He missed her. God, but he missed her. He wished he could believe there was a chance she’d come back, but he knew better. She had a life, a family, a man…
Shit.
He closed his eyes, not wanting to even think about her with another man. This guy loved her enough to put a ring on her finger. He must have been out of his mind with worry when she’d disappeared. Steve knew he, himself had been. When he thought about how close they came to not getting to her in time…of what that deputy had planned for her…
He put out his cigarette and rolled over. It was no use tormenting himself like this. She was gone, out of his life forever. He had to accept it and move on. How long did it take for a heart to heal? It had taken years for him to get over losing Rita. Could he go through that again?
Did he have a choice?
And that was what kept him up all night, every night. Wondering if there was anything he could do, any way to win her back. If he dared to go after her to tell her how he felt, could he stand it if she rejected him? What was he thinking? She’d made her choice when she’d left.
Steve punched his pillow and as he did most nights, he stared at the digital clock.
*****
It was the week before Christmas and Dorothy was having her annual Christmas party. There was a huge tree in the foyer and the dining room table was laden with food, buffet style. There were silver punch bowls of eggnog and apple cider on the buffet and mistletoe hung in the entry.
CJ was busy making the rounds with her mother and being congratulated by everyone on her upcoming nuptials. All were glad she was home safe, after her ordeal, as they called it.
A server passed by with a tray of white wine and CJ took one. It was a lovely party, but she felt like she was on display. Everyone wanted to hear the story of what had happened to her. Everyone wanted to know how she was doing. She felt like she was under a microscope and that they were all waiting for her to crack up.
She excused herself and headed toward the back of the house to get some air. She passed her father’s study, where she could overhear political discussions and smell the aroma of cigars. She smiled and headed back toward the kitchen and out a side door onto the patio.
She took a deep breath of the crisp night air and rubbed her bare arms. She walked to the edge of the patio and sat on the cement balustrade that surrounded it. There was a formal, tall hedge garden beyond and a rose garden inside it.
CJ could hear voices coming from the garden and then she heard a woman’s soft giggle. She smiled, wondering who had snuck off for some romance.
And then the voices carried upon the night breeze.
“Mark, you devil!” Stop that.”
Every hair on CJ’s skin stood up.
“You like it. Don’t play so hard to get, Tina.”
There were more feminine giggles. CJ stood up and went down the steps into the garden. She followed the sound around several hedges and peeked around one. There stood Mark, his arms around a beautiful redhead. A woman CJ seemed to remember having been introduced to just this evening. She worked at Mark’s law firm.
CJ felt the world spin. She turned and ran back into the house. Her mother was there in the hall, speaking with one of the serving staff. She saw CJ fly by with tears in her eyes and run upstairs.
“CJ, darling, what is it?”
CJ never stopped. Dorothy looked at the door she’d come through. “Excuse me a moment,” she said to the servant and headed out the door. She stepped out onto the patio, expecting to find Mark, perhaps. But there was no one there. She turned to head back inside, when she suddenly saw a woman coming from the hedge, adjusting her dress as she came.
Dorothy hid behind a giant potted shrub and watched as the woman went back into the house. What in the world? A moment later, Mark stepped out of the hedge, adjusting his tie.
Well, well. A wolf eventually shows his true colors. Dorothy stepped out from behind the shrub and startled Mark.
“Dorothy! I…I didn’t see you there.”
“No, I can see that you didn’t. Neither of you.”
“Oh, you don’t understand. It’s not what you think. I was just showing her the gardens.”
Dorothy turned and headed to the door.
“Dorothy, wait. I swear…”
The door slammed in his face.
Dorothy tapped on CJ’s door. She didn’t wait for a reply. She walked in and found CJ rummaging through her dresser drawers. Dorothy watched as she took a handful of items, walked over, and shoved them into the open suitcase lying on the bed.
“CJ, are you all right?” her mother asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to the suitcase.
“I’m fine. Never been better.”
Dorothy looked down at the suitcase as CJ made another trip to the dresser. “Are you going somewhere, darling?”
“Yep.”
“Yep?”
“Sorry, Mother. I guess I picked up the accent this summer.”
“You’re going back?”
“I’ve been invited to a wedding and I’ve decided to attend.” CJ headed into the walk-in closet. A moment later she returned with an armful of clothes and tossed them on the bed.
Dorothy looked up. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
CJ was standing by the bed, yanking items off hangers and tossing them into the suitcase. A pile of empty hangers was forming on the floor as she tossed them aside. She stopped when she heard what her mother had said. “What?”
“I said, I think that’s a great idea.”
“You…you do?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I’ll help you pack.” Dorothy stood up and walked into CJ’s closet. She started sorting through all the dresses, searching for the perfect one. She finally found what she was looking for, carried it out and laid it across the bed. “This should do nicely.”
CJ looked down at the dress and then back at her mother, a smile forming on her face. And then she was across the room and in her mother’s arms. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, baby. Now, go get him.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was the afternoon of December 29
th
. The wedding was set for New Year’s Eve. It would be a candlelight ceremony at a small church that the Garrett family had been attending for years. Afterward, everyone was invited back to the farm for a reception.
Steve was out in the shed, hanging little white lights everywhere. They had all worked hard to clean out and convert the large shed into a suitable place for music and dancing. Steve had moved all of the cars he’d been rebuilding to Justin’s Garage. The two had decided to finally start that business they’d planned back in high school. They would be partners, with Justin doing the majority of the mechanical and body work, and Steve scouting out vehicles to rebuild and handling the sales. It wouldn’t be an equal split, with Justin owning the garage and doing more of the work, but that was fine with Steve, as he still had a farm to run.
Currently, he was up on a ladder wrapping strands of lights around the beams. When he heard a car pull up, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. He could see out the open double doors, but the vehicle was out of sight. A moment later he heard the back door open and footsteps running down the porch steps.
“Summer, you’re here,” he heard Jessie shout. And then a car door slam shut.
He slowly descended the ladder, his heart in his throat. He took a couple of steps toward the door and there he stood.
Summer pulled back from Jessie’s embrace and looked past her, toward where Steve stood motionless in the entrance to the shed.
Jessie followed her gaze over her shoulder to her dad. “Come on,” she said, taking Summer by the hand and leading her toward the shed.
Steve watched her approach and tried to remember to breathe again. And then she was there, standing in front of him.
“Hello, Steve.”
He cleared his throat. “Hey, Summer.”
They stared at each other a moment. Jessie’s gaze flicked from one to the other and she smiled.
“I…ah, didn’t know you were coming,” Steve said.
“Well, I had to rearrange some things.”
Steve nodded.
Jessie grabbed Summer by the arm. “Come on, I want to show you my dress.” Jessie turned back to her father. “Can you bring her things in, Dad?”
“Yeah, sure.” Steve watched as Jessie dragged Summer into the house. When the door closed, he let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
She had come back.
Summer sat on Jessie’s bed, admiring the beautiful gown that Jessie was modeling. “Oh, honey. It’s gorgeous.”
Jessie smiled, bursting with excitement. “I can’t believe that tomorrow I’m going to be Mrs. Cary McBride.”
Summer smiled, got up and hugged her. “I’m so happy for you.”
They broke apart.
“So, Dad sure was surprised to see you.”
“You didn’t tell him I called you?”
Jessie smiled. “And miss the look on his face? Not for a million.”
Summer smiled and shook her head. “I hope he’s okay with me staying here. I wish you’d told him.”
“Are you serious? You really think he wouldn’t want you here?”
“I just don’t think your father likes surprises.”
Jessie looked at her and her smile faded. “He’s missed you.”
Summer looked down. “I’ve missed him, too.”
A grin broke out on Jessie’s face. “Good. Now, let’s go get you some dinner.”
Cary walked over as Steve was getting Summer’s bags out of her car. He leaned back on the car and folded his arms. “How’re you doing, old man?”
Steve dropped the bag, looked back at the house, and shook his head.
Cary grinned and took out a pack of cigarettes, passing them to Steve. He took one and bent his head to light it. Cary noticed Steve’s hand shake. “You okay?”
Steve blew out a stream of smoke. “You know about this, too?”
Cary shoved the cigarette pack back into his shirt pocket. “Jessie said something to me last night, when she got the call.”
“Call?” Steve looked over at him.
Cary met his eyes. “Yeah. Summer called her late last night to tell her she would be able to make it after all.”
Steve took another hit off the cigarette.
“What’s the matter? You wanted to see her, didn’t you?”
Steve looked back at him. “It’s just going to be hell saying goodbye again.”
“Then don’t.”
Steve looked away.
Cary shook his head. “She’s back. You blow this again, you’re stupider than I am.” And then he picked up one of the suitcases and walked into the house.
Steve stared after him a long moment and then tossed the cigarette down, grinding it under his boot. He picked up the second suitcase and followed him.
That night at dinner, Jessie was chattering on about all the wedding details with Summer.
“Baby, give it a rest. Let her eat her food,” Cary said, reaching over and rubbing the back of Jessie’s neck.
Jessie sputtered to a stop. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on and on like that.”
“It’s okay. I love hearing all about it,” Summer insisted.
“The rehearsal is at 4pm tomorrow and then Cary’s parents are taking the wedding party out to the Roadhouse for the rehearsal dinner. You have to come, too, Summer.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary. That should be just for the wedding party,” Summer protested.
‘But we want you there. Tell her, Daddy,” Jessie said, turning to her father.
“Of course.”
Summer looked over at Steve. He looked back at her. Their eyes held a moment.
“Why, of course you’re coming,” Pop insisted, breaking the spell. He pushed his chair back from the table. “I think I’ll go have a smoke before I turn in.” He pulled a pipe out of his pocket and headed for the front door. He patted Summer on the shoulder as he passed her chair. “Glad to have you back, Summer.”
She smiled up at him.
Cary stood up. “Come on, baby. I’ll help you with the dishes.” He and Jessie began gathering up the plates. Summer started to get up to help, but he waived her back down. “You sit. You’re company tonight. We’ve got this.”
They both went into the kitchen. Summer turned back to Steve. He leaned on both elbows and studied the tablecloth. “So, how have you been?”
She ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup. “Fine.”
“I bet your class was glad to have you back,” he commented, not looking up.
“I, um…actually, I’m taking some time off.”
Steve looked up, concerned. “Why? You’re feeling okay, aren’t you?”
She met his eyes. “Yes, of course.”
“Then why aren’t you back with your class?”
She looked away. “Well, when I didn’t show up…they had replaced me and well, it just didn’t work out this year. Maybe next year.”
“What do you mean, maybe?”
“Mark and I had discussed…that is…”
At the mention of Mark, Steve stiffened. “Go on.”
“I may take some time, that’s all.”
“I thought you loved teaching.”
She looked at him. “I do.”
Steve stared back at her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he nodded his head. “If that’s what you want.”
Summer looked down and toyed with her coffee cup.
Steve studied her a moment and then asked softly, “It isn’t, is it, Summer?”
Something about the way he said her name got to her. Her eyes glazed with tears. “If you’ll excuse me, I really am tired from the long drive. I think I’ll go lay down.”
Steve watched silently as she scooted her chair back and hurried up the stairs. He hadn’t missed the tears either…or the fact that she didn’t have the ring on her finger anymore. What had happened in Savannah, he wondered.
*****
The rehearsal dinner was held in a private room at The Roadhouse. There were fourteen of them, including the bridal party and Cary’s parents, who had driven in and were staying at a motel in town.
After the toasts were made and the meal had been served, some of the younger people had gone off to the other room to dance to the band. Summer excused herself to go to the ladies room. When she was walking back through the main room on her way back to the private room, she saw Steve standing at the bar.