The Stranger: The Heroes of Heyday (Harlequin Superromance No. 1266) (20 page)

“You're not?” He lifted his shoulders slightly. “I am.”

She felt stung, and yet part of her couldn't believe he was serious. It had been good. It had been
great.
He had more experience than she did, obviously, but some things didn't take experience. You just knew.

“You're sorry we made love? Why?”

He gazed down at her. She noticed that his eyes were as blue as the lake behind him. “Because there will never be another night like that for me.”

The words were spoken softly, with an honesty that took her by surprise. Though her heart beat high in her throat, she owed him honesty in return.

“No,” she said. “There will never be another night like that. Unless—”

“Unless what?”

Oh, this was too hard. But she had told Mindy to be brave, to speak the truth whatever the consequences. And Mindy had found the courage to do exactly that. How could Mallory do any less?

So she swallowed her fear and let her heart speak for itself.

“Maybe someday—” No, that was wrong. She started over. “I know that while you're in the middle
of this book you can't get personally involved with anyone here, anyone you might have to write about. I'm not asking you to set aside your principles. I'm just saying that maybe, when the book is finished, you might consider coming back to Heyday.”

She took a deep breath. “You might consider coming back to me.”

His handsome face did not change. He still looked somber, giving no clue to his own thoughts.

She stood her ground, refusing to look away in shame. The truth might be difficult, but there was no shame in it.

“You're right,” he said finally. “Objectivity is a serious ethical issue. When I'm writing this book, I must have no personal ties to anyone involved.”

“I understand,” she said.

“And that's why I've decided not to write it.”

What?
She frowned. What did that mean? Not write it? He had already signed a contract. He'd devoted months to the research.
Deciding not to write it
couldn't possibly be an option.

“I don't understand,” she said.

“Neither do I.” He put his hand out and touched her cheek. “I don't understand how, in such a short time, you've come to mean more to me than anything else in my life, including my career, but you have.”

The world around them seemed suddenly filled with a spring sweetness, as if the wildflowers had all burst into bloom.

And yet, afraid to believe, she held her breath. “Tyler—”

“The book means nothing to me anymore. If I could take back any of the pain I've ever caused you or your family, I would. I certainly can avoid causing any more. I've already told my publisher I won't exploit the tragedy this town has suffered. I've bought my way out of my contract.”

She couldn't believe what he was saying. As one of Anderson McClintock's heirs, he wasn't exactly poor, but it must have cost him many, many thousands to free himself from this commitment.

“Why?” She shook her head. “Why would you do such a thing?”

He smiled. “Because I love you, of course. Because I love you more than I thought I was capable of loving anyone.”

She caught her breath. She reached up and put her hand over his. “Tyler,” she said again.

But he wasn't finished. “And because when I thought Dan Platt might have hurt you, when I thought we might get there too late, I nearly went insane. I don't know how you broke down every barrier I ever built, Mallory. I just know you did. I'm exposed, for the first time in my life. It scares the hell out of me, but there's no way for me to go back behind those barriers now.”

“Don't try,” she said, her voice suddenly urgent. “I
need you out here with me. I'm as exposed as you are, Tyler. And I'm scared, too.”

His hand tightened. “Does that mean you love me? In spite of all the mistakes I've made in the past?”

She felt such a rush of joy she couldn't help laughing. How could he even question this? Wasn't her love written all over her face? It was certainly written in her heart, and in her soul.

“You mean can I love you in spite of how you taught me that the truth really does set us free? In spite of saving me from Dan—not just once, but twice? In spite of helping me see that my sister needed a chance to grow up and learn to respect herself? In spite of showing me how magical it can be when two people come together with real passion? Yes,” she said, smiling. “I can love you, in spite of all that.”

He took her in his arms then, cautiously. She wanted to tell him it was all right, that Dan had not hurt her so very much, but she loved the tender, careful look on his face.

“Can you love me,” he said, “if I sell everything I've inherited to buy the
Heyday Herald?
Can you love me if I'm just a hand-to-mouth, small-town journalist?”

“Yes,” she said. “Speaking as a hand-to-mouth, small-town bookseller, I think I can.”

“And what about my obnoxious brothers?” He grinned in a way that made him look very like those
brothers. “Can you love me in spite of the fact that I seem, after all, to be a McClintock?”

“Yes,” she said. “I bring a few sibling issues of my own, you know. So yes, in spite of your terrible brothers, I can.”

His arms grew tighter, and his eyes began to take on that smoldering look she was learning to adore.

“And what about the home I'll bring you to? It's the only one I've kept, and the historical society won't let me change a thing. Can you love me in spite of the fact that you'll have the tackiest front door in all of Heyday?”

She looked over at the beautiful white house. In an instant, behind those windblown curtains, she thought she could see their whole future. They would be happy here. They would sing in the kitchen and make love on the porch. He would write by lamplight, late at night in their bedroom.

Their children, and Mindy's children, and Bryce's and Kieran's children would climb these trees and splash in the clear blue lake.

And, tacky or not, she knew that they would love the stained glass leaping zebras. Perhaps they would even name the zebras. Peacock Glockenspiel and Bowtie Juggernaut might work just fine….

“Yes, I can,” she said again, lifting her face for his kiss. “In fact, the only thing I can't do, Tyler, is marry anyone but you.”

“
Darn right
you can't,” he said, pulling her close and growling softly.

And in that moment, she observed with delight, Tyler Balfour had never looked more like his brothers. She rested her head on his chest, knowing that everything was just as it should be.

The last of the heroes of Heyday had finally found his way home.