Chapter Twenty-Four

Weary and blinking with sleep, Sarah opened her eyes as her flight landed back in Seattle after her whirlwind trip to New York. It was her second night in a row of little to no sleep, but this time she’d been on a plane home, back to where she belonged. The New York firm had understood her decision to run down their offer, and the conversation had been short. Over faster than she’d expected, which was the one perk of the east coast waste-no-time vibe, she guessed.

The second conversation with Selena at Pateli and Schultz Marketing took a little longer. Selena had negotiated hard to convince Sarah to join their agency, but Sarah’s mind was made up. She knew where she belonged and with whom. Her goal was to make it happen. Living in Seattle for so long had given her the perspective she needed to understand that while a career at a big marketing firm was exciting for a while and even fulfilling in some aspects, she could attain the same accomplishment with her own small boutique business—maybe even more when it meant she could have closer relationships with clients and see the fruits of her success firsthand with the places in town.

Letting herself accept she was worthy of being loved and accepted by her family, no matter her past actions, had broken down the last of the walls she’d built. She wanted to be closer to her sister and cousins and Gran. She wanted a life with Corey…if he wanted one with her. She couldn’t force that answer, but she would hope. And make a grand gesture to let him know how serious she was about him, that she did trust him.

Once home, she showered and drove into town, back to the wedding gown shop. Once there, Sarah paced until the owner unlocked the doors with a smile.

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Yes. I need to buy a dress.”

Lana held open the door. “Come on in. You’re Sarah, right? Your sister just got married?”

She nodded. “Yep, that’s me. Thanks, Lana. I hope I’m not blowing up your appointment schedule.”

Lana shook her head with a chuckle. “No, you’re all good. My first appointment of the day isn’t for an hour. And even if it was right now, I always account for walk-ins and have staff on hand.” She tilted her head at Sarah. “What are you looking for?”

“A wedding dress.” Sarah giggled as Lana widened her eyes. “And I need to walk out with it today. As soon as I can.”

“Oh, wow. We can try for sure, but I can’t make guarantees. Most of the time we order with the measurements needed and it takes a couple of months to get in. Then there’s alterations. Very few come in and walk out with a gown the same day." Lana wrung her hands and her voice held a note of panic. “Not to mention it can take time to find the right dress for you.”

“No worries on that concern. I already know which one I want.” Sarah beelined to where she’d found the all-lace strapless gown when shopping here before. Heart stampeding in her chest, she whispered, “Please still be here. Please, please, please.”

A rush of giddiness caught her as she spotted the dress. Beaming, she pulled it out and held the fabric up like a trophy. “Success!”

Lana laughed. “Well, for the first step. Let’s get it on you and see if we can accomplish your goals.”

Sarah shimmied over to the changing room. “Today is both our lucky days. You get to name whatever price you want for helping me and I get to make my dreams come true.” She hoped, at least.

Hours later, Sarah stormed into Three Sisters. Her entire jubilant mood was in tatters. Her grandmother was behind the counter. On the verge of tears, Sarah swallowed hard. “Do you know where Corey is, by chance? I’ve been looking for him all over the place.”

Gran furrowed her brows. “I don’t. He’s not at home?”

Sarah shook her head. “Or his office. I’ve checked. I’ve looked at all of the coffee shops, restaurants and bars in town that he likes to frequent. I can’t find him.”

“Find who?” Hop asked as he walked out from the back of the store.

She threw her cousin a half-hearted wave hello. “Corey. He’s just gone.”

“He’s in Eureka visiting his parents. He’ll be back in a couple days.”

Both Sarah and Gran blinked in confusion at Hop. “How do you know?” Sarah questioned.

Her cousin shrugged. “I gave him a ride to the airport. He left yesterday night.”

“But he…” Gran trailed off her thought and closed her mouth. Then she rounded on her granddaughter. “Why are you looking for him, anyway? I thought you were heartbroken over him.”

Her tender heart stumbled in its rhythm. “I was. I am. But I understand his response. I didn’t trust him enough and that’s a hard betrayal to get past. I hoped to talk to him and change his mind.” A new plan swirled in her mind. “Hop, what are you doing here? Can you run the store for a couple days so I can steal Gran away?”

Her cousin shook his head. “No way! I’ve never been in charge here. Besides, I’m covering for Cornelius at TLC while he’s gone.”

Gran spoke up. “I can call Becca and Arianna. I’m sure between the two of them, we’ll be fine. If not, Three Sisters can handle a day of being closed.”

“Bridget will flip! She already closed for two days for the wedding.” Sarah shuddered to think of her baby sister’s wrath at finding out Sarah had been the cause for Three Sisters missing another day of sales this month. “No way.”

“It will be fine. What do you need me for?” Gran walked over to pick up her phone and started typing out a text.

“We’re going to Eureka. I’m making my grand gesture and you have to join me. We leave in the morning.”

Sarah went home and collapsed into bed. The exhaustion of the wedding, the blow-up with Corey and the less than twenty-four-hour trip to New York slammed into her like a freight train. She rolled onto the pillow and a crinkling noise vibrated under her ear. Raising up, she examined the pillow before sticking her hand inside the cloth case. Dragging out the slip of paper she grasped, her breath caught as she recognized Corey’s handwriting.

 

You still feel like home.

 

The message was simple, but perfect. She knew he had to have left this before finding out about her pregnancy termination, but it gave her the hope she so needed. Holding the small square of neon-colored paper in her hand, Sarah fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, when Gran and Sarah were on the seven-minute ride from the Eureka airport to the house that Cornelius’ parents owned, Gran asked, “Tell me what a grand gesture is again?”

Sarah smiled and smoothed her hands over the fabric covering her knees. Her nerves were out in full force as she dodged the questioning glances from the driver in the rearview mirror. “In romance novels, there’s always a dark moment toward the end where the couple faces a crisis to their relationship. One of them goes out of their way to do something wild and thoughtful to prove their love and win back the other. That’s what I’m doing here.”

Gran eyed her and arched one brow. “Well, you’ve got the wild part of this checked off. Let’s see how Cornelius feels about all of this.” She paused. “And maybe I need to borrow some of these books. Sounds like fascinating reading.”

As the car turned up the road to stop at the drive of the house, Sarah reached out to grab Gran’s hand and squeezed. “Sure thing. I hope this works out as well in real life as it does in the novel.”

 

* * * *

 

Cornelius eyed his latest woodworking project with criticism. He’d been working on this piece for over two months and it was his most important one to date. His freshly purchased eleven-piece set of wood carving hand tools sat waiting alongside the various grades of sandpaper he’d bought at the local hardware store today. Cornelius wanted this perfect for the use he had in mind.

A breeze filtered in from the water just a few yards away from where Cornelius worked on his parents’ back porch. He traced his fingertips over the curves of the wood, testing for roughness and splinters. A small patch over the rounded stomach abraded and he reached for the convex gauge chisel and brushed it across the uneven spot. Then he grabbed the P400 grit sandpaper and rubbed with a hint of pressure. Another touch test left him satisfied.

The door opening behind him pulled Cornelius’ attention and he turned his head. “Hey, Mom. Great timing, I need your unabused fingertips.”

His mother laughed. “What on earth does that mean?” She came around and looked at the carving on the table. “Oh, this is darling. What beautiful work.”

He grinned at the praise. “Thanks, Mama.”

Her hair was slowly returning and with the sunlight’s angle, made her head look like it was ringed in a fine layer of fuzz. Warmth filled Cornelius’ chest. It was a much-appreciated sign that she was healing and growing stronger and healthier each day. Her treatments were complete and heavy monitoring would be ongoing for now. His relief was palpable. “I need you to check it for any spots that are uneven or bumpy and need smoothing. My hands are all calloused so I can’t always pick up everything. This needs to be perfect.”

She lifted the figure and took her time exploring every angle and inch of it. “You have such a talent for this, Cor. I’m amazed you’ve been doing woodworking for just a year. Remarkable.” She handed it back to him with a lift of her lips. “It’s perfect.”

A glow of happiness expanded from the center of his ribs and spread through his limbs. Her proclamation meant he was ready. Well, almost. He needed one last item. “One last test. Do you have Grandma’s engagement ring?”

His mother raised her blue eyes to him. “I do. Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping your offer to have it when I was ready still stands.” The time was right, though he needed to win back the woman first.

A guarded expression overtook his mother’s face. “It does. As long as you’re certain about who you offer this heirloom to.”

“I am.” His stomach twisted into knots. He’d expected his mom to be the easy, soft one to convince of his decision. It turned out his father hadn’t had concerns when they had chatted earlier in the morning. Now as the afternoon was melting into evening, Cornelius was set to take this last step and head back to Fallback for Sarah’s arrival back from the east coast.

“Who do you plan to give this to?” Her tone gave nothing away.

“Sarah.” His voice was strong and sure, just like his faith in his choice. “She’s my soulmate, Mama. I messed up and should have stayed to hash things out when I found out about her abortion in college. You were right. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to fix things between us.”

Her grin was wide and dazzling. “I’m so happy for you, baby. I’ve been waiting for you to find the person you wanted to spend your life with.” She reached out and hugged him tight.

A tightness grew in his throat and Cornelius swallowed to push it away. He would not be overwhelmed by his emotions again. Then he blinked and a tear ran down his cheek. “Dammit.” He chuckled, then sniffed back the flood of feelings. “Stop making me cry, woman.”

His mother’s laugh vibrated through him. “Sorry, sweetie. I did my best to raise an emotionally balanced son who wasn’t afraid to express himself.” She leaned back and cupped his cheeks. “Looks like I succeeded.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead, then stood. “Now, let’s go get that ring.”

Cornelius snatched up the wooden figure he’d carved and followed after her. She went into the primary bedroom, then shuffled through a drawer to pull out a small black velvet box. “Here it is.”

Cornelius set down the figurine on the top of the dresser and with a steady hand, he plucked up the square and opened it. The ring was as he remembered. Elegant, sophisticated, timeless. The stones sparkled up at him. He lifted the cool metal and placed the band into the basket of the cradled arms he’d carved. It slipped in and sat like the offering it was intended to be.

“Oh, Cornelius. That is lovely.” She looked up at him. “You’ve been thinking about this for while, huh? To have this ready now?”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Since she got back into town.” He cut his eyes to the side at his mom. “Is that weird? Stalkery?”

His mother laughed. “No, honey. You went with your instincts. Plus you’ve given her all the space and time she needs.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said then ran out to the room he slept in. Shuffling around in this duffle bag, he found the oak box, another creation of his. Walking back into his parent’s room, he lifted the lid. A pillow of dark blue fabric filled the bottom. Cornelius placed the figurine holding the ring into the plush cushion. It rested as he’d imagined it. “There. Now, it’s perfect.”

“Who knew you were such a romantic?” His mother hugged him again. “I can’t wait to hear the whole story of how you propose.”

Cornelius knew it needed to be spectacular. With all the romance books Sarah read, the bar was sky high. He needed to step up. He opened his mouth to reply when the doorbell chimed through the house.

After a moment, his father yelled. “Cornelius, it’s for you.”

Drawing his brows together, he walked with his mother trailing after him. Who would be at the door for him at his parents’ house? That didn’t make any sense. He rounded the corner and spotted Gran standing in the entrance. “Wha…”

Gran grabbed his dad’s arm and gestured to Cornelius’ mother. “Why don’t we give these two a few minutes to speak.” She hustled the three of them out and onto the porch. She stepped forward and Sarah came into view.

The sight almost sent him to his knees. “Sarah,” he croaked. She took a step closer and he braced himself up with one hand on the wall. She was a fucking vision.

Sarah was just inside the house and backlit by the sunlight. She wore flawless, natural make-up with the pop of her red lipstick. Her hair curled and shimmered around her bare shoulders. Her body was encased in the most exquisite wedding gown he’d ever pictured her wearing. The neckline dipped like a heart between her breasts and the white lace fabric clung to her curves all the way down until flaring into a short train at her feet.

Cornelius pressed a hand over his chest and rubbed. Inside, the sensation of his heart exploding made him lightheaded. “Princess…”

Sarah lifted her eyes to him. “Corey, I’m so sorry. Please, please forgive me. I’ll do whatever it takes to put us back together. I promise I’ll make things right.” She pressed those red lips together, but he caught the tremble there. “I know I can’t undo what I did and I stand by my decision, but I should have told you. I made decisions for you and I shouldn’t have. I won’t make that mistake again. And I’ll never leave you. Please, give us one more chance.” She walked closer until a handful of steps lay between them. Sarah beseeched him with those dark brown eyes of hers. They sparkled with unshed tears. “Will you marry me? I swear to make you happy every day for the rest of our lives.”

“Sarie.” He closed the distance between them, hauled her into his arms and kissed the hell out of her.