“So, give me all the news from home,” Hadley instructed. She wiggled into a comfortable position on the bed, eager to chat with her sister.
Leanne made a dismissive noise. “It’s Cupid’s Bow. Nothing earth-shattering has happened in the two weeks since you’ve been gone. Molly and Bunny have the library under control until you get back, one of the Breelan brothers was arrested again. Oh, and Sawyer McCall adopted two kittens without asking Becca first. She’s furious, claims she still hasn’t forgiven him for bringing home the dog last year.”
Hadley laughed at that. “Oh, please. Becca loves that dog. She loves Sawyer, and before you know it, she’ll love the kittens, too.” At least someone I know isn’t too cowardly to love. Damn, she’d only made it three minutes into the conversation before thinking of Grayson. She’d been hoping for a record-breaking five minutes this time.
She loved the bookstore where she worked and lived, enjoyed the charm of the surrounding community and was struck by the novelty of getting to know her coworkers. It was fun to spend her days with people who hadn’t known her since she was a toddler. Still, when she returned to her loft apartment above the store at night, memories of Grayson haunted her. It was especially bad whenever she talked to anyone from home.
“Enough about the people in Cupid’s Bow,” Leanne said, clearly bored with the subject. “I want to hear about how it’s going there! Did you pick a scene for that reading you’re doing next week? Because I have suggestions. And please tell me the cute guy has asked you out.”
“I assume you mean Poe?” She’d sent her sister a group shot of Hadley with her new friends. Arthur, the owner, was as full of stories as his shop; he was also sixty. Poe was a doctoral candidate who ran the small coffee shop in the store, and bubbly Jules helped in whichever section needed her the most at any given time. “He’s sweet.”
“He’s cute,” Leanne repeated. “Is he single?”
“Apparently.” She knew this because Jules and her boyfriend had tried to set up Poe on a blind date last week.
When he’d nixed the idea, Jules had turned a speculative eye toward Hadley. She’d told Hadley that matchmaking was one of her big hobbies, up there with online gaming and playing cello.
“If you’re going to meddle in my life,” Hadley had said, “I’d rather you introduce me to some addictive video game than to a guy.”
Leanne sighed impatiently. “You’re not interested in Poe at all, are you?”
“You get how these residencies work, right? I’m supposed to be focused on my writing. I’m not actively looking for romance.” She hadn’t been actively looking for it in Cupid’s Bow, either. She’d just turned the corner of the cereal aisle and stumbled into it.
“Then you’ll be sending me the next chapter to proofread soon? You left me on a cruel cliff-hanger last time.”
“I’m diabolical like that.”
As they hung up the phone, Hadley promised her sister some pages. And she silently promised herself that she’d do a better job of banishing Grayson from her thoughts.
For a few days, she actually succeeded. She went to an outdoor concert with Jules, to a historic hotel rumored to be haunted and wrote two new scenes that didn’t completely suck. But on Saturday, as she was ringing up customers, a woman caught her off guard with a purchase from the used-book section. A familiar volume of erotic poetry from the 1930s.
Hadley immediately found herself tangled in a string of memories, from Grayson’s expression when he’d seen that same book in the Cupid’s Bow library to his playful suggestion of bonus points for erotic words used in Scrabble.
After two attempts, she correctly counted out the woman’s change, trying to hold it together as she wished the lady a good day. As soon as the customer exited, she burst into tears.
Jules was at her side instantly. “What happened? You need me to run the cash register while you take five?”
Hadley nodded gratefully, trying to stem the flow of tears.
Jules grimaced. “Poe, a little help over here? He’s the one with the talent for making people feel better. I’m useless unless hearing a song on the cello would cheer you up. I wish this was a video game. At least in a game, I could smite your enemies for you.”
That almost made Hadley laugh. Except Grayson wasn’t her enemy. He was the man she loved, in spite of her best efforts to stop.
* * *
“OKAY, TIME FOR some tough love.” Vi snapped the dish towel against the counter for effect, and Grayson’s head jerked up from the plate of pie she’d offered him after the boys had gone to bed.
“Uh...you have my attention?”
“Good. Because it’s like you’ve been on another planet lately. Or in another state?” she asked shrewdly. “Like, say, Colorado?”
He gritted his teeth. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but respect kept him from arguing with Vi.
Her tone gentled. “Brokenhearted people are entitled to—”
“I am not brokenhearted!” Hadn’t that been the whole point of letting his relationship with Hadley run its natural course? He’d wanted to guard against devastating pain and loss.
“Fine. People who miss other people are entitled to a little time to wallow. But it’s been a month.”
“I’m not wallowing, just tired from working two-and-a-half jobs.” Now that he’d deposited the money Blaine and Miranda had left him, he could probably afford to let up a little. But he wanted to invest as much of that for the boys’ future as possible. Plus, while he knew his aunt would never kick them out, she and Jim were getting more serious by the day. There would come a time when Grayson living under her roof stopped making sense.
“Gray, you’ve been in a bad mood—bad enough that it’s starting to affect the twins.”
He flinched. “Have they said something to you?”
“At dinner the other night, when Sam said he missed Hadley? You should’ve seen your face. He asked me later if you’re mad at him, even cried a little bit.”
That hit home. “Oh, God. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” It was ironic that he’d wanted so much to protect people—himself, Hadley, the boys—and seemed to have failed. The night he’d told her he wanted to make a clean break, she’d looked stricken. Now the boys were miserable because of him?
“I can’t tell you who to date or not to date,” Violet said, “but I can tell you that I’ve been where you are. You know I lost my mom when I was little, along with the baby brother I’d been so excited about. Then Rachel. Walking out on a sibling isn’t as unforgivable as abandoning your child, but she left me, too. When I first started dating Jim, I was blown away by how wonderful he was. Happier than I’d been in years. But then I started wondering...how soon before he left? Sound familiar?”
He hesitated. This felt like a trap.
“The more I pulled away from Jim, the harder he pressed. We had fault lines in our relationship, and my getting custody of you provided just the earthquake I needed to end it. After fights about what you might be up to and whether I should have told you about Rachel, we broke up. Technically, he made the call, but I let it happen. On some level, I wanted it to happen. I told myself you needed me, that you had to be my priority. The truth is, I hid behind you, and I’m sorry. Promise me you aren’t doing the same thing with those two sweet boys.”
“I’m not hiding. I was setting Hadley free to go after what she wanted!”
“And if what she wants is you? Jim and I are happy now, but I have to deal with knowing that I cheated us out of a decade together. I don’t want you to be in my shoes, looking back on a decade with regret, knowing you could have been happy. If you’d only been brave enough.”
* * *
“WELL, BOYS, THIS looks like the place.” Grayson glanced at the storefront that he recognized from the website. On either side of him, the twins let out whoops of delight.
The more efficient way to make this trip would have been for him to fly here, alone. But when the boys had heard him discussing plane tickets with Vi, Sam had a panic attack. Given how he’d lost his parents, that was understandable. Eventually, they would work on that phobia, but first, maybe Grayson should conquer his own fears. So he and the boys had plotted a road trip with several stops like a “fossil forest” and a noted planetarium and one theme park. He was becoming so accustomed to being called Dad that he automatically turned now whenever he heard the word in public. He felt closer to the twins than he ever had before, and whatever happened with Hadley, he would always be grateful for this trip.
Still. He hoped like hell that she’d take him back.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. “Here goes nothing.”
But the boys weren’t slowed down by nerves. They barreled into the bookshop, where Sam yelled, “Give us back our librarian!”
Grayson winced. “That’s not an appropriate—”
Two store employees approached—one guy, one girl, both in their twenties. They exchanged a look before the girl asked, “Are you by any chance Grayson?”
“Yes, that’s Grayson!” Tyler confirmed. “He’s our daddy.”
The guy with the shaggy hair grinned. “About damn time, man.”
* * *
HADLEY WAS ENJOYING lunch at her favorite outdoor café and rereading last night’s pages when she heard a sudden crash. A waiter’s tray clattered to the sidewalk, along with the dishes that had been on it. She glanced over her shoulder in automatic reaction to the sound, but immediately returned to her paragraph.
Until she heard his voice.
“I am so sorry. We’ll pay for that. And the food to replace it, of course. The boys are just excited. I asked y’all to stop running.”
She bolted out of her chair, whirling around in disbelief. Grayson and the twins, all three wearing matching blue T-shirts, were apologizing to the frazzled waiter. But then Sam spotted her and broke free. He started to run but, thinking better of it, was now speed-walking down the sidewalk toward her.
“Hadley!”
She hugged him tight, the burn of emotion in her throat making it difficult to speak. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re on a road trip,” he announced. “To get you back.”
“Buddy, you’re kind of stealing my thunder,” Grayson said ruefully.
It was amazing she stayed steady on her feet when she was trembling so badly. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”
Their gazes locked, and from the naked hunger in his eyes, she half expected him to kiss her senseless.
He gave a hard shake of his head. “Is this your table?”
“Um, yes.”
“Boys, sit here for a second, okay? Try not to break anything.” Then he took Hadley by the hand and led her a few feet away. “You know how the twins are always knocking stuff over?”
“Sure. I guess.” No way had he driven all those miles to talk about broken vases or spilled milk. She stared, trying to process the strange lunch hour she was having.
“That’s how I feel since you’ve been gone,” he told her. “I’m off balance, crashing through life, making a mess of everything, realizing just how lonely it is to pick up the pieces without your help. I need you, Hadley.”
Her breath caught. She was stunned...but cautious. “Are you asking me to come back?”
“Not at all. I’m asking you to let me love you. Whether you’re in Cupid’s Bow or Colorado or the Congo.”
“Seriously?” It wasn’t until she tasted salt on her lips that she realized she was crying.
He swiped a tear away with his finger. “Seriously. I missed the whole point of happy endings until recently. They are improbable—but only if you aren’t willing to work for them. I believe we can do this. If you’ll still have me?”
Too overcome to speak, she nodded fervently.
“Thank God.” He pulled her against him, and there was no place she’d rather be. “I love you, Hadley Lanier.”
And then he kissed her with such enthusiasm that a few onlookers actually cheered. Two five-year-olds, however, muttered “gross” and made disgusted noises. But when she glanced in their direction, they were both grinning from ear to ear.
Hand in hand, she and Grayson returned to the table.
“So is Hadley coming home?” Sam demanded.
Grayson cast her an apologetic glance. “Sorry, I’ve tried to explain to him—”
“Not yet,” she said gently, “but in a few months. Actually, it will only be a few weeks until I’m home for Sierra’s wedding.” She grinned at Grayson. “Looks like maybe I have a plus-one now.”
“But then you’re leaving again?” Sam’s lower lip trembled.
“Only temporarily. I’ll be gone five months total. That’s not so long. You’ve already made it one whole month without me.”
“Yeah, but it stinks,” Tyler complained. “And Dad is grouchy all the time.”
“Hey!” Grayson looked comically indignant. “Who took you to the amusement park, where you said you had the best time ever? You know, if we come visit Hadley once a month until she comes home, we can plan other road trips like this one.”
That got the boys’ attention.
“And we can talk on the phone and even the computer until I get back,” she chimed in. “Maybe you can buy a calendar for your room and put stickers on it for each day until you see me again.”
As she paid for her bill and they walked back to the store together, so much joy swelled in her chest she thought her heart would burst with it. Tears blurred her vision.
Grayson squeezed her hand. “Happy?”
“Happier than I ever imagined possible. And you know me—I have a hell of an imagination.”
* * * * *
If you loved this book, look for more in
Tanya Michaels’s CUPID’S BOW, TEXAS series:
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Keep reading for an excerpt from HER COWBOY REUNION by Debbi Rawlins.
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