Here to Stay (20 page)

Nathan rounded the hood to join them. “I
wonder if Silas sold his practice?” he asked, staring at the
covered sign.

“Looks that way.” Paige urged them toward the
office.

“Paige, my dear, you’re right on time.” Silas
met them at the door.

Nathan looked from Silas to Paige in
confusion.

“Is everything set?”

“It sure is.” Silas leaned back through his
office door. “Chester, we’re ready. Sue Ellen, you come along,
too.”

Chester, a fiftyish man lugging a
professional-looking camera around his neck, sauntered out onto the
sidewalk. Sue Ellen, the waitress from Bubba’s, came out smiling
like the cat that had swallowed the canary.

“Chester, this is Paige Weston, Nathan
Blackrope, and their son, Jesse.” Silas smiled contentedly as they
all shook hands. “And I think you all remember Sue Ellen.”

Paige and Nathan nodded and exchanged hellos
with Sue Ellen. She and Silas had seen quite a lot of each other in
the past week.

Nathan looked even more confused at this
point. Paige crossed her fingers behind her back and sent one more
silent prayer heavenward.

“Chester,” Silas told them, “is from the
Trinity
Tribune
. He’ll be taking the pictures.”

“Well, let’s get started,” Paige said,
impatient to see Nathan’s reaction to her surprise.

“We can’t. We have to wait for one more
arrival.” Silas craned his neck to look beyond them and down the
street for whomever else it was he expected.

Paige frowned, confused herself now. “Who
else is—?”

“You wouldn’t start without me, now would
you, little girl?”

Paige’s breath caught and she whirled around.
Uncle Robert
. Robert pulled her into his welcoming embrace.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, hugging him fiercely. He
smelled of cigars, Old Spice, and precious memories. “You weren’t
supposed to be back until the end of the week.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,”
he told her, his eyes relaying his approval of the decision she had
made. “Ginny, you remember my niece, Paige?”

Ginny took Paige’s hand and squeezed. “Of
course I do.”

“And this is her boy, Jesse.” Robert tousled
Jesse’s hair. “Nathan’s boy,” he added with pride.

“I’m a little confused,” Nathan said. “Did
you sell your practice, Silas?”

“Everyone, just step back,” Chester put in
before Nathan could get his answer. The photographer’s commanding
tone had everyone backing up without his having to repeat himself.
“Paige, you and Silas stand right here.” He motioned toward the
covered window.

Paige and Silas quickly assembled themselves
as directed.

“Now, Robert you and Nathan stand at each end
of this tarp and pull ‘er down when I give the signal.”

Paige smiled at Jesse who allowed his Aunt
Ginny to hold his hand. Paige squeezed Silas’ arm. “Wish me luck,”
she whispered to her partner in crime.

“You don’t need luck, little girl,” he
whispered, giving her a wink. “You’ve got love.”

“Okay, boys, let her go,” Chester ordered.
Nathan and Robert pulled and the tarp fell to the sidewalk with a
resounding thud.

“Paige, you and Silas shake hands and
smile.”

Silas took Paige’s hand in his and they both
smiled for the camera. Chester snapped two quick shots.

“That’ll do it,” he announced.

Robert and Ginny were hugging Paige again,
including Jesse this time. Paige pulled out of the group hug to
find Nathan. He stood before the large, plate glass window staring
up at the newly painted words.

“I don’t understand,” he said,
dumbfounded.

“Isn’t it perfectly clear?” Paige looked from
Nathan to the window. “Paige Weston, Attorney at Law,” she read
aloud. “I bought Silas’ practice.”

Nathan turned to her, his eyes glittered with
a mixture of hope and uncertainty. “Why? I thought you loved your
job in Memphis.”

“It was the only logical thing to do. We both
want our son in our lives. I couldn’t bear the thought of being
separated from him for a week or even a day—me in Memphis and him
visiting you in Trinity.” Paige touched Nathan’s cheek and traced
the line of his jaw. The feel of his skin sent a flush of heat
through her.

“You’d be happy here? Practicing law in
Trinity?” He clutched her hand and pulled it to her chest, a sense
of wonder filling his eyes.

Paige sucked in a sharp breath at the
pounding of his heart beneath her palm. She had to tell him. Now!
“I love you, Nathan. I know I’ve hurt you, but I still believe in
us. Even if friendship is all you can offer me, I’ll settle for
that—for Jesse’s sake.”

“And what does your father have to say about
this?” he asked, his words carefully measured.

Paige sighed. “Like I told you, Nathan, my
father isn’t the issue here. It’ll take time for him to come to
terms with the decision I’ve made, but that’s his problem. He knows
I love him and I know that deep down he loves me. Right now my only
concern is for Jesse and you.”

Nathan released her hand and speared his
fingers through his long hair. He looked at the large, bold letters
on the window once more and then back to Paige. “I need a
minute.”

Paige nodded, unable to speak.

Nathan walked over to where Jesse stood next
to Robert. Paige’s uncle had the group deeply engrossed in a
honeymoon tale of some sort. Nathan took Jesse’s hand and led him
down the sidewalk away from the chatter—away from Paige.

Paige’s heart fluttered in her chest as she
watched Nathan crouch down next to Jesse and speak to him. What
could he be saying? Jesse flashed her a look that gave away
nothing. Could she have made a mistake? Paige shuddered at the
thought that maybe she had been a fool to believe in any kind of
future with Nathan. She had hurt him—he had said so himself. Maybe
he couldn’t forgive her. She couldn’t give him the large family he
had always talked about. Her thoughts trailed off as Nathan and
Jesse walked toward her, hand in hand.

“Jesse and I have discussed the situation and
we’ve decided that you’re going to have to get this window
changed.”

“What do you mean?” Paige looked from Nathan
to her son, who bit his lip to prevent what from showing? Fear?
Worry? “I don’t understand.” She looked back to Nathan. “I thought
I was doing the right thing…that you’d be pleased.” Her heart
banged once against her chest and then plunged to her stomach.

“I don’t want to be just your friend, Paige.”
Nathan’s gaze burned into hers. He reached down and lifted Jesse
into his arms. “Two separate homes and two separate lives isn’t
good enough for my son…or for me,” he added, determination set in
his eyes, his voice, and his posture.

“What are you saying?” Paige’s voice
faltered. Her breath caught in her throat, her chest tightened.

“I’m saying that I don’t want to wake up
alone every morning.” He turned to Jesse, “Right, partner?”

“Right!” Jesse agreed, grinning from ear to
ear.

Paige looked from Nathan to her son. What did
he mean he didn’t want to wake up alone? She licked her parched
lips. Did he want to wake up with her? Could he mean—? Paige tamped
down the unfounded hope she felt rising at the possibility. She had
to be prepared for the worst. She took a deep breath, squeezed her
hands into tight balls at her sides and waited for him to continue.
She’d had her say, now he would have his.

Nathan settled Jesse back onto his feet. He
straightened, turned his attention back to Paige and closed the
small distance between them. “We’ve wasted too many years already,
each waiting for the other to say the right words or make the right
move. Life is too precious, I don’t want to wait any longer. I
won’t settle for anything less than having you as my wife. That’s
what I’m saying.” Nathan pulled her into his embrace. “I love you,
Paige.” He threaded his fingers in her hair and tilted her face up
to his. He looked deeply into her eyes. “Please say you’ll marry
me.”

Emotions flooded Paige—relief, love,
happiness. He still wanted her!

“Wait,” she whispered. Dread pooled in her
chest. “I told you I can’t have any more children. That doesn’t
matter to you?”

He shook his head. “Absolutely not. We have
Jesse. What else could we possibly want?”

Hope bloomed in her chest, absorbing the
dread. “Then, yes, I’ll marry you,” she breathed the words, hardly
believing it could be real. His lips eased into a slow, sexy
smile.

“Good,” he muttered. “I can’t bear to go
through another day without you.”

“Ditto,” she murmured, smiling up at him.

Paige heard Jesse’s shrill little voice as he
broadcast the news to anyone listening, but for the life of her she
couldn’t take her eyes off Nathan. She watched his firm, sensuous
mouth descend to cover hers. His taste filled her, restored her.
She pushed her arms around his neck and pulled him tightly to her.
His mane of black silk glided over her skin, tantalizing and
heightening her awareness of the man she held in her arms.
Sensation after sensation exploded in her body and mind. She had
loved this man for so long…waited for this moment all her life.

She kissed Nathan for all the years they had
lost. Kissed him with all the love that burst in her heart…for
their son…and for the future they would have together.

Thank you for selecting a Debra Webb story.
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