A Time To Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) (9 page)

“Eva, please stay. I know I have no right to ask you to leave your life in Atlanta, but…”

“I have no life in Atlanta. My life is here.”

“Then, why did you say you were leaving?” he asked smiling.

“Because I needed to know.”

“Know what?” he asked softly as he pulled her closer to him with his hands around her waist.

“If you cared enough about me to fight for me. Because no one ever has,” she said looking up at him.

“You little spitfire,” he said leaning down as he brushed his lips over hers. He slowly licked across her bottom lip sending quivers all over her body.

“Brice…” she moaned against his lips.

“Yes?” he groaned back.

“We have to take this slow. For both of us. Agreed?” she asked against her libido’s advice.

“Agreed,” he said kissing behind her ear. “As long as kissing is still allowed, because that kiss the other night rocked my world,” he said laughing.

“Oh, that is definitely still allowed,” she said as she reached around his neck and pulled him in for another passionate kiss to knock his socks off.

***

A week later, Eva and Brice had dinner with Randy and Gracie at Brice’s house. It was nice to do something normal with her sister for a change. She’d missed those times early in their lives where they were close. It seemed like their mother always pitted them against each other, choosing Eva over Gracie any chance she got. Now Eva had some distance, she could see the way her mother had favored her over Gracie for years. Part of her believed Gracie reminded their mother of her late husband, and maybe she was unable to deal with the pain the memories caused her.

“Brice, this pot roast is fantastic!” Gracie said. “We need you to come cook at Stella’s,” she said grinning.

“How about I just give you the recipe?” Brice said with a grin. “I’m already too busy romancing your sister.”

Gracie and Eva giggled like two schoolgirls. Having her sister back in her life was the biggest miracle Eva had experienced in her life. The fact that her sister could forgive her was amazing to her, but finding Brice in the process was another miracle she wasn’t expecting.

After dinner, Brice poured a glass of wine for everyone while Eva’s stomach churned over the announcement she was about to make. Would her sister forever despise her when she heard the big secret Eva had kept from her?

“If I can have everyone’s attention, I have something I need to say,” Eva started. “Okay, here goes… When our mother died, I did something stupid and mean without thinking it through. I thought money made me more valuable in the world. I thought the more stuff I had, the more people would think I was important. When I lost it all, I felt like a failure and a fraud…”

“You don’t have to do this, sweetie,” Brice said.

“Yes, I do. When I came back here, I fully intended to get what I needed and leave. I didn’t think Mill Creek Crossing had anything to offer me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead, I found my sister still loved me, and I met the man of my dreams,” she said smiling down at him.

“And I am so glad you came back,” Gracie said smiling.

“Well, I hope you will still say that once I tell you why I really came home.”

“What are you talking about, Eva?” Brice asked furrowing his brows.

“Well, when I went broke, I called Mom’s estate attorney to see if there was anything I could do about some of my investments that had gone wrong. Instead, he told me Mom had actually left more money for me. If I could repair my relationship with you, she had left two million dollars with my name on it. The deadline was three months or the money would be donated to her favorite charity.”

“I can’t believe this. So you can home fully intending to fake your way into a relationship with me to get even more money?” Gracie asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my God Eva…” Brice said putting his head in his hands. “How could you?”

“I told you I wanted the money to make me feel important…”

“I’m outta here. Thanks for dinner, Brice…” Gracie said standing up, anger spewing out of every pore.

“Wait! I’m not finished, Gracie. Please. Just give me a few minutes to explain…”

“Explain what? That you lied and pretended you cared so you could screw me all over again?” Gracie said through gritted teeth.

“Things changed, Gracie. I changed. I wasn’t faking it. The night you cried in my arms was real. It was the first time I realized what I’d done. Knowing Brice had changed me too. It was all so much at once…”

“Eva, how could you do this all again?” Randy said shaking his head.

“Please. Everyone listen. It’s not what you think!” Eva said stomping her foot. Gracie slowly sat down, but wouldn’t look at Eva. “Yes, I will admit my reasons for coming home were totally selfish at first. But that changed when I understood what I’d done to you those years ago, Gracie. What I had taken from you. Motherhood.”

“I don’t understand…” Brice said.

“Gracie and Randy have been suffering from infertility issues. They wanted to adopt or do IVF, but the money hasn’t been there… until now.”

“What?” Gracie said as she snapped her head around to look at Eva.

“Gracie, the money is yours. I don’t want it. It’s in my bank account as of this morning, and I am wiring it to yours. I want you to have it so you can build the biggest family you want to have. Get a new house. Travel. Quit that job. Be a full time mother…” she rattled off all the things she wanted Gracie to do.

Tears were streaming down Eva’s face as she waited for her sister to respond. Gracie’s mouth was hanging open, her face pale from the shock. Slowly, she got to her feet and looked at Eva who was a few feet in front of her.

“Clayton Emory?”

“The attorney. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it had to look totally legitimate or the money would have been donated.”

“You’re serious about this? You’re giving me two million dollars?”

“Yes. All I ask is you give me just enough to start over. And that Brice considers giving me my job back…” she said smiling down at him.

“Eva, I don’t want two million dollars. I want us to split it. That’s only fair…” Gracie said.

“No. I truly don’t want it. If there’s something I’ve learned about myself recently, it’s that I need to have goals and structure. I need to strive for something and work for the things I get. Plus, our mother spent her life choosing me over you, and it wasn’t right. You wanted a real family, and this money can help you get just that.”

“This is the most amazing news I’ve ever heard!” Gracie said, finally realizing what this meant. “I’m going to be a mommy!” she shouted as she embraced Eva. Both of them were sobbing when Randy and Brice joined in the group hug.

“Do you trust me now?” Eva asked as she pulled back and looked at Gracie.

“Yes, I do. I can clearly see you aren’t the same Eva who did those awful things years ago. You deserve a second chance too. What I don’t understand is why our mother did this to either one of us…”

“Oh, I almost forgot! Clayton gave me a letter that was to be read by me to you upon receiving this money.” Eva pulled the letter from her purse and opened it.

To my daughters:

You might be wondering what the point of this whole exercise was with my money. You might also be wondering where this money came from in the first place.

The money was my inheritance from my grandparents, but I didn’t have access to it until I was forty years old. I decided to hold onto it and pass it along to you girls when I was gone.

Gracie - I’ve been hard on you over the years. Being on my deathbed, I see things a lot more clearly now than ever. I guess death does that to a person. I’m sorry for the times I’ve been unkind to you. Looking at you always reminded me of your father who I miss, even now, more than life itself. I could never allow myself to love you fully because I was always afraid of losing you like I lost him. Makes no sense when I say it now, but it is what it is.

I am leaving Eva the $300,000 for one reason. She needs to see what she’s made of. I know you, Gracie can fend for yourself, but Eva hasn’t had to grow up yet. I want her to see if she can become something bigger than she is. My fear is she will blow the money and need more, which is where the two million comes in.

I’ve decided in order to get this money, she has to change. She has to make amends and depend on you for emotional support. She has to work hard to get the money, and in the process, I hope she will change. I created a spoiled brat, but maybe I can fix it in death. Who knows?

Either way, if you’re reading this letter, my wish is you girls will hold tight to each other and find a way to use my money for good. And, Eva, my intention is for you to give Gracie at least half of the money.

Love,

Mom

“See? She wanted you to have some of the money, Gracie. She did love you in her own warped way,” Eva said with a smile.

“Unbelievable. Well, it all worked out, so maybe she did know something we didn’t,” Gracie said smiling over at Randy.

“Can I have my job back?” Eva finally asked Brice through her tears.

“We’ll see… I might need to look over your resume again,” he said with a sly grin.

“Very funny…”

Christmas had always been Eva’s favorite time of the year, and this year was no different. She’d been with Brice for over a year, and their love was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life. He cared for her, and he made sure she felt safe each and everyday. As O’Malley’s thrived, she felt better and better about herself as a person and a business woman. Zeke’s health improved, and doctors said he was in remission again which allowed him to come back to work a few days each week.

During his off time, Brice and Eva enjoyed being together more. She’d moved into his home a couple of months ago, enjoying his famous home cooked meals every night. And when he’d proposed to her just before Thanksgiving, she gladly accepted. Gracie had continued to insist they split the money, but Eva held out. Of course, she knew through the small town grapevine Gracie had set aside half the money in a trust fund for her sister and her own children one day.

Gracie hadn’t quit her job at the diner, saying she enjoyed being with her friends in town everyday. But she had cut back on her hours a lot, and Randy was able to leave his job as a janitor to pursue his passion of writing. As he worked on his first novel, a science fiction fantasy, Eva could tell her sister’s marriage was better than ever. In fact, Gracie and Randy had taken several romantic trips to make up for the ones they didn’t get to take while they were worried about money.

Eva had continued to work with Brice and Zeke on making O’Malley’s a legend in the area. Adding karaoke nights and events had increased revenues by thirty percent already, and Zeke was excited about the new direction his business was taking. Eva seemed to be just the tonic the two men needed to have a good relationship. It helped Zeke adored Eva, and she would often run Brice’s ideas through herself so Zeke would agree. It was a funny inside joke to Brice and Eva, but it seemed to work well for the business.

“Sis!” Eva yelped as she opened the front door to see her sister standing there. “When did you guys get back?” she asked.

“Just a few hours ago!”

“Where is she?” Eva asked clapping her hands together.

“Randy is getting her out of the car right now,” Gracie said with a huge smile. The couple had just returned from picking up their new baby daughter they’d adopted from Guatemala.