The Apple Tree (Sunday Morning #2)

Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - PRETTY IN PINK, “IF YOU LEAVE”

Kyle

There was a knock at the door, and Clifford barked as Josh ran to open it.

“It’s Eve!”

I felt that familiar pain in my chest—an intense longing for her.

Melinda broke my ability to trust in love. She crippled my intuition.

I was willing to risk my heart, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to risk Josh’s. One day, he would know that Melinda didn’t stay, and what if I took a chance on Eve, and she didn’t stay?

“Merry Christmas, my little munchkin.”

Just the sound of her voice made everything bleed. I stayed in the living room, taking a few extra seconds to find a breath and a smile that didn’t look as painful as it felt.

“This is my big sister, Sarah,” she said as I stood and ran a hand through my hair.

“Where’s your dad?” Gabby asked.

“In here.” Josh ran into the living room.

“Clifford, you’ve already gotten bigger on me.” Eve’s voice got closer.

My heart pounded a little harder.

“Hey, Mr. Collins.” Gabby smiled.

I grinned. “You can call me Kyle. I’m not teaching math today.”

“This is our sister, Sarah,” she said.

“Nice to meet you.” I offered my hand to the blonde with big blue eyes and a kind smile.

“You too.”

Eve and Clifford came around the corner, and my heart forgot for a few seconds that we were leaving, and Eve wouldn’t be in our lives anymore. All my heart knew was Eve made it beat stronger, and the room always got a little brighter with her in it.

She smiled, curling her hair behind one ear. “Merry Christmas.”

I tucked my hands in my back pockets to keep them from reaching for her as they liked to do on instinct. “Merry Christmas.”

“Dad, look!” Josh yelled, ripping open his present from Eve. “It’s a race track.” He climbed to his feet and hugged Eve. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Eve kissed his head.

“Uh, have a seat.” I nodded to the sofa. “Can I offer anyone something to eat or drink?”

“We’re good,” Gabby said. “Eve and Grandma made a huge breakfast.”

“Of course they did.” I chuckled.

Eve glanced up from the edge of the sofa where she sat to pet Clifford. Her cheeks turned pink when she smiled.

“We’re going to Colorado.” Josh beamed.

“I heard,” Eve said to him.

“You want to come too? Please come too!”

I. Fucking. Died.

She exchanged a look with her sisters before returning her attention to Josh. “I can’t. I’m moving to Nashville with my sister Sarah. She plays music, and there’s really fun stuff to do there. But thanks for inviting me.”

Eve didn’t look at me because I was the asshole who didn’t ask her to come with us. But she was moving to Nashville. So maybe I wasn’t an asshole after all.

You are.

Josh frowned. “Don’t go. I’m going to miss you.”

The knife dug a little deeper into my chest.

Eve pressed her hands to his cheeks. “I’m going to …” She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “I’m going to miss you too.”

“Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink?” I looked at Gabby and Sarah, feeling desperate for any reason to leave the room.

“We’re fine. Thank you,” Sarah smiled.

“This is for you.” Eve leaned forward and handed me a small present.

“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything.”

“Open it, Dad.”

I untied the gold ribbon and unwrapped the green and red striped paper. It was a recipe box.

“They’re all of Josh’s favorite recipes,” Eve said as I opened it. “Hope you live near an apple orchard at your new home.”

I slowly nodded, giving my emotions a chance to settle so I could speak past the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I managed.

“Well, we said this was going to be a quick trip,” Sarah said, standing from the sofa.

Gabby jumped up. “Yup. That’s right. Come on, Eve.”

Eve ignored them, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

“Josh, Sarah and I will help you carry your race track to your room before we go,” Gabby said, picking up the pieces he’d taken out of the box.

They headed up the stairs, and Eve dropped her gaze to the floor and stood, adjusting her sweater. Without a word, she turned, taking steps toward the door.

“Eve, wait. Give me a minute.”

She stopped, but she didn’t turn. “I can’t wait. I have nothing to wait for. And I can’t give you a minute because I’ve already given you everything. Months. Days. And so many minutes. I’ve given you every part of me, even the ugly parts. And I’ve given you my heart. Yet you don’t want it. But someone will.”

“Eve,” I said with a thick voice, the pain in my chest intensifying as if she had a fishing hook lodged into it, and the tension compounded as she walked away.

Stretching.

Tearing.

I couldn’t breathe.

The door clicked shut behind her. She left without her sisters.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as my eyes burned, heart racing. I felt like I was dying. My world was unraveling. And I was pretty sure I was having a heart attack. I hurried to the door and shoved my feet into my boots before jogging after her. The cold air filled my lungs as I ran down the stairs.

Eve’s hair flowed behind her as she trudged through the snow toward the hill.

“You can’t go to Nashville,” I yelled, catching up to her. My fingers slipped beneath her jacket and slid into the waist of her jeans.

She stopped, and I let go of her, but she didn’t face me.

“You can’t go to Nashville,” I repeated softer.

She sniffled. “Why not?”

“Because it’s not on the way to Colorado. And we’re going to Colorado. If I have to pick you up in Nashville, it will throw off our whole trip. Josh will get unruly, asking when we’re going to be there. I’ll have to buy twice the amount of snacks. It’s just not going to work. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t speak or move. And as much as I wanted her to look at me, I knew I needed to earn everything.

“It doesn’t make sense for my heart to live in Nashville and yours to live in Colorado. They should just … live together.” I stepped in front of her.

She made no attempt to wipe her eyes or hide her tears.

“I’m scared that this won’t work, but I’m terrified that it will work and I’m too damn stupid to take a chance on us. But I think”—I framed her face in my hands, and she blinked more tears—“if I’m doing the math correctly, and I let my heart love you as much as it’s dying to love you, then you’ll never want for more than me, my messy son, and that needy dog.”

Her hands covered mine and she closed her eyes. I leaned down to kiss her, stopping a breath from her lips. She opened her eyes, and I smiled.

But before I could kiss her, she said, “I’ll think about it.”

If I wasn’t already frozen from the wind and flurries, her comment did it. Just as my heart began to sink into the bottom of my stomach, her lips twitched, and she rolled them between her teeth.

Was she hiding a grin?

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you?—”

“Just kiss me like you do, so I can go home and pout before packing my things for Colorado.”

“Evil,” I whispered before kissing her.

I heard the door close in the distance, and I knew her sisters were watching us. It didn’t matter. I still kissed her hard because I never wanted to hide my feelings for her again.

When I released her, I managed a straight face. “Go pack your bags and be pissed off that you fell in love with a nerd who had to do the math before he discovered that you in his life added up to infinity.”

A triumphant smile hijacked her face. “You’re so square, Mr. Collins.”

“More like a cube, an ice cube.” I turned and took several steps toward my house before glancing over my shoulder. “I love you, lady in red.” I winked and continued to the porch just as Gabby and Sarah descended the stairs and Josh peeked through the partially ajar door.

“Ladies,” I gave them a smile and polite nod as I passed them. “Merry Christmas.”

Josh stepped back as I stomped my boots on the mat and stepped inside.

Behind me, I heard high-pitched squeals, and it made me smile.

“Merry Christmas,” my brother said after Josh answered the phone and talked his ear off for over ten minutes before handing it to me.

“Merry Christmas,” I replied.

“Merry Christmas,” my parents and Anne yelled in the background.

I sat in my recliner and chuckled.

“Are you packed?” he asked.

“Pretty much. We’ll finish up a few things tomorrow and pick Adam up from the airport. Then we’ll head out the following day.”

“Have you made amends with Peter?”

I scratched my chin. “Define amends.”

“Kyle, he’s my best friend. I can’t have my brother and my best friend at odds. It’s going to take him a while to feel friendly toward you again, and that’s understandable. But you need to extend a sincere apology.”

“For falling in love with his daughter or for taking her to Colorado with me? Maybe both?”

Silence filled the line between us.

“I love her, Fred. So does Josh. And her age isn’t enough of a reason not to be with her. So if I can push past all the crap I’ve been carrying around over Melinda abandoning us, then you and Peter and everyone else should be able to show a little support.”

“Kyle, she’s not just eighteen. She’s a recovering alcoholic. What are you going to do when she falls off the wagon and steals a few cans of beer from your fridge while she’s alone with Josh?”

“I’m not going to have beer in my fridge.”

He laughed. “So you’re done drinking?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

“What happens if she gets it someplace else?”

I sighed. “What happens if she gets desperate and drinks half a bottle of mouthwash or a whole bottle of vanilla extract? What happens if I fall out of another tree and break my back? What happens if Josh gets bit by a snake? We can what-if forever. And I won’t have the answers for everything. But it doesn’t mean I won’t figure it out. I love her. And I will do whatever it takes to give her the best chance at maintaining sobriety. And if she falls off the wagon, I will pick her up and be the first to get her the help she needs. As soon as we get to Colorado, I’ll find a place for her to attend meetings. We’ll go to church every Sunday. What more can I possibly say or do?”

“You can let her go.”

I shook my head. “No. I can’t. I tried that, and it didn’t work.”

“Have you talked to Peter?”

“Not recently.”

“Well, you need his permission before you run off with his daughter.”

I rubbed the tension from the back of my neck. “I will ask for his blessing , but we’ll live without it if he doesn’t give it to us.”

“Kyle—”

“Fred, I’m not asking for a dowry. This isn’t an exchange of goods. Eve is an adult. And as sure as her father can refuse to give us his blessing, she can walk out that door without it and live her own life.”

“Just steal the girl!” Anne yelled in the background.

“What is wrong with you,” Fred said to her.

“They’re in love, honey. Let them be,” she said.

He grumbled.

“This is your fault. You told us to move here,” I said.

“That is bullshit.”

“Fred!” Anne scolded.

My brother cleared his throat. “That’s nonsense.”

I chuckled. “You’re right. It’s nobody’s fault. Our love is not a fault at all. It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful and kind. Funny and irresistible. And I plan to spend the rest of my life loving her. So either you can get onboard or get out of the way.”

Again, he grumbled.

“I love you too,” I said. “See you soon.”