Restless Heart (36 page)

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Authors: Wynonna Judd

BOOK: Restless Heart
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He dug out his cell phone and saw that the missed call hadn’t come from Sara. He should have known.
He didn’t recognize the number, but whoever it was had left a message. He might as well dial in to listen to it now.
John was absently checking the gas gauge in the instant before the message started playing, but the moment he heard her voice, he was riveted.
“Hi, Daddy, it’s Destiny,” she announced brightly but with a little catch in her voice that clutched at John’s heart. “Um, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve popped into town to do a radio interview and . . . well, if you get this message, I’d like to get to visit with you before Grace and I have to get back on the road tomorrow.”
She hesitated and cleared her throat.
“Um, Daddy, I really would like to . . . see you . . .” She paused so long that John thought she had hung up the phone. “I miss you, Daddy,” she finally said. “I know you don’t understand what I’m doing with my life, but I hope you can find it in your heart to support me. I really need you to.”
This time the tears in her voice were evident and it tore John apart.
She cleared her throat once more, then said in a much firmer tone, “Oh, and by the way, if you don’t make up with Mom, I’m personally going to kick your butt.”
At her last unexpected statement, John opened his eyes and laughed up at the sky. “Oh, Destiny, you and I are way too much alike.”
 
 
 
C
oming around the corner from the kitchen, Sara nearly crashed into John, who was just exiting the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.
“Oh my goodness—” She pressed her hand against her wildly beating heart. “What are you doing home?”
“I live here.”
“Yes, but . . . I thought you were up at the cabin for a few days.”
He shrugged. “I decided to come home and see my girls—all three of them,” he added meaningfully. “Why didn’t you tell me they were coming home?”
“I didn’t know it myself, and anyway, no one can get ahold of you way up in the middle of nowhere. And do you mind putting your clothes on?” She hated the sharp tone coming out of her mouth, especially directed at her husband, but the sight of his bare chest did things to her libido that she didn’t welcome.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. I just showered and I’m heading to
my
room to change,” he replied wearily, and tugged the towel tighter when it suddenly slipped low on his hips.
Sara noticed John had lost even more weight. It was no wonder. He ran for miles every morning and sometimes again in the evening. They ate their meals separately, but she knew he was surviving on nothing more than cold cuts and cereal.
Guilt tugged at her already heavy heart, but she squared her shoulders and brushed past him in the narrow hallway. Her arm brushed against his damp skin. He smelled shower-fresh clean, and she couldn’t help but notice the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips. She quickly pulled away as if she’d gotten an electric shock.
This was, she realized with a heavy heart, a horrible way to exist with the one you love. But she didn’t know what to do to change anything other than give him the cold shoulder.
“Where are the girls?” John asked.
“Grace is taking a nap, and Destiny called from Seth’s earlier to say she’d stopped to see him.”
She’d also said that they had a lot to talk about and that, Sara knew, was a positive sign. As positive as the almost giddy note she could hear in her daughter’s voice.
“I’ll be there soon, Mom,” she had promised. “And I might bring Seth with me. He said it’s been a while since he’s seen y’all.”
“When do you think she’ll be home?” John asked, sounding anxious.
“Any second now, I’d imagine. Why?”
“Because I want to talk to her.” John disappeared down the hall, leaving Sara to stare after him in surprise.
Had John finally come to his senses?
Shaking her head, Sara slipped into the guest room, where she was
sleeping single in a double bed
. The classic song started playing in her head and she sighed with wry humor as she pulled down the fluffy comforter . . .
And screamed her ever-living head off.
Right there on the crisp white sheet was a mouse.
Sara tried to run, but her feet felt glued to the floor as she stared at the rodent in her bed. She swore she saw it move, and her fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.
Opting for flight, Sara turned on her heel and ran smack dab into John’s bare chest. She promptly screamed again.
“Sara, what’s wrong?” He grabbed her shoulders.
“Th-there’s . . . a . . . a mouse in my bed!”
John frowned and looked over the top of her head. “Okay, I’ll take care of it,” he promised in a calm voice.
“What if it bites you?”
“Trust me, it won’t.”
“You don’t know that! It might have rabies!”
“Wow.” He arched one dark eyebrow. “So you actually care? I was beginning to wonder.”
Sara narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course I care if you get bitten by a rat.”
“It’s only a mouse.”
“Whatever!”
“Should I get my gun?”
“And shoot a hole in the mattress?”
“You can always come sleep in the other room,” he said with a shrug.
“Really? You mean you wouldn’t kick me out of
your
bed?”
“It’s
our
bed,” he pointed out, and it was her turn to shrug.
He looked again at the mouse. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it without shooting a hole in the mattress.”
“How are you going to get it out of here?”
He wiggled his fingers at her.
“Your bare hands? No, you won’t, John Hart! Why do you always have to be so . . .
manly
?”
“Hey, you’re the one who screamed for me,” he answered with a grin that reminded her of the cocky teenager she had fallen in love with.
“I didn’t scream for you,” she answered in the huffiest voice she could muster. “I screamed because I was scared.”
“Right . . .” He drew out the word, making her want to shove him . . . or maybe kiss him. “Oh and by the way, just why do
you
have to be so . . . female?”
For a heart-pounding moment Sara thought John might actually lean down and kiss her.
Instead, he sighed and turned toward the bed.
“Stop!” Sara grabbed for his arm, but he marched right over to the mouse, reached right down, and snatched it up pretty as you please.
With her hand to her mouth, Sara stifled a scream. “Don’t let it bite you!”
“I won’t!”
When he made a show of wrestling with it like he was on the Discovery Channel, Sara’s adrenaline kicked into high gear and she rushed forward, grabbing hold of the mouse’s tail in an effort to save her husband from . . .
“What? This mouse is rubber!” she shouted, and winged it hard at John, feeling some satisfaction when it hit him square in the middle of the forehead.
“Ouch!”
“I can’t believe you would stoop to such a foolhardy stunt!”
John rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t!”
“Right, and then just who did?” she demanded and gave John a hard shove in the middle of his chest. He tumbled backward onto the mattress.
About to scold him, Sara saw his boyish grin and the mischief—and love—reflected in his gorgeous blue eyes.
She melted, her breath catching in her throat.
“Sara . . . come here,” John said gruffly and reached up, pulling her down onto the bed with him. He threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her with such sweet, tender passion that Sara was helpless to resist.
“That was really brave of you to grab the mouse,” he broke off to tell her.
“It was fake.”
“But you didn’t know that,” he reminded her.
“No, I didn’t . . . but you did.” She looked up at him with narrowed eyes.
“Of course not. I was going to save you with my bare hands!” he boasted, but couldn’t keep a straight face.
“Yeah, right!” She gave his shoulder a shove but had to chuckle. “I have to admit that wrestling with it was genius. I just don’t understand where it—oh! Mike must have put it there!”
“Who’s—oh.”
“The dog. You know that.”
“I know, but for a second there, I thought—”
“What, that I had a secret boyfriend?” She shook her head. “Things might be bad between us, but not
that
bad.”
“Sara.” He closed his eyes and she could see a muscle jump in his jaw. “If you’re planning on leaving me . . . I need to know.”
“Leaving you?” Her heart seemed to slide up and get lodged in her throat.
“Yes,” he answered softly. The look he gave her was stark, scared, stripped of all pride. “You’ve been thinking about it lately. I can see it in your eyes. God help me, but I don’t blame you.”
Unable to deny it, because the thought had crossed her mind, she looked away.
“But, Sara, please.” He paused, swallowed hard. “Don’t. Please don’t leave me.”
The throbbing ache in her throat suddenly stopped and it felt as if her heart had slipped right back down to her chest, where it belonged. The weight of sadness that had been hanging over her like a wet cloak disappeared.
She finally got it. John’s need for control and his unyielding pride were really the shield that masked his fear.
“I’m not going anywhere, John. This is my home. Our home. The home we’ve always wanted. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Forgiveness lifted her spirit and made her want to dance, or shout . . . sing,
something
. Anything.
As if reading her mind, John said, “I love you, Sara.” He bent his head and kissed her softly, soundly, sweetly until her head was spinning once again, and looked down at her with such adoration that it took Sara’s breath away.
“I’ll never take you for granted again,” he promised.
“You do, and I’ll open up a can of whoop ass!”
Laughing in each other’s arms, they kissed and rolled over—right off the bed. The lamp on the bedside table went over, too, shattering a bulb to plunge the room into darkness.
Mike came running, barking loudly, and Sara and John laughed harder and kissed—until suddenly, the overhead light flipped on.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Destiny asked, framed in the doorway.
Grace came up behind her, wide-eyed. “Have y’all gone plumb crazy?”
“No, we were just—” Sara broke off and looked at John.
“Making up,” he said with a firm nod, pulling her to her feet. As they brushed themselves off, Sara knew what he was thinking and sent him a silent message that it was perfectly okay to lose control. She supposed old habits died hard because he seemed to wrestle with his emotions.
“Daddy?” Destiny asked softly, when at last he looked up at her as she stood petting Mike, who was thrilled to see her.
“Oh, Destiny . . . I’m sorry,” he said gruffly.
“Me too, Daddy. Me too,” Destiny said and Sara put a hand to her mouth when she saw John’s shoulders moving up and down.
Colonel John Hart wasn’t just crying. He was sobbing. With tears streaming down his face, he backed up and held his arms open. Destiny hurtled herself into them and they held each other, only to be joined by Sara and Grace for a group hug.
“Looks like we’ve got us another member of your fan club, Destiny,” Grace said.
“It’s about doggone time, Daddy!” Destiny commented, and gave her father’s shoulder a playful nudge.
“You got that right.” John had to swipe at his eyes with the heels of his hands. “You don’t know how much I regret all that I’ve missed. I’ve been such a fool.”
Destiny put a hand on his shoulder. “I was being just as stubborn as you. I haven’t been the best of daughters over the past few years, either. But that’s all in the past. We are who we are right here and now because of all we’ve been through, so no regrets.”
“I agree,” Sara chimed in. “No looking back. What’s the point? We don’t live in the past so why dwell on it? And, Destiny, I know you have a team of experts around you all the time—executives, managers, agents, and what have you.”
“That’s right.”
“But we’ll always be here for you. This is your rock to cling to.” Sara turned one palm upward and waved her hand in an arc to encompass the family circle. “Always remember that, okay?”
Destiny’s smile trembled. “I’ll never forget it.”
Seeing the pure joy in her daughter’s eyes, Sara was reminded of something. “Where,” she asked, “is Seth?”
“When we heard the commotion we weren’t sure what was going on and I told Seth to stay outside until things, um, calmed down.”
“You mean that boy’s been outside all this time?” Sara asked as Miss Manners reared her Southern head. “Well, that will never do!”
“Mom, maybe he didn’t want to intrude on our
Jerry Springer
moment.”
“Grace! How could you say such a thing?” Sara held an offended hand to her chest. “
Jerry Springer moment
?”
Grace rolled her eyes. “I seem to recall overhearing you threatening to
open up a can of whoop ass
!”
John laughed. “She’s got a point, Sara.”
“It’s just a figure of speech,” she primly defended herself.
“Yeah, one that you’ve never used as long as I’ve known you. But I think it’s kind of . . .
sexy
.”
“Ew!” Destiny shook her head, then shouted over her shoulder, “Hey, Seth, the coast is clear. And no lamps are being thrown. You can come in now.”
All eyes turned to the door as Seth entered, looking hesitant.
“Get over here,” Destiny coaxed, and he crossed the room to wrap his arms around her as she rested her head contentedly on his shoulder.
Watching them, Sara said a silent prayer of thanks for another very special moment on this day of healing.

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