Chapter 19 #2
Mia lifted a dark eyebrow, her skepticism obvious as she walked with Gabriella toward the rest of the party guests. “Do you really believe that?”
Gabriella swallowed hard, feeling those glass shards in her chest all over again as she thought about Clayton. “Today, of all days, I have to believe it.”
Your family is right here, Clayton Travers. It always has been.
His foster mother’s words circled in his mind with each mile as Clay picked up speed on his bike heading out of town. Lorelei had chased him down after his proposal to Gabriella had imploded.
Ah, hell. Not that he’d “proposed” per se. They’d only just reconnected. But still, he’d had a well-thought-out plan for their future, and all of his proposals had disintegrated while Mia and Gabriella found one hole after another in his vision for them as a family.
Lorelei must have seen the storm brewing when he’d headed toward his bike, because she’d flagged him down and insisted he share what happened.
He’d given her the most abbreviated version possible, and she’d spotted the same problems that Gabby and Mia had.
He should take their wishes into account.
He should have told Gabriella privately how he felt about her.
But Lorelei’s most damning accusation?
That Clay was still running at the first sign of trouble. She reminded him he couldn’t get out of Heartache fast enough after graduation, looking for happiness far away from the family he’d had for two years. A good family.
He’d been so busy running he hadn’t seen how his father had changed. Hadn’t found out about Mia. Hadn’t even checked in on Daniel and Lorelei, who’d both been damn good to him.
Clay thought he couldn’t feel any lower when Gabriella had refused to speak to him privately, siding with Mia against him. But his mom’s words had been a fresh splinter in the wound, tweaking the hurt to an unbearable level.
When ten miles didn’t clear his head, he slowed the bike down, easing off the gas and coasting to the side of the road where the shoulder was wide. Right in front of the sign that said, “You are leaving Heartache, TN. Visit again soon!”
Who the hell wanted to return to Heartache?
He parked his bike and scooped a handful of gravel, chucking it at the cheery metal sign and hearing the rocks ping against it.
Your family is here.
His foster mother’s voice echoed in his ears louder than the pinging stones. Louder than the roar of his anger and frustration.
Damn but it hurt to leave Gabriella behind.
He sat on the bike while the engine tick, tick, ticked as it cooled down.
The rise of the road gave him a view of half the town that his foster mother…
hell, he might as well think of her as his mother because that was what Lorelei had been to him.
A mother. One who cut right to the chase.
She’d accused him of running from this town.
He couldn’t see Main Street from here, but he could see Crestwood High School where he’d first met Gabriella.
Where he’d first learned to rein in his energy enough to concentrate in school and earn good grades.
Lorelei had taught him how to do that, and he loved her for it.
So why had he run so hard and fast from this place?
It wasn’t just because he had bad memories of Pete here.
Maybe it had more to do with being scared of screwing things up with someone who cared about him.
Failing Lorelei and Daniel, who’d opened their home to him and loved him—that was a whole lot more daunting.
He didn’t want to hurt them any more than he wanted to hurt Gabriella or Mia.
Yet he’d managed to hurt all of them.
Maybe it was time to stop running. It wouldn’t be the first time his mother was right. And really, what kind of brother figure could he be for Mia if he never let himself be a part of a family? Worse, what kind of partner would he make for Gabriella, who deserved every ounce of happiness possible?
He hoped it wasn’t too late to own up to his mistakes and do better. Turning the key in the ignition, he fired up the bike and did a U-turn.
He was going to give Heartache another chance. He just wondered if the people he loved would be willing to give him one, too.
The Hasting family lawn Olympics started after Sam’s toast. Gabriella appreciated the organization that must have gone into planning the reunion weekend as Sam’s friends and relatives divided into groups to play tug-of-war or lawn bowling, ladder ball or cornhole.
Some of the teens got the little kids together for hopscotch and dodge ball.
She saw Mia and Davis take charge of a ring-toss game, laughing and sharing a blue snow cone.
Normal. Happy.
Gabriella could see why Mia wanted to stay here.
She practically glowed with contentment in spite of all that had happened to her over the past few years.
What a strong, resilient girl. Gabriella would still find a way to talk to Clay about counseling for her, and do her best to intercede on Mia’s behalf to stay in town. But Gabby felt sure Mia would be okay.
Wandering around the fringes of the party while a bluegrass tune played through the outdoor amplifier, Gabriella didn’t feel much like celebrating when her heart weighed her down like a stone.
She approached the head table where Lorelei held Sam’s son, Aiden.
Gabby recognized the baby after seeing Amy Finley holding him for much of the party yesterday while Sam played host.
“Lorelei.” She took a deep breath and plastered a polite smile into place, unwilling to be a sad note in the guest-of-honor’s day.
Clay’s foster mother turned, the baby gripping a couple of her dark curls in his tiny fist. Cherub cheeks grinned happily from a blue blanket covered in cartoon trains as Lorelei cradled him to her chest. She hopped up from her seat, excusing herself from her husband’s conversation with Harlan Brady, one of the older farmers in the area.
Gabby remembered stopping at the fruit stand on his front lawn with her mother sometimes.
“Gabriella. I’m so glad you stayed.” Lorelei slung her free arm around Gabby’s neck and pulled her in for a quick hug. “Have you gotten to hold my grandson? He’s at his most charming right now since he just woke up from his nap and had his bottle.”
Gabby wasn’t sure if she replied before she had the baby in her arms. A miracle of trust that anyone would hand her this precious bundle when she had never held a child before.
She held her breath as she stared down into wide blue eyes.
A drooly grin brightened the boy’s features.
He made a cooing sound as he kicked his feet.
“Oh.” Her fingers curved around the spindly legs through the blanket. “Am I holding him well enough?” she started to ask before realizing Lorelei had turned away, replying to some joke Harlan had made about needing more babies at her house.
No one seemed to notice that Gabriella was an inexperienced baby-holder. Her heart melted to have a baby in her arms and these nice, warmhearted people trust her with the child. She knew Sam would have, too, of course. But Lorelei barely knew her.
Surrounded by this family—a family by choice if not by blood—Gabriella was humbled by their love for each other. Their joy in being together.
Gabby had lived alone on the West Coast for two years since Sam and her brother had both returned to Heartache, making herself an outcast instead of building roots for herself.
It occurred to her she wasn’t all that different from Clay in that respect.
She’d been a loner, too, only reaching out to people online or through the website’s hotline.
But she didn’t want that isolated life anymore.
The truth roared through her with a new fierceness. And, actually, the roaring grew louder.
Peering up from Aiden’s adorable little face, she spied the source of the noise. Clayton’s motorcycle growled once more as he parked it on the street.
“I knew he’d be back soon,” Lorelei murmured, turning toward Gabriella again with a beaming smile. “He might be hard-headed, but my boy has never been hardhearted.”
It took Gabriella a moment to realize she meant Clayton.
Just how much did Lorelei know about her argument with Clay, she wondered?
Flustered, Gabriella didn’t want to face Clay with an audience around. If he was even returning to speak to her. Maybe he’d only come back to retrieve Mia. Her feet itched to be walking in the other direction right now.
“Actually, I need to leave early today,” she told Lorelei. “I just wanted to say goodbye.” She lifted Aiden in an effort to return the baby as Clayton strode closer.
“Gah!” Aiden made a gurgly noise as he grabbed her hair and tugged.
Lorelei smiled warmly as she pried the tiny fingers loose. “He likes you.”
Clayton’s voice rumbled near Gabriella’s ear. “He’s not the only one.”
Gabby’s heart knocked around her chest louder than the crashing bowling pins in the lawn game nearby. She could only take so many hits in a day.
“May I speak to you alone for a moment?” Clayton asked her quietly.
Gabriella wanted to shield herself with Aiden.
To pretend the baby needed her attention desperately, but Lorelei was already swooping him up and handing him to Daisy Spencer, who had just returned from walking her little dog around the park.
Daisy passed the leash to Harlan while she exclaimed over how big Aiden was getting, her frail arms surprisingly strong as she held the boy in front of her to look him over.
Hesitating, Gabby peered up at Clayton. The tortured expression in his eyes made her decision easier.
“Okay.” She needed to tell him what she’d discovered about Mia, at the very least. She’d promised the girl she would try and make her case to Clayton.