Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
The big pink Victorian on West C Street glowed like something out of a postcard.
Strings of warm lights draped the porch rails, and laughter spilled through the open front door as Lila went up the porch steps.
Someone must have set a pot of cider to simmer in the kitchen.
The scent of apple and cinnamon wrapped around her like a hug.
Inside, the rooms bustled with people. Some of the Cookes were there.
Tilly and Jack stood near the parlor fireplace, chatting with Grayson and Talia.
Regulars from Pleasant Beans sipped cider or hot chocolate and munched on cookies.
Lila smiled. Grandma, Doc, and the others had outdone themselves.
Lace tablecloths covered every table. Vases of flowers, and enough cookies to feed the elementary school down the block sat atop each one.
Lila tried to smile as she took up the job of handing out mugs of cider, but her heart wasn’t in it. Every laugh, every cheerful voice around her, only reminded her how empty she was inside.
She’d told herself she’d come for Grandma, Doc, and the rest of the gang she’d grown to love. Not because she was secretly hoping a certain someone might appear. And yet, every time the door creaked open, she caught herself glancing that way.
“Lila!” Grandma called from across the room. “Come sit for a bit, child. You look like you’ve been running a marathon.”
Lila gave a small laugh. “Just trying to be useful.”
“Well, stop trying and have some cider,” Grandma huffed. “That’s an order.”
Lila surrendered, put her tray on the sideboard and sank into an old floral armchair near the window. From there, she could see the front walk lit with little solar lanterns.
Tilly plopped down in the chair beside hers. “You holding up okay, cuz?”
“Sure,” Lila said, staring into her mug.
Tilly studied her. “You’re lying.”
Lila gave a small shrug. “Maybe a little.”
Jack appeared behind them, balancing a plate of cookies. “For the record, I’m not touching those ginger snaps again. Grandma added something that’s fighting back.”
That earned a weak smile from Lila. “You’re safe. I think they were meant for Doc.”
Music drifted in from the next room. An old fiddle tune someone had queued up on a portable speaker or stereo. Grandma and Doc were dancing, slow and sure, the crowd cheering them on. The sight warmed Lila’s heart and broke it all at once. Love like that felt impossible now.
The front door opened and conversation dimmed as the Jones brothers stepped inside.
Caleb first, tall and steady. Luke right behind him. He flashed his usual grin. Ethan brought up the rear, carrying a cake.
“Sorry we’re late,” Caleb said, dusting snow from his coat. “We had to make sure Mom didn’t try to send a turkey along with us.”
A ripple of laughter went through the rooms. Grandma beamed and bustled over to greet them.
Lila’s stomach tightened. She wasn’t ready for this.
Tilly whispered, “You good?”
“Define good.”
The brothers mingled easily, exchanging handshakes and greetings. Ethan made a beeline for the dessert table; Luke struck up a conversation with Jack. Caleb’s gaze found Lila’s briefly, warm but unreadable, before he turned to Grandma.
Lila tried to breathe through it, reminding herself that she could survive this. She could smile, say hello, pretend everything was fine.
And then the front door opened again. Snowflakes swirled through the entryway on a draft of cold night air, and TJ stepped inside.
For a second, no one moved.
He looked tired. Jet-lagged, maybe. But his eyes scanned the room until they landed on her. The noise around them faded, laughter softening into a background hum.
Lila’s heart slammed once. Hard.
He’d shaved, but what stubble there was along his jaw caught the light. His coat was dusted with snow, his hair a little mussed. And when he smiled, hesitant and hopeful, it was all over.
“Hey,” he said quietly, his voice barely carrying across the space.
Tilly’s hand slipped over Lila’s, squeezing. “Guess the party just got interesting,” she murmured.
Lila couldn’t speak. Her throat had gone dry, and her pulse roared in her ears.
Grandma, bless her meddling heart, clapped her hands together. “Well, look who decided to join us! The prodigal Jones returns!”
Laughter rippled again, breaking the tension, and TJ stepped fully inside, closing the door behind him.
He greeted Grandma, shook Doc’s hand, nodded to Tilly and Jack. But his eyes never really left Lila.
She rose slowly from the chair, unsure if her legs would hold. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” she managed.
He gave that crooked half-grin she knew all too well. “Honestly? Neither did I. But then I realized I’d left something behind.”
Her breath caught. “What?”
“You,” he said simply.
The whole room seemed to disappear.
For a long, stunned moment, she just stared at him. This man who’d walked away, crossed an ocean, and somehow come back again.
Then Grandma’s voice floated from behind them, smug and satisfied. “Told you, child. Love’s got a long road, but it always finds its way home.”
Lila laughed through the tears she hadn’t realized were falling. And for the first time in weeks, the ache in her chest began to ease.
For a heartbeat, no one in the room breathed.
TJ stood there like some storm-tossed traveler who’d finally found his way home. Lila was rooted to the spot, torn between running straight to him or running away before her heart betrayed her.
Instead, she did neither. She just whispered, “You came back.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Guess I did.”
He crossed the room, and the crowd parted instinctively, as if everyone sensed this moment wasn’t for them. Grandma’s grin was pure mischief. Doc gripped Wilfred’s shoulder, and Tilly was openly clutching Jack’s arm, eyes wide.
TJ didn’t stop until he was right in front of her. “Say something,” he murmured.
“What am I supposed to say?” she whispered back. “You left.”
“I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry. So very sorry.” He swallowed hard.
Before she could answer, he reached up, cupped her face in both hands, and kissed her.
The room collectively gasped.
It wasn’t a quick, polite, sorry-I-hurt-you sort of kiss. It was the real thing. The kind that stole her breath and made her knees go weak. It erased every lonely night she’d spent wondering if she’d imagined what they had.
His hands slid to her shoulders, steady and warm. The world tilted, righted itself, then vanished altogether. All she could feel was him. His lips, his heartbeat against hers, the familiar scent of coffee and cedar clinging to his coat.
When he finally pulled back, the room burst into laughter and applause.
“Well, about time!” Grandma crowed.
Doc chuckled. “I was beginning to think the boy needed a diagram.”
Luke whooped, clapping his hands. “There it is! That’s my brother!”
Ethan leaned against the stair banister, grinning from ear to ear. “Told you he’d come crawling back.”
Caleb just shook his head, half-smiling. “You do realize Mom’s going to plan a wedding before morning.”
Lila’s cheeks burned scarlet. “Oh, my goodness,” she breathed.
TJ laughed under his breath, his forehead resting lightly against hers. “I forgot how subtle this town isn’t.”
“You think?” she murmured, but she was smiling. She couldn’t stop.
Grandma clapped her hands again. “All right, everyone! Give the poor girl room to breathe before she keels over. Lord have mercy, I haven’t seen a kiss like that since Markhel and Maida… oh, well never mind. You folks don’t know them.”
TJ grinned, still close enough that Lila could feel his breath against her cheek. “We should probably… uh, step outside,” he murmured.
“Good idea.” She followed him out onto the porch.
The cold hit instantly, crisp and sharp, but she didn’t care. The snow had stopped falling, and the streetlamps cut through the mist. The soft hum of music and chatter drifted from the house behind them.
For a long moment, neither spoke. Then Lila finally said, “You can’t just kiss me and think that fixes everything.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s not why I did it.”
“Then why?”
He turned toward her, eyes steady. “Because I couldn’t think of anything else that would say what I needed to say. And because I missed you.” He drew closer. “More than missed you, in fact.”
Her throat tightened. “You could’ve told me goodbye before you left.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” he said again. “But I had to be sure, and I got a late start to Boise to catch my flight and…”
“Sure of what?” she interrupted.
He took a deep breath. “That I wasn’t running from something,” he said. “That what I felt wasn’t just this place getting under my skin again.”
She folded her arms. Part defense, part to keep from shaking. “And what did you decide?”
He looked at the porch, then at her. “That I’m a fool for ever leaving.” He shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Lila’s heart gave a hopeful stutter as the warmth surrounded her.
“When I got back to Cornwall,” he went on. “I threw myself into work. Spent days cataloging coastal data, tried to bury myself in it. But the cliffs I loved felt empty. The tea tasted wrong. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. You… got under my skin, Lila.”
Lila blinked, a laugh escaping despite herself. “That’s poetic.”
“Yeah, well, sleep deprivation will do that.” He smiled before his brow creased. “I realized something. I’ve spent my whole life chasing discovery. New places and projects to research, or marine life to study. But for the first time, I wanted to stop chasing.”
Her breath caught. “So you came home.”
He hesitated. “Not exactly.”
Lila’s heart faltered. “What do you mean?”
He stepped closer, his hands sliding into his coat pockets. “I found something new. A research partnership starting up in Portland. Environmental analysis, coastal ecosystem work. It’s a chance to base myself here in the States, long-term. Closer to family… closer to you.”