The Accidental Encore (29 page)

“So was your dad. It was one of the things I loved most about
him.”

“I’m mean to her, not quite as mean as I just was, but
honest. I tried everything I could to keep her away, but she wouldn’t listen.
She loves me, or at least she did.”

“She’s got good taste.”

“She smells really good all the time and she’s so smart. She
doesn’t have any idea how strong she is. She doesn’t play games.”

“Then I’d say you’d better grovel.”

Craig nodded. “I’m going to marry her, Ma, and not just
because of the baby. I love her.”

“Don’t tell me, son. Tell Allie.”

Chapter 34

 
“I don’t
understand, Officer. Why am I being detained?”

Allie watched the sheriff of Fidley, North Carolina fidget
from foot to foot. He’d taken her license and registration and held them
hostage in his car for over twenty minutes. At first she thought she’d been
weaving on the road. She could barely see through the angry tears. After a good
cry while she waited on the sheriff, however, she started to get worried. She’d
moved beyond worried when he meandered back to her window announcing she’d have
to stay put while he checked some details that pulled up when her ran her
license.

“It’s probably nothing, Ms. Graves, but it’s standard
procedure to check these things out.”

“What things?”

He glanced behind her car along the deserted road. “I’m afraid
I can’t say.”

“Why not?” she asked. “Is it because I was upset? Was I
speeding or weaving on the road?”

“Now, Ms. Graves, don’t go getting yourself all worked up
again. I’m sure this will get settled in just a minute or two more.”

“Well, what are you waiting on?”

The look of relief on his face had her turning just as she
heard the roar of an engine. A diesel engine. Craig’s black truck barreled to a
stop in front of her car, barring her escape. “What the…”

He hopped out and shook hands with the sheriff after he
handed Allie her license and registration. “You have a nice day now.” He
skipped to his cruiser and maneuvered a hairpin U-turn before speeding away.

Allie fumed. Of all the backwoods, low down, manipulative
crap he could have pulled, this was beyond compare. She turned the ignition.

Craig threw his hands in the air. “Allie, I’m sorry.”

She ripped the car in reverse and hit the gas. She was
forced to brake when he jumped on her back bumper. “Allie, please. Let me
explain.”

“Why should I?” she shouted.

“Because I’m the father of your baby.”

“Oh, now you believe me.” She put the car in drive and
revved the engine.

“You wouldn’t hit my truck,” he warned.

“I’ve done it before.”

“Allie…”

She shifted into park and set her head on the steering
wheel, defeated. Nothing about this was going even remotely well. “Go away,
Craig. I don’t have any more skin for you to peel off.”

He opened her door and kneeled down so they were eye to eye.
“I didn’t mean what I said. I know you don’t sleep around. I know you didn’t
plan this. I don’t know what to say other than I’m more ashamed than I’ve ever
been in my life.”

Allie knew they’d hit rock bottom and there wasn’t anywhere
to go but up. The question remained whether they came up together or alone.
“You hurt me, Craig.”

“I don’t have any defense except to say that you scared me,
Allie. Loving you means you have all the power, and I promised myself I’d never
be that vulnerable again.”

She raised her head and stared him in the eye. It seemed she
had some fight left in her yet. “That’s crap. You hold just as much power
and—as demonstrated—you know how to aim where it hurts.”

“Allie…” He reached inside and released her seatbelt.
“You’ll never know how sorry I am for what I said to you. You scared me and I
panicked. I get mean when I’m scared. I love you and I don’t want to lose you.”

“Don’t,” she said. She knew her eyes were still swollen and
puffy. She felt as fragile as a thin piece of glass. “Don’t tell me what you
know I want to hear when you think so little of me. I had to tell you about the
baby, but I’m done.”

“It’s the truth.”

“No, Craig, it’s not. You don’t love me. You think I’m after
your money? Please, there isn’t enough money on the planet for me to put up
with you. You think I did this on purpose? Who would do this to themselves? Who
would bring a baby into the middle of this mess? Not me, Craig. I may have been
stupid enough to fall in love with you, but I’m not stupid enough to want a
baby on top of it all.”

He rocked back on his heels. “You don’t want the baby?”

***

 
“Quit twisting
my words around,” Allie said as tears began leaking out of her eyes. “Of course
I want the baby.”

Craig dropped to his knees and pulled her out of the seat
and into his arms. He’d earned her distrust with his careless words. He’d use
better words, spoken from the heart to make her believe. “You want to know what
I think of you? I think you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known. I’ve been
falling for you since the moment you crashed into my life. I’m not going to
lie, at first it was your looks. You’re the most stunningly beautiful woman
I’ve ever seen, but if that’s all that you were—a pretty face—I’d
have walked away months ago. You’re so much more. You’ve got this insane
kindness, a tender and generous heart, and the most optimistic outlook on life
I’ve ever seen. I can’t make this love I feel for you disappear; I can’t stifle
it or wish it away. As these last few weeks have proven, I could fly to the
moon and still be in love with you. So if you walk away, Allie, it had better
be because you don’t love me, because there isn’t another man alive who could
ever love you more.”

It felt so easy to tell her the truth, to open his heart to
her. She’d been everything he needed all along and he’d pushed her away from
the start. “I need you, Allie. Please forgive me.”

She pulled out of his embrace and grabbed his arms. When
their eyes met, he knew he hadn’t lost her quite yet. He felt the web around
them growing stronger. This time, he welcomed the tug.

“What about your wife?” she asked.

He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “We were kids when we
fell in love. What we had wasn’t a grown up kind of love. It wasn’t meant to
last forever. Ma helped me forgive her. It was as simple as saying it and
meaning it. I’m finally free.”

“Tied to me and the baby is more like it.”

“If I could, I’d tie the knot so tight it’d never break.”

She gave him a hard push, but he held firm. “How can I trust
what you’re telling me? Thirty minutes ago you doubted the baby was yours, and
now you say you love me? Don’t lie to me, Craig. Like it or not, we’re
connected through the child we made. That connection won’t break no matter how
we feel about each other, but I won’t let you lie to me or to yourself because
of the baby.”

“I’ve never fought so hard against something in my entire
life and if I have to, I’ll fight even harder to make you believe in me. In
us.”

“Why does everything with us have to be so hard?”

“Everything?” He slid his hand up her back and cupped the
back of her neck, inching her face to his. He kissed the tears on her cheeks,
her eyelids, and her chin before tugging her hair so she’d open her eyes and
see the love reflected back in his.

“You left me naked in your bed.”

“I was trying to save you.”

“You were scared.”

“Yes. A lesser man couldn’t have walked away.”

“You mean smarter?”

“It took Herculean strength. And just so you know, you don’t
need to lose weight.”

Allie snorted and dropped her forehead to his. “That’s good
to know because I’m going get fat in the next few months.”

“I’ll still love you when you’re fat.” He kissed her temple.
“And when you’re old and gray. Do you forgive me?”

“I don’t have the energy to fight you, Craig. I’ll say it
and mean it once and for all. I forgive you for being an ass.”

He’d never heard sweeter words. “It probably won’t be the
last time.”

“I know it won’t.” She pushed him back when he went in for
her lips. “You need to hear this. And you need to listen.”

“Don’t I always?”

She took a deep breath and stared into his eyes. “I’ve got a
boatload of flaws, Craig, but they aren’t the same as Julie’s. If I’m feeling
ignored or taken for granted, I’ll tell you. If I’m feeling unloved, the only
one I’ll come to is you. And if I ever feel tempted to stray—which I
wouldn’t because you only stray when you’re looking—you’d be the first to
know. I respect us both too much to do anything else.”

What the hell had he been so afraid of in the first place?
But he still needed to hear the words. “Does that mean you still love me?” he
asked.

“I don’t want to. I really want to drive away and not give a
damn what happens to you, but I can’t. You’re it for me, and now there’s a baby
to seal the deal.”

“Would you love me if it weren’t for the baby?”

“I loved you before the baby. The question is, would you
love me if it weren’t for the baby?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve loved you all
along.”

“Well, what in the world were you waiting for?”

Good question. “A sign from God, I guess.” He slid his hand
inside her coat and rested it above her jeans on top of her sweater. “It’s in
here. Our sign. Marry me?” he said. “I don’t want to waste another second.”

“I didn’t come find you so you’d propose marriage. It didn’t
feel honest keeping the baby from you.”

“I’m not proposing because of the baby. I love you, Allie,
with everything I’ve got. I’m so damn tired of fighting what I’ve wanted all
along. I want you. All I want is you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Oh, Craig. You make it hard to say no.”

“Then don’t say no.”

“I’m not saying no. I’m saying yes.”

He snaked his hands inside her coat, around her back, and
pulled her close just as a car zoomed past honking the horn in greeting. He
found her lips and everything inside of him settled and heated in the most
powerful combination. “I love you, Allie. You’re going to get sick of hearing
me say it.”

She burrowed into his chest. “I’ll let you know when I am.”

“I’ve got to get a ring.”

“Craig.” She gripped his jacket and pulled his lips to hers.
“I don’t need a ring. All I need is you.”

“Oh, wait.” He hopped to his feet. “Wait right here.” He ran
to his truck, opened the driver door, and pulled the tiny blue bud vase Allie
had admired at Sharon’s wedding into his palm. He dropped to his knees in front
of her and opened his hand. “It’s not a ring, it’s nothing really, but I wanted
you to have it.”

She picked it up and he had the pleasure of watching her
shed tears of joy instead of sorrow. “When did you get this?”

“Before I left town. You loved it, Allie. Your whole face
lit up when you saw this. Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.”

“You’re still getting a ring. A big one. Guys will see it
for miles. It might even flash or glow in the dark.”

“A glow in the dark ring with flashing lights. Could it play
music?”

“I’m sure I could make that happen.”

“Okay. I’m sold, but this is it for me, Craig. For better or
worse, you’re going to be stuck with me.”

“That works both ways. We’re stuck with each other.”

“And the baby.”

His eyes misted with tears. Oh, yeah. This was it all right.
“And the baby,” he whispered. “We should have known. Look at what happened when
we crashed. We fell in love. What the heck did we think was going to happen
when we made love?”

“We made a life,” she said.

“The first of many, I hope.” He helped her to her feet and
then promptly whisked her off her feet. “You know what they say about sex?”

She nuzzled her face in his neck. “I’m afraid to ask.”

“Practice makes perfect.”

“In your mother’s house?”

He nipped her ear. “I was thinking about the cab of my
truck.”

“In the middle of the day? We’ll get arrested.”

“I’ve got an in with the sheriff.”

“Well,” she said, “at this point, I guess we’ve got nothing
to lose.”

Epilogue

Allie felt nervous as Leah wobbled onto the stage wearing
the two-inch heels Carolyn had tried in vain to discourage her from wearing.
When Leah scooted behind the bench and took a seat, Allie let out the breath
she’d been holding and gave the girl a nod. The song began at just the right
tempo. Practice, Allie knew, made all the difference.

Allie bobbed her head in tune with the song and stifled a
smile at Leah’s fierce expression as the melody carried nicely through the
small auditorium. She glanced at Mark and smiled. He gripped Carolyn’s hand,
his foot tapping to the beat, and stared with wonder at his daughter. She
couldn’t decide who looked more proud—Mark or Carolyn.