A Breath Away (28 page)

She bowed her head and murmured a prayer for both of them.

Unable to leave without visiting Darlene's grave, she walked to the site and filled the vase with the yellow roses she'd brought. Then she took the other half of the Best Friends necklace, Darlene's half, and hung it around the tombstone. “You'll always be my best friend, Darlene, and you'll always be with me.”

The cluster of marbles that Grady must have left drew her eye. Made her smile. Maybe the ache would subside a little now, and the pain could give way to the good memories.

Everything would be all right, she told herself as she climbed back in the car. She would return to Savannah—the shop that she had bought, the little cottage. She'd sew those curtains. Make herself a new life. Turn back to her art.

But there would never be another Grady.

She stepped on the accelerator, the pressure in her chest building. She had to get out of town. Away from the memories.

A siren suddenly sounded, wailing behind her. She glanced in her rearview mirror. An emergency, maybe? She scanned the horizon for a fire or accident, but saw
nothing. The police car soared up behind her. Moved closer, on her tail. The blue light swirled. The noise was deafening.

The officer was motioning for her to pull over.

She checked the speed limit. She had been pushing it, but not speeding. Panic jolted her. What if something had happened to her grandmother?

She swung to the curb and pulled on the brake, then vaulted from the car. It was Grady. Please, he couldn't have bad news! Grammy had been doing so much better.

He took his time getting out, then loped toward her. Violet's heart pounded relentlessly. She opened her mouth to ask about her grandmother, but lost her voice.

Something flickered in Grady's eyes. Need. Hunger. A desperate loneliness.

“Violet.”

“Grady…is something wrong?”

He nodded, and her heart tripped in her chest.

“You can't leave like this. You…have something that belongs to me.”

She frowned, not comprehending. Did he want the other half of Darlene's necklace?

“I'm not very good with words,” he said, realizing her confusion. “But you stole something from me and I want it back.”

She fingered the necklace. She couldn't let it go. It was all she had left. “What?”

He moved toward her. Gently lifted a strand of hair from her cheek. “My heart.”

Relief rippled out with her breath. Then questions.

“I can't stay here,” she whispered. “I…I love you, Grady, but I can't. This place has too many bad memories.”

“I thought you told me that you couldn't escape them, even if you left town.”

Sadness forced her to nod. “I can't. But I have a cabin on Tybee Island. The ocean there, my gift shop, my art… It's so peaceful. Beautiful, really.”

“I see.” The pad of his thumb stroked her cheek. “I was thinking. I've never been to Savannah. Never seen the ocean.”

The sun drifted from behind the clouds. A breeze ruffled the air. Heat rippled between them. “You can visit.”

“No.”

Disappointment dried her mouth.

He closed his eyes, opened them. His throat worked as he swallowed. “I don't want to visit, Violet. I…want to go with you. Make a fresh start.”

He was struggling. But so was she. She couldn't get her hopes up only to have them dashed again. And she needed the words, not just guilt or attraction. She needed love. “I don't understand, Grady.”

“I loved Darlene, Violet, and when she died, I felt so guilty and alone. Then you came back and you reminded me of her. You made me want things…things I didn't know I wanted, things I didn't think I deserved.”

Her resolve was melting.

“And then I fell in love with you,” he said in a gruff voice, “but I was afraid of that, of losing you.”

“You're never going to lose me,” Violet whispered.

“And we both have to stop blaming ourselves for Darlene's death. She would want us to be happy.”

He captured her hand in his. “I love you, Violet. I'm only happy when I'm with you.”

The air got trapped in her lungs.

“Marry me, Violet. Please say you'll marry me.”

“Yes.” She smiled and fell into his arms as he crushed her against him. “I love you, too, Grady.”

He kissed her feverishly, then lowered his hand. Laid it over her stomach. “I want us to have kids, Violet,” he whispered. “We'll celebrate their birthdays,” he said gruffly. “And yours. We're going to make up for all those ones you missed.”

She nodded. He understood about the loss, because he had been there with her. Even hundreds of miles apart, it was as if they had never been separated.

They would name their first girl after Darlene.

Then he lowered his mouth and captured her lips again, just as he'd captured her heart and soul years ago. They weren't running from their pasts anymore, they were running toward a future.

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