Remember Me Always: A Contemporary Romance (31 page)

CHAPTER 26

PENNY

"MAMA, ARE YOU here?" I ask, almost yelling as I burst through the front doors to my parents' house.  I almost went straight to the hospital, but my mother never told me anything other than to get back to Alabama as fast as I could.

As I round the corner to the living room, I see my parents sipping coffee as if everything is right in the world.  My eyes widen as I see my father look up at me and smile.  I rush to him and throw myself into his arms.  "What happened?  You look completely fine," I say in amazement.  I pull back and look into his eyes.  "Daddy, what's going on?"

"Your mother…" my father starts.

My mother clears her throat and sets down her coffee cup.  "Penelope, I lied to you…again."

My heart almost stops beating as I hear her words.  "W-what?" I falter.  I stand up slowly, squaring my shoulders, ready for a mouth battle.  How could she lie about something as serious as my father's health?  Hasn't she learned by now that her lies cause nothing but pain and destruction?

Mom stands and holds up her hands in defense.  "I lied, but for a good reason."

"And what reason would that be?" I ask her in total disbelief.

"You were miserable up in New York, Penelope.  And it took me a lot of thinking and a lot of arguing with your father to make me realize that you don't want to marry Tucker Hayward.  You never wanted anyone other than Colton."  She sighs and shakes her head sadly.  "I'm sorry I lied to get you here, but this time it was for non-selfish reasons."  She throws her hands up in surrender.  "I
finally
get it, Penelope.  Okay?  I need to stop trying to make you live a life that I want and let you live yours."

Her words slowly sink in.  "So…you lied to get me back to here so that I could be with Colton?"  When she nods, I frown.  "Colton doesn't want me.  He ---."

"Things changed while you were gone, Penny," my father interrupts.  "Colton started remembering things.  In fact, he came here for dinner several times asking questions about you and how you two used to be.  And some of the blanks we filled in for him seemed to help with his fragmented memories."

Tears fill my eyes.  "He remembers me?"

My father nods.  "He doesn't remember everything, but he's getting there.  He's making progress."

I press my palm to my chest and feel my heart racing underneath my hand.  "He remembers me," I whisper.  I look at them both and say, "I'm sorry.  I…I have to go.  I have to find him."

My parents smile, and that's the last thing I see before I run out the door.

*  *  *  *  *

COLTON

I NERVOUSLY SIT on the front porch and tap my fingers against my jeans as the tune
Penny Lane
runs through my head.  If someone would have told me a month ago that Virginia Preston would have conspired with me to get her daughter to come back to Alabama, I would have told that person they were nuts.  But her mama just called to say Penny's on her way, and I can't believe our plan actually worked.

I was so afraid that I was too late.  Even though Virginia assured me that her daughter wasn't in love with Tucker Hayward, I didn't truly believe it.  I've screwed up so many damn times, and I know I'm not even worthy of another chance.  But bless the stars, because Penny's comin' home to me.

This is my last chance to make things right.  And I'm gonna do everything in my power to make that girl stay with me.

I love her.  I was just too damn stubborn and stupid to realize it before.  I love her with every single ounce of my heart, body and soul.  Penny is it for me. 
She's my everything.

I stand when I see her parents' car pullin' up the lane. 
She's here.  She's really here.

Quickly, I double-check everything in my mind that I planned for her arrival.  I think it's all perfect or as near to perfect as it's gonna get.

The car is parked and Penny's steppin' out before I can blink.  At first, her steps are hurried as she rushes over to the porch.  But she stops and ascends the stairs very slowly, hesitantly.

When she reaches the top, I quickly walk over to her and pull her into my arms, afraid that she's a mirage that will disappear if I don't touch her.  "Penny," I whisper into her flowery-scented hair.

"Colt," she whispers back brokenly.

Penny feels like home to me.  I can't believe I was stupid enough to let her go.  I hold her tightly as she wraps her arms around my waist, tremblin' against me.  A deep ache in my chest lets me know how much I've missed her, and I know in that moment that she's missed me just as much.

"There's somethin' I want to show you," I whisper in her ear.  Reluctantly, I pull away from her, but I'm quick to draw her hand into mine.  I never want to let her go again.  I made that mistake too many times before in the past.

I lead her down the dirt path to the old tire swing hangin' from a big willow tree at the edge of the property.  We shared our first kiss and our first date there, and I dreamt about it the other night.  I was a boy, thirteen years old, and head over heels in love with my best friend.  It was the first time I let Penny know my true feelings.  For a while I was afraid that she hated me because I picked on her so much.  But I was a boy and that's what boys do --- they pick on the girls they secretly like.

I hear her gasp when she sees what I spent hours this mornin' settin' up.  On the grass is a red-checkered tablecloth that I found in the attic.  I'm pretty sure it's the same one I used on our first date.  In the picnic basket is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bottles of water and apple slices. 
I wasn't much of a cook back then
, I think to myself with a smile.

Penny glances from the picnic and back to me.  "You…you remembered?" she asks, tentatively.

I nod and sit down on the tablecloth, pullin' her down next to me.  I pick up the scrapbook that she had made for my birthday and flip to the first page.  It hurt me that she left it behind when she left for New York, but I can't blame her.  I was a complete jerk.  It took me a long, lonely month to realize I was bein' a complete idiot.

"The more I studied this thing and asked our friends questions, the more I seemed to remember."  I hesitate before I tell her, "I never wanted to remember before…before you came back into my life, Penny.  You make me want to remember what we had even if I have to remember everything I lost.  You were the best thing that ever happened to me."  I reach up and let my knuckles brush against her soft cheek.  "I remember you in here," I say, pointin' to my heart.  "My brain may have forgotten you, Penny, but my heart never did, and it never will."

Tears spill down her pink cheeks, and I pull her close and kiss her.  Her salty tears mix in with the kiss, and it all feels so damn perfect.  I make her mad, and she drives me crazy.  And now I just want her to be happy with me…forever.

I pull back from her for a moment and stare into her beautiful, stormy gray eyes.  "I want to keep rememberin'.  I want you to help me remember.  Everything."

"Oh, Colt."  Her lips part on a sob, and I kiss her again.  It feels so natural to kiss and hold her.  It's like I had the blueprints all along stored somewhere in the back of my mind.  I was just too damn stubborn to use them.

I gently cup her face in my hands and run my thumbs along her lower lip.  "I love you, Penny."

She crumbles at my words.  "I've waited so long for you to say those words to me, Colt."  She takes a deep breath before she says, "I love you, too."

I close my eyes and cherish her words.  I love this girl so much it hurts.  And I'm never lettin' her go.

We spend the next few hours eatin' peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and laughin' and talkin' about stories from our childhoods.  We flip through the pages of the scrapbook together, and she tells me about the things we experienced when we were young.  And when the sun goes down, I forgo the efforts I put into recreatin' our first date, and I take her to my bed.

I make love to Penny well into the night.  And as the moonlight cascades down on her beautiful face as she sleeps in my bed, I know that this is where she was meant to be all along --- with me and in my arms.  I love her with every ounce of my bein'. 

Gently, I brush a piece of her blonde hair away from her face and kiss her forehead.  "I love you, Penny Lane Preston.  And I'm gonna spend the rest of my life makin' you happy."

All this time I've been fightin' the inevitable, but Penny and I belong together.  Now and for the rest of our lives.

EPILOGUE

PENNY

"CAN I OPEN them now?" I ask impatiently.  It feels like I've been standing here forever.  Colton woke me up early this morning with the promise of a big reveal.  What exactly he's revealing, I have no idea.  I know that he has been coordinating what he calls an expansion on one side of the bar, and it's been top secret.  He even swore Buddy to secrecy.  And no matter how many times Shelby Rae and I tried to pry the answers out of him, Buddy wouldn't spill.

The construction crew has been working under a big, white tarp, not even allowing me a peek into what they might be building next door.  The whole thing has me curious and so damn frustrated.  I never was very good with surprises.

And so here I stand with Colton, Buddy and Shelby Rae with my eyes closed, patiently waiting…or not so patiently.

"Not yet," Colton replies to my question.

Sighing, my fingers tap nervously on the sides of my legs covered by my skirt.  "How about now?" I ask with a big grin.

I feel Colton step close to me, and he kisses me softly before saying, "No.  How did I not notice how impatient you were before?"

Chuckling, I just shrug at him.

A few minutes later, I hear him tell me, "Okay.  We're ready.  Open them now."

I do as he says, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight.  The tarp, which is normally blocking the view of the top-secret project, has been removed, revealing a cute, white building with fancy, colorful trim and windows.

I look at Colton in surprise.  "You said you were building an expansion to the bar."

He glances down at the ground and kicks a rock with the toe of his shoe.  "Well, that was a little white lie.  I was actually building a bakery.  For you."

I gasp and look back to the building ---
my
building.  It's just as cute as can be, and I'm instantly picturing the baked goods that can be displayed in the big front windows.  My feet shuffle closer, and I just stare, taking in every little detail.

"You look like you're in shock," Colton says with a crooked grin.

"She's speechless!" Shelby Rae says giddily while clapping her hands excitedly in front of her.

"I think you broke her, Colt," Buddy quips.

Colton cups my face in his big hands and makes me focus on him.  "Do you like it?"

"Like it?  No, I don't like."  His face falls for a second until I quickly say, "I love it!"  I jump into his arms, and he catches me, falling back a step or two and laughing.

"She loves it.  Whew!" he says while dramatically wiping his brow.  "It will be the only bakery in town."

"And shall we call it
Penny's Pie
?" Buddy asks with a shit-eating grin.

"No!" Colton and I both say simultaneously.

We grin at each other, and then I tell Colt, "I was thinking something simple like Penny's Bakery."

He smiles and gives me a chaste kiss.  "That sounds perfect," he whispers in my ear.  "Now come on inside.  I have a lot to show you."

Colton went all out on state-of-the-art machinery, and the kitchen gleams with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.  I ooh and aah over every little thing as he proudly shows me all the hard work he put into making this happen.  He did all of this for me, to show me how much he loves me.  And it's overwhelming….or maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones.  Either way, my eyes well up with tears, and I can't stop them from overflowing down my cheeks.  "Oh, Colt," I whisper.

"Are those happy tears?"

I nod, unable to speak.

"Good.  'Cause that's exactly how I want you to be from now on, Penny.  Happy."

"I am happy," I say.  "Unbelievably happy."

Colton rubs his hand over my round belly.  We have three months to go until our little boy
and
little girl come into the world.  We're still trying to get over the fact that we're having twins.  But I guess that's what happens when you can't keep your hands off each other for more than a few seconds every day.  Shelby Rae told me she was surprised we weren't having quintuplets.

Shelby Rae puts on her apron and smiles.  "Let's get to bakin', Penny.  Our grand openin' is in a week!"

My mouth falls open.  "A week?"  I watch as Colton and Buddy try to sneak out the front door.  "And where do you think you two are going?" I ask with my hands on my hips.

They stop and turn to me with mischievous grins on their faces.

"Wash up, boys," Shelby instructs.  "Penny and me are gonna put ya'll to work."

*  *  *  *  *

WE CELEBRATE THE grand opening of the bakery the next week.  All of our friends and family and almost the entire town of Willowbrook show up.  Shelby is officially working in the bakery, and we hired another girl, Paula, to help out while I'm pregnant and after the babies are born.

"Speech.  Speech," Buddy chants.

Colton glances at me, and I quickly say, "Don't look at me."

He grins and takes the small stage in front of the bakery.  "First of all, thank you all for comin' for the grand openin' of Penny's Bakery.  We hope to have a long successful business in the town of Willowbrook."  He turns to me, and he looks at me so adoringly that it makes me blush.  "I'd also like to thank my wife, Penny, who made this dream possible.  It was a hard, long road to get us to here, but it was worth every single second, and I wouldn't change a thing.  Thank you for bein' my wife, my best friend, and the soon-to-be mother of my children.  I love you so much, Penny.  Thank you for never givin' up on me, because I don't know what the hell I would do without you."

I wipe some stray tears from my eyes and smile affectionately at him.  That man owns me.  Heart and soul.

Colton points to the DJ, who takes that as a cue to start up the music.  A slow country song filters through the speakers scattered around the parking lot.  I watch as Shelby Rae, Lillian and Buddy all dance together in a small circle.  Buddy and Shelby are planning to get hitched next spring, and I couldn't be happier for them.  Lillian is going to have one amazing stepdaddy.

Colton comes up from behind and wraps his arms around me.  He rocks us slowly together in tune to the music, and I close my eyes, savoring the feeling of being in his arms.  "I loved your speech," I tell him.

"Good.  'Cause I meant every word of it."

I sigh contentedly.  It's hard to imagine not even a year ago I was in New York City, ready to give up my life here in Willowbrook…and ready to give up my life with Colton.  So much has changed and changed for the good.  I don't know how we came to find each other again, but I am so glad we did.  If anything good came out of all of this, it made us that much more stronger and bonded together.  Nothing will ever tear us apart again.

Colton's hands move to my belly as his mouth slips to my neck.  I can feel his smile against my skin.  That's all he does any more is smile.  It makes me deliriously happy to know that he's happy.  We've come a long way from the grumpy, mad-at-the-world Colton.

"I can't believe I almost forgot about you," he whispers against my neck.

"Well, at least you remember me now," I whisper back, craning my head back to gaze into his eyes.

"Always, Penny.  Always," he says before kissing me sweetly on the lips.