Run to You (19 page)

She munched a granola bar in the kitchen then retreated to her office to work. Luckily she was between major deadlines, since she'd been pretty distracted with Ethan and Dixie the last few weeks. The game she was coding right now, a kids' fantasy game called
Scion's Quest
, wasn't due until the end of the summer so it was no big deal if she took a few hours off here and there as long as she made up her time and had everything ready to go on schedule.

She spent the morning writing and checking code. It was almost noon before she reached a good stopping point, but before she left her computer, she checked her e-mail. Her mom had written, saying how nice it had been to see Gabby yesterday and how she hoped she would come home soon. And a friend of hers, Chloe, had also written.

Gabby and Chloe had been college roommates and good friends in the years since. She hadn't seen Chloe as much while she was dating Brad, and then she had avoided most everyone after she left him. She'd been a lousy friend. Case in point—Chloe was e-mailing to catch up and see if Gabby would like to go out sometime.

She didn't even know Gabby had moved to Haven.

That's how out of touch with her friends she was.

With a heavy feeling in her chest, she replied to Chloe's e-mail, giving her a quick update on her life and promising to get together as soon as she was back in Charlotte. She even invited Chloe for a visit here in Haven if she was interested.

She hadn't been herself when she was with Brad, or after she'd left him. But she was back now, and maybe even better than ever. And now it was time to go see her man.

With a smile, she walked Lance and put him in his crate, then drove to the deli and ordered sandwiches—four of them. Because she was betting all the guys would be hungry. She grabbed chips and sodas to go with the meals and headed for Off-the-Grid.

She pulled into the lot and parked next to Ethan's red Jeep, but when she went inside the house, no one was there. She left the food on the table in the kitchen and walked out back, following the sound of hammering from somewhere in the woods behind the house.

“Ethan?” she called, but there was no answer. He and the guys were probably so caught up in work, they had no idea it was lunchtime yet.

She walked down the path toward the zip-line course, and when the first platform came into view, she stopped, staring up at it.

“Have you ridden the zip-line your boyfriend made?”

Her mother's words echoed in her head. It was ridiculous that she hadn't. How could she stand on her own two feet when she was still letting fear rule her life? Standing here looking up, it didn't look
that
high.

Cautiously, she placed her hand on the wooden railing and started up the stairs. Her heart thudded hard and heavy against her ribs. With each step, her legs felt more and more like limp spaghetti. When she reached the top, she stood with her back against the tree trunk, her knees shaking, cursing a blue streak.

She closed her eyes and counted to twenty, slowly. At the very least, she would walk to the edge of the platform and have a look.

“Ready to fly?” Ethan whispered into her ear, and she shrieked.

She grabbed on to his arm as the platform tilted dangerously beneath her. Or more likely, her head was starting to spin. “As it turns out, no.”

“Here, take my hand.” He squeezed her hand firmly in his.

“I don't know what I'm doing up here,” she said.

“Trying to take a leap of faith, it looks like.”

Yeah, something like that. She really
wanted
to take a leap of faith.

“Want to see the harness?” he asked.

She nodded. He led her over to a bin against the back railing where the gear was apparently stored. He released her hand to punch a code into the lock on the bin, then opened it and pulled out a black harness with straps and buckles hanging everywhere.

“It clips on like this.” He demonstrated on himself, fastening it around his legs and waist. “See?” He gave it a tug. “Couldn't fall out of this if I tried.”

“What if it breaks?”

“Won't happen. These harnesses are top quality, and they're practically brand new. We inspect each one every morning before we use them, and they'll be replaced often once we're in operation to prevent wear and tear.”

“Hmm.” She watched him, standing there in that harness, looking so at ease, so strong and confident.

“Want to try one on?”

“Okay.” There was no harm in trying it on. So what if her knees shook while he fastened it around her? It felt heavy and solid, but did nothing to ease the fear clogging her throat.

Ethan watched her for a minute in silence. “Unfortunately this rig's not built for tandem rides, or I'd take you with me.”

“I want to go alone anyway.” That was the whole point. She could lean on Ethan for small things, but not this.

“Atta girl.” He nudged his fist against her biceps. “So why don't you sit right here in the middle of the platform and watch me take a ride, then see what you think?”

She managed a small smile. “I'd like that.”

“Okay.” He gave her a quick kiss, then clipped himself onto the line. She did as he'd suggested and sat cross-legged in the middle of the platform. It wasn't as scary from this position, probably because she couldn't see the ground. Just the line and the trees beyond.

With a whoop, he was gone, soaring off over the forest. She heard the whine of the zip-line mechanism over the cable mixed with Ethan's happy yell. He spread his arms wide, twisting back to grin at her before he'd bounced and swooped too far away for her to see his expression.

She watched until he'd landed on the next platform. It did look kind of fun. But the whole dangling way up in the air thing…

Nope. Just wasn't going to happen.

She sat rooted to the spot until Ethan had returned. He stood before her on the platform, still wearing his harness, looking exhilarated. “Ready to try?”

She shook her head. “Sorry.”

He shrugged. “Doesn't matter to me whether or not you ride it, but it looks like it matters to you, so I'm guessing you'll do it when you're ready.”

Tears burned the backs of her eyes. How did he read her so well? “If I'm ever ready.”

He reached down and tugged her to her feet. “You will be.”

Ethan left Off-the-Grid just past four and drove to Gram's house. Earlier he'd felt light as air up on that platform with Gabby. Now his body ached, weighed down with memories. For the past month, he'd been helping Gram check off the items on her bucket list, and tonight they would go together to visit his mom's grave.

It'd been far too long since he'd been there.

Gram was waiting in the entrance hall, wearing a blue-printed sundress that he often saw her wear to church on Sundays. They walked out to his Jeep together.

Memories of the day he'd buried his mother swamped him, dark and bitter. He remembered the temporary foster mother who'd been assigned to him straightening the tie on his child-sized suit and how that tie had felt like it was cutting off his air supply, squeezing the life right out of him.

He remembered the way it had felt looking at her grave after it was all over, like his whole life had gotten buried down in that hole with her. He hadn't even met Gram yet, didn't know she existed. On the day of the funeral, he had been completely alone in the world.

And it had been fucking terrifying.

He and Gram walked through the cemetery together, stopping in front of his mother's grave. Ethan looked over to see tears running silently down Gram's cheeks.
Shit.

He put an arm around her, pulling her close.

“I miss her,” Gram said. She dropped to her knees in front of the headstone, tracing her fingers over his mother's name, etched in stone.

“Me, too,” Ethan said. It had moved to the background now as the grief and the horror of losing her faded. In fact, some days he didn't think of his mom at all. But she was always there in the back of his mind, inked on his skin and forever in his heart.

But what he sometimes forgot was how her death had affected Gram. Not only had she lost her daughter, but she'd lost years of being a part of Dawn's life before she died. Gram hadn't been at her funeral, hadn't been able to mourn until a year after the fact.

It slammed into him like a battering ram that soon he'd be visiting the cemetery again, mourning Gram. And fuck. He wasn't ready. He'd never be ready.

His whole life was about to get sucked down in a big hole in the ground all over again.

E
than tossed and turned in bed that night, haunted by the nightmares of his past. After several restless hours, he finally turned his thoughts to Gabby. Gabby up on that platform looking so beautifully brave. Gabby beneath him in bed, screaming in pleasure.

Yep, that did the trick. He closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

When he awoke, sunlight was streaming through his window, and based on the tent in his sheets, Gabby was still on his mind. He closed his eyes and started counting backward from fifty, his morning tradition to relieve the pressure so that he could leave the bedroom without being indecent.

His dick was just starting to relax when his phone pinged with an incoming text. Welcoming the distraction, he reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand.

The text was from Gabby.

Thinking about you this morning and hoping that problem we talked about hasn't gotten too hard to handle.

She'd inserted a little winking emoticon at the end, followed by a sunrise and a tree. Morning wood. And yep, that problem had just gotten
really
hard again.

Killing me,
he texted back.

That bad, huh?

Oh yeah, it was bad.
Getting worse by the second.

I'd be happy to help you with it if you want to stop by…
This was followed by several colorful hearts.

His poor cock ached at the thought. But…
No can do. Gotta take Gram to an appointment.

Oh. Bummer.

No kidding.
Gotta go. Chatting with you is not helping the issue.

He thrust his phone back onto the bedside table and lay there, concentrating on the sounds of Gram moving around in the kitchen until his dick finally accepted defeat. Then he went down the hall and took a long, cold shower.

That Gabby had a bit of an evil streak in her. He laughed into the shower's chilly spray, imagining what it might be like to wake up next to her more often. Hot, sweaty sex instead of painfully cold showers.

Something that would never happen because, when Gram passed, he and Gabby would part ways. Thoroughly chilled, he shut off the shower, dressed, and headed for the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Gram said from the kitchen table, where she sipped a cup of hot tea and tabbed through who-knew-what on her iPhone.

“Morning.” He headed straight for the coffeemaker, smiling when he saw she'd already brewed a pot for him. “Thanks, Gram. You rock.”

“And you're very predictable.” She looked up with a smile. “I'd like to check off another thing on my list this weekend.”

“Oh yeah, what's that?”

“Visit the Biltmore.” She held up her phone to show him that she'd been browsing the historic estate's website.

“You've never been?” That actually surprised him. The Biltmore Estate was one of North Carolina's most famous tourist destinations, a huge private estate with gardens, a winery, and all kinds of touristy things to do. It even had its own hotel.

“I never have, but I've always wanted to.”

“Let's go then.” It wasn't high on his to-do list, but it was definitely right up Gram's alley, and he'd love to be the one to take her.

“Bring Gabby. I'll get us a couple of rooms at the Biltmore Inn, and we'll make a weekend of it.”

“Sounds great.” They were making a lot of memories together this summer. As much as the reason for it sucked, Gram was making the most of it by doing and trying things she might not otherwise.

Wasn't there a song called “Live Like You Were Dying”? Maybe everyone should spend a summer like this, just not putting anything off and living each day like it was your last.

On that thought, he picked up his phone and texted Gabby, inviting her to Asheville with them for the weekend.

“I feel kind of bad tagging along with you guys on all these family trips,” Gabby said as she hoisted her duffel bag onto her shoulder.

“Don't,” Ethan said.

But she had to wonder, did he really, truly want her along for all this bucket list stuff with his grandmother? Or would he someday regret that he'd spent so much time canoodling with her during his grandmother's last weeks on this planet?

That thought curdled the contents of her stomach, but the last thing she would ever do was intentionally sour any part of this weekend for Ethan or Dixie. This was about them, after all. She was just along for the ride.

“You ever been to the Biltmore?” he asked.

She nodded. “I went with my parents when I was in high school. They go fairly often.” Which was why she'd never had the desire to go back as an adult. But truly it was a lovely place. The gardens were stunning, and walking into that house felt like being on the set of a period movie—like stepping back in time, and up in class.

She'd never stayed there overnight, but the inn was supposed to be great, and it meant she got to spend the night with Ethan, which was worth the trip all on its own.

She gave one last glance around her house, then followed Ethan to the door. Dixie was outside, leaning against the back of her SUV and talking into her cell phone. She gave Gabby a friendly wave as she ended the call.

“I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited,” she said.

“Me, too.” Gabby opened the rear door and tossed her duffel bag onto the seat.

“And I am excited that you ladies are excited,” Ethan said with a smile.

“Good man.” Dixie patted his arm as she walked around to the front of the car.

They had a two-hour drive ahead of them, but it flew by with Dixie telling tales of Ethan's adolescent misadventures, and when she'd tired of that, she told stories about all the places she'd seen and visited on the many cruises she'd taken with her late husband.

Gabby heard a wistful note in her voice today that hadn't been there previously, and it made her chest hurt to think of what it must be like for Dixie, knowing each day could be her last.

After a stop at the gatehouse to buy tickets, Ethan guided them down a long driveway through the entrance gates of the estate. They wound through several miles of lush greenery to a parking lot, where they left the car and boarded a shuttle bus that brought them—finally—to the front steps of the Biltmore Estate. The big house loomed in front of them, looking like something right out of the history books with its steeped roof and turrets reaching toward the sky.

“Wow,” Dixie said with awe in her voice. “It's even more impressive in person.”

“It really is.” Gabby hadn't appreciated a thing about it when she'd been here as a teen. She'd been too young to taste the wine when her parents dragged her along on a tour of the vineyard and too busy being pissed off that she'd had to miss a sleepover party with a group of her friends to do anything but sulk.

But now…now it took her breath away. The house alone was an impressive sight, but the flower gardens stretching out beside it really captured her attention. She'd always loved flowers. All kinds, all colors. They were so bright and vibrant and smelled so lovely.

Gabby and Dixie dragged Ethan along with them for a tour of the gardens before they went inside. He had to be bored out of his mind, but he wore an easy smile the whole time and willingly followed them wherever they wanted to go.

Dixie wore a wide straw hat on her head and looked so adorable, Gabby just wanted to squeeze her.

“Oh, these begonias are just beautiful,” Dixie said. “I've never seen any quite so vividly pink before.”

“They're gorgeous,” Gabby agreed.

“I have one issue with the flower gardens here,” Ethan said after his grandmother had wandered far enough up the path to be out of earshot.

“What's that?” she asked.

“No honeysuckle.”

She smiled. “Well, honeysuckle isn't exactly pretty to look at.”

“But it smells great, and you always smell like it.” He gave her a look that made her chest swell with warmth.

“It's my body spray. The smell of honeysuckle reminds me of childhood afternoons playing outside. It's one of my favorite scents.”

“Me, too, on all counts.” He leaned in and nuzzled her neck.

She swatted him away as they came up behind Dixie on the path.

“I am in heaven,” Dixie said with a radiant smile on her face. “Why on earth have I not come here before? I could spend all day right here in the garden.”

“And you can if you want,” Ethan told her. “But you might have to let me go get you some ice water.”

“Iced tea would be even better,” Dixie said.

“I'll see what I can do. Gabby?”

“Tea sounds great,” she agreed.

“Be right back.” Ethan placed a quick kiss on Gabby's cheek and walked off in the direction of the house and its surrounding buildings.

“That man is a keeper,” Dixie said with a wink as she watched him walk away.

“Yeah, he is.” And Gabby really wished he was hers to keep.

“You might not believe in these things, but I knew the first time I saw you two together that it was meant to be. There's this energy between you. I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.” Dixie nodded her head, then bent to smell one of the many flowering roses around them.

“What?” Gabby straightened uncomfortably. Ethan had mentioned Dixie saying something like this to him, but she hadn't really thought about it since. She absolutely did not believe in love at first sight. Lust at first sight maybe, but love was a different thing entirely. It needed time to grow and took a lot of time to maintain, much like these flowers.

“I knew I was going to marry Ethan's grandfather the day we met. And we were blissfully happy for thirty years until cancer took him from me. I've seen it in other couples, too, and I'm always right. You might think I'm a crazy old lady, but I know what I'm talking about.”

“Well, things are going really well for Ethan and me, but it's a bit early to be thinking about love and marriage and happily ever afters.” Gabby busied herself reading the placard about the coral beauty roses in front of her.

“You might need to be patient with him,” Dixie said. “He's probably going to be a complete idiot and do something stupid when things start getting more serious between you. He has a lot of baggage from his childhood that he doesn't like to talk about.”

“I know.” Gabby said the words quietly, tracing her finger over the delicate edge of a rose petal.

“Then you already know him better than any other woman he's dated.”

“I don't know about that.” Because she also knew that a whole lot of pain lurked behind his charming smile, pain that he wasn't eager to share with her or anyone else. Sure, they'd had a few moments when he'd let her in, but more often she could tell he was holding her at arm's length, trying to keep a distance between them.

“Well, I do.” Dixie put a hand on her arm. “I'm just sorry I won't be around to see it when you guys finally figure it out.”

Gabby swallowed over the sudden tightening in her throat. “I hope…I hope we don't let you down.”

“You couldn't possibly. I only want him to be happy, and I know you'll both do your very best to that end.”

Gabby nodded, her head swimming with guilt and regret.
But what if Dixie's right?
a tiny voice in her head wondered. What if she ought to fight for a chance with Ethan for real?

He came walking toward them then with three bottles of iced tea in his hands. “It's not fresh, but it'll have to do until you're ready to go up to the house.” He handed them each a bottle and guided them toward a bench at the end of the path.

“It'll do just fine. Thank you, Ethan.” Dixie unscrewed the cap from hers and took a long drink. She and Gabby sat on the bench while Ethan perched on the armrest, his hip against Gabby's side.

They sat for a few minutes, enjoying their tea and the view. But she knew they'd need to move inside soon. The sun had shifted from hot to scorching, and even with iced tea, they'd need to make sure Dixie didn't overdo it out here. Already Gabby felt sweat trickling down her back, dampening the back of her skirt.

“Gabby?”

She looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling her name.

“Gabby Winters?” The middle-aged woman and man standing in front of their bench looked familiar, but it was taking her a moment to place them.

“Yes,” she answered with a smile, trying not to feel like an idiot for not recognizing this woman who obviously knew her.

“Lois Barnes. I work with your mother,” she said.

Ah, now Gabby remembered. Lois and her mom were both doctors at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Her parents had had Lois and her husband over for dinner many times, although it had been years now since Gabby had seen them. “Of course. It's so nice to see you.” She stood to give Lois an awkward half hug.

“You remember my husband, George?” Lois gestured to the man standing beside her.

“Yes. Hi, George.”

“Hello.” George sounded bored.

Gabby turned toward the bench behind her. “This is my boyfriend, Ethan Hunter, and his grandmother, Dixie.” At least in Dixie's presence she didn't have to fumble over what to call Ethan because, with Dixie, he was definitely her boyfriend.

Dixie and Lois complimented each other's hats, then Lois turned to Gabby. “How have you been? Your mother sure has been missing you at home.” There was a hint of admonishment in the older woman's tone.

“I'm great. Mom and Dad came to visit just last weekend.”

“That's right.” Lois looked at Ethan with a new gleam in her eye. “And she did mention that you were dating someone, an Olympic champion if memory serves.”

“Two gold medals and one silver in Beijing,” Dixie said with pride.