Love Therapy (Stanton Falls #2) (13 page)

“No, I’m not laughing at
you really.  More the irony of what you just said.  Look at us here.
  There is no way that anything that you have said or done to Nick
could begin to compare to my faults with you and your mother.  Yet still,
you both have forgiven me in spite of who I was.  I think I am a shining
example right now that someone who loves you can forgive you regardless of the
size of the mistake you made.  It just depends on whether you want to try.
 It took years for you and me to get here but it also took years for us to
get as far apart as we were.  It’s only been a little bit of time for you
and him.”

“I don’t know about that
daddy.  I know you mean well but that’s a little simpler than my situation
with Nick.  I can’t even look him in the eye right now.  Besides…”

“Besides what?”

“I know this is going to
come as a shock to you but I quit my job.  I’m leaving Stanton Falls.”

Saying it was harder
than she imagined, but she needed to start a new chapter in life.  Her own
chapter and she felt like it needed to be away from where she had grown up.
 At least it did a few hours ago.  Now she wasn’t so sure but her
decision had been made and she was the type to stick with what she’d done once
she made her mind up.  She would miss them all, probably Nick the most,
but it was time to move on.

Even thinking about it made her feel a little bit
down but she would make it.  That’s just who she was.

“Sweetie, I can’t
believe that you are really going through with this.  Aren’t you going to
miss it here?”

It had taken some time,
but Donna had finally gotten used to the idea of moving.  She had called her
former professor and he connected her with the company in New York that was
looking for someone to fill their position.  Luckily for her, there was
still an opening, so she took it.  Sure it meant moving away from home
just when her relationship with her father was turning around, but she thought
it was the right thing to do.  At least she hoped so.  

“Yes mom, of course I
will.  But I will visit.  I will call all the time.  I’ll even
come home every now and again to get a nice helping of your roast.”

“So there is absolutely
nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“No mom. I’ve made my
mind up and I’m going to New York.  The company I’m going to be working
for has already found an apartment for me in the city.  There is a grad
school right down the road where I can finish up getting my masters or
doctorate, depending on what I want to do, and they are going to pay for it
all.  On top of that, I’ll have enough money in a few years to pay off all
my student loans.  I’ll move back after that and start my own practice.”

“Honey, you can do all
that here now.  It may take a little longer but you’ve got time.”

“Mom...I’m doing this.”
 

“I know.  It just
sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself, not me but you’ve got
your mind made up and I won’t mess with that.  I guess I just think you’d
be better off here.”

“Well it doesn’t matter.
 I quit my job, remember.  I couldn’t stay even if I wanted to.”

Donna knew that she was
lying.  If she wanted, she could call Dr. Faulkner herself and be working
again the next day.  He had taken her abrupt resignation as a surprise but
he was fair and understanding with her.  No way was she going to let that
slip out to her meddling mom.  

“And you’re not even
going to say goodbye to him?”

Donna stopped packing
her clothes, thinking about the question.  She was going to miss Nick
desperately but there was nothing she could do then.  She’d look like a
fool running back to him and hoping he would say all was forgiven.  She
wished that she could.  She’d give anything to be able to do so but she
knew it wasn’t realistic.  It just wasn’t the real world that she lived
in.  

Since she had told him
to leave her alone, he had respected her wishes.  He had not so much as
reached out to her though she wished he had.  

“How mom?  How do I
do that?”

She acted the scene out
for her mom.

‘Hey, Nick.  Sorry for breaking your heart.
 No don’t get excited about my call.  I just wanted to let you know
I’m leaving town for a few years.  I’ll talk to you when I get back.”
 

“I wouldn’t know what to
say to him at all.  No, it’s better this way.”

“If you say so.
 Alright then, let’s get the rest of your stuff packed.  Your dad
will be here early in the morning to take you to the airport.”

“Where is he anyway?
 I thought he was going to be here tonight.”

“No clue but I am glad
you are working things out with him.”

“You and me both.
 I never said this, but thank you for always being so persistent.  I
see now that you were always doing those things because you love me.  At
the time I didn’t understand and I was mean to you so I apologize too.”

“Honey, you don’t owe me
an apology.  I just want you to be happy.”

“Thanks.  That’s
all I want too.”

***

Nick sat as desk
engrossed in his work.  Since he and Donna had broken up, he had plunged
himself into the company, not taking much time off for anything.  He knew
it wasn’t the healthy thing for him to do but whenever he wasn’t occupied, he
was thinking of her.   Of what he could have done differently.
 His missed her desperately but he didn’t have a choice.  She had
made up her mind and that was all there was to it. He couldn’t force her to
love him.  His secretary buzzed him.

“Yes?”

He was curt, and he hadn’t
meant to be.  He could tell she noticed it in tentative response.
 He’d apologize later.

“I have a Mr. Jeff
Sherman here to see you.”

Jeff Sherman?  

Nick couldn’t recall who
he was at all.

“Is he on my appointment
book?”

“No sir.”

“Can you ask him what it
is in regards to?”

“Certainly, one
second….”

He waited, trying to
figure out why the name sounded familiar.  

Jeff Sherman….Jeff
Sherman….Jeff…...Sherman…  Wait a second!

She came back on the
line promptly.

“He says--”

“Never mind.  I
know who he is.  You can send him in.”

“Yes sir.”

He had no idea why
Donna’s father would be coming to his office to see him.  From what he’d
heard about the guy, he was concerned that he might be barging in there to
fight.  He’d never met the man so could only go off of Donna’s stories and
her fears of him.  It would be interesting to meet him.

The rapping on his door
let him know he wouldn’t have to wait much longer for that at all.  He
opened the door to see a man with an uncanny resemblance to her.  Seeing
her father brought her right to the forefront of his mind and he was torn.
 He wanted to ask him if he knew how she was doing.  If she missed
him.  If she talked about him.  He also didn’t much like Mr. Sherman for
all the things had done to her.  But the man he was looking at was the
opposite of what he’d pictured in his mind.  The short, stout man that
stood before him had a look of kindness that he didn’t see often.  That
was obviously not the same man that sent chills up Donna’s spine when she heard
his name.  It just didn’t add up.

“Mr. Sherman, come in.”

“Thank you Mr.
Dellinger.  I know you are a busy man with your company and all so I don’t
want to take up too much of your time.”

Nick never would have
guessed in a million years that that kind, soft spoken guy was the man that
hurt Donna so much for the past few years.  Then again, he knew that there
was truth in the statement that time changed everything.  Regardless, he
didn’t want to judge him either way, and he was sure that he didn’t come there
for that in the first place.  Besides, everyone deserved to be heard out.
 

“Thank you for your
consideration.  Now what can I do for you?”

“I take it that you know
Donna is my daughter.”

“Yes sir.”

“Why haven’t you called
her?”

“Excuse me?”

“I said why haven’t you
called her?  

“I don’t know why you
would ask me that.”

“Because my daughter
loves you Nick.  I know you know that.  So she told you otherwise.
 You run this multi-million dollar company and I know you know how she feels
about you.  And you don’t seem like a daft man so the only other thing I
can assume is that you don’t love her.”

Nick wanted to feel
offended but the man’s smile wouldn’t let him.  He wasn’t there to fight,
except for his daughter.

“That’s not it Mr.
Sherman.”

“Then you tell me what
it is because my daughter needs you.”

“I promised her I
wouldn’t.  That I would give her the space if she needed, and that’s what
she asked for.”

“Let me tell you
something.  You were making promises to a woman that was hurt and broken.
 You were listening to her cry out to you in fear.  The last thing
she wanted was for you to leave.  She told you she didn’t love you because
she was scared.  This is love we are talking about, not a board room contract.
 Sometimes you have to change things for love.  You do love my
daughter, don’t you?”

His response was
immediate.

“Yes.”

“Then go and tell her.
 Don’t accept any other answer but the truth.  I’m asking you to,
son.  If not for yourself, do it for this man that messed up so much of
her life.  She needs to have something good in her life.  That
something is you and I know you know that.”

Nick was in shock.
 How stupid was he that he didn’t realize what was going on?  He
needed to go find and pour out his heart and soul to her.  If not, how
could he say he loved her?  If he couldn’t risk her anger. If he couldn’t
fight for her, how could he ever say what he felt was real?  He would
never forgive himself if he didn’t.

“I’ve been such a fool
this past week.”  

“That’s the great thing
about the past Nick.  It’s over and done.  Now you have the chance to
change all that.   Looking at you right now, I can tell how much you
love her. You know, when I was in prison, her mother visited me on a regular
basis.  Even after how I treated them.  She never let me go.
 Never stopped loving me.  Even after all the ridicule from her
family.  From Donna.  She was there for me the whole time still.
 I can’t claim to know what God’s plans are for you two or if you are even
supposed to be together, but you know.  Or at least you should.”

Mr. Sherman stood up,
still looking at Nick.  

“I just had to come by
here and talk to you today to let you know the situation and to say that if
your heart says that she is right for you, don’t let her fear of what the man I
was cheat you both.  She’s afraid, yes.  But don’t you be afraid
too.”

“Thank you for being so
frank Mr. Sherman.”

“Anytime Nick.
 It’s the least I can do for my daughter.”

He turned and walked out
of the office, stopping at the door.

“By the way, I just
dropped her at the airport.  Her plane will be boarding in about thirty
minutes.
 
She’s going to New York”

Airport?!  What?

“Forgive me Mr. Sherman,
but what is she going to New York for?”

“You didn’t know?  Nick she’s moving away.
 Well that is unless you stop her.”

Donna took a deep breath
as her plane landed.  She liked flying but hated landing.  Something
about waiting for the wheels to hit the runway made her stomach dance with
butterflies each time.

New York City here I
come.  

She tried to feel
enthusiastic as she got off of the plane.  She was starting a new and
exciting life there but to her all she felt was that all the people she loved
and cared about were nowhere near by.  She was in a whole new place, but
she would make it work.  She had always done that in life.  

At least the trip had no
delays or issues.  All she needed to do was get her bags from the
carousel.  She had a rental car already waiting for her when she was
ready.  As she waited for the bags to circulate around to hers, she
thought about Nick.  The last time she was at an airport was with him,
before they had that wonderful weekend where he told her he wanted her to be
his wife one day.  It seemed so long ago but it was less than a month ago.
 She wondered how he was doing.  Her father tried with all his might
to try and convince her to talk to Nick on the ride to the airport in Dallas.
 

“Donna, just think about it. At least talk to
him.  You don’t just fall in love and let it go that easily. I can tell
that you both had something special.  You don’t walk away from something
like that princess. You fight for it.  Especially when it’s a misunderstanding.
 You fight if it matters.”

She knew he was right.
 He and
her
mother both.  None of that
mattered though because she was there now.  If she could ever get her bag,
she’d be on her way to starting her new life.  She watched as more people began
to come up and claim their baggage.  Pretty soon the carousel stopped
putting out new bags.  She double checked all the bags that were there,
even though she knew none were hers.   She had that amazingly bright
pink luggage set.  Nick had said he’d never be caught dead pulling luggage
that color.  No one could confuse that luggage with their own, yet still
hers wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Great!  Either some
totally color blind person mistook my luggage for theirs, someone stole it or
the airline lost it.  

Donna breathed a deep
sigh of frustration.  It was not the way that she wanted to start the next
leg of her life.  Easy would have been nice, but that was never how it
worked for her in the past.
 
Why should
she expect different then?  

She grabbed her carry-on
luggage and made her way to the lost baggage area.  When she got there, no
one else was in line.  

So of all the people
that come into this airport every hour, I am the only person who is missing
luggage right now.  I don’t know if I should feel happy it’s a short line
or concerned.

She stepped up to the
counter and began filling out the papers to put in a claim for her luggage.
 She had only had a couple of bags.  She was going to have the rest
of her things shipped up after she settled into her new place.  Now she
had the added frustration of only having her carry-on bag.  She didn’t
have any clothing in there at all.  She’d have to go straight to the store
from there.  She turned around to leave and there was Nick--standing right
behind her with a smile on his face.  

“Let’s go Nick.  I
already put a claim in for my bags.”

It didn’t register for a
second that he wasn’t supposed to be there.  She was so caught up in
everything going on that the past two weeks momentarily slipped her mind.
  

“Um Donna?”

When it did, she almost
screamed.

“That’s more like the
reaction I was expecting to get from you but I guess the real question is was
that a I’m-so-happy-to-see-you scream or a oh-no-this-loser-is-stalking-me
scream.  Before airport security gets here, please say that it was the
first.”

Donna was so excited and
confused that she couldn’t talk.  She simply nodded her head.  

“Great.  In that
case, I’ve got your bags so give me a second to cancel this claim.”

Donna watched Nick walk
up to the counter and cancel the claim that she had just placed for her
baggage.  They walked out of the office when she finally got her voice
back.”

“Nick, what are you
doing here and why did you take my bags?”

Nick turned towards
Donna placing his hands on her shoulders.  

“Donna, you know why I’m
here.  I need to take you home.”

“This is my home now.”

“No Donna, it’s not.
 Home is where the people who love you are.  Your mother.  Your
father.  Me.  That’s where home is Donna, and that is where you
belong.  With me.”

“You really want to be
with me?  Someone that changes their mind with their emotions like I do?”

“Yes Donna, but I don’t
see you as what you just said.  Donna I love you with all my heart.
  You have gone through some tough times in your life and whether by
choice or force, you went through most of it feeling like you were all alone.
 You don’t have to ever do that again.  Never feel that way again.
 I’m here for that.”

“And you came all the
way out here for me?”

“How could I not?
 I never should have let it get this far.  You tried to push me away
but I shouldn’t have let you.  Donna I know you love me.  I can see
it in your eyes when you look at me.  I can hear it in your voice when you
talk to me and I can see it in your face when you smile at me.  I know
it’s
love because I see the same things in myself when I’m
around you.  You can’t deny your love for me.”

Donna was taken aback.
She did love Nick and regardless of what she had done and how she had treated
him, he said he loved her back.  And she knew it was true.  

“I feel so stupid
though. How can you forgive me?”

“Because that is what
love does?”

Nick stepped back and
started to get on one knee right in the airport, people passing by and
everything.  A few probably tourists even started to take pictures of
them.  They probably thought it was part of some New York City airport
attraction.  Donna couldn’t believe that the scene playing in front of her
was from her very own life.  She got misty eyed.

“A while back you were
the most cynical person I knew when it came to love and romance.  You
didn’t believe movie endings could happen in real life.   I believed
in them until I met you and that was when I realized that the ending of those
movies is the beginning of their forever.  Donna, I want to have that
forever with you.”

He reached into his back
pocket and pulled the ring out.  At just that time, she saw her mother and
father approaching from behind Nick.  

“Donna, I love you and I
know we should be together.  Please tell me that you will marry me.”

Donna was overwhelmed
with joy.

“Yes Nick.”

He slid the ring onto
her finger and stood up to hug her.

“I love you.”

“Nick.”

“Yes.”

“You forgot to say ‘and
they lived happily ever after’.”

“Well, they do.”

Donna turned and
embraced her parents.  Her father beamed as he talked to her.

“Donna, we are so happy
for you.  This is wonderful.”

“Thanks.  Now you
guys must have put him up to this.  There was no one else in town that
even knew when I was leaving or where I was going.  Which one of you guys
put him up to this?”

Her mother spoke up
quickly with a smile.

“I knew you would think
it was me!  This time it was your father that butted into your business.
 Although I agree.”

“Of course you would
mom.  And Daddy….”

“I didn’t do nothing but
give you kids a nudge.  God knows you both were being too stubborn to see
what was right in front of your faces.  I just told him how much you loved
him.  He was the one that was ready to come save you.”

“I was actually going to
say thank you daddy.  If you had not spoken to him, who knows how long it
would have taken him to come and get me.  I love you.”

“I love you too
princess.  I love you too.”

She turned back to her
future husband.  

“And thank you too for
loving me.”

“You could never have
stopped me.”

“Good.  Now all I
have to do is fly back to Texas, beg for my job back, take out a new lease on
my apartment and get married.”

“Don’t worry.  I’d
like to change the order of some of those things.  Why don’t you stay with
your mom for a few weeks before we get married?”

“A few weeks?  That
quickly?”

“Why not.  All my
family is there and so is yours.  I don’t want to waste any more time
making you Mrs. Donna Dellinger.”  

“Sounds like you’ve got
it all planned out, huh?”

“Not at all, but I think
we can figure it out together.”

She embraced him once
again.

“Yes we can.”

As she walked through the airport with her mother,
father and fiancée, Donna was happier than she had been ever.  Her life
was perfect right now.  A romance movie ending, waiting to unfold into
their forever.  She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thank
you for reading.

If you enjoyed this book please take a moment to leave a review by
clicking
here
.

Continue
reading for an excerpt from the introductory book to the Stanton Falls Series
‘Just in Time for Love.’

Chapter 1

Emily released a deep sigh
as she looked at the sign signaling that they had made it to their destination.
 

Welcome
to Stanton Falls

Her father had come to
the airport in Dallas to pick her up and bring her back home.  It had been
a long time since she had considered
Stanton Falls
home.  As she looked around, she realized that not much had changed in the
town since she had left so many years ago.  There were no high rise
buildings or occasional movie star sightings.  No street corner artists or
bistros selling with names that she could barely pronounce.  She had gone
to college on the west coast to become a nurse and honestly had never even
considered moving back to her childhood home again.  All of that changed
during her junior year of school.  Having a baby had its way of changing
lives.  

She thought back to when
she had first found out that she was pregnant.  She had hoped that she was
wrong.  Had hoped that the home test was somehow at fault and that the
ninety nine percent accuracy allowed her to be the one percent of inaccuracy.
 Three tests later, she was sure that her life would be changing.  

I can’t be pregnant.
 I’m not even done with school yet.

She knew it was true
though.  She was studying to be a nurse so she should know a thing or two
about the signs of pregnancy.  The missed cycle was one thing but the
first morning she woke up throwing up, she knew there was a concern.  

That was four years ago.
 She looked into the back seat at her now three year old daughter and
smiled at how beautiful she was.  She was unable to even fathom her life
without her little child now.  She thought back to meetings with the
doctor and at the options that he wanted to make sure that she and the father
knew were available to them.  As if her time in nursing school hadn’t already
taught her that.  The father had actually wanted her to get an abortion
simply because he wasn’t ready to be a father.  Emily knew she had gone
too far from God when she had considered it--even for the slight second.  

No matter how far she
had gone from her roots, she still considered the conglomerate of mixed DNA
inside of her belly to be a live baby and never really entertained the thought
of not having Ashleigh.  She’d decided from that day to have the baby and
raise her alone if that’s what it took.  She hadn’t spoken to the baby’s
father in two years.  She reached into the back seat and placed her hand
on Ashleigh’s tiny forehead rubbing softly as the she slept.  She turned
back around in her seat, watching the familiar scenery unfold before her and
was lost in her reverie until her father spoke.