Down the Hidden Path (33 page)

“You’ll always be my dad.” And with those few words, Miah broke. He pulled his son into a hug and held him there while the tears fell.

A few minutes later, Caleb and Stacey came out of the kitchen. “So, what’s the game plan?” Caleb said.

Miah stood, brushing the last of the tears from his face.

Caleb pointed to Stacey. “She told me why they came. What’s your move, Miah?”

He didn’t know. All he could think about was the fact that Gray was on a date and that now he felt the tiniest shred of hope that he could correct things. “Tomorrow—”

David groaned. “Tomorrow? She’s out there now. With someone else.”

Miah clamped his teeth together, fighting off the images shooting through his mind. “You’re right.”

David raised his hands and dropped them with a clop. “You gotta go. Now. She’s at the Neon Moon.”

Miah nodded, but sudden fear stole his focus. Black spots appeared before his eyes and the blood in his veins stopped moving. He was aware of Caleb moving in closer and grabbing his arm.

“He’s useless.” Caleb dragged him to the front door. “I’ll drive him to her. You guys wait at Stacey’s house. If this thing goes south, he’ll need some recoup time. I’ll call you in an hour.”

Miah was aware of being led toward his truck. What was he going to do when he got there? It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other; it wasn’t like he was some white knight riding in on a horse and rescuing her. This was a disaster of his own making. He wasn’t the answer to the problem. He
was
the problem.

“You need to breathe, bro.”

Miah sucked a deep breath as if it were a foreign thing. “I don’t know what I’m going to say.”

Caleb pulled the truck onto the main road. “You love her, right?”

“She already knows I do.”

“I guess that’s as good a place to start as any.”

Miah nodded and counted the minutes until they pulled into the parking lot of the Neon Moon.

CHAPTER 16

Blah, blah, blah
. She knew the cat doctor was talking, but all she could hear was
blah, blah, blah
. Vince Evers had launched into another story about how he discovered one of his clients was taking the anxiety pills he’d prescribed for her high-strung schnauzer. When a new Blake Shelton song came on, she perked up. “Oh. I love this song.”

He paused for half a second then went on with his story as if his voice were the most incredible thing one could hear. Under her breath, she muttered, “Doesn’t even come close to Blake’s.”

The good doctor blinked his bright blue eyes at her. “What?”

Oops. She toyed with her salad. “Oh, nothing. Just saying again how much I like this new song.”

“Right.” He smiled and kept talking.

She wondered if it were possible to steal teeth from horses. She’d never noticed how long his were until David mentioned it before she started getting ready. Garish, really. Long and blue-white. Unnatural. She glanced down at her watch to find she’d only been there thirty minutes.
Gah
. Gray let her mind trail back to earlier in the night. Women and broken watches and how David’s face lit up sharing the insights on women and time and shopping and suddenly, without any warning, her heart hurt.

When the hair on the back of her neck prickled, she stood. “Would you excuse me for a couple minutes?” She’d seek solitude in the bathroom. By David’s estimation, a couple minutes could be fifteen in woman-time. Then she could return to the table and maybe only have to endure another five or so, then, she could go home.

“Absolutely. I’ll be right here.”

That’s what I’m afraid of
. She turned to go to the restroom and slammed into a chest. Her eyes trailed up, up, up. But she knew that scent. She didn’t need to see the face. His hands closed over her upper arms, and instantly her flesh came alive beneath his grasp.

“Gray,” he whispered. And in her name, she heard more than a single word should contain. She heard love and hope and a promise. When his body shifted to accommodate her, she felt a thousand tomorrows in his touch. She dared not look up in his eyes. She knew what she’d find. Of course she did; this was Miah and she was Gray and what was between them was as powerful as it was inexplicable. And it was death for her.

“Don’t,” she whispered back. Why did the contact with his body steal every last bit of energy from hers? It was like grabbing a live wire and then being perplexed by the damage.

He released her with one hand and used it to capture her chin. He lifted her face until their eyes met.

Movement beside them faded into their space. She heard the voice of her date. “Excuse me, but, uh, that’s my date. I’m afraid you are over the line here.”

Gray’s eyes drifted shut; such weakness filled his voice, it would be pathetic if she wasn’t a little relieved at the interruption. Miah left her and the spot where he’d been was cold. He got nose to nose with her date, then dared him to come closer. The cat doctor dropped into his seat with a plop. Miah leaned over the table like a grizzly over a meal and stared him down. His voice was low and deadly. “This is the mother of my child and you’re going to sit right there with your mouth shut while I talk to her.”

Gray actually heard his mouth snap closed. Within a heartbeat, Miah was back and holding her. “Gray, I made a mess of everything. But I’m begging you to give me another chance. David and you are the only things in the world that matter. I don’t want to miss him growing up. I want to be there every day. But that’s not why I’m here now. I love you, Gray. I don’t think I can live without you. I want you in my bed every night and in my arms every morning.”

A vise had clamped her heart. It couldn’t beat, couldn’t send blood through her system. Miah went on, “David said you cried for the first week. He’d hear you late at night.”

Panic rushed in. She didn’t think he’d known.

“I’ve caused you enough pain. From now on, I only want to cause you happy tears. Gray, I love you and I want you to marry me.”

The room spun. Somewhere off in the distance there was a real world where women went on dates with self-impressed veterinarians. Out there was a world where twelve-year-olds acted their age. But right here, here was the fairy tale. It was she and Miah, and she was useless to fight him because she loved him. Had always loved him. Would always love him. But fear surged into her mind, taking it captive. Miah wasn’t perfect, but he’d given up so quickly. Maybe he’d learned and maybe he’d never do that again. But what if he did? What if a year or two or ten down the road, something scared him and just like that, he’d be gone? She couldn’t survive it. She needed someone who would fight to the death for her if that’s what it took. Her heart screamed yes, but her mind fought back. In a breathy whisper, she uttered, “No.”

For being a mountain of a man, it looked like a gust of wind could knock him over. “What?” He drew closer, examining her face.

“I said no.” With each word she felt stronger, more powerful. At least if she only depended on herself, she could survive the worst life could throw at her.

His breathing hitched and, for an instant, she wondered if he would pass out.

“I’m sorry, Miah.”

He dropped his hands from her. His face had gone white.

Gray swallowed, but her throat was cotton. She drifted away from him and started to slide back into the seat across from her date, but strong hands clamped on her arm and pulled her right back. “And I’m not giving up,” he growled. “I won’t give up on you, Gray. I’ll fight for the rest of my life and if God will let me, I’ll fight for you right into the next life. I’m sorry. Maybe that’s not fair to you, but I’m just not letting go. Not. Ever. Again.”

He was a prince on a white horse, his words sailing right into the deepest part of her heart. They wound around her uncertainty; they liberated her fear. But Gray wasn’t some weakened, emaciated princess. In the root of her being, she was strong. She’d meet her man face-to-face, toe-to-toe. If he said he was never giving up, she’d make him prove it. Right now. Gray jerked free from him and clamped her teeth shut. “You’re
not
giving up?”

Confusion flickered across his face. “I’m never giving up.”

She grabbed his chin. “Look me in the eye and say it again.”

A smile threatened to appear on his face, she could see it, toying at the edges of his mouth. And she knew he understood. Because a night, not long before, they’d stood in the parking lot of a speakeasy declaring their love, each one telling the other to “say it again.”

He fought the grin no longer. “I’m not ever giving up on you. On us.”

It was there, in the Neon Moon with her date beside her and the man she loved captured between her thumb and index finger, that Gray felt the first sensations of what life without fear could offer. She’d been a captive for so long, but now she was free. Her smile was quick. Eyes blinking back the tears she didn’t want to cry. “You swear?”

“I do.”

Her heart beat with the knowledge of what she was about to do. Enormous in its scope, all-encompassing in its radius. She was Gray and he was Miah and together, they were something more, something beyond human comprehension, something that could span galaxies and live out the fairy tale she’d always dreamed. With plump tears in her eyes, she said, “I do, too.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Miah, I love you.”

He held her there for a moment then tilted to look at her. “That’s it? Now we can move on together?”

“Yes.” She shook her head and her hair danced over his arms. “All I ever wanted was for you to fight for me. Knowing you will . . . it gives me everything I need.”

When his body melted against her, Gray kissed him, her mouth closing over his, their hearts pounding against one another. And again, she heard the distinct sound of applause.

They glanced around the room to find an audience of captivated dinner guests watching them. The cat doctor scooted from the seat and mumbled something about not paying the check. In a moment, he was gone. The people in the Neon Moon faded away and there was only Gray and Miah. “Let’s take a walk,” he growled in her ear.

She grabbed her jacket from the seat while he tossed money on the table. “At this time of night?”

“Yeah. I know a great little graveyard right around the corner.”

He tucked her beneath his arm as they left the restaurant. “Oooooh. I love graveyards.”

EPILOGUE

Gray smiled at her reflection in the mirror—Mrs. Jeremiah McKinley. Miah entered the hotel room with a full ice bucket for the champagne. The wedding had been a quick one because Gray didn’t care about things like long white dresses and hundreds of flowers. They’d taken David and Caleb and the whole crew from the artists’ retreat and gone to Eureka Springs. Of course, she’d tried to get Miah on board with having the service in the graveyard and she’d failed. The quaint turn-of-the-century hotel provided a perfect backdrop of natural beauty for the service, complete with a rocky waterfall nestled in the beautiful Arkansas Mountains. She had to concede; it was a better choice than leaning headstones and rusty fences.

David had left the hotel with Charlee and Ian and would stay with them for a few days while Gray and Miah had their honeymoon. Caleb would be checking up on David while he did his painting therapy with Mr. Gruber.

Gray’d just pulled a delicate piece of black-lace lingerie from her suitcase, but before she could steal away into the bathroom, Miah caught her in his arms. He ran a finger under the edge of the shoulder strap of her wedding dress, sending her body into orbit. “What’s this?” He took the lingerie from her hand, letting it dangle on his finger.

“That should be obvious.” She giggled when the strap of her dress slipped right off her shoulder. He lowered the silky black garment and dropped a kiss on the bare spot where her dress strap had been.

“You won’t be needing it.” He tossed the lingerie back into her suitcase and spun her to face away from him then concentrated his attention on the tiny pearl buttons on the bodice of her gown. “You won’t be needing this, either.”

Her gaze trailed to the bed, exposing her neck. He dropped a kiss there on the vessel throbbing beneath her jaw while he continued to loosen the gown. His hands moved with the precision of a soldier who could fieldstrip a rifle and reassemble it in total darkness. Gray cleared her throat; it had gone completely dry. The truth was, she was as nervous as . . . well . . . as a virgin on her wedding night. But she was also excited. Because in her mind, she’d played out this fantasy hundreds of times and already
this
was better than any her mind had created. When the top of her dress was loose and she had to use her forearms against her ribs to hold it in place, she pulled one solid, steadying breath. “Miah,” she whispered.

He’d gotten lost somewhere with his lips making tiny little kisses down her spine. The sensation was dizzying and if he didn’t carry her to the bed, she might faint before making it.

He growled in response to his name while one hand skated down the edge of her long hair and swept it all out of the way, over her shoulder. Goose bumps spread across her arms.

“What if . . .”

He must have registered the concern in her voice because he stopped and angled his body so he could look at her face.

“What if . . .” She cast her gaze to the floor. It was marble, solid. “What if I disappoint you?”

He took her face in his hands. “That’s not possible, Gray. This—” and he motioned between them as he said it, “—is just part of who we are. Together. Almost thirteen years ago a young girl rocked my world. That was you. I didn’t even know how important you were and still you changed everything for me that night. The real question is, what if I disappoint you?”

“Are you kidding me?” She laughed. “I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

“Well, let’s not keep you waiting any longer.”

Her arms loosened against her ribs and her eyes drifted shut. His mouth, his lips, they were lethal and she couldn’t wait to feel just how many ways he could destroy her, revive her, destroy her again. “You’re right. We’ve waited long enough.”

He bent and placed a delicate kiss on her ribs. She’d never realized that part of her flesh was so sensitive. “You have a promise to make good on.”

“And I intend to,” she purred.

He circled her, placing kisses here and there as he went along, discovering a new taste and a new texture at each spot. Standing behind her, his lips and mouth trailed over her back. She tried to breathe but was lost and floating down the river that was Miah. He lifted her until she was in his arms. He’d carried her across the threshold the same way.

Gray let her hands roam over his chest. “I love you, Jeremiah McKinley.”

“I love you, too, Mary Grace McKinley.” And with the gentleness of a dove, he deposited her on the king-size bed, where she fulfilled every promise she’d ever made him.

Two hours later and just as the moon began to peek into the bedroom of the honeymoon suite, Gray drifted off to sleep. She woke at the nudge of Miah’s ribs against her. His fingers trailed her arm and if bliss were water, she was drowning in the largest ocean on the planet. She looked up at him. “You happy?”

He chuckled. “Only you would ask something like that at a time like this.”

She scrunched her face and leaned up on one elbow. Her hair fell in waves around them.

Miah captured some of it in his hands. “Am I happy? I just had the most incredible experience with the most incredible woman in the world.”

She smiled, but he’d grown serious. “I’m not kidding, Gray. That night, all those years ago, I said you’d possessed me. Nothing since then had ever even come close. But now, I’m living that moment, that . . . magic all over again. And I can’t believe I’m going to live it for the rest of my life.”

Magic. Her? No. She was just Gray and he was just Miah. But together, they
were
more. They’d created David. They’d weathered almost losing him. And their future held promise. Because they loved each other beyond measure, and what on this planet could compare to that? As the night settled in, lengthening the shadows around their bed, Gray lay in his arms counting the stars through the window. Just beyond the moon, the Eye of God kept watch over them.

Miah and David walked to the water, as was their weekend habit. They’d been doing that for three months now. Each Saturday morning, they’d go to the lakeside, Miah would start a fire and there, they’d each write a note to the fathers they’d lost. Miah stoked up the blaze. “Did you tell your dad about the fishing competition?” It was a father/son tournament and they’d taken third place.

“No.”

David’s demeanor was different today. Miah wondered if something had happened at school. They went on, writing in silence, and when Miah was finished, he tossed the sheet onto the burning logs. David seemed to be struggling a little and Miah wished he knew what it was about, but he wouldn’t press.

David brushed his hair from his brow. “Okay, I’m done.”

Miah waited for him to silently reread it, then fold it and toss it onto the flame. When David didn’t move, he asked, “You want me to give you a few minutes? I can wait for you up at the house.”

David’s face contorted; he gripped the paper so tightly it wrinkled in his hand. “No. I just . . . I . . .” His lips pressed together in a straight line and he held the paper out to Miah.

He took it, uncertain if David wanted him to wait or lay it on the fire now.

“It’s to you.”

Miah’s fingers tightened on the single page. He lifted it slowly.

Dear Dad,

There are a lot of things I want to say, but most of all, I want to tell you thanks for finding me. I know I didn’t make it easy at first, but you made me want to try harder. Since I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to do lots of things and found out some things I really like. Plus, you make great hot cocoa and Gray loves you.

I guess what I’m trying to say, Miah, is that I think it’s time I start calling you by your real name. Dad. I hope that’s okay with you. I already told Bill I was going to do that in a letter in my room. I think he’d like that. I used to think that if I called you Dad, it would be like erasing him. But now I know it’s not. You were my dad first. Then Bill. Now you again. I guess I’m lucky that way to have had two great dads.

Anyway, I guess that’s all I wanted to say.

I love you, Dad.

Your son,

David

Miah fought to keep the tears at bay but knew it was a battle already lost. There was no voice with his words when he said, “Can I keep this one?”

David nodded.

Miah carefully folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. David watched him closely, chewing the inside of his cheek. “Is it okay?”

Miah grabbed him by the shoulders. “It’s better than okay, David. You just made me the happiest man on earth.”

David released a sigh. “Okay. Good.” He landed in his father’s arms for a bone-crushing hug. “Hey, Dad?”

Miah kept hold; fact was, he was never letting go. “Yes?”

“Can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.” But he
would
need to loosen his grip now and then.

David nodded up the hill behind them. “We gotta get back. Mom is cooking and now there’s black smoke rolling out of the kitchen window.”

Miah laughed and turned to see his wife waving a kitchen towel and directing the smoke.

David stopped halfway to the house. “Can we go fishing later, Dad?” He was sampling the new title for Miah, trying it out, seeing how he liked it.

“Yes. But you’ve got to let me in on your secret to catching those large catfish.”

David’s mouth twisted in mock concentration. “I’ll think about it.”

Miah threw an arm around his shoulder. “I can live with that.” If dreams were pebbles, he had enough to fill a swimming pool. If love were magic, he could put Houdini to shame. And if life were promises, he’d live to be a ripe old age with the woman he loved and the child they’d created when they were merely kids themselves. He’d once told his dad in a letter that he hoped to be a good father someday. Someday had come in an instant, and though Miah wasn’t perfect, he was determined. For the rest of his life, he’d make good on the promises he should have made over a decade ago.

He could do it. He could be a good soldier, a good man, and a good father.

After all, the Eye of God was watching over him.