Gatlinburg Getaway (Destination: Desire) (22 page)

“Yet is a qualifier I can work with.” He shot her a quick smile. “How long do you think is reasonable before it’s not too scary to think about that stuff?”

She chewed on her lower lip, trying to weigh all the possibilities and consequences. “A couple of years, maybe.”

Flicking on his blinker, he merged from the highway onto the larger freeway that would take them to the airport. “I give us six months before we start picking out houses and debating baby names.”

“Slow!” she squeaked, her pulse leaping. “You said we’d take it slow.”

He tightened his hold when she tried to pull her hand away. “We will take it as slowly as we need to. That doesn’t mean I can’t think positively about where this is headed.”

“The long-distance doesn’t freak you out?” Because he was being remarkably zen about this. He sounded so sure when she was on the verge of a breakdown.

“It did but, in the end, I realized it didn’t matter.” He gave her a look that was so warm, so full of love, that her chest squeezed. “No other woman will do. Not now, maybe not ever. I love you. So, if Ms. Perfect lives in California, then I’m going to start visiting the Left Coast on a regular basis. So be it. That’s a better prospect than losing you the moment you walk through the doors at the airport.”

She nodded slowly. “There’s never been anyone I’ve connected with the way I do with you, so I guess you’re right. Or Landry is right. Why should distance stop us from holding on to this for as long as we can? But I need to take this slow and be reasonable. As exciting as this is, my mom rushed into relationships too fast before and had it explode in spectacular fashion. I would hate for that to happen with us.” She twisted at the waist so she faced him fully, trying to convey her earnestness. “I never want either of us to have any regrets. Not about walking away and not about staying.”

“I love you.”

She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of hearing him say that. “I love you too.”

He brought her fingers up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I know it feels safer to bolt, but this is a risk worth taking. I know you’ve taken big leaps of faith in business before, and that paid off. Now’s the time to take one in another part of your life. I think it’s going to pay off big too.”

That he understood her well enough to know what she’d call safe and what she’d call a risk, even if those were completely the opposite of most people, just made her love him more. “I’m willing if you are.”

“I’m more than willing.” He gave her smile. “I know you’re going to worry, so I won’t tell you not to, but I will say that you don’t have to worry alone because we’ll figure this out together, sugar.”

It all came down to trust, didn’t it? Did she trust him, trust herself, trust what they’d started, in order to put a wholehearted effort into making this work? If she did a cost-benefit analysis, did she think the benefits would outweigh the costs in time and emotional capital?

Her heart and her mind might never agree on that score. She knew the odds of any relationship lasting, and she’d seen and experienced the negative results of one imploding, but she’d also seen the positive that had come with her older sisters’ marriages. She wanted that for herself, and the only man who’d ever really made her think it could be a possibility for herself was Dalton. That was one amazing potential payoff, wasn’t it?

She took a deep breath, blew it out, and let her heart win this round. “Okay, let’s take a leap of faith.”

Chapter Ten

Four months later…

The pitching machine made its distinctive
whir-thunk
and a baseball came flying at Dalton. He swung hard and sent the ball whizzing over the top of the machine. A few seconds later, another ball shot toward him, and he sank into the rhythm. Swing, hit, prepare for the next one. The process was meditative for him, letting his mind work out issues while his body worked to connect bat with ball.

It also made all his internal bullshit fall away, all the insecurities he’d been dragging behind him since his dad had abandoned him, since his wife had left him. It might get him rejected, but he needed to take another big risk with Camille. This long-distance thing wasn’t working for him, and not in a way that meant he wanted to break it off. Nope, it might only have been four months, but time had a way of feeling a hell of a lot longer than the seconds ticking by on the clock. It had been four long, frustrating, excruciating months of only seeing her every few weeks, only talking to her over the phone, texting, emailing, Skyping. They were in constant contact, but he couldn’t hold her in his arms.

That needed to stop.

Whether she thought they were being hasty or not, he was moving to California. He’d fallen in love with her little beach community as much as he had with her quirky sisters, friends, and co-workers. He might have family he loved here, but his heart was tugging him west. The reality was, he’d never really planned to come back to Gatlinburg full time, but he’d felt lost after the divorce and needed a safe space to lick his wounds.

But then he hadn’t had any reason to leave. He’d wanted to, knowing his cousins intended to follow in their father’s footsteps and Gatlinburg didn’t really need three extra eye doctors. The population wasn’t expanding that rapidly. Not that his family would ever think he didn’t deserve a place here, and Landry had made it clear he was leaving the practice to all three of them if something should happen to him, but the twins were more than capable of filling his shoes. Hopefully after he retired, not because of some tragic incident.

But the bottom line was that Dalton wasn’t needed here. The office would run a little smoother with fewer doctors, and their patients wouldn’t suffer if he bowed out.

It was time for Dalton to find his own destiny, and he was more than ready.

Sweat poured down his face, and his muscles began to protest the abuse. His shoulders and back ached from the workout, and he moved to shut the machine off. After tucking the bat under his arm, he pulled his helmet off, swiped his face with his forearm, and went to suck down some water from the bottle he’d brought with him.

He heard movement behind him just before Warrick spoke. “Figured we’d find you here.”

Turning, Dalton saw not just his best friend but his aunt, uncle, and cousins. He arched a brow and came out of the batting cage. “Really, the whole family was needed for this? Must be serious.”

“Hush,” Savannah admonished. “Warrick and I have an announcement to make, and we wanted to tell everyone at once. Since Mama can’t stand waiting, we tracked you down.”

“Okay, then. Whatever makes you happy. But since you’re all here, I have an announcement too, actually,” Dalton replied. Might as well break the news that he was leaving town soon and give them as much time to adjust as possible before he made the move.

Leigh shrugged. “I’ve got news as well.”

“Well, us too,” Uncle Landry added. He looked around the group with a little smile. “Who wants to go first?”

After a moment of silence, Savannah held up a hand with a huge, sparkly emerald on it. “Warrick popped the question. I said yes and then I threw up. Turns out it’s not an aversion to marriage but morning sickness.”

Laughing chaos ensued as everyone jumped in with hugs, kisses, and back-slapping congratulations. Dalton hauled Warrick closed and squeezed him tight. “I wouldn’t trust her to anyone but you, brother. And if you make her unhappy, I’ll kill you.”

“No one would ever work harder to make sure she’s happy, I swear it.”

“I know it.” Dalton clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Congrats on being a father. You’ll do a great job.”

Amusement lit Warrick’s gaze. “She’ll kill me if I don’t.”

“Welcome to the Wakefield family.” Dalton winked, let him go, and went to scoop Savannah off her feet. “Congrats, little cousin. Love you.”

“Thank you for not driving him off,” she whispered, squeezing the breath out of him. “At first, I think he might have bolted if you’d have freaked out too badly. Didn’t want to screw up your friendship.”

“Nah. By the time I found out, he was already done for.”

She chuckled and swatted the back of his head. “It’s not a death sentence.”

He snorted. “’Til death do us part. Says so in the vows.”

“Yeah.” She hiccupped like she was going to start crying. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“Yeah.” He kissed her temple and set her down.

She went straight to Warrick and they stood arm in arm, leaning into each other. Dalton wanted that with Camille, every day.

Savannah swiped at a stray tear, still beaming. “Okay, Leigh. Now you.”

Letting out a breath, Leigh stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking deathly pale. “You know Janie Carlisle from optometry school?”

Her twin nodded. “Yeah, she was a sweetheart.”

“I’m glad you think so. We’re dating. Have been for almost a year now.”

About time
was the only thought that went through Dalton’s mind. While he’d never thought too much about his cousins’ sex lives, there wasn’t even a tiny spark of shock in him at Leigh’s revelation, and on some level, he thought he’d always known. She’d dated very few guys in high school and had been incredibly private about her love life since her freshman or sophomore year of university. To him, that was telling. He’d guess all these trips to New Orleans or Atlanta or DC to hang out with “old friends” were code for running off for a weekend with whomever she was seeing.

He glanced around at his family, and the only one who appeared surprised was Savannah.

Her mouth formed a perfect O. “Janie? Really?”

Okay, so apparently it wasn’t her sister’s orientation that startled her.

“It’s serious. Very serious. In fact, she’s been asking me to move to Atlanta to join her practice for the last six months.” Leigh angled a glance at her twin. “I finally said yes and didn’t throw up.”

Savannah blew her a raspberry, and everyone else chuckled.

“Well, we’re gonna miss you, sweets.” Landry let out a breath and squinted. “I hope you know you don’t need to leave.”

Rubbing her palms against her jeans, Leigh’s lips quivered. “None of you are freaked out that I’m…”

“No way,” Dalton rushed to assure her, guessing this moment had probably been the stuff of her nightmares for almost a decade now. “We love you. Period. No qualifiers. We love you.”

“So much, baby.” Opal hugged Leigh close and stroked a hand down her hair. “Don’t ever doubt it for a second.”

A little sob broke from Leigh, and Landry wrapped his arms around both women, rocking them as they cried. He said gruffly, “Aw, you’re killing me. I can’t stand when my girls bawl.”

They gave watery chuckles and pulled away, though both parents kept a hold on one of Leigh’s hands.

“I’ve suspected for a long time, but figured with how secretive you’ve been about who you date, it wasn’t something you wanted to talk about. Yet. I knew you would when you were ready, when there was finally someone who made you want to speak up.” Savannah winked. “Good pick on your first serious girlfriend. I always liked Janie.”

Leigh sniffled and went to embrace her sister. When they broke apart, she managed a shaky smile. “I love y’all.”

“We know.” Dalton slung an arm around her and gave her a tight hug. Even prickly Leigh needed one every now and then. Especially at a time like this. She clung to him, a little hitch to her breathing. He whispered in her ear, “If they’ll take the crazy Asian kid, they’ll have no problem with a lipstick lesbian.”

She laughed and backed up, swatting at him. “Jerk.”

“No denials here.” He held up his hands in surrender.

“So what’s your news?” Her arms crossed, one hip canting to the side, back to full-force attitude. “Bet it’s anticlimactic after this.”

He shook his head. “Let’s let Uncle Landry and Aunt Opal go first.”

“Wow, that sad, huh? You need a buffer?”

“All right, children,” Opal drawled, her chastising look just as effective as it had been when they were kids. “Landry and I are planning to retire to Florida in three years. We’re buying some property down there now for a vacation home, but we’ll move permanently when the time comes.”

Cocking her head, Savannah mused, “You know, I always figured you’d stay in the old house, but I wouldn’t be sad to have an excuse to hit the beaches in Florida.”

“Janie likes the beach.” Leigh flashed a smile as if that was a marvel to her, being part of a couple. Openly, anyway. “And, yes, you can meet her before I leave—which isn’t because I’m coming out as a lesbian and then running away but because we’ve got a good group of friends there, she’s got a great office, I love her house and it just feels…right. All of it feels right, and now’s the right time. But I promise she’s coming to visit soon.”

Landry shook his finger at her. “Good, because I still need to decide if this person is good enough for my baby girl.”

Warrick broke into a grin. “I can give her a few pointers on how to handle him giving the ‘you’re gonna treat my daughter right, aren’t you?’ talk while he cleans his shotgun. It’s some scary shit.”

The look on Landry’s face was absurdly proud.

“Thanks, I’m sure she’ll take you up on that.” Leigh turned to Dalton. “So, your news?”