A Time To Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) (8 page)

“My God, Gracie, what’s wrong?” Eva asked when she saw the puffiness around her eyes.

“Nothing. Please just go.”

“Where’s Randy?”

“He left.”

“What do you mean he left?” Eva asked as she sat down on the bed beside Gracie.

“I mean we had a fight and he went to his brother’s house. Okay? Are you happy now?” Gracie snapped as she stood up and walked to the window, looking out into the darkness of the mountains.

“Why would that make me happy?” Eva asked.

“Because you’ve always wanted to see me suffer, Eva.”

“That’s not true! You’re my sister, and I love you,” Eva said holding back her own tears and surprising herself at the emotions that were spewing forth in her own heart.

“No you don’t. If you had loved me, you would’ve shared that money with me. And I would be a…”

“A what?” Eva asked walking up slowly behind her sister.

“Nevermind.”

“A mother?” Eva asked softly. Gracie turned around slowly and met her sister’s eyes before the sobs poured out of her like a raging waterfall. She slowly slid to the floor and landed in the fetal position as the emotion overwhelmed her already ragged body. Tears poured down Eva’s cheeks as she watched her sister, and then she joined her on the floor, cradling her sister in her arms. For a few minutes, neither spoke. Gracie just cried, and her sister held her. It was a moment of overwhelming emotion, and Eva felt like her heart might just split in two at any moment.

“I’m so sorry, Gracie…” Eva finally said, stuttering over her words between tears. Gracie slowly sat up and looked at Eva, and knowing she was being honest, she touched her cheek. “God, I am so, so sorry for what I did to you. I was selfish and stupid and immature. I had no idea until right now what this had done to your life.”

“You really are sorry, aren’t you?” Gracie said searching Eva’s eyes. For the first time, Eva felt Gracie was really hearing her.

“I really am. It was the worst mistake I’ve ever made,” Eva said shaking her head as the tears fell. “I never should have done it, Gracie. I just wanted to be somebody for once. I thought having all that money meant I was worth something, and it wasn’t until I lost it all and came back here that I realized the money could never have made me whole.”

“I forgive you,” Gracie said hugging her sister. Eva couldn’t believe it.

“You do? Just like that?”

“Yes. I do,” Gracie said wiping Eva’s tears now.

“How can you forgive me?”

“Because I know you’re being sincere. All I ever wanted was for you to admit what you did was wrong and understand how you hurt me. I want us to have a fresh start.”

“I do too,” Eva said smiling as she squeezed her sister’s hand. “So, do you want to tell me what happened with Randy?”

Gracie stood up and pulled Eva’s hand up with her. The two women sat on the bed, as they had when they were young girls, and talked. Gracie explained Randy felt attacked because she kept bringing up in vitro and adoption, and he knew they couldn’t afford it.

“I told him it wasn’t fair for me to live my life without a child just because of money. It’s the same argument over and over with no solution. We can’t pull money out of thin air,” Gracie said, her voice cracking through the emotion. Eva had never seen someone want something so much.

“It’s going to be okay, Gracie,” Eva said. “You’re going to be a mother soon.”

“How can you possibly know that, Eva?” she said leaning back against her pillow. “IVF and adoption are both expensive, and we are nowhere close to affording either of them. I feel like everyone else has a baby so easily, and here we want to be parents and can’t have one.”

“I know it’s hard, but you have to trust me, okay?”

“Eva, I know you mean well, but this is one of those impossible situations that cannot be fixed,” Gracie said standing up and looking in the mirror. “Some women are apparently not meant to be mothers.”

“Well, you’re not one of them,” Eva said hugging her sister from behind. “Listen, I need to make a quick phone call. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be okay. I’m going to text Randy and apologize before I hit the sack. Thanks for talking to me. It’s nice to have you back in my life, Eva,” she said hugging her sister back as she shut the door.

Now Eva had a choice to make.

***

Eva stood over Gracie’s shoulder watching her make the same type of biscuits their grandmother had made when they were young. The kitchen was full of smells from times past - fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans. She loved Southern cooking, especially the kind that was actually homemade.

“Smells so good!” Eva said smiling as she went back to preparing the sweet tea. Ever since mending their relationship a week ago, Eva had been the happiest she’d felt in years. Randy and Gracie seemed to be doing better, and she was happy for her sister.

“When will your friend be here?” Gracie asked Eva.

“Oh, he should be pulling up any minute now.”

“What is his name again?” Randy asked as he walked through the kitchen and attempted to get a bite of macaroni and cheese before Gracie slapped his hand away.

“Clayton Emory. He’s an old friend from Atlanta.”

“What does he do?” Randy asked.

“Um, he’s a lawyer.”

“Did you date him?” Gracie asked with a sly grin.

“Lord, no. He’s a nerdy little fella.”

“Why were you friends then?” Gracie asked laughing.

“Hey! I don’t always judge a book by its cover, sis,” Eva said lying. She didn’t want her sister to have any idea the sole reason for Clayton Emory's visit was to have proof for himself Eva had made nice with Gracie so she could get her hands on the two million dollars.

When Clayton arrived, Eva made the introductions. They sat down and had a nice, cordial dinner. Eva made sure to chat up her sister, get her to laugh and giggle a few times and even told some stories from their childhood. Before long, she knew for sure she had Clayton in the palm of her hand. Once dinner was over, she offered to walk him outside while Gracie and Randy started cleaning up the kitchen.

“Well?” she said as they reached his car. Her body was full of nervous tension as she waited to see if Clayton had believed she and Gracie were sisters again.

“Looks like things are mended with you two ladies. I have to say I was pretty surprised when you called to tell me you and Gracie had repaired your relationship, and I’m sure I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. Congratulations, Eva,” he said shaking her hand.

“You mean the money will be released to me?”

“Immediately. I still have your banking information if you’d like it deposited in your account,” he said.

“Yes. Please do that. When can I expect to receive it?”

“Hopefully in about seven to ten days. I’ll be in touch,” he said as he sat down in his car and drove away. Eva stood there for a moment, trying to stifle her smile before re-entering the house.

As she walked back into the house, she found her purse and coat before telling Randy and Gracie she needed to run a couple of errands. As she drove toward O’Malley’s, her stomach churned. She had something to say to Brice, and she really didn’t know how it was going to turn out. One thing was for sure, she was tired of holding back in her life. This time, she was going for broke no matter what happened.

As Eva pulled into the parking lot at O’Malley’s, she saw Brice’s Harley parked in the back already. It was early for him to already be there on a Saturday, but he’d been working on the books a lot lately. She figured he was trying to stay away from her after their passionate kiss the previous week, but this time he was going to talk to her.

No one else was there yet, so she used her key to get in. Cara wasn’t due to be there for another hour and a half, and the cooks usually didn’t get there for another hour. That should give her plenty of time to get what she needed to get done.

She walked toward the door to his office and found him sitting at his desk, hands in his hair out of frustration.

“Eva? What’re you doing here so early?” he asked.

“Quitting.”

“What?” he asked as his eyes enlarged and his mouth dropped open.

“I quit. See ya,” she said as she turned and walked out of his office. He almost tripped over his chair as he ran after her and caught her in front of the bar.

“What’s going on here?” he asked grabbing her by the arm.

“I told you. I quit.” She tried to maintain a straight face. If her plan didn’t work, she was messing up a really good thing right now.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked with his mouth hanging open.

“Nope.”

“Why are you quitting?” he asked holding onto her for dear life.

“Because I no longer need this job. My financial situation is about to improve dramatically, and I won’t need a job at all.”

“Okay…” he stuttered as he released his grip.

“But thanks for employing me the last few weeks. And good luck, Brice,” she said, hoping this little plan of hers was going to work as she turned to walk out.

“Wait!” he said. “When will I see you again?”

“I don’t know. I’ll probably be going back to Atlanta soon. No need to stay here really,” she said.

She could tell Brice was having trouble processing everything she was saying to him. She could also tell he was trying to make a decision in his own mind.

“What if I gave you a reason to stay here?” he asked.

“What kind of reason could you give me to stay here, Brice?” she asked leaning against the front door.

“Me.”

“You?”

“What if I told you I would be heartbroken if you left Mill Creek Crossing?” he asked throwing his hands up by his shoulders.

“Go on…”

“And what if I told you you’ve opened my heart in a way I didn’t think it was possible?”

“I’m listening…” she said allowing a small smile to escape.

“And what if I said I think I could fall in love with you?”

“You could?” she asked as her purse slid to the floor.

“And what if I told you the reason I’ve been distant is because I am so scared I am falling in love with you already... and I don’t want my heart broken again?” he said softly.

“Again?”

“During those thirteen years away, I was married, Eva.”

“You were?” she said shocked.

“No one knows. Not even my father. I was married to a woman for three years. She cheated on me with my best friend.”

“Wow… I’m so sorry, Brice…” she said walking toward him slowly.

“And when I started feeling more for you than I did for her, it terrified me.”

“You know, I have feelings for you too. And it scares the crap out of me,” she said smiling. “I’ve never loved anyone, Brice. I’ve always cared more about myself than anyone else, but you showed me I could be better. That I didn’t have to live with my hands gripped on material things. That loving didn’t always mean losing…”