Chapter Twenty-Two

Kira dreaded telling the staff that Franklin no longer worked at the inn. She’d come to depend on him and the easy way he interacted with everyone. He and Mrs. Potter had become very close as they worked together each day.

She’d sent out a text message, calling an impromptu meeting for that morning. She practiced her speech in the mirror, hoping that if she believed her words, everyone else would, too.

“Good morning,” Gail said as she stood in the doorway of the small room off the kitchen.

“Morning,” Kira replied. She picked up the piece of paper with her notes on it.

Gail plopped down in one of the chairs at the nearest table. “Why did you call this meeting so early?”

Kira didn’t need the twenty questions, but if she didn’t answer her cousin, she’d only keep asking. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Ten minutes later, everyone had filed into the room and taken a seat. Kira looked at each of them, noting their excited smiles. They probably thought she had good news from the historical society. She hated to burst their bubble, so she’d better just get it over with.

Kira stood and cleared her throat just as her aunt Mary Louise walked in with Franklin. She closed her mouth immediately, hoping no one else saw the shock on her face. What was he doing there?

“Look who I ran into,” her aunt said, taking a seat.

On the one hand, Kira was relieved that her aunt was smiling when she said it. That spoke volumes. But on the other hand, she hadn’t shared with anyone what had happened between her and Franklin—and he clearly hadn’t said anything to Mary Louise, either—so she really had no reason not to smile.

Kira and Franklin’s eyes connected. She never believed in psychics or fortune tellers, but today, she wished that she was a mind reader. Knowing why he was here and what he was thinking was paramount to what she was about to tell her employees.

“Good morning, Franklin,” she said slowly.

“Good morning to everyone,” he replied before taking his seat.

What should she say now? Was he coming to tell everyone himself that he resigned? Did he come to embarrass her? Why was he here?

“Before we get started, I need to speak to Franklin. Give me half a minute.”

Gail looked at her watch. “We’ve got work to do.”

Kira waved. “I know, I know.” She held up one finger. “Give me just one sec, please.”

She stepped to the side, and Franklin got out of his chair to join her in the back of the room.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other.

“Time is ticking, cousin.” Gail’s booming voice finally jerked Kira’s eyes away.

“Why are you here?” she whispered.

“I’m a man of my word.”

Kira didn’t know if she was relieved, frustrated, or pissed off. “Don’t you think you should have called me last night to let me know you were coming? I’d gotten the impression that you were done.”

“Let’s talk about this later. We don’t need an audience, and I have a lot to say to you. But I’m here for the duration. I’ll see it through.” He walked back to his seat.

Hope filled her heart, but she couldn’t let it show.

Kira cleared her throat as she walked back to the front of the room, then she made her announcement. “We still haven’t heard back from the historical society, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

She looked at her aunt Mary Louise. “Auntie, can you work with Gail on the menu for the Sip and See? We just want to get your opinion. I will come and meet you guys a bit later. Franklin and I have something we need to discuss. Everybody else, keep up the good work.”

Gail stood. “Girl, you got me here an hour early just to tell us that?”

Aunt Mary Louise gently grabbed Gail’s arm. “Let’s see what you’ve got cooking in the kitchen.” She turned to Kira. “I’m truly excited about this, and I know the rest of the family will be, too.”

Everyone left the room, leaving only her and Franklin. She approached him. “So where do you want to have this talk? I take it that’s why you came back.”

Franklin blew out a big breath. “Wherever you’re comfortable.”

Kira checked her watch. “I think we need total privacy, so the inn isn’t the best place.” She didn’t want her cousin or aunt to burst into the room while they were in a heated discussion. Based on what happened yesterday, it was probably going to be a lively conversation.

“Lead the way, then,” Franklin replied.

…

As soon as they entered Kira’s small cottage, they both spoke at the same time. Then they both stopped. If they hadn’t been walking on eggshells with each other, she’d probably laugh.

“I’m sorry for trying to talk over you,” Franklin said, taking a seat. “Please go ahead.”

She drew in a deep breath. “I was very wrong to treat you the way that I did.”

“Sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us, and this is an intense situation that involves a lot of people.”

“Well, if you think about it, we both did that.”

“If we’re going to get anywhere today, I want you to listen to me.” His tone was gentle, but also firm. “I said we. I meant myself, too.”

It seemed that all she did lately when it came to Franklin was defend herself. She didn’t want to be that way. She’d have to try harder. “Right.” She joined him on the small sofa.

A sense of calm washed over her, and she released a long sigh. Having another conversation with him was what she wanted, so she had to take advantage of the opportunity.

Franklin shifted his body so that their knees touched, and Kira relaxed even more. It wasn’t going to be a terse conversation. “I came here with you so that we can communicate.”

“I’m glad, so I’ll go first, if you don’t mind.” It was important to her to get out all those thoughts that she’d had the night before. She just hoped that they came out in the way she meant.

Franklin nodded.

“You surprised me yesterday when you went off like you did. I’ve never seen you act in that manner before.”

Lifting her hand, he squeezed it. “I’m so sorry that I spoke to you in that manner. I was jealous. That’s the long and short of it.”

Kira removed her hand slowly. “There was no need for it. I was doing it for the both of us, but it was more than that, Franklin. You accused me of many things.”

Franklin started to open his mouth, but she stopped him. “I know what I said to you in the attic.” She got up from the seat. “I was so overwhelmed with the photos, letters, and other stuff that I saw, I jumped to that conclusion. But it had nothing to do with us.”

“Yes, it did. We were born out of all this.”

Kira threw her hand over her mouth as she replayed his statement.

“We vowed to work together, and in doing so we became closer. Enjoyed spending time together.”

Kira smiled. “We did.”

“Yes, and for once, I let my guard down completely. I made sure that everyone in my family, including my father, knew that you were special to me.”

“I feel the same way.”

“But, when you told me about my father’s guilt and then your talking to him behind my back, it was like a slap in the face.”

Kira rushed back over to him. “You didn’t let me finish. You’re such a good listener, I thought you were going to hear me out, but you immediately got angry.”

“Yes. At that time, all I felt was betrayal.”

“I hope you can finally see that it wasn’t the case.”

Slowly, Franklin nodded. “My father explained that he reached out to you first.”

“He really loved my auntie.”

“I know, he told me.”

“If he told you, why were you so angry with me?”

“Fear. But I have to tell you the truth.” Franklin stood. “I was a bit upset with my father for coming to see you behind my back, when I’d asked him to talk to me first.”

Kira opened her mouth to defend Charlie, but Franklin stopped her. “But I understand and appreciate him for why he chose to do it that way.”

Standing, Kira reached for Franklin’s hand. “You were right. Your father loves you and he kind of likes me, I think,” she said, joking.

“I hate that this situation has blocked us, wasted time. When we could have been learning how to love each other,” Franklin said.

Kira dropped her head, and he lifted her chin. “We’ve got to do something about it.”

“We almost lost each other trying to fix it.”

“I don’t think we can move forward with our lives if we don’t make this right.”

Franklin went back to his seat, and she followed.

“Kira, I know that look I see in your eyes right now. It’s part of the reason I was so put off by you. I know that you are going to move forward with trying to fix this, aren’t you?”

He was telling the truth, so there was no need to lie. “In the past, I must say that I’ve gotten a bit too aggressive and done some things that haven’t turned out so well.”

“But…” he said slowly.

“But this time, we can do this together. I’ve got an idea, but I want to know if you’ll go along with me.”

“I have to say this whole situation has brought me and my father closer.”

“Do you still want his voice to be heard?”

Franklin shook his head. “He doesn’t care anymore. He just wants us to be together.”

Hearing those words touched Kira’s heart. She didn’t want Charlie to get hurt, either, but her family should own their part in the feud.

Kira’s eyes connected with Franklin. “What do you want?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He shifted in his seat. “I want us to see where our relationship can go. I have to trust somebody, so I choose you.”

“Does that mean you’ve decided if you’re staying in Clover?” Kira tried not to get her hopes up, but hearing his statement, she couldn’t help it. She felt her heart lurch.

“Is that why you picked a fight? Because you think I’m going to leave you?”

Kira couldn’t look him in the face at first but then saw that he was struggling to hold in his laughter.

“It’s not funny. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I let myself go freely with you and then you left me. I don’t want to feel that kind of pain.”

“All I felt yesterday was pain, and I lashed out because I was afraid that you’d betrayed me.”

They’d never really talked about any other romantic entanglements that either of them had. She began to wonder who broke Franklin’s heart in the past. “You lost your trust in me.”

“Remember, we said that we’d take a chance on each other.”

“I know, and it felt good, too. Working side by side together at the inn.”

Kira picked up his hand. “I guess neither of us is good at being vulnerable.”

In a way it was true, but when she wasn’t with him, he was always in her thoughts. “But I guess I was, because when you walked out, my stomach dropped.”

Franklin patted his thighs. “Come sit on my lap. It’s time for us to make some decisions, and I don’t want you to be that far away from me.”

Kira yearned to be close to him, and doing as he asked would be a distraction. She now understood how important intimacy was between a couple. She’d been wondering for a while what it would be like for her to make love to Franklin. She’d had some dreams and images flashing before her, but being that close to him would bring it all back, and she needed to be able to think straight.

“Come on, don’t be afraid. I promise I won’t bite. I just need you close.”

Kira obliged, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She wanted to lean into him. “Yes, this is exactly where I want you.”

Staring at him through her lashes, Kira’s breathing grew heavy, desire filling her. She needed to focus on something else besides his lips.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she replied.

“Where do you want this relationship to go?”

Again, he was giving her the opportunity to speak what was on her heart. She needed to tell him what she’d been saying to herself for the past few days. Not hold it in even if he was leaving Clover. She felt something for him, and he deserved to hear it from her. “Wherever it takes us.”

“I want even more than that. I want us to be the driving force in our relationship. We found each other, and I don’t want to lose that for any reason. Not even family.”

Kira had to slow the runaway beating of her heart. “I, I—” She knew that meant having another conversation with her family. Now that she knew Charlie’s side of the story, it was time they all came together and hashed it out.

The letters…

Kira got up.

“I’ll be right back. I need to show you something.” Kira moved as swiftly as she could, grabbing the box and then bringing it back to the living area.

She handed it to him. “Look what I found.”

Franklin opened the lid, and the envelopes sprang up. “Wow, are these…love letters?”

“They loved each other deeply. My aunt talks about having the procedure that could have saved her life.”

“And you knew nothing of her medical condition?”

“No, I’d never heard she had one until the other day when your father told me. They wanted to have children and everything.”

Franklin gave her a small smile. “Well, I’m glad of that. Then we would have been cousins.”

“I had to make sure that you and I had the same information,” Kira replied, taking her place back in his lap.

Kira didn’t realize her eyes were filling with tears until she blinked. There was still something she needed to do, though. “I feel that my family owes your father an apology.”

“Not necessary. My father told me that he wasn’t looking for anything from your family. He wants us to be happy, and I believe him.”

“I do, too. I really like Charlie.”

“My question to you now is what are you willing to do?”

Kira attempted to smile because she still felt that at the very least her aunt Mary Louise needed to make things right with Charlie.

“Babe, did you hear me? Where did you go?”

“Yes. Yes, I heard you. I just need to know if you’re going to leave me. I don’t want to experience what your father did with my aunt.”

Franklin pulled her to him and held her for several moments. “That’s not the same thing. Their separation is permanent.”

“I can’t help it,” she said.

“I’m staying in Clover to work with my brother.”

Kira started to say something, but her words got twisted and she couldn’t get them out of her mouth fast enough. She was so happy. She laid against him. “For real? You’re serious.”

Kira didn’t wait. She kissed his lips. “I hope you’re sure about this.”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life. There are some other things I’d like to experience now, and I found that this is the place that I want to pursue them.”

It was like a weight had been lifted from her heart. Kira hadn’t ever had these kinds of feelings about another person. He came into her life like a mighty wind. During the entire length of their growing relationship, he stayed true to himself and helped her with her dreams. She couldn’t ask for more.

“What are you going to do if your family rejects our relationship?”

She didn’t feel it was a test, but a legitimate question based on prior events and their current circumstances.

“I want to have a dinner so they can meet you. Then we’ll see what happens.”

Franklin hugged her. “If they reject us, I don’t want you to be estranged from your family. Family is important, and I know just from being around here, the Davises are a clan, just like the Bennetts. Outsiders don’t have a chance.”

The only way to be truly free of the whole ordeal and get her family to see reason was to confront them. She didn’t want them to see it as disrespect, even though they might, but a conversation needed to be had.

“I’ll have to talk to them, Franklin. I want your father to celebrate with us at the inn when we have our Sip and See. He should be there.”

“I don’t know if he’ll come or not, Kira. I think it still stings a bit when it comes to your aunt Sophia.”

“Understood, but I want to offer the invitation without feeling like a traitor to my family. But they’ve been unfair to him.”

“I’ll leave it up to you, babe. My plan is to love and support you. I want to experience life with you.”

Kira kissed him again. “I’m in.”

Happy that they were able to move forward, Kira still needed to confront her family, and she knew just the way to do it.

“We’d better get back to the inn,” Franklin said, standing.

He opened his arms, and Kira went into them without hesitation. They still had work to do, but at least they’d made a start.