RaeAnne Thayne Hope's Crossings Series Volume One: Blackberry Summer\Woodrose Mountain\Sweet Laurel Falls (74 page)

Her stepdaughter walked out of the house with the slight hip-swiveling hitch in her step that still lingered but she was steady as she moved toward the SUV. Sometimes Evie thought her heart would burst with pride at Taryn's progress the past six months, especially knowing she had played a part in it.

A stranger who didn't know the difficult road Taryn had traveled the past year might only see a pretty dark-haired girl with big blue eyes and a slightly lopsided, winsome smile that hinted at some secret amusement.

Just as Evie had told Brodie all those months ago, Taryn would probably never be exactly as she had been before the accident. Besides the slight awkwardness to her gait, she had trouble with memory sometimes, and once in a while she still struggled to find just the right word in the middle of a conversation and she could stumble over certain phrases.

But she had finished her junior year of high school just that week—and the highlight had been a month ago when she had been named junior prom queen at Hope's Crossing High School in an assembly where the announcement had been met with tears and hugs and a rousing standing ovation from her classmates.

Jacques, her devoted companion, planted his haunches in the middle of the sidewalk and looked over his shoulder as if to urge her to put some hustle into it. The two of them had a close and loving bond that only seemed to deepen with time.

“Really?” Evie said, finally noticing the leash in her hand. “You're seriously taking Jacques along to help today? Don't you think he might get in the way?”

“Why would he? He'll be good moral support. Anyway, I'm taking his service animal vest, just in case anybody says anything. I need him there to help me.”

Katherine had made the little green vest for the dog as something of a joke but in reality Evie thought there was more than a grain of truth in categorizing the dog as a service animal. Throughout the long months of therapy, Jacques had done far more to help Taryn progress than Evie as a trained physical therapist had been able to accomplish. She had even started using the dog with the few other rehab patients she had selectively taken on in Hope's Crossing.

There was another change over the past year. Thanks to her work with Taryn, Evie had accepted that some part of her heart would always be a therapist, even when her head tried to make excuses for her to avoid her chosen vocation. She still worked part-time at String Fever, but she was relishing her work with a few carefully chosen patients and the progress they were making.

“Is your dad ready?”

“I think he's right behind me.”

“Coming,” a distracted voice said. As if on cue, Brodie pushed through the door, his hair still damp and curling at his neck from his shower. He had a coffee travel mug in one hand and was reading something on his smartphone in the other as he walked. Though she had just been cuddled up beside him in bed forty-five minutes earlier, her insides still did that silly little jump of anticipation. It was like that whenever she saw him, even after three months of marriage.

She could only hope she would have the same reaction after they had been married fifty years.

He shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans. “Sorry. I finally heard back from the city planner in Gunnison. Looks like they've finally decided to approve the new sporting goods store there.”

“Oh, Brodie. That's wonderful news!” For weeks, he had been wrangling with the town over possible sites to expand his business.

She hugged him and he wrapped his arms around her and turned her quick, happy kiss into a long, leisurely, delicious one that made her momentarily wish this was one of those sleepy mornings when they could pull the comforter over their heads and slide together.

“Okay. Can we get on with things now?” Taryn grumbled. Evie wrenched her mouth away and looked over in time to catch her stepdaughter rolling her eyes at them.

Evie knew it was all for show. Taryn had welcomed her into their family with delight and acceptance—as had Katherine, who couldn't have been more thrilled when Brodie and Evie made their relationship public after Charlie's sentencing hearing in September. At their March wedding, a quiet affair in the small church in town, Katherine had laughed and cried, joyfully welcoming Evie into their small family.

Brodie pulled away with that secret smile that made her toes tingle. “Yeah, I guess you're right. We should probably move it. Can't have the whole town waiting on us.”

He held the door open for Evie, then moved to the backseat to help Taryn—and Jacques—inside.

“This will be so great,” Taryn declared when her father climbed inside and started heading out of the driveway. “All my friends are still talking about how much fun it was last year. Hannah is meeting us at the community center. We wanted to go up the canyon to clean up garbage.”

“Having you there this year will be wonderful,” Evie said.

She knew the rest of the townspeople of Hope's Crossing would be just as thrilled to see the girl participate in the day. Many saw Taryn's recovery as nothing short of miraculous. The teenager had become a talisman of sorts to the town, a symbol of hope and healing after the tragedy of the car accident and the scars it had left in countless lives. Though Taryn had shouldered much of the blame for the accident at Charlie's sentencing hearing, no one seemed inclined to hold her responsible.

Brodie reached across to squeeze Evie's fingers and she saw the emotion in his eyes. How could she ever have thought him cold and heartless? she wondered. Yes, he was very good at containing his deepest feelings, but that made the moments when he let go all the more priceless to her.

They had just left the gates of Aspen Ridge when Evie spotted a bicyclist heading up the hill toward the neighborhood. Odd, since everyone else in town was heading toward the community center that was serving as the hub of the day's events.

“Wait!” Taryn exclaimed. “Dad, stop!”

Brodie frowned in the rearview mirror. “T, we're already running late.”

“I know. Just stop.”

He had barely braked the vehicle before Taryn thrust open her door and raced toward the bicyclist with only a slight stumble in her gait, Jacques on her heels.

A second later, the person pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside then caught Taryn when she would have plowed him over with enthusiasm. Evie inhaled sharply as she recognized him.

“Beaumont,” Brodie growled, and Evie cast a quick glance at him in time to see his hands tighten on the steering wheel. It was undoubtedly Charlie Beaumont, though his hair was a little longer and a little shaggier than it had been nine months ago when he had first entered the youth correctional facility in Denver.

“I guess the rumor mill had it right for once,” he muttered. “I'd heard he might be released soon.”

“And you didn't tell us?”

“You know how unreliable the grapevine can be. I wanted to be sure before I mentioned it to Taryn. Didn't want to get her hopes up.”

Though Taryn and Charlie had exchanged emails and letters and the occasional phone call—and even a few in-person visits when Brodie had reluctantly agreed to take his daughter to the correctional facility—Brodie still maintained a cool reserve toward the young man.

When he shut the engine off and opened his door to greet the boy, Evie decided she would be wise to follow, even if Brodie was much more calm about Charlie these days.

To her relief, he held out a hand as he approached the pair. Charlie, his left arm still around Taryn's shoulders, shook it, and Evie couldn't help noticing a new maturity about him. That air of troubled restlessness seemed to be gone.

“You should have called or something,” Taryn exclaimed, glowing with a bright happiness that was almost painful to see. “Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?”

Charlie scratched Jacques between the ears and the dog looked at him with just as much joy as Taryn. “I wasn't sure myself. Everything's been crazy the last few days. I wanted to be certain they would really give me an early release before I said anything.”

“You just sent me an email three days ago. You didn't even mention the possibility!”

He shrugged. “It might have fallen through. I thought it would be better to wait.” He deftly changed the subject. “You look terrific, Taryn. Really terrific. And you're getting around so well. Not even the cane anymore.”

Taryn cast a sidelong look toward her. “Evie's a slave driver. She told me if I wanted to be her maid of honor I had to ditch the cane.”

“That's right,” Evie said drily, playing along. “You know me. Bridezilla. Everything had to be perfect for my special day.”

“I'm sure it was. Congratulations on your wedding.”

Evie reached for Brodie's hand. Even after three months, sometimes the happiness bubbled up inside her and she didn't know how to contain it. “Thank you. We loved the serving platter you sent us. We used it just the other day. You obviously put a great deal of time into sanding and polishing the wood.”

He looked a little embarrassed. “Woodshop was one of the better ways to pass the time.”

“You'll have to come to dinner some night soon and see how well it goes in the dining room.”

“Maybe.” He glanced at their vehicle and then back at the three of them. “I guess you're probably on your way into town for the Giving Hope Day. I won't keep you. I only wanted to say hey and let Taryn know I was back before she heard about it in town.”

“Why don't you come with us?” Taryn said suddenly.

Charlie's laugh wasn't as harsh as it might have been nine months earlier. “I don't think that would go over real well in town. Think about it, Taryn. The whole reason for the day is to remember and honor Layla. It's her birthday, after all. I don't belong there.”

“Of course you do,” she said fiercely. “You belong there as much as I do. Why shouldn't you come and help us? Layla was your friend, too.”

“Come on, Taryn. You know why.”

A militant light sparked in her stepdaughter's eyes. Evie knew that stubborn look. She'd seen it often enough over her months of working with Taryn to know the girl could be relentless when she set her mind to something.

“I want you to come with us. You need to do this, Charlie. Lock your bike up at our house and you can ride with us.”

“Taryn, let the kid make up his own mind.” Brodie spoke for the first time since they'd exited the SUV.

Charlie pointed. “See? Your dad knows it's a mistake.”

“Don't put words in my mouth,” Brodie said mildly. “Actually, I think it's a great idea. I suspect word's already going to be out that you're home, and this way you're facing down the whispers and stares all at once.”

“Gee, when you put it that way, why wouldn't I want to come?”

Brodie gave him a steady look at the sarcastic tone. “You're going to have to face people sooner or later. Might as well man up and do it now while you have the added benefit of being able to honor Layla's memory at the same time. People might stare but nobody's going to say anything—not if you're there with us and with Taryn.”

Evie's throat felt achy, tight, and she wondered how it was possible to love this man more with every passing day.

Charlie stared at him for a long moment, myriad emotions chasing across his features, then he finally sighed. “You're probably right. Kind of like taking your medicine in one big gulp instead of spreading it out for weeks.”

Evie smiled through the haze of tears she refused to shed. “We can put your bike in the garage and give you a ride into town.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

As Charlie headed toward the house, the three of them climbed back into the SUV then followed behind him at a safe distance.

“Are you sure you're ready for this?” Brodie asked her quietly when they reached the house and Taryn went to help Charlie find a place for his bike. “He's right. A few people won't be happy he's there. Some people can't let go, even after the truth came out about what really happened that night.”

She nodded. “Charlie needs this. I think the whole town does. The healing process is usually messy and painful and rarely comfortable. I think we've all learned that these past months.”

To her delight, Brodie reached for her hand and brought it to his mouth, one of those spontaneous gestures that charmed her to her core. “I love you, Evie Thorne.”

“And doesn't that make me the luckiest woman in Hope's Crossing?” she murmured.

When the two young people slid into the backseat, Jacques perched happily between them, Brodie once more pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the town spread out below them.

Across the valley, warm morning sunshine glinted off the snow that still capped Woodrose Mountain. Evie wanted to bask in it—and in the certain knowledge that, storm clouds or not, her future here in Hope's Crossing would be filled with light and joy and peace. She refused to have it any other way.

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