Back for You (12 page)

“I think you’re wrong. I think he loves you.”

Thea snorted at Asia’s certainty. “Based on what, the one time you talked
to him?”

“Actually, yes. He asked me to help him, knowing I hated his guts and
would give him a hard time. Which I did, but he did it anyway because he wanted
to do something nice for you. He went to a lot of bother, it took a lot of
arranging on his part and he groveled very nicely. So yes, I believe he loves
you. He’s coming back. Everything he’s done since he’s been here has been for
you.”

Lexi reached over. “The best thing you can do is stop thinking about it.
Cain is sure to be back soon, and then you’ll find out for sure what’s been
going on.”

Gram’s bright eyes were filled with sympathy in her typical no-nonsense
way. “Listen to your friends. There’s no point in borrowing trouble by thinking
the worst. I’ve known you your whole life and you were never afraid of
anything. You’re strong, and tough, in the very best way. You can deal with whatever
comes your way, including this. I know you can.”

Gram was like the grandmother Thea had never had and her heart brimmed
with love. Growing up, Thea couldn’t count the number of times Gram had given
her good advice and a loving shoulder to cry on. Now was not the time to start
doubting her.

She gave Gram a hard hug, hanging on longer than necessary, hoping to
absorb her certainty and strength deep into her soul. “Thanks, Gram. You’re the
best.”

After Thea left them, she tried to take their advice to heart, but she
had minimal success. Not surprising since she not only believed the worst was
possible, but probable. She could multiply that feeling by a hundred when it
came to Cain. Like it or not, she loved him. And that was true whether he
stayed in Forsythia Falls or not.

The only thing left to find out was whether he was going to shred her
heart. Just like he had ten years ago.

*

Cain was back.

After almost a month of waiting for his return, he’d arrived late last
night. And he still hadn’t come to see her.

Thea held the phone’s receiver to her ear with a great deal of
ambivalence like it was about to bite her. A part of her was nervous and
anxious about seeing Cain again because she didn’t know what was to come. But
the other part of her was so happy to hear from him, she could take flight from
sheer effervescence, and how effing annoying was that? There was a good chance
he’d returned just to break the bad news he was leaving again. Fool that she
was, she wanted to believe that wasn’t the case, but the truth was he hadn’t
come to see her right away. That couldn’t be a good thing. It could only mean
he was putting off facing her, right?

“Sorry I didn’t call before now. I was away longer than I thought I would
be, and I had to take care of a few things as soon as I got back.”

She didn’t doubt that for a second. “It’s okay.”

It wasn’t, but what else could she say? It didn’t seem as if he’d missed
her as much as she’d missed him.

“I can’t wait to see you, but I still have a few things I need to take
care of. Can I come by later this afternoon?”

Was he anxious to see her or could he just not wait to break the news and
be on his way again? Hope fought with the realist in her, and a fresh wave of
anger lanced through her that she was being ten times the fool. How could she
have fallen for him? Again. “Sure. I finally hired someone so things aren’t as
crazy around here as when you left.”

Besides, may as well get this over with.

“Great. I’ll pick you up around five.”

That gave her a few hours to prepare herself for the worst. If such a
thing was even possible. “See you then.”

Now all she had to do was find that inner steel that had never let her
down before. Because there was no way she was going to fall apart in front of
him when he gave her the bad news. There was also no way she was going to let
him go that easily.

He’d made his bed, now he could lie in it. With her.

Cain gripped the steering wheel with less than steady fingers, surprised
and amused by his nervousness.

Over the years, he’d been in dangerous situations with a fair bit of
regularity, but this was different. This was about Thea, the most important
person in his life, and things were a little precarious at the moment.

The assignment had taken far longer than he’d thought it would, mostly
because it had morphed into a second one. And to make things worse, as the
second week had rolled around, he hadn’t been able to call her anywhere near as
often as he’d have liked and when he had, he’d had to cut his calls short every
single time. It was no surprise that by the end of four weeks, Thea had been
more and more distant with each subsequent call.

He was pretty sure she’d raised all her defenses against him again,
distancing herself in an effort to protect herself. And he really couldn’t
fault her for it. With their history, she had every reason to assume the worst.
She was sure to think he missed his job and now planned on going back.

He
knew nothing could be farther from the truth. Proving it to
Thea was another matter entirely. He felt like he was starting from square one
all over again.

Reassuring her over the phone hadn’t helped much, but he had a plan. One
he hoped would make her see just how serious he was about her, about them.

Step one was already underway.

He glanced over at Thea sitting blindfolded beside him in the front seat.
He hoped he was doing the right thing because she was looking very annoyed at
the moment. “You okay? The blindfold isn’t too tight is it?”

Her hands clenched in her lap. Not a good sign. “It’s fine. But I don’t
see why this is necessary.”

“It’s a surprise.”

She sighed and unclenched her hands, only to cross her arms instead. “So
you keep saying. You keep forgetting I’m not a big fan of surprises.”

He grinned, remembering the time years ago when he’d found that out first
hand. The hard way. Hell, she’d almost neutered him. “I remember.”

She harrumphed. “Could’ve fooled me. This is twice now. You do know
there’s going to be payback, right?”

He had no doubts about that. “Hang on. We’re almost there.”

Right on cue, the driveway he’d been looking for appeared. He turned onto
the run-down lane hoping his special surprise would finally convince her he was
serious about staying in town.

The pockmarked gravel lane that passed for a driveway played havoc with
the car’s shock absorbers, and their equilibrium, shaking and jerking them
every which way, forcing Thea to uncross her arms so she could stabilize
herself on the seat.

“This had better be worth it.”

He grinned at the sarcasm she used to hide a heart of gold. Just one of
the many things he loved about her.

The car rolled to a stop, which was a huge relief from the vigorous rocking.
Shoving the car into park, he turned off the engine.

“You tell me.” He reached over and pulled off the blindfold.

Cain watched her closely as she got her bearings and then focused on the
small cottage before her.

He’d hoped to get a big reaction out of her but that wasn’t happening. Her
face was a stony mask, and she wasn’t saying anything either, which was driving
him nuts.

He prompted her. “So? Was it worth it?”

She looked at him, her eyes full of questions. And hot damn, the anger
had slipped away. “What are we doing here?”

“You recognize the place, don’t you?”

She nodded, still mystified. “Yeah, I do. I’ve always loved this place.”

“
We’ve
always loved this place. Ever since we spotted it on our
first official date.” The one he’d taken her on after their hot Halloween party
hookup.

A smile played across her lips. Lips he was dying to taste again. “I
remember. We spotted it from across the river and hunted around until we
figured out which cottage it was from this side.”

He nodded, remembering the adventure they’d made out of it, and how much
he’d wanted to kiss her that day too.

“I started checking real estate listings for this area as soon as I began
thinking about moving back. When this cottage came up for sale, I knew the time
was right. The first thing I did when I came back to town was check this place
out. It’s also the reason I didn’t have time to see you earlier today. I had to
close the deal. This is my place now.”

Her eyes went wide, registering her shock. “
Your
place?”

He nodded. “Come on, I’ll show you inside. You’re gonna love it.”

He opened his door and hurried around the car to help her out, hoping
against hope this would finally tip the scales in his favor. He was due for a
break where Thea was concerned.

But if this didn’t do it, he wouldn’t give up. He’d find a way to bring
her around. No matter what happened, he wasn’t giving up. Not now. Not ever.

Thea felt blindsided as she struggled to take in what he was saying.

Cain had bought this place? Did this mean he planned on sticking around
after all? Or was she just being hopeful, coming to the conclusion she wanted?

She took Cain’s outstretched hand, all the while wondering what it all
meant for her. Tentative hope fluttered in her heart but she fought it down.
Until she knew what this was about, she wasn’t jumping to any crazy conclusions
like that he wanted her to be a part of his life here in Forsythia Falls.

Cain unlocked the door, flicked on a light and ushered her inside. Not
that he had to push. She’d always wanted to know what this place looked like on
the inside.

It didn’t disappoint. As much as she’d always loved it from the outside,
she loved it even more on the inside. It wasn’t big, but its very quaintness
was what had drawn her to it. Bigger was definitely not better in her opinion.

It was only one story with the main living area being an open floor plan
that encompassed the living room, eating area and kitchen. There were plenty of
windows on all the outside walls showing the trees that surrounded the cottage,
but the best part by far was the gorgeous view of the river framed by floor to
ceiling windows.

The place was perfect.

With deep pleasure, she took in the dark-toned wide-plank hardwood floors
and old-fashioned wood moldings. “I
love
it. I was almost afraid the
inside would disappoint but it doesn’t at all.”

“I felt the same way.”

She stepped farther into the room, loving its comfortable, homey feel.
Fixer-upper described it best, but that didn’t bother her in the least. The
bones of the place were perfect. In fact, fixing the place up would be a lot of
fun.

She shook herself out of her little fantasy. No point in dreaming that
renovating the cottage would have anything to do with her. “Is it winterized?”

Cain nodded. “I think that’s just about the only thing the previous
owners did to the place. But then, they only used it as a cottage.”

“How did you get furniture in here so fast?”

“It came with the place. It’s old and beat up but I figured anything we
didn’t like we could replace as we went along.”

She froze. “We?”

His gaze was glued on her. “Yeah, we. I want you to live here with me,
Thea. I bought this place for the two of us.”

Her mind reeled. “The two of us? Together?”

He took her hands in his, his thumbs caressing the backs with
feather-light, soothing circles. “I’m here to stay, Thea. There are so many
reasons I wanted to come back home to Forsythia Falls. I missed my friends, I
missed that unique small town closeness where everyone knows everyone. Hell, I
even missed everybody knowing everybody’s business. But more than all those
things put together, I missed you. My life is nothing without you in it.”

Thea was struck speechless.

Cain squeezed her hands. “I love you. I want you. So, what’s it going to
be?”

With every word he said, Thea’s insides shook, and her knees felt like
they were going to collapse out from under her. Damned if she didn’t feel like
she was going to pass out or something equally ridiculous. “I-I don’t know what
to say.”

“You just need to say one thing. Say, yes.”

Did she dare? A part of her wanted to
so
much, yet another part
quaked with fear. And didn’t that just beat all? Was she really going to let
fear dictate what she’d do, or how she’d live her life now?

She just needed one thing cleared up. “What exactly are you asking me to
say yes to?”

“To moving in with me. I know it’s too soon for more than that, but I’m
in this for the long haul. Marriage, kids, everything. This is just the first
step in the right direction.”

She searched his eyes and found nothing residing there but hope, love and
determination. She suspected hers looked the same because there was no way she
was going to let this chance pass her by. “In that case, yes.”

He let out a whoop and picked her up in his muscular arms, twirling her
in a wide circle before scooping her up and heading straight to the back of the
cottage.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To bed.”

She grinned. “That’s awfully presumptuous of you, don’t you think?”

His wicked leer spoke volumes. “It’s been a
very
long four weeks
and I’ve missed you. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate, can
you?”

Cain’s unbridled joy was contagious and she laughed. For the first time
since she could remember, she felt light and free. “Nope, I can’t.” She threw
her arms around his neck. “I’m all yours.”

“Hot damn. You are. Finally.”

The doorway on the right led to the master bedroom. Once through it, he
headed straight for the bed. But instead of setting her on the mattress, he let
her feet drop to the floor in a slow, sensuous slide that let her feel every
inch of his body on the way down.