Chapter 23
Eleven years ago
If Shelby had learned anything in the past three months, it was this: Being with Gray was night and day from being with Brendan.
She stared at her reflection, a giddy smile curving her lips, as she fixed her hair using only her bedroom night-light.
They hadn’t yet told anyone they were together, and meeting secretly had been challenging. They shared only one class together:
chemistry—ironic since she spent the whole class trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. It was so distracting she
could only be glad they didn’t share lunch hour. She couldn’t imagine trying to stay away from him.
Her two best friends, Monica and Lindsay, had noticed her staring at him and teased her about her crush on the school’s bad
boy. She’d been tempted so many times to tell them the truth, but her fears of Brendan retaliating stopped her.
Her ex-boyfriend had begun dating Kelsey Stevens before summer’s end. But another matter now pitted him against Gray. They’d
both applied for the Warner Scholarship, which would be awarded to the applicant with the highest GPA, and so far the two
of them were at the top of the heap. A fact that Brendan and everyone else were now well aware of.
As autumn progressed Brendan’s friends amped up their harassment—always done furtively, of course, and meant to stir up Gray’s
temper.
Somehow Gray rose above it. She was so proud of his academic performance.
So proud of how hard he’d worked so he could go to college.
She was frustrated thinking of how easy Brendan had it.
Maybe his parents couldn’t afford the Ivy League school he wanted to attend, but he’d never even bothered getting a job this summer.
Shelby had already earned a partial scholarship to Belmont in Nashville and planned to major in secondary education. She wanted
to be an English teacher. Vanderbilt, also in Nashville, was on Gray’s top three list, and he’d already been accepted. She
dreamed of their future in Nashville, away from the watchful eyes of Grandville.
Sneaking around with Gray took considerable effort. Meeting after school was out since she served on three committees and
participated in four clubs. Anyway, he worked after school until the hardware store closed, then he had his studies. He had
to keep up his grades if he wanted that scholarship. He joked that sneaking around was sexy. Maybe it was... a little.
But it came at a cost.
Tonight she planned on broaching the topic. She wanted to tell her family and best friends. She felt so guilty each time she
told her dad good night and went to her room—only to sneak out later. Felt guilty when she lied to Gram about who she was
texting. Felt remorseful when Monica or Lindsay invited her over and she fibbed about her plans.
She could trust her family and friends to keep a secret, and spending time together would be easier if they knew. Surely she
could make him understand that. He was needlessly worried about her reputation anyway. If people refused to see Gray based
on his own merits, she didn’t care what they thought of her.
It was almost eleven. Dad would be sound asleep by now. A fresh pinch of guilt twisted her insides. Even so, she carefully
opened the window and climbed out, grateful the ranch offered an easy first-floor escape.
She dropped to the ground and rounded the house.
The October air was crisp, and the scent of woodsmoke carried on the breeze.
She searched the shadows for Gray. He insisted on walking with her to the park where he’d left his truck.
Sometimes they huddled inside it, and other times they sat in the swings or lay on the creaky merry-go-round.
It didn’t matter what they did as long as they were together. She lived for these stolen moments.
There he was in the moonlight, approaching her drive with that easy swagger she loved so much. Her face broke out in a smile
and her steps quickened. She couldn’t get to him quickly enough. They hadn’t been alone together in almost a week—forever.
At the edge of the darkened street, they came together like a magnet to steel. Shelby quickly got lost in the kiss. How had
she made it almost a week without these lips on hers?
“Glad to see me?” he teased breathlessly.
“I only came so I wouldn’t hurt your feelings.”
They were kissing again. He pulled her closer, his hands finding the curve between her shoulder blades, the small of her back.
Oh, he was so good at this. They should probably move this to the park, but she couldn’t bring herself to—
Headlights cut across the night. They jumped apart. She hadn’t even heard the engine. The unfamiliar car swept into her driveway
and stopped twenty feet away.
“Who’s that?” Gray asked.
“I don’t know.”
There was no sense hiding now. The headlights had already given them away.
The door opened and even in the dim light she recognized her brother’s form. Caleb slammed the car door and strode toward
them. “Get away from her.”
“Caleb, stop. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s pretty clear what’s going on here, Shelby.”
“And just what is that?” Gray said with a steely voice.
“Oh, I think we both know the answer to that.” Caleb came to a stop in front of them. “Go in the house, Shelby.” His eyes
never left Gray.
She stepped between them. “No. You don’t understand. We’re dating. We’ve been dating for weeks.”
Caleb’s head whipped her way. “So Dad knows about this?”
Her silence answered the question.
“What are you doing with him? Where’s your head?”
“Shut up, Caleb. You don’t know him.”
“I know enough. He’s already got his claws into you, and you’re going to wind up with a broken heart or worse.” His eyes narrowed
on Gray. “Isn’t that right, thug?”
“Leave him alone!” Tears prickled her eyes. She was so tired of everyone misjudging Gray. She planted her palms on Caleb’s
chest and shoved. “Don’t you say one bad word about him! You don’t know anything!”
“Hey, hey.” Gray grabbed her, turned her toward him. His steady gaze locked on her. “Come on, settle down.”
A sob died in her throat at his gentle tone.
“It’s okay. Why don’t you just go on inside with your brother? We’ll talk later.”
Caleb muttered something and she shot him a death glare. She was so disappointed to have their time together wrecked by a
brother who apparently decided on a whim to return from college for the weekend. They never should’ve kept this relationship
a secret for so long. Now it was all going so wrong.
Gray squeezed her arms. “Shelby, look at me.”
She gave him her attention, her breaths still coming fast and shallow. “Yelling in the street isn’t gonna do any good. You
know that. Everything’ll be okay. I’m going to leave. Just go on inside, all right?”
A tear spilled over.
He swiped it away with his thumb, his expression softening. “None of that now. Call me tomorrow, okay?”
A lump lodged in her throat. She nodded.
Without another word, Gray walked off, disappearing into the shroud of darkness. When she turned back to Caleb, he was still
scowling in Gray’s direction. “Dad won’t be happy about this either, you know.”
“Oh, shut up, Caleb.” Shooting him one last glare, she started for the house.
Gray hardly slept all night. He kept seeing the venom in Caleb’s expression, hearing it in the tone of his voice. What was
worse, he understood it. If he had a little sister, he wouldn’t want her hooking up with a guy like him either.
But Caleb believed Gray was using her. That he’d just take what he wanted and drop her cold. It couldn’t be further from the
truth. Gray had fallen hard for Shelby. He thought about her all the time. Lived for those fleeting moments alone. What would
happen now that her family knew?
His gut clenched hard. There was no way her dad would be any more okay with it than Caleb had been. Especially since they’d
kept their relationship a secret for three months. He pulled into the hardware store lot and parked the truck. He assumed
Shelby would tell her dad this morning, and Gray prayed he’d hear from her soon.
Otherwise it was going to be a very long day.
Gray never took calls at work—he couldn’t afford to upset Lang. But when Shelby’s came in just before noon, he slipped behind
the bags of mulch and answered. “Are you okay? I’ve been worried.”
“I’m fine.” She sounded as if she’d been crying.
She wasn’t fine and it was his fault. He was the one who hadn’t wanted to tell anyone. “Where are you?”
“At the bookstore. I’m on break, out back.”
He wished he could get over there and see her in person, but they were short-staffed today. He’d be lucky to get a break at
all. “Tell me what happened.”
“My dad—” Her words pinched off with a squeak. “My dad was so upset. I’m grounded forever and he doesn’t want me seeing you
anymore.”
His breath stuttered.
“He can’t keep me from seeing you! I’m almost eighteen. I’m not a child anymore.”
“Maybe he just needs a chance to adjust to the idea.” Even as Gray said the words, his hope ebbed like blood from a jugular
wound. What father would want him dating his precious daughter? Especially when they’d been sneaking around behind his back?
“I tried to explain why we didn’t tell anyone, but I don’t think he believed me. He was so upset. So disappointed in me. He
took my car keys—dropped me off at work like I’m fifteen.”
“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have let it go on this long.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. He believes all those stupid rumors about you and your family. I was so mad at how he talked about
you!”
“Aw, honey. I don’t want you to fight your dad over me. And they’re not all rumors, you know.”
“You don’t deserve the bad rap you’ve gotten. It’s so unfair.”
She was crying now and he longed to get his arms around her. He needed the comfort, too, because the whole situation was feeling
pretty hopeless. “Hey, listen. It’ll be okay. He just needs a little time.”
“You didn’t hear him. He was so angry.”
“I’ll apologize to him.” But how in the world would he ever prove himself to her dad? There was only one way he could think of. It hurt just to think about it. “I have a plan. It won’t be easy, but...”
“What? I’ll do anything.”
“We should respect his wishes, earn back his trust. Maybe then he’ll give me a chance.”
“ No. That’ll take forever. You didn’t hear him. He won’t back down. And I have to see you. I can’t stand the thought of not seeing
you.”
“I want to see you too. But if this is going to work, I have to earn his respect, Shelby. Man to man. That’s what it’ll take.”
A beat of silence passed between them. A knot tightened in his gut at the thought of losing her forever. Maybe she wouldn’t
believe it was worth all this. Maybe he should be willing to give her up rather than come between her and her family.
But he couldn’t. He closed his eyes. Please, God. She’s everything to me.
“Let’s just try it and see, okay? Give it a little time.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. But I want this as much as you do. I love you , Shelby.” The words burst like water from a dam. “I wanted to tell you last night. I shouldn’t have said it over the phone,
but I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“Oh, Gray, I love you too. So much.”
She loved him. Shelby Thatcher loved him.
The heavy load lifted from his shoulders until he felt so light he feared he might go airborne. “All right then. We’re in
this together. We’ll do whatever we have to do to be together.”
“All right.” He heard the smile in her voice. “There is one bit of good news in all this—Gram already knew about us.”
“How?”
“She saw us kissing outside way back in July. And you know she likes you. She’s rooting for us.”
His lips curved into a smile. “See there? Maybe she’ll have a positive influence on your dad.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. She thinks he just overreacted and that he might come around.”
The good bit of news quenched his soul. There was hope. Maybe he could earn Mr. Thatcher’s trust. “It’s all the more important now that we abide by his rules no matter how hard it might be.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either, babe. But maybe it won’t take as long as we fear.”
“I’m going to beg Gram to change his mind about you.”
His grin widened. Shelby could be so determined when she set her heart on something. He almost felt sorry for Miss Viola and her dad.
Joe Lang came around the corner and stopped short at the sight of Gray. His eyebrows crashed together. “ Hey. Get off the phone. You’re not on break and you’ve got customers waiting up front.”