

  "In a few minutes. Trust me, we have plenty of time. That was a hell of a big tree that fell on the road."

  He kissed her again and again until they heard shouts and saw lights. And then they went down the road as the police and fire department put together a makeshift bridge to cross the river.

  Seeing the branch that Jake and his father had come across made her stomach flip over. They both could have lost their lives. Thankfully, they hadn't. "I can't believe you crossed over the river using that branch. You really are fearless."

  "More like extremely motivated," he said, gazing back at her. "You were worth the risk, Hannah."

  She met his gaze. "You're worth the risk, too, Jake. I'm sorry it took me so long to see that."

  "I'm just glad we're there now."

  "Just in time for Christmas," she said, as she kissed him again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It took the rescuers over five hours to clear the tree and the road and put together a bridge safe enough to transport everyone out of the area. While Hannah thought it might be a good idea for Kelly to go to the hospital, her sister insisted that she could recover just as well at Hannah's house. She wanted to have both her children with her for Christmas. With Dr. McKenna concurring that Kelly and Violet would be fine to recover at home, Hannah had no choice but to give in, but she was determined to keep an eye on both of them.

  Since Jake's truck was completely disabled, Jake and his father took her car back to the medical center, so she could ride in the ambulance with her sister and the baby. Jake told her he'd meet her at her house as soon as he got his dad home.

  "What do you think Mom is going to say when she sees me?" Kelly asked, as the ambulance took them home.

  Since Hannah knew both paramedics, they’d allowed her to ride in the back with her sister while they sat in the front.

  “I have no idea,” she said. “But Mom will be very happy that you're safe. She'll also fall in love with Violet in one minute, which is how long it took her to fall in love with Brett."

  While Brodie had cont
acted her mother, letting her know that both of her daughters and her granddaughter were safe, she had yet to get a signal on her phone to allow her to do so. But they would be home soon and then the whole family could celebrate together.

  "You said there was a lot I didn't know about Mom," Kelly said. "Want to fill me in?"

  "It's a long story."

  "Give me the highlights."

  "Okay. You know that Mom started drinking after Dad died."

  "Yes. She was falling asleep with a bottle of wine every night. It was disgusting."

  "That was nothing compared to what happened after you left. She completely fell apart. She moved on to harder alcohol and drugs."

  "Oh, my God! I had no idea," Kelly murmured, her gaze shocked. "Who was taking care of you and Tyler?"

  "Me," she said simply. "And for a very short time, we went into foster care."

  "No." Horror moved through Kelly's eyes now. "I can't believe that."

  "The social worker said she tried to find you, but she couldn't. I'm not sure how hard she looked, because after about two weeks, Aunt Joan showed up to take care of us. She stuck around for six months until Mom got her act together. Mom got better after that. She held it together for the last three years I was in high school, but a month before graduation, she fell off the wagon. That started another downward spiral. By then, I knew what to do, and I was old enough to take care of Tyler. Eventually, I took Tyler with me when I moved to Denver for college. I had to get him away from Mom."

  Her sister shook her head, regret lining her face. "I am so sorry, Hannah. I can't imagine what you went through. I never would have believed that Mom would fall apart like that. If I'd known, I would have come back."

  "You should have known, because you should have checked on us," she said, not willing to give Kelly a pass on everything. "I get that you were angry with Mom. She blamed you for Dad's death, which was unfair and really horrible. But at some point, you should have been there for me and Tyler. We lost our dad, too, and we were a lot younger than you."

  "You lost him because of me," Kelly said, her voice laced with pain.

  "I never blamed you for that. You didn't know there was going to be an accident. It wasn't your fault. I told Mom that."

  "You're wrong, Hannah. It was my fault."

  "Just because you stayed out too late doesn't make you responsible."

  "What about if I was driving the car—would that make me responsible?"

  The question stole the breath out of her chest. She stared at Kelly for a good minute before she said, "But you weren't driving." She stopped, seeing the truth on Kelly's face. "Why wouldn't anyone know that you were driving? Did Mom know you were driving?"

  "No." Kelly bit down on her lip, then took a big breath. "Dad asked me to drive. He was having trouble seeing with the rain and the lights."

  "Had you been drinking?"

  Kelly immediately shook her head. "Absolutely not. I was late because I was arguing with Jim. He wanted to break up. I was trying to talk him out of it, but we were not drinking. I swear to you that's the truth."

  "Okay."

  "When Dad asked me to drive, I was fine with it. I wasn't worried about driving in the rain, and, frankly, I thought it was better if I drove, because he was mad at me. I never imagined that I couldn't handle it. But the rain started coming down so hard, I couldn't see. I braked, and the car skidded, and I couldn't stop it. We were going down Grammercy Hill, and halfway down we flipped over. Dad was ejected from the car. I managed to crawl out, and I ran to him."

  Hannah drew in a shaky breath, her heart racing. She didn't want to hear this. But now that Kelly was talking, she couldn't be stopped.

  "Dad didn't look that bad," Kelly said. "But I couldn't get him to open his eyes. I shook him. I tried to hear his breath, but all I could hear was thunder and rain. The police came minutes later. When they arrived, I was with Dad in the middle of the street. I was in shock. I knew it was bad, but I still thought he was going to wake up. I don't know if anyone asked me if I was driving. I don’t think they did." She bit down on her lip. "When we got to the hospital, they put me in an exam room, and they took Dad somewhere else. And then Mom came in with you and Tyler. I remember how scared you both looked."

  "I don't need to hear anymore."

  Kelly ignored her. "Mom started screaming when she found out he was…" Kelly shook her head as tears dripped down her cheeks. "She said it was all my fault, that he wouldn't have gone out in the storm to pick me up if I'd come home on time. I knew she was right, but I couldn't make her hate me more by telling her the truth, and it just never came out. I killed Dad, Hannah. And when Mom blamed me, it felt right, because I was guilty. I couldn't look at any of you without feeling awful. That's really why I ran away, and that's why I stayed away. I thought you were better off without me."

  She shook her head in confusion. "I can't believe you kept this a secret all these years." She thought about her sister's words for another long minute. "Is this the whole story, Kelly? You're not holding anything back? You're not lying about being sober that night?"

  "I'm telling you the truth, Hannah, all of it. I wasn't drinking. That wasn't the reason we crashed. I guess I wasn't a very good driver."

  Considering the horrific storm that night and the fact that her sister had been a senior in high school who had just broken up with her boyfriend, it was actually easy to see how it had happened. In fact, even if there had been no emotions involved, it could have happened just because of the weather conditions.

  "If you weren't drinking, then the accident was still just an accident." It was difficult to say the words. There were waves of anger rushing through her, and she had to fight off a desire to blame and judge. She repeated the words inside her head several times...it was just an accident…just an accident.

  "I couldn’t face you and Tyler and Mom knowing I'd taken away the most important person in your lives. So, I ran as far away as I could," Kelly said. "But I wish now I had known how bad things got. I never imagined Mom would fall apart like that. That you would have to raise Tyler." She took another breath, shaking her head with more regret. "You must hate me, Hannah. Are you sorry you saved my life tonight?"

  "No. I'm not sorry about that." She tried to put her thoughts in some kind of order. "I'm trying to process everything. I've looked at that accident from one way all these years. And now you're saying it was different." She paused for another minute, her mind racing through all the data points and settling on the most important ones. "I'm angry that your actions that night contributed to the accident, the fact that Dad went out to find you because you broke curfew. But you were a teenager, and you couldn't have predicted what might happen. I'm also angry that you abandoned Tyler and me. At some point, you should have reached out to us."

  "I know. You probably won't believe this, but I've thought about you both a lot. I moved from Florida to Colorado Springs because I felt like I needed to come home, but I couldn't get myself all the way back."

  "I wondered why you came back to Colorado. I know that you've gone through some pain yourself. And at some point, I would like to hear about the men in your life, about Brett's father and Violet's father."

  "They were both really good men, heroes beyond belief—Travis for his country and Russ for me and Brett."

  "Brett told me that Russ would protect him. I didn't understand what was going on. I thought Russ was the bad guy, but that didn't go with how Brett felt about him. Brett clearly recognized Russ for who he was."

  "Brett was crazy about him. I don't know how I'm going to tell him that Russ is gone."

  "That's a problem for later. Brett will be so happy to see you, that will be enough for now. I am sad for you, Kelly, for all you've gone through." She paused, thinking about all the anger and pain, the misunderstandings and human weaknesses that had ruined their lives for so long. She didn't want to start that circle all over again, especially not now that there were kids involved, children who needed their whole family.
"Maybe we can start over."

  "Can we do that?" Kelly asked warily.

  "I think so. I'm trying to stop judging everyone so harshly and accept that sometimes life brings out the best in us and other times the worst. But we are all works in progress. We're all trying to be our best selves. There has been too much space between us. I want to focus on the positive going forward. Mom has pulled her life together. Tyler is about to finish law school, and he has some woman he's excited about. I haven't met her yet, but they're planning to have some romantic adventure in Aspen on New Year's Eve."

  "It's weird to think about Tyler being a man. I've seen photos of him on social media, too, but in my head he's still nine. I wonder what he thinks about me."

  "You don't have to worry about Tyler. He has always been much more forgiving than me. He's very chill. He accepts people for who they are. I'm going to work on that, too. Because we both know life is too short to hang on to grudges."

  "It certainly can be too short," Kelly said heavily. "But focusing on the positive…" She gave her a curious smile. "I couldn't help but notice how close you were to Jake McKenna. I know you were friends in middle school. Did you get together a long time ago?"

  She shook her head. "That is another long story. We were together in high school, had a nasty breakup, and didn't really speak again until just this week. Surprisingly enough, your disappearance brought us back together. He wants a second chance, and so do I."

  "Well, he risked his life to save you, and it was clear to me that he's crazy about you."

  "He would have risked his life to save anyone; he's that kind of man. But I'm crazy about him, too."

  "I'm glad something good might come from all this. Thank you for taking care of Brett and helping me bring Violet into the world. I owe you so much."

  "You're welcome. I think you should stay in Whisper Lake, Kelly. I would love to have you and Brett and Violet in town, and I know Mom would, too. We need to be a family again, and maybe we'll convince Tyler at some point to come back as well."