A Reason to Stay (Oak Hollow) (7 page)

She paused on the steps of the wrap-around covered porch, trying to gather her thoughts, but when she heard the slam of the screen door behind her she raced out into the rain. She wasn’t fast enough. Halfway across the lawn his hand wrapped around her arm, jerking her to a stop. In one fluid movement he’d pulled her to him and his mouth was on hers before she could protest. The kiss was hard and punishing, yet full of desire. Even with the cold rain soaking her and chilling her to the bone, Jake's kiss was igniting a fire in her blood. Despite herself, she sank into him, letting his tongue plunder her mouth, giving him what he sought. Then he pulled back.

Thwack!

Her hand sailed across his face so hard her palm stung. Fury contorted his features. "Damn it, Ellie."

Before she had a chance to register what was happening, Jake bent and grabbed her, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Ellie screamed and beat his back with her fists, but he ignored her and headed for the house.

This was twice he’d carried her in as many days. If
she weren’t so pissed off she would have thought it to be sexy as hell. But she was pissed, and as he made his way inside with her and started up the stairs, she made her anger perfectly clear. She called him every dirty name she could think of, but Jake just ignored her.

When they reached his bedroom he went in, bumping her head on the doorframe. He turned and locked the door before dumping her, wet clothes and all, unceremoniously on the bed. As soon as she hit the bed Ellie turned to scramble of the other side, but Jake was too fast for her. He grabbed her leg and jerked her back, holding her still as he straddled her and held her arms down.

Something akin to fear crawled through Ellie. In her heart of hearts she knew Jake would never hurt her. But she’d never seen him this angry before. Well, it served him right. She was angry too. But more than that, she was hurt. The pain of his betrayal curdled in her stomach. She opened her mouth to tell him just how hurt she was, but one hand clapped over her mouth.

"Shut up, Ellie. Now, I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth and you’re gonna lay there and listen to me. Okay?"

Eyes wide, Ellie nodded under his hand and he moved it back to her wrist. "You idiotic little drama queen!"

"Oh, good way to endear yourself to me. Call me names! Now get off me, you big thug!" Ellie forgot her promise to be quiet and started struggling against him again. This time he silenced her with his mouth. Even as angry as she was, his taste had a drugging effect.

Satisfied she was sufficiently subdued; he raised his head back up.

“Would you just listen to me? That ring is for you, you little fool!"

Confused, Ellie stammered, "No, it wasn’t. I saw the note. It was addressed to you."

Jake laughed. "Oh, shit, Ellie. For such a smart woman, you can really be dense sometimes. I guess that’s why I love you so much, though. Grammy gave me the ring to give to you. There was no other woman that I was in love with. Only you."

Ellie couldn’t breathe, and she was sure it had nothing to do with Jake sitting on her chest. He loved her? Had he really said that?

Joy flooded her. But it met with resistance in the form of her anger. She was still mad.

"What? You love me? Then how come I had to accidentally find that damned ring?"

"Damn it, Ellie. Why can’t you just believe me when I tell you I love you? You always have to make things so difficult." His voice was taut with barely controlled rage. "I love you, but I don’t want to hold you back. I’ve been searching for a way to tell you for nearly a year. That’s how long I’ve had that ring. Grammy knew how I felt; she said you felt the same way, but I wasn’t sure she was right."

The anger fell from his voice, his face softening into the same emotion she’d seen on his face last night but couldn’t put a name to. "I went over it in my head a thousand times. How could I tell you I love you? If you didn’t feel the same it could ruin our friendship. But I wanted to. Then, when I’d made up my mind to do it, I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Do I just blurt it out? Damn it Ellie, I’ve never been any good at this kind of stuff."

Ellie was shell-shocked. She knew she should say something, but she couldn’t. Her mouth, for the first time in her life, wouldn’t work.

Jake went on. "We’ve never been on a date, so how can I ask you to marry me? But we’ve been together nearly every waking moment, and a lot of sleeping ones, since we were 14. We’ve even lived together. How can the lack of official dating stand in comparison to that? I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Air rushed out of his lungs as if a great weight was lifted off his chest. "I’ve wanted to tell you that for so long. But first I didn’t know how, and then Grammy got sick. I couldn’t tell you while you were so worried about her. Then she died and you decided to go off to Chicago.

"Ellie, I’m not a city kind of guy. But, I don’t want to stand in your way. I want you to be happy, and up until last night I was sure that letting you go was the only thing I could do. But I can’t do that now. Not after holding you in my arms. Not after making love to you. And certainly not with the possibility of you being pregnant with my baby.

"If moving to Chicago is what will make you happy, then if you will let me, I’ll go with you. They need firefighters there too, and I guess I can get used to city life. What I can’t get used to is life without you."

Tears rolled down Ellie’s face. She must have misinterpreted what Grammy had been trying to tell her. She hadn’t meant she should stop hanging out with Jake. She’d meant Ellie should marry him.

Choking on her tears, Ellie smiled sweetly up at Jake. "But, Jake, I don’t want to move to Chicago."

"What?"

"I never did. I was only moving because I loved you so much. I didn’t figure you would ever settle down, and if you did, it wouldn’t be with me. I couldn’t stand to see you with other women anymore."

Jake let go of her wrists and rolled on to the bed next to her, pulling her with him.

"I never want to be with any other woman but you," he said softly, dropping a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Well, I guess that means I better go call and cancel the moving truck."

Jake grinned. "Yep."

Ellie pushed up off the bed, then stopped just short of standing up as if she’d just remembered something. "But, Jake, I’ve already closed on the house. Where am I going to live?"

Jake’s face went white. "Um, here
, of course."

Ellie smiled sweetly. "With you? But, Jake, I couldn’t do that! We’re not married. We’re not even engaged." She held up her left hand. "I don’t even have a ring yet."

Jake tried to pretend to be exasperated as he slid off the bed and onto one knee. Looking up at Ellie he pulled the ring box she’d hurled at him just a few minutes before from his pocket and opened it, holding it up for her to see.

"Will this one do?" He grinned.

Ellie giggled. "Well, I guess if that’s all you got. I mean this is all last minute and everything."

But her laughter died as Jake took the ring from its spot on the black velvet and slid it up her ring finger.

"Ellie, you are the best friend I have in the world. You are my completion. Without you, I am just half. Will you please spend the rest of your life with me?"

The tears started again, full force this time. Her answer was watery, "Yes, Jake."

It was all she could say before he caught her to him in a soul-searing kiss.

"There you go again. Crying at happy endings." Jake laughed as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Yeah, well, this time they are definitely happy tears." Ellie kissed him again.

Several minutes later, when she’d regained her composure, she said, "I guess I should go call those movers now."

Jake grinned and reached for the top button on her shirt. "That can wait. We need to get you out of those wet clothes first."

###

CHAPTER 1

Kaden McAllister felt a little bit like a stalker. He was sitting a booth in Bea’s Diner staring out the window and across the street at Millie’s Beauty Shop. More accurately he was staring at the woman working in the Millie’s Beauty Shop. He’d done this three days in a row during his lunch hour trying to get up the nerve to walk across the street and talk to her. He felt like a cross between a nervous teenager with is first crush and a creepy peeping tom stalker.

It wasn’t as if he was sitting here watching every move of some stranger. He knew her. That is, if having one unforgettable night of sex with someone who wouldn’t tell you her last name counted as knowing someone.

It had been three weeks since he’d met Lorelei. There had been candlelight, wine, costumes, and when he’d seen her belly dance he’d gone instantly hard. He’d never been so turned on, and he’d wanted her. And he’d had her. It had been heady and magical and he knew he wanted to know this incredible woman who made him nearly forget his name just with a look. But then, in the morning he’d awaken to an empty bed and not so much as a note.

He’d felt empty. He had no idea why this woman had such an effect on him, but he wanted to find out. He’d tried to just forget her, chalk it up to a great one-night stand and leave it at that. But he couldn’t. Every time he closed his eyes he could see her hips swaying in the candlelight, he could feel her smooth skin against his. It was damned distracting.

The last thing in the world he needed was to be distracted. After all, he was a doctor trying to get settled into a practice. He didn’t need to be daydreaming about some elusive woman. So, his solution had been to find her, convince her to go out with him and see if she was as amazing as he remembered or if it had been the wine and the magic of the night.

But he hadn’t been able to find her. He’d asked around, but the only person he could find that knew who she was, wasn’t telling him anything. He’d seen Lorelei talking to Ava Burton. He didn’t know Ava that well because she was a few years younger than him. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was around his brother, Aidan’s, age of 25. She had dated two of his brothers, Aidan and Jake, though years apart, so he had been around her some. He’d thought this would give him a leg up in getting some information from her. He had been wrong.

At the time he’d thought she was being completely uncooperative. He’d tried reminiscing over old times, cajoling, and flashing his most charming McAllister smile. It was widely known throughout Cedar Grove that the McAllister boys could just about charm the pants off of almost any woman with a smile and a few well chosen words and, in the case of a couple of his brothers, literally had, many times.

But Ava, having been the victim of such charm at the hands of at least two McAllister men, was having none of it. She’d put her hands on her small but curvy hips and shook her short copper hair as she said, “Look here Kaden McAllister, if Lorelei had wanted you to know how to get in touch with her she’d have told you herself. I don’t know what happened between you guys, but if she doesn’t want you to know her last name, I’m sure not going to tell you.”

Kaden hadn’t believed that for a second. He was sure Ava had at least guessed what had happened between them. But she was standing her ground, and he didn’t figure standing there and arguing would do a bit of good. As he turned to leave the hotel where she worked as the front office manager, she made one last parting shot, “You know you really need a haircut. Millie Graham’s
niece took over Millie’s Beauty Shop when Millie died. You should go check her out, she’s awesome.” Then she’d given a little giggle.

At the time he’d brushed it off and didn’t give it anymore thought. He remembered Ava as a pretty bold woman and just figured she was just speaking her mind as usual. He did need a haircut. He’d also figured it was a crack about his long hair, her telling him to go to a beauty shop. Most people didn’t believe a doctor should have long hair. But now he realized she had been trying to point him in the right direction without betraying a friend’s confidence.

But he hadn’t gotten the hint and had given up the search. Then three days ago he’d stopped in Bea’s for lunch. Usually he just grabbed a sandwich at the office. Since he’d moved back to Cedar Grove three months ago to take over Dr. Grayson’s practice when he retired Kaden’s appointment book had been booked solid. There had been the normal appointments and illness, but there was also a phenomenon seen mostly in small towns. Cedar Grove only boasted one medical clinic, Cedar Grove Medical Group. The clinic consisted of three doctors, an OB/GYN, a general family doctor, and a Pediatrician. With only three doctors in town, most people had occasion to visit the clinic at some point, therefore they knew all of the doctors. It was only natural for them to get nervous about a new doctor taking over, especially since the new doctor was to be the only Pediatrician in town.

Many parents had scheduled unneeded appointments so that they could meet the new doctor and make sure they felt safe bringing their children to him. The fact that Kaden had grown up in Cedar Grove only served to increase the numbers of appointments. Though it had kept him quite busy, he knew that this was normal and hadn’t minded. The past few weeks had been slowing down into a routine and Monday he’d actually had an hour and a half between patients. So he’d decided to venture out for lunch.