Long Way Home (20 page)

         Ivy
went into Shelmerdine’s with the intention of buying new tennis shoes in
preparation for the start of Summer Band.  As she browsed the selection,
she saw Mary Kelly talking to Mrs. Shelmerdine.  She didn’t intend to
eavesdrop but when Mrs. Shelmerdine asked about Tessa she couldn’t help
it. 

         “Tessa
is coming home in a few days,” Mary Kelly announced.

         “Oh,
Mary, how exciting!  It’s been years since Tessa was last here.  Is
she coming home to stay?”

         “Glen
and I are hoping we can talk her into it.”

         Tennis
shoes forgotten, Ivy dug her phone out of her purse and rushed out of the store
to call Shane.

         “Hey,
Baby Girl, what’s up?”

         “Are
you at the office?” she asked.

         Her
abrupt tone alerted him.  “No, I’m making the rounds.  What’s
up?”
      “I can’t get into it on the
phone.  How soon can you meet me at your house?”


         “Fifteen
minutes.  What’s this about?”

         “Just
be there, Shane.”

         She
ended the call and rushed to her truck.  She’d been praying for this day
to come ever since he told her about what happened with Tessa.  Nothing
would be right in Shane’s world until he dealt with his feelings for Tessa.

         Shane
was on his front porch waiting for her when she pulled up.  He stood as
she got out and met her half way.

         “What
is it?” he asked, “Did Reese-”

         “No,
no, this isn’t about him.  Look, I was just in Shelmerdine’s and heard
Mary Kelly say that Tessa is coming home in a few days.  I just didn’t
want you to hear it from someone else.”

         A
muscle ticked in his jaw, the only outward reaction to the news.

         “Well,
we knew she would come home sooner or later.  The Heltons’ trial is
approaching.”

         “Yes,
but that’s in Austin.  She’s coming here and Mary wants to try to convince
her to stay.”

         “She
won’t,” he dismissed.

         “What
makes you so sure?”

         “She
hates it here,” he said simply.  He walked back to the porch and sank down
to the steps.

         “Will
you talk to her while she’s here?”

         He
shrugged.  “It’s been a year since I last saw her.  I’ve respected
her privacy and left her alone as she asked.  My number hasn’t changed;
she’s known how to contact me.”

         “You
can’t avoid her forever.”

         “I
know.  She’s ripped my heart out twice now.  I barely survived this
last time.  I can’t go another round with her.  I wouldn’t survive.”

         “But
what if this time she sticks?”

         He
drew a deep, ragged breath.

         “I
don’t think I can afford to find out.  I’m just now getting back on my
feet.  Wendy-”

         “Is
not Tessa and she never will be.”

         “No. 
She’s not.  Wendy would never hurt me.”

         Ivy
sighed.  “But you don’t love Wendy.”

         “I
could,” he said defiantly.

         Ivy
looked directly into his eyes.  “No.  You couldn’t.  Not when
your heart still belongs to Tessa.”

         “Ivy-”

         She
cut him off.  “You can lie to everyone else but not to me.  You love
Tessa.  You always have and you always will.  I gotta go, I just
didn’t want you to be blindsided by this.  I love you.”

         He
stood and kissed her brow.  “Love you, too.  Thanks for letting me
know.”

         He
watched Ivy leave and then slowly climbed the steps to go inside.  One
year and just the mention of her name had his guts churning.  What would
he do when they were face-to-face for the first time, because, in a town this
small it, was going to happen.

         He
checked in with his deputies to make sure there wasn’t anything that required
his immediate attention, then let dispatch know he was taking the rest of the
day off.  Going to the fridge, he took out a beer then went into his home
office.

         Images
of those last few days with her flooded him.  From seeing her bloodied and
broken body in Helton’s clutches to that morning when her eyes finally opened
and she accused him of abandoning her.  He’d known she really hadn’t meant
it all but she’d been so upset he’d been forced to leave.  He wondered if
time and distance had changed her views, or if she still blamed him.

         Beating
himself up all over again, he pulled the chain with her dog-tags and ring from
around his neck and held them tight in his fist.  If he’d never left, if
his dad had never had the accident, would things have happened
differently?  Would they have pulled her out as planned?  Would she
have pulled herself out knowing that she was pregnant?

         He
opened his hand and studied the tags and ring he’d bought her.  He needed
to face the facts.  A year without a word from her pretty much told him
all he needed to know.  He opened a drawer in his desk and let the chain
fall inside.  With a sigh, he realized he needed to call Wendy; she needed
to be prepared for what was coming.

         Tessa
rented a car to drive to Indian Springs from the airport rather than having her
mother and Gib come pick her up.  She thought it would be better to be by
herself as she drove into her hometown for the first time in nearly ten
years.  She kept her mind as calm and empty as possible but it wasn’t
easy.  With every mile closer to town, memories came flooding back: some
bad, of her father, some good, too, but painful because they revolved around
Shane.  So much of her memories of her hometown were tied to him, so much
of her life.

         She
forced the memories back.  No use dwelling on them.  She’d pushed
Shane away and refused to contact him for over a year.  Whatever chance
they may have had was gone now.  Besides, she was still messed up; she
wouldn’t want to burden anyone with trying to figure her out.

         Keeping
her eyes straight ahead as she drove through town, she still couldn’t keep memories
from flooding her.  By the time she pulled up to her mother’s house she
was exhausted and emotionally drained.

         Mary
was sitting on her front porch swing waiting for her.  She didn’t see Gib,
but she was sure he was there somewhere.  It was still a little weird to
think of him with her mother; that he was going to marry her mother and be her
stepfather, but she was glad that it was working out for them.  God knew
someone in her life deserved to be happy.

         “There’s
my girl,” Mary said, coming to embrace her.

         “Hi,
Mama,” she replied.

         Mary
cupped Tessa’s face in her hands and studied her.  She was sporting a
terrific tan thanks to her months on the beach, but she knew how tired she
looked and knew that her mother saw it too.

         “I’ve
missed you,” Mary said simply.  Tessa was grateful that she didn’t start
lecturing her.

         “Tessa,”
Gib greeted her, stepping out onto the porch.  “Bags in the trunk?”

         “Yes,
thank you,” she said as he went to get them.

         “Come
on, sweetie, let’s get you settled.  Dinner will be ready in just a bit.”

         Tessa
nodded and followed her mother inside to her old bedroom.  She pointedly
avoided looking at the porch swing as she passed, but not looking didn’t erase
the memory of it.  Shane had hung it for them when they moved in to this
house when they were in high school.  Her head began to pound.  How
would she survive being back here?

         “Honey,
are you OK?” Mary asked when they got into her room.

         “I’m
just tired,” she dismissed.

         “Tessa,”
she began.

         “I’ll
be fine, Mama, really.  It was time for me to come home and stop running
from my life.  And I wanted to be here to see you and Gib get
married.  You deserve to be happy.”

         “As
do you.”

         Tessa
shrugged as she sat on her bed.  “Some things just aren’t meant to be.”

         Mary
shook her head.  “I don’t believe that.  Not one bit.  Not for
you and Shane.  He loves you so much.  It killed him to leave you at
the hospital.  He stayed for days after you threw him out.  Being
without you has devastated him.  He lost weight.  A lot of
weight.  He threw himself into two things when he came back, his job and
the building of his new house.  He’s better now but still not
himself.  He’s polite and courteous as always, but his eyes are troubled.”

         “I
really don’t want to talk about Shane, Mama,” Tessa said wearily.

         “Honey,
I’m just preparing you for what you’ll see and hear in town.”

         “Didn’t
you say he’s dating again? Two women?”

         “Well,
one was Ivy Sinclair, but they weren’t really dating.  They are just good
friends.  Her football player boyfriend just moved to town so he doesn’t
see as much of her anymore.  The other one, though, is the new
librarian.  He’s been seeing her for about a month now.”

         “Well,
there you go.  He’s moved on.  End of story.”

         Mary
shook her head at her daughter.  “What is wrong with you?  Do not
tell me you still blame him for what happened.”

         Tessa
closed her eyes and drew a long, deep breath.

         “He’s
better off without me, Mama.  Trust me.”

         “I
don’t believe that.”

         “I
do.”

         “Tessa,
honey -”

         “What’s
up with the pity party, Soldier?” Gib asked, bringing her bags in.

         “Glen,”
Mary admonished.

         “What?
We’ve left her alone long enough.  It’s time to get on with things, don’t
you think?”

         “Gee,
Gib, love you, too,” Tessa said, dryly.

         He
winked at her.  “There’s the Tessa I know.”

         She
took a deep breath and reached out her hand to him.  “I’m gettin’ there,
Gib,” she said, squeezing his hand.

         “I
know you are,” he returned.

         “Come
on, dinner’s just about ready,” Mary said, standing.

         Tessa
had been home for nearly two weeks when she finally decided she needed to stop
being a coward and venture out of her mother’s house.  For those two
weeks, she stayed home, reconnecting with her mother and Gib, catching up on
reports and paperwork she’d been neglecting regarding her upcoming testimony,
and just adjusting to being back in Indian Springs.  Her mother and Gib
were planning to marry soon and take a honeymoon to England, so that they would
be home in time for the start of the Helton’s trial.  She wanted to be
able to run the shop for her mother while they were gone.  Therefore, when
she came down to breakfast on the second Friday she was home, dressed and ready
to go, conversation halted and they both stared openly at her.

         “Good
morning,” she greeted them.  “Mama, I thought I’d come into the shop with
you today, see where everything is so you and Gib can go on your Honeymoon
worry-free.”

         She
caught the quick glance her mother sent to Gib before she smiled big and bright
at her. 

         “That
would be wonderful, Sweetie.  I don’t have any weddings scheduled for that
time frame but it would be nice to be able to have those times available should
someone want them.”

         “We’ve
got a few weeks until then.  I haven’t forgotten how to do all the stuff
for weddings.  If anyone wants to book while you’re gone, I can do it.”

         Mary
couldn’t hide the joy those words filled her with.  Gib winked at Tessa
and squeezed Mary’s hand.

         “So,
what are you doing these days, Gib?  I just realized I never really asked
you that.  I guess I haven’t been paying much attention to what’s been
happening around me since I’ve been home.”

         He
smiled.  “I’m working at the Army recruiting offices some, helping new
recruits get into shape.  I’m also doing some consulting work for Mike
Casiano, remember him?”

         Tessa
nodded.  “He was the head of that joint forces Task Force that some of the
guys joined after we left.  Coop and Whit and Colt.  He is a SEAL,
right?”

         “Yes. 
He and several members of that Task Force are out now and running a private
securities firm.  I’ve been helping them out with a few things here and
there.  Coop, Whit and Colt are part of the group.  Keeps me busy but
still gives me plenty of free time to be with Mary.”

         “Good
all around, then.  I’m glad you’re happy.”

         “Mike
could probably use you on a few things.  I could ask him, if you-”