5

 

Gravel crunched beneath Raelynn’s shoes as she jogged down the road. Chilly morning air pushed through her yoga pants and fleece sweatshirt, but the friction of her muscles kept her warm. It might not be the caliber of her normal fitness routine, but she couldn’t beat the view of an orange sun as it crested the mountains and chased navy blue streaks from the sky.

Eve Hollow—all two blocks of it—lay quiet at the bottom of the hill. Her steady breaths, pounding feet, and the morning trill of birds were the only sounds. Miners had left for work long ago, waking in darkness to spend their day in darkness, and during winter when the sun set early, they returned to their homes in darkness.

Daddy had always told her and Mama that they were his sunshine, and that was all he needed.

Raelynn smiled at the rising sun as the lyrics to “You Are My Sunshine” sung in Daddy’s deep, off-key voice played in her mind. It was the first song she’d learned to sing.

Black powder peppered homes and vehicles. Coal dust. She passed a row of abandoned trailers, some with boarded up windows, others with busted glass. Mrs. Simmons, her fifth grade teacher, had managed to squeeze one more concrete garden gnome in her front yard since Raelynn’s last visit. A few more, and the woman would have an army.

The folks here weren’t high society, but they were God-fearing, hard-working, kind-hearted people who did their best every day to survive and love their neighbors.

She’d forgotten that. Even about those she loved, like her parents. Lane. They’d become strangers over the years—entirely her fault. Though she hadn’t felt that a life in these mountains was meant for her, there was a peacefulness in the treetops that ran soul-deep. And for a moment, she understood why some folks around here never wanted to leave.

Rays of gold splashed on the road and made the thin frost glitter like diamonds. A melody began to play on the breeze. The tension in her body quelled. She stopped running and listened. This was it, the song from yesterday. Raelynn quieted her mind, losing herself in the notes. Adrenaline fevered her body, rising from her feet like a thermometer on a hot day. Any moment the lyrics would follow.

Boom!

Raelynn jumped and her eyelids sprang open. Birds fled the tree branches. The earth echoed the noise with a tremor. What was that? She scanned the area for shelter. Heart pounding in her ears, breaths labored, she noticed an atomic bomb-worthy cloud of smoke lifting from a distant mountain.

Mountaintop removal.

The sound effects shook the hollow.

Raelynn put a hand to her mouth. Her peace vanished.

Folks stepped onto their porches and stared at the black cloud, shaking their heads at the sky. A petite, gray-haired woman with a walker bowed her head in prayer.

Raelynn’s beautiful morning song was ruined. She ran back to the house. When she entered, Daddy looked up at her from his recliner, holding a cup of coffee and the Bible.

His smile warmed her through. “Mornin’, baby girl. I thought you were still sleeping.”

Raelynn shook her head. She’d hardly slept at all. The expression on Lane’s face when he’d bolted out the door last night—a fierce mix of anger, fear, and vulnerability—had haunted her each time she closed her eyes. She’d witnessed the battle raging inside him, a fight between the Lane she’d left and the man he was today. She’d hurt him deeper than she allowed herself to believe. “Not tired.” Raelynn kicked off her shoes. “Thought I’d get an early start.”

Daddy raised his coffee mug in one hand and his Bible with his other. “Best part of wakin’ up.” He winked.

She’d missed his funny little sayings. Raelynn leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Where’s Mama?”

Daddy swallowed a sip of coffee. “I told her to sleep in.”

Mama, sleep late? Yeah, right. “Drew?”

“Snoring like a wild boar.”

“They both slept through that explosion?”

Daddy shrugged.

The aroma of fresh coffee beckoned from the kitchen.

“Raelynn, can we talk a minute?” Daddy plunked his mug on the end table.

Uh, oh. Daddy never used her full name unless she was in trouble, or he was about to slam her with bad news.

“I’ll be right there.” She poured a cup of black coffee, tiptoed back to the living room, and then perched on the edge of the couch beside his chair.

Daddy closed his Bible. “Lane left his coat behind last night.”

All this fuss over a coat? “OK…”

“I thought you could run it over to him. I’m sure he’ll be needin’ it.”

Raelynn stared into her cup. Lane’s coats had kept her warm many times at football games, on starlit walks. He’d grown since high school, broader, thicker, more handsome, if that were possible. No doubt, that coat would swallow her now. Would she still fit perfectly against his side when he wrapped his arm around her? She’d love to find out, now that she knew he wasn’t married. “Why would I do that?”

Daddy released a deep sigh. “’Cause you’ve let twelve years slip by without givin’ that boy an apology. Lane’s a good man, Rae. He deserves better than what you gave him.”

“I know.” Tears rushed to her eyes and the end of her nose stung. If she could go back and do things differently, she would. At least, she thought she would. But she’d chosen to flee in the middle of the night, leaving only a note behind, because she knew if she’d said goodbye in person Lane would’ve begged her to stay, and she would have.

“I owe you and Mama an apology, too. I’ve been a pitiful excuse for a daughter, and I’m sorry.”

Daddy shook his head. “What’s done is done. Let me rejoice, kill the fatted calf. Or chicken in our case.” He grinned, revealing the small gap between his front teeth. “The important thing is that you’re home. Your Mama and I haven’t been there for you like we should’ve, but that’s gonna change.”

Raelynn desperately needed change.

Daddy patted her arm. “Lane’s coat is in the closet.”

No bushes to beat here. Raelynn swallowed the dread in her throat. Lane would want his coat, but he wouldn’t want her on his doorstep.

 

~*~

 

Lane scrubbed the towel over his wet hair and then tossed it on the bedroom floor. He yanked a T-shirt from his drawer and wrestled into it on his way to the kitchen. As he poured a cup of coffee, he thought over the night before, seeing the girl he’d known and loved for so many years broken, weary, troubled. The spunky fireball with enough sass for three women was gone. Other than her physical beauty, which had matured and sent him reeling a hundred times last night, he didn’t recognize Rae anymore. And though that might help him keep a safe distance, it gnawed on him at the same time.

He crossed the living room, mug in hand, and reached for the hooded sweatshirt he’d thrown over the back of the couch.

A knock rapped on his front door. Eight o’clock was a little early for visitors.

He opened the door and the air whooshed from his lungs. Rae stood on the straw welcome mat, holding his coat, having the nerve to make his heart beat out of his chest. Shock made him lean against the doorframe.

“Hey, Lane.”

“Rae.”

Her soft, tentative voice made his sound gruff. This sure wasn’t how he’d pictured her seeing his home for the first time. In his version, he scooped her up and battled all that puffy, white satin over the threshold to the bed they’d share.

Rae bit her lower lip, working her throat, drawing his attention to the dip between her collarbones.

Lane wadded the sweatshirt in his fist while she fiddled with a button on her denim jacket. The western dress and boots she was wearing were too fancy for running errands around here.

She held out his coat. “You forgot this last night. Thought you might need it.”

It wasn’t until she looked down at his bare feet that Lane noticed the chill. He took his coat. “Thanks.”

He’d never pictured her as a blonde, but he liked the gold strands breaking through the dark, bringing out the gold in her brown eyes. Lane clamped his jaw. The thought made him want to punch a hole in the wall.

Rae shuffled her feet on the mat.

He should use the manners his mama taught him and invite her in. It was difficult when all he wanted was to slam the door in her face. The way she’d done with his heart. He knew if she stepped into this house, he’d never look at it again without seeing her in it. “Is that all?”

Rae nodded. “No.”

He raised one brow. “Which is it?”

She seemed to shrink as she raised her chin and arrested him with regretful eyes. He glimpsed the seven year old girl she’d been the first time they met. “I owe you an apology.”

Wow. Her words sobered him faster than a right hook to his jaw.

She shivered and the manners he tried to forget took over. Man, he’d live to regret this. Lane opened the door wide and gestured for her to come in.

She moved past him.

Her perfume whipped his head around. Have mercy, what was she wearing? Lane kicked the door shut, threw his coat on the couch, and concentrated on putting on his sweatshirt. He refused to think about how good she smelled. He buried his hands in the shirt pocket, defending his ego against the admiration on Rae’s face.

She placed a hand over her heart. “You actually did it. The place is beautiful.”

Her tone was way too breathy to keep his sanity intact. “I told you I would.”

“I just didn’t think you’d go through with it after…” Rae turned away.

He almost said, “After you broke up with me in a letter and ripped out my heart to become famous?” But that would sound too girlie, so he grunted instead.

Rae clasped her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry for how I left things.”

Words Lane never thought he’d hear. He sagged his hip against the couch.

Her waterworks started, but she kept her focus on him. “You didn’t deserve what I gave you. Not after our history together. I know an apology will never be enough, but I am sorry.”

All this time, he thought he needed an apology, wanted to see her wallow in regret to repair the damage to his pride. He’d been wrong. It didn’t make him feel better at all. He deepened his voice, abandoning all sarcasm. “You got your sold-out crowds, the lights, the big stage. Everything you always wanted.”

Her boots clacked against the wood floor as she stepped closer and put her hand on his chest. The tiny thing branded him through all his layers. “None of it matters when you’ve lost your best friend.”

Friend? Lane’s pulse throbbed in his neck. He should take her in his arms and show her exactly what she’d given up. But it was too late. Even if a second chance wasn’t the craziest thing in the world, he no longer had anything to offer outside of friendship. To any woman. If he hadn’t been enough for Rae then, he certainly wouldn’t be enough for her now.

Tears slipped down her cheek. She stared at her hand pressed against him and frowned. “Goodbye, Lane,” she whispered. Rae inhaled a shaky breath, retracted her hand, and then disappeared out the door.

His chest was cold where her touch had been. The house was already too quiet.

Life—his life anyway—was difficult enough. Chances were, he’d never see old age. Did he really want to waste precious energy dragging a grudge behind him? His legs moved to the door of their own accord, which wasn’t far out of the norm these days. But today it had nothing to do with his MS. He yanked open the door and bounded across the porch, stopping at the steps when he remembered he was barefoot. He was a complete and total idiot. “Where you takin’ off to so soon?”