Her Very Own Family (14 page)

“I wondered the same thing when I saw him. It made me mad.” Audrey stopped in the middle of the hall.

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t think about the list. You won’t be able
to go into Mom’s room. Only certain people are allowed.”

“It’s okay. I can wait for you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. You should go back to the hotel.” He thought he detected some nervousness in her expression when she looked up at him. “Or maybe you should go home.”

Was she sending him away? Did she not want him here?

He cupped her chin. “Take however long you need. Don’t worry about me.”

A close-lipped smile tugged at her lips, and he wished he could do something to make her life easier, so that she could smile wide and be happy every day.

“I think I’ve developed a guilt complex over the past year,” she said. “I keep thinking about how you don’t deserve having to deal with the craziness of my life, how you’re spending so much time away from your home, your business. I know they mean a lot to you.”

“There are other things that mean a lot to me, too.” He wanted to show her how much, but they were in the middle of a busy hospital. So he hoped the tender kiss on her forehead would give her some idea. “I’ll go back to the hotel, even do some work by phone if it’ll make you feel less guilty.”

She laughed a little, the warmth of her breath seeping through his shirt. “Yes, it would.”

“Call me if you need me.”

She nodded then walked the rest of the way to her mother’s room.

He turned to leave, planning to make good use of the hotel’s business center until Audrey returned.

“Wait!”

He looked back to see Audrey holding up her index finger. “I have an idea.” She tossed her purse at the guard and darted into her mother’s room.

What was she doing?

He’d started walking toward the room again when she exited, excitement brightening her eyes. “Come on.”

“Ma’am, he’s not on the list,” the guard said.

“He doesn’t have to be to stand in the hall, does he?” Audrey took a few steps, grabbed Brady’s hand and pulled him to the open doorway. “Mom, this is Brady.”

An older woman with short silver hair who lay attached to an assortment of tubes and monitors raised her hand. “Hello. So you’re the young man who has been helping my Audrey with her new project?”

He wondered why she’d phrased the end of the question the way she had. Then he realized she was being careful that the guard or anyone passing by didn’t learn any of the details of where Audrey now lived. She was giving her daughter a chance for that new life and some privacy. Despite what she’d done in the past, he immediately liked Thomasina York.

“Yes, ma’am. My father and I.”

“Sounds like he raised a fine son.”

They talked like that for a few minutes until Brady noticed passersby beginning to stare and peek into the room, curious about the occupant being guarded by a law enforcement officer.

“I think it’s time I left,” he said, low so that his voice wouldn’t carry down the corridor.

He could see the argument forming in Audrey’s mind, but nodded to the side to indicate a curious couple walking by.

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later?” The way she phrased her words as a question nearly broke his heart, as if he would suddenly realize this had all been a mistake and flee back to Tennessee without telling her. He could kick himself for even having made her doubt him.

“Definitely.” This time, he didn’t care who saw them, her mom included. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Not how he really wanted to, but more than a peck.

Someone whistled. They broke the kiss and looked over to see Holly walking down the hall with a “Who, me? I didn’t do anything” look on her face.

To avoid more comments from the peanut gallery, he dropped a quick kiss on Audrey’s hand. She smiled at him when he released her. That smile would follow him all the way back to the hotel.

A
UDREY WATCHED
Brady walk down the hall, well aware that the guard and her mother were watching her. She didn’t care. Despite all that her mother was facing and the lingering snatches of hurt from the past year, she felt as light as air.

She and the guard didn’t make eye contact when he handed her purse back as she reentered her mother’s room. After she shut the door, she noticed her mother grinning.

“If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that boy does like
you,” Thomasina said, sounding much as she had when she’d teased Audrey about boys during high school.

Audrey couldn’t erase the smile taking over her face. But, then, she didn’t try too hard, either. She didn’t even mind her mother’s teasing. Thomasina looked a little better today, like the chemo drugs were doing their job and kicking the cancer out of her body like a bouncer at a bar.

Halfway through the morning, Carl Burton, her mother’s attorney, arrived.

“I need to talk to you,” he said to Thomasina without giving Audrey more than a glance.

“If this is what I think it’s about, you can say it in front of Audrey.”

He hesitated. “You told her?”

Thomasina sat up straighter. “She’s my daughter. She’s not going to repeat it to anyone.”

“Last time I checked, you two weren’t on the best of terms,” Carl said, unfazed by Thomasina’s mama-bear tone.

Audrey bristled, but forced herself to stay calm. After all, the man was right. His job was to work for his client’s best interests, and the last time Audrey had seen him she hadn’t been too concerned about her mother’s welfare.

“Things change, Carl. Audrey has found it in her heart to work on our relationship. You can trust her.”

“Fine.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his crisp suit pants. “The police are on their way to arrest Adam right now. They have enough to put him away for a long time.”

Sadness pulled at Thomasina’s face as she lowered
her eyes to the blanket covering her legs. “Then everything will be put to right.”

Audrey wrapped her mother’s hand between hers. She tried to remember when her mom would be up for parole. Would the parole board see her mother’s remorse and how she was trying to make amends for what she’d done? Audrey decided she’d do whatever she could to make sure they granted her mother the ability to breathe free air again. Yes, she’d made a mistake, a big one, but she was genuinely sorry and didn’t deserve to die behind prison walls.

Not that her mother would be dying anytime soon. Audrey couldn’t face that possibility, so she flatly refused to believe the cancer would win. It wouldn’t. She knew that.

“There’s something else,” Carl said.

Her mother looked up and understanding crept into her eyes. “They’re sending me back.”

“Yes, this afternoon.” At this revelation, Carl’s tone finally softened.

“Back?” Audrey’s heart stuttered.

“To the prison infirmary,” the attorney said. “They can manage her care there now.”

It was one thing to see her mother in a hospital and used as a pincushion, but Audrey didn’t know if she was strong enough to see her behind prison walls. Would she even be able to visit her mom while she was in the infirmary?

“It’s too soon.” As the words fell out of Audrey’s mouth, she realized exactly how much she’d missed
having her mother in her life the past year and how much it was going to hurt to not be able to see her every day.

Thomasina looked at Carl, and he got the message and left.

“It’s okay,” her mother said, trying to soothe. “We knew this would happen.”

Audrey sprang to her feet and walked to the window. “I don’t want to leave you out here all alone.”

“I won’t be alone, dear.”

She stared back at her mom. “I don’t think prison inmates and guards count.”

“Sweetie, you have your own life to live.”

“But…maybe I can sell the mill, find a place here. I could get a job doing…something.”

“No.”

Audrey crossed her arms and turned more fully toward her mother. “Why not?”

“Because a year of your life was already ruined because of me. I won’t have you waste another minute.” Thomasina shook her head. “If you could only see your face when you talk about your café, about those green mountains, the sound of the creek.”

“It’s beautiful here, too.” She pointed out the window. “See, mountains.”

“Yes, but no Brady.”

The pain that stabbed her heart took Audrey by surprise. She didn’t want to live without Brady, but how could she walk away from her mother when she had no one? When she was battling for her life?

Audrey let her mom believe she’d abandoned the
argument, but as she spent the rest of the morning with her she couldn’t stop the tug-of-war going on inside herself. When the nurses and prison employees arrived to start her mom’s transfer, she couldn’t watch. She leaned over to hug her mom, fighting tears. Her mom did feel stronger than when Audrey had first arrived, so that was at least a positive sign. She wondered if her visit had helped give her mom the will to fight.

“I’ll see you soon,” Audrey said, her voice faltering.

Thomasina smoothed Audrey’s hair. “You remember what I said. You grab your own happiness and don’t let go. I love you, honey, and so does that young man.”

“I love you, too, Mom.” Before she broke down, Audrey fled the room and hurried down the hall, then another.

When she found an empty waiting room, she ducked into it and shut the door. She sat for several minutes staring at the wall in front of her without seeing it. She had no idea how much time passed before she came to a decision. Her hand shook as she dialed her cell phone.

B
RADY PUT IN
several hours at the hotel’s business center, surprised how much he was able to accomplish while simultaneously thinking about Audrey. She’d trusted him enough to introduce him to her mom. That was a good sign, right?

On his way back to her room, he stopped by the hotel gift shop and bought a bouquet of flowers. They weren’t
expensive roses, but the colors of the mixed blooms reminded him of Audrey and her love of wildflowers.

His cell rang as he was placing the flowers on the room’s desk. He glanced at the number and smiled.

“Hey. Miss me already?”

She laughed, but it was a faint laugh that let him know something was wrong. Had her mom taken a turn for the worse? She’d seemed okay a few hours ago.

“What is it?”

“I’m fine. They’re just taking Mom back.”

Back? “To the prison?”

“Yeah.” She sniffled.

“When?”

“Right now. Actually, they may already be gone. I couldn’t stay and watch.”

“Where are you?”

“In a waiting room. I’ve been sitting here thinking for a while.”

“Tell me where, and I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“No, really. Holly is going to give me a ride to the prison. Her sister works there, in the infirmary.”

He heard her take a shaky breath and worried about her asthma. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Really. It just all kind of surprised me.”

“Is your mom ready to go back there?”

“Everyone says she is, which is good in a strange way.”

“Because it means she’s getting better.”

“Yeah.”

Brady sank onto the side of the bed. He sensed she
was trying to say something and having a difficult time. “You’re going to stay here for a while longer.”

“Yes. Before I can really move on, I need to know she’s okay, that she’s getting the best care she can considering the situation.”

He understood, he really did. It didn’t make him feel any better about leaving. Because that’s what he knew she wanted to say—that it was time for him to go home. He had a life and work to get back to, and he couldn’t put those on hold indefinitely.

“You know you can call me, right? Anytime, day or night.”

“I know. And thank you.”

She was just down the street, but he already missed her. He’d miss her until she returned to Willow Glen. To him.

Brady stopped hammering long enough to wipe the sweat from his forehead before it ran into his eyes. The ensuing quiet also allowed him to hear a vehicle coming down the lane toward the mill. The visitor proved to be his dad, probably here to deliver Audrey’s mail from her mailbox. Brady slid another piece of lumber into place and started hammering again.

The gazebo was a surprise for Audrey when she returned home. He’d talked to her several times in the two weeks since he’d gotten back to Tennessee. While she always sounded spent, there was a sense of satisfaction in her voice, too. She and her mother were continuing to mend their relationship, and Audrey was doing all she could to make sure the powers that be took good care of her mom. She also was spreading the word that her mother was a changed woman, a good person at the core.

When he stopped hammering again, he noticed his dad wandering up to stand under the shade of the trees.

“That’s coming along real nice,” Nelson said.

“Yeah. Still a lot to do though.” He was spending all his free moments working like mad to complete the gazebo before Audrey came home. And considering he didn’t know when that might be, he was pushing himself to exhaustion.

“Any word on when Audrey’s due back?”

“No.”

“Interesting.”

Brady knew that tone of voice. When he looked at his dad, yep, there was the smug look. His dad healed a bit more every day. More and more of his former personality resurfaced as a result. Brady wasn’t so sure he was happy to see this aspect. He suspected he’d regret it, but he couldn’t help asking, “What’s interesting?”

“That even though there’s no indication Audrey is coming back soon, you’re working like a maniac to finish this gazebo.”

“I just want to finish it so everything here will be done.”

“I didn’t know Audrey asked for help with the gazebo.”

“She didn’t.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Listen, she’s dealing with a lot. When she gets back here, she’ll be preparing to open the café. I don’t think she’ll have time to be out here building a gazebo by herself.”

“Yes, but I got the impression this was a down-the-road project.”

Brady let out an exasperated breath. “So what if it was? It’s part of her overall dream for the place, so why not have it ready from the beginning?”

Nelson stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “You know what I think?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“That this place and this woman have become your dream, too.”

Brady stared at the half-finished roof of the gazebo, unable to deny it. He didn’t want to. Sometime between that day he’d driven to the mill thinking the new woman in town was on the prowl for his recently widowed father and now, he’d fallen in love with her. And his entire attitude about commitment and risking eventual hurt had changed. What was that famous saying? It was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Instead of rubbing it in or uttering an “I told you so,” Nelson picked up the saw and consulted the plans for the gazebo.

“I hear having an extra set of hands makes work go a lot faster,” he said.

As Brady watched his dad use a pencil to mark the cutting point on the board, he realized how much he owed the older man. After all, no matter how much Brady had resisted commitment since Ginny, his father had been the best example. But maybe he hadn’t gotten serious again because he hadn’t met the right woman.

Now he had. And as soon as he saw Audrey again, he was going to tell her.

A
UDREY TURNED
into the lane that led back to the mill, glad to almost be home. Exhaustion had her fantasizing about falling into her bed for hours of uninterrupted
sleep. She’d been fighting to stay awake ever since she’d merged onto I-81 east of Knoxville. Now, the goal of blessed sleep was within two minutes of becoming reality.

The dark woods lining the lane welcomed her back, providing a comfort the bright city lights of Denver couldn’t. Sure, the world wasn’t perfect, but she’d made peace with both her mother and the situation. With Holly and her sister, Jessica, looking after Thomasina, Audrey was convinced her mother would receive good care. Her latest medical results were promising, showing that the chemotherapy was indeed doing its job.

And Audrey had met with both Carl and prison officials to make it known that her mother was truly remorseful and that she’d make sure the parole board knew that when the time came. Nobody could make promises, of course, but Audrey left those meetings hopeful.

Now that the other part of her life was on the right path, she had a lot to do here to prepare for the café’s opening in two weeks. But not tonight. And maybe not tomorrow. She felt as if she’d been run through one of those old-timey wringer washing machines.

Her thoughts strayed to Brady, as they often did. She’d wondered how he was and if he’d still been working when she’d passed the Kingsport exits.

She’d called to let him know she was coming home tonight, but had to leave a message since he’d been on a work site. She’d done her best not to read anything into the fact that there had been no voice mails from him when she’d landed in Nashville—and no calls since,
either. Trying not to give in to old insecurities, she’d resisted the urge to call him again. Maybe she’d pop by to see Nelson tomorrow and he’d mention that Brady had been working late or his cell phone had been run over by a bulldozer at a construction site.

She rubbed her eyes at the crazy notion. Wow, did she need some sleep. When she focused ahead of her as she pulled into the clearing, she wondered if her sleep-deprived state was making her see things, because Brady stood there waiting by his truck.

A surge of adrenaline pushed her fatigue out to arm’s length. It was so good to see him.

She parked and got out of her car. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“A little birdie told me you were coming home.”

She leaned her hip against the car door. “And you decided to drive all the way up here instead of calling?”

“I was in the neighborhood,” he said as he sauntered toward her.

She doubted that, but didn’t argue the point. When he stepped close, she said, “It’s good to see you.”

He lifted a hand and caressed her cheek. “You, too. Though you look worn-out. Everything okay?”

“Yes, just tired. Long day.”

She gave him the quick rundown of everything that had happened since she’d last talked to him—the latest on her mother’s condition, how Adam’s arrest and a statement by federal investigators had finally gotten the press off her tail and how she and her mother were going to handle the situation going forward.

“Sounds like the past isn’t dogging your steps anymore,” he said.

“No, it’s finally put to rest.” She yawned wide, making her jaw pop. “And speaking of rest…”

He traced his fingertip across her chin. “Do you think you could hold off sleep for a few more minutes?”

“Maybe. Depends on the reason.” She gave him a saucy smile.

“Close your eyes.”

She did as instructed, which made the sound of her beloved Willow Creek more pronounced. “You do know you’re tempting fate here, right? If I close my eyes, I might fall asleep and you’ll have to carry me to bed.”

“I can think of worse things.”

A delicious shiver raced up Audrey’s spine. Brady took her hand and led her forward along the gravel drive. “What are you up to?”

“It’s a surprise. Just keep your eyes closed.”

“Okay.” She tried to figure out what was going on based on the direction he was guiding her, and it felt like it wasn’t toward the mill. What in the world?

“Stand here for a minute, and don’t peek.” Brady let go of her hand, and a couple of seconds later she heard a click. “Okay, open your eyes.”

Her mouth fell open at the sight in front of her. Thousands of tiny white lights covered a finished white gazebo. White and pink tulle decorated the ceiling. She glanced down and saw the rock path leading from the driveway to the gazebo steps. Happy tears welled in her eyes.

“It’s beautiful.”

She walked forward feeling as if she’d dropped into some magical fairy world. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see actual fairies flit by.

After walking the length of the stone path, she took the first step leading into the gazebo. “It’s exactly how I pictured it.” She shook her head slowly in disbelief. “How?”

“Dad helped, and Sophie did the poufy stuff,” he said as he pointed toward the tulle.

She smiled. “Poufy stuff? That the technical term?”

“How would I know? If it’s not sold at Lowe’s or 84 Lumber, I’m clueless.”

Audrey gazed at the gazebo some more, ran her hand along the freshly painted wood. “You three make a good team.”

“So you like it?” Brady asked as he approached her.

She turned to find that her spot on the step had brought them eye to eye. “Like it? I love it.”

“And I love you.”

Audrey’s breath got stuck trying to leave her lungs. “Oh, Brady.” She leaned forward and kissed him with all the emotion flooding her body. In that moment, she realized how much she’d missed him while they’d been apart. And she had the strangest sensation that she’d missed him even before they’d met.

When the kiss ended, a small laugh escaped Brady, cooling her wet lips. “I take it by your response that you at least like me a little.”

She leaned back and ran her fingertips along his strong jaw, soaked in every detail of this face that was
never far from her mind. “I passed up liking you a little a long time ago.”

“Yeah?” Brady teased.

“Yeah. In fact, I’m pretty sure I love you, too.”

“Good, because I have something to ask you.”

If she’d thought it was hard to breathe normally before, it was nothing in comparison as she watched him pull something from his pocket then drop down to one knee.

“I know we haven’t really known each other that long, but it feels like we have. You wanted this gazebo for weddings, so I thought you and I could be the first to use it.” He opened a little black box and lifted it so she could see the contents. A diamond ring winked back at her, embodying everything she’d wanted deep down but dared not hope for. “Audrey York, will you make me a very happy man and marry me?”

More tears welled in her eyes and spilled over. She covered her mouth to stifle a cry.

Brady’s happy but nervous expression faded, replaced with worry. “I’m sorry. It’s too soon.”

He started to stand, but she placed her hands on his shoulders to keep him where he was. She shook her head. “No, it’s not too soon. And yes, I will marry you.”

Brady did stand then. Well, actually, he sprang to his feet and swept her off hers. She laughed as he spun her in a circle before placing her feet back on the step and kissing her until her head spun.

“You still sleepy?” he asked as he held her close.

“Who needs sleep?”

He placed his left arm behind her knees and swung
her into his arms. As he carried her toward the mill, she giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” She ran her fingers over his biceps. “I was just thinking that all that manual labor comes in handy when you want to literally sweep a girl off her feet.”

“Was that your ulterior motive for making me work so hard?”

She swatted his arm. “I didn’t make you do anything.”

He stepped inside the mill and headed for the stairs. “True. I would have done it all for free.”

The way he said it, his words deep and husky, made her skin warm. She continued staring into his eyes as he carried her across the loft and set her on her feet at the foot of her bed. Without words, they started slowly undressing each other. With each button undone, each article of clothing dropped to the floor, the fact that she was going to spend the rest of her life with this man sank in a little more.

When all the clothes lay puddled at their feet, Brady lifted her again and lowered her onto the bed. She smiled as he slid in beside her.

“What’s the smile for?” he asked.

“Because I’m happy. You make me happy.”

He caressed her cheek. “The feeling’s mutual.” He lowered his lips to her mouth, then found his way to her neck, her ear, then blazed a trail of kisses to her breasts and stomach.

She ran her fingers through his hair and closed her eyes as all her nerve endings sparked to life.

Brady kissed his way back up the same trail. “You seem to be breathing a bit heavily,” he teased as he reached her mouth again.

“And you’re not breathing heavily enough.” She grabbed him and pulled him down to her, letting all her desire flow into the kiss she gave him. She only broke the kiss and gasped when he joined with her. Her fingers gripped his muscled back as she met his movements with enthusiasm. How was it even possible to feel this good? This wonderfully complete?

They didn’t have to be quiet, and they weren’t. She no longer had to hold everything inside for fear the truth would ruin her life yet again. And that knowledge made their lovemaking even better. She found her release first, followed closely by Brady. Afterward, he cradled her close and she didn’t think she’d ever felt so loved.

She noticed the light coming in the window for the first time. “You forgot to turn off the gazebo lights.”

“Maybe I didn’t forget.” He nuzzled her ear. “Or maybe I had other things on my mind.”

She laughed. “I thought when I pulled into the driveway tonight that I would be hitting this bed alone to sleep.”

Brady shifted so he was looking down at her, his warm chest pressed against hers. “Sorry, I’m not going anywhere. But I figure you’ll get that sleep.” He lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a toe-curling kiss. “Eventually.”

What was it she’d said out by the gazebo? Oh, yeah. Who needed sleep?