California Homecoming (23 page)

Although he had trouble getting to sleep, his rest had been dreamless and refreshing. The next morning Daisy greeted him, tail wagging, outside his door. “How you doing this morning, girl?” He smiled and patted the dog, contentment filling every vein in his body. He’d faced a childhood demon and survived. There was hope for resolving his past.

Sarah had called Rick and the future looked bright as well.

Letting Daisy proceed him down the stairs, he said, “Anyone let you out?”

“I did.” Sarah stood at the bottom of the stairs, the glow of pregnancy in her cheeks, and a look of concern in her eyes. “How are you doing this morning?”

He smiled at her and fought the impulse to kiss her. “I’m doing well.” Then he quit resisting. Putting his index finger under her chin, he tilted up her face and brushed her lips with his. “Just as I remembered,” he whispered.

Easily, he moved back and asked, “Coffee?”

A soft smile on her face told her she hadn’t disapproved of his move.

“Already made.” She trailed him into the kitchen where Daisy curled up on her dog bed. He noticed the letters had been put back in the box.

After he poured his coffee he gestured toward the box. “Did you read them?”

She blushed. “All the way through. So sad.”

“Tell me.”

She sat down at the kitchen table. “Are you sure you want to know?”

He nodded and sat down next to her. “Please.”

“From what I can piece together, Loretta’s husband, your dad, made her life pretty miserable. He had lovers on the side, drank a little too much, and some of his business practices were questionable, which made her life difficult in the community. He stopped short of physical abuse, but it didn’t sound like life was good. I just don’t understand why she didn’t leave. Richard sounds like he was head over heels in love with her.”

“Me.” Hunter took a sip of his coffee.

Gertrude’s garden truck roared through the silence. Daisy raised her head, thumped her tail once, and went back to sleep.

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“He threatened to take me away from her. He may have been a crooked lawyer, but he was effective. My mother wouldn’t have stood a chance and she knew it. She stayed in that miserable excuse of a marriage to protect me.”

“It’s what mothers do.” Sarah reached out her hand and this time Hunter took it.

Her skin was amazingly soft. He rubbed his hardened thumb over it, the urge to protect her from the kind of pain his mother had suffered growing with each passing moment.

“Mandy coming home for dinner?” he asked.

Sarah shook her head.

“Then let me take you out. There’s a fish place in Moss Landing I’d like to go back to — need to go back to.”

She cocked her head and waited.

He took a deep breath. “After I came back from the war, I had panic attacks due to PTSD. Doc thinks the craziness of my childhood left me susceptible. He gave me some tools, but some places still get me going.”

He smiled at her. “Since I’ve been around you, though, the attacks have been happening less and less. I figure if I take you to Phil’s with me, I’ll be able to enjoy my fish instead of being afraid it would turn into a shark.”

She chuckled. “I’m game. What do we do with the letters? Do you want to give them back to your mother?”

He shook his head.”That would only make her sadder.” He gestured to the garden. “Let’s see if Gertrude wants them. Have you seen what she’s done to the garden since you’ve been up and around?”

“No, it slipped my mind.”

Hunter stood and held out his hand. “Come to the garden, my lady.”

Sarah chuckled. Her laugh seeped into the hard stone of his emotional wounds and broke them apart as inexorably as water on rock.

She breathed in deeply when they walked outside. “I can smell spring bursting through the ground, can’t you?”

His grin broadened and he nodded. They reached the entry to the garden bower and Hunter stood aside to let her enter first.

Her hand went to her mouth and her eyes widened in wonder. “It’s amazing!”

Gertrude had carved enchantment from the overgrown remains of his mother’s beginnings. Bright foliage and grasses peaked from behind flowering bushes. Bare patches hinted of future annuals. Branches entwined overhead, perfect to keep away the summer’s heat.

“I’m glad you like it. I’m almost done and then I’ll start on the kitchen garden. I’m sure Mandy will be glad to hear that.” Gertrude had quietly walked up behind them.

Sarah turned. “Has she been bothering you?”

Gertrude gave as much of a smile as she ever did. “No. She’s eager. Patience comes with gray hair.”

“Gertrude.” Hunter hesitated to ask, but he wanted that box — and its memories — gone. “We found a box of letters in the house that Richard wrote my mother. Do you want them?”

“No,” Gertrude said immediately. “They’re not for me. Give them to your mother.”

“I’m not going to do that. She’s dying and doesn’t need painful memories.”

“Memories are all she has. Besides, it’s not your decision to make.”

“Of course it is.” Gertrude squared herself and pointed her finger at him. “It is
not
your decision. Why do men always think a woman is too fragile to make a choice? You may not approve of how your mother ran her life, but she still has the right to do it. Take the box to her. It is hers. Now leave me to finish the garden.”

Gertrude picked up the handles of the garden cart and wheeled it to the back reaches of the arbor.

Sarah laughed. “Guess she told you.”

He scowled at her. “Right.”

“Oh, c’mon Hunter, lighten up. You’ll choose what’s best. But, if you care, I think she’s right.”

“You would.” He slung his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. “It’s a great day to be alive, isn’t it?”

She smiled up at him. “Sure is.”

He lowered his head and took her soft lips with his, turning so he could deepen the kiss. All his senses concentrated on the taste and texture of her mouth beneath his and her response to his demands. He scanned for any moment of hesitation, but found none.

The phone in her pocket rang and broke off their kiss.

She glanced at the display and looked up at him.

He couldn’t read the expression on her face.

She answered the phone. “Rick, I told you we’re through. Stop calling here!”

Rick. Obviously, she
hadn’t
broken it off.

Hunter stormed back to the inn, leaving Sarah to end her call on her own.

Sarah slammed her phone shut. Men! They simply couldn’t hear what a woman had to say!

She strode back to the inn and opened the door. “Hunter!” Her yell echoed through the house.

He came out of the kitchen, coffee in his hand. “You don’t have to yell.”

“Kitchen. Now. We need to talk.” She pointed.

He glowered at her.

“Now,” she repeated.

After they settled themselves on either side of the kitchen table, Daisy whined and lay down between their feet.

“What are you so damn mad at?” Hunter asked.

“You’re the one who went storming off.”

“I gave you space to talk to your … your … Rick. I thought he was out of the picture.”

“He is. I left him a message yesterday and told him we were through.”

Hunter groaned. “You don’t leave a message saying you’re breaking up.”

“You do if the guy never answers his phone.” Sarah stood and put the kettle on. She leaned against the counter while she waited for it to boil. “The problem is you didn’t trust me.”

“How could I when the guy’s on the phone?”

“You’ve known me for months. Have I ever lied to you?” The steaming water began to hiss.

“How about when you ‘forgot’ to mention you were pregnant?” Hunter smirked at her.

Shit.
He would have to remember that. “I didn’t know you that well then. Besides, I bet there are things you aren’t telling me, either.”

His smirk disappeared.
Bingo!

She sat back down with her tea. “This conversation really does call for a bottle of wine, but that’s not happening, so we’ll need a reward when we’re done.” The baby kicked her stomach and all of a sudden going to a place redolent with the smell of fish didn’t sound appealing. “How about Chinese instead of fish?”

“We just had Chinese,” Hunter complained. “Done with what?” He was back to scowling.

“I’m pregnant. I’m craving Chinese. You’re going to have to get used to it.”

He was still glaring at her.

Men could be so damn difficult. But if there was any hope for the two of them, everything needed to be out in the open. Her mother and Annie had tried to teach her that.

Now she could see why it was important.

“I’ll tell you my entire history with Rick and you tell me whatever you’re keeping quiet about.”

He took a long sip of his coffee and drummed his fingers on the table.

She waited him out, using the time to examine his strong-boned face and deep-set eyes.

He drummed.

She stared.

Finally, he stood and put the empty cup on the counter.

Was he going to leave?
Damn.
She thought he had more backbone than that.

He opened the fridge, poured a glass of orange juice, and sat down. “Okay.”

“You first,” she said.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he said. “Sure you weren’t studying to be a lawyer?”

She had to bite her tongue to keep from talking.

He let out a long breath of air. “Okay. You win.” He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “You already know all there is to know about my parents except why I went into the service. I was twenty, home from college when I found something that indicated my dad was up to his old crooked tricks. I confronted him with the evidence. He laughed and told me I’d be cheating, too, when I got my law degree.” Hunter leaned forward. “That was the life he’d planned out for me — follow in his wretched footsteps. I just couldn’t do it. I enlisted the next day.”

She put her hand on his. “You were right to want to live your life your way. I think it’s what we all want. I certainly didn’t want the life my mother had mapped out for me, or even the life I had planned at eighteen.”

She pulled her hand back, sipped her tea, and waited. There was more. She knew it.

He shut his eyes and put his head in his hands. “I met Lauren overseas. I knew she was married, but she told me she and her husband were separated.” He lifted his head. “Things are so intense over there. Even though you never talk about it, you know you could die at any moment.”

He took a long drink.

She let the silence linger, unable to imagine from the safety of her California kitchen the horror he must have seen.

“We were on patrol. This stuff always happens when you’re on patrol. We were on foot, trying to make nice with the locals.” His voice sounded bitter. “She stepped on an IED. It was over in an instant.”

He swallowed. “I was knocked unconscious. Didn’t know about my leg until I woke up a few days later. They got me back here. I spent close to a year in rehab in San Diego.”

He was probably unaware that a tear spilled from his eye and trickled down his cheek.

“My friend Joe went to Lauren’s funeral and met her husband who said he and Lauren had been planning a family when she returned.” He gazed steadily at Sarah. “She lied to me. I never would have been involved if I’d known.” He wiped his face. “So, I guess I have as much interest in the truth as you do.” He let out a long breath of air. “Your turn.”

She remained quiet for a few moments, taking it all in. Finally, she began. “I met Rick at a party my sophomore year of college,” she began. Hunter was quiet as she told him about her switch to UC Davis, her accidental pregnancy, and Rick’s reaction. No matter how many times she retold it, the memory still held her hostage and her fury came back strong.

“He wanted me to kill my baby!”

Hunter stood and came around to her side of the table, pulling her into his arms, drying her tears with his lips. “Cry it out,” he whispered. “Let it go, Sarah.”

She did.

Gently, he guided her from the kitchen to the living room and settled her on the couch under the crook of his arm.

Safe. I’m safe.

So is my baby.

Her sobs slowed at last and she pushed herself up. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her. “No. Thank you for insisting we talk. What we said needed to be said.” His grin broadened. “Now how about that Chinese?”

“Let me do something with my face and hair and you’re on.”

Sarah stood in front of her bathroom mirror and inspected herself. Pregnancy was rounding her face, but at least she’d lost the dark circles. Her eyes were a little red-rimmed from the tears, but nothing really noticeable.

Something else caught her eye — a ghost of a smile.

By God. I’m happy.

A lighter step took her back to the kitchen.

“Ready?” Hunter smiled. “You look good. Let’s go.”

On the way to his Jeep she gazed longingly at her car.

“I promised you that I’d take care of that and I will,” Hunter said.

But you haven’t yet.
The slightest whisper of doubt crept through her psyche.

Hunter stopped and turned her toward him. “I will. Tomorrow. Promise.” He unlocked the Jeep, helped her in, and stood by the car until she finished buckling her seat belt. Putting his hand on her thigh, he said, “Let’s give this some time before you go jumping to conclusions, okay?” His face lit up with a smile.

She had to smile back. “It will probably take me a while to trust you completely.”

He paused for a second. “Likewise.” He leaned in to kiss her again. “But we’ll get there.” He closed her door, climbed into the car, and took off down the driveway.

As Hunter headed the Jeep toward the mall area of Costanoa, Sarah said, “We need to talk about what’s left to do to get ready for Annie’s wedding. The garden is wonderful. She’s going to love it.”

“We’d better include Mandy in that conversation,” he reminded her.

“Heck, we better include Annie and John!” She laughed, her mood growing lighter by the moment.