Second Chance Hero (21 page)

“Yes.” Hazel was obviously enjoying being privy to something Verity wasn't. “Haven't you heard? He's going to go with her to help her deal with the solicitors and make sure she gets settled in okay.”

“I heard.”

“Well, I imagine she gave him more than a few hours' notice when she asked him—don't you?”

Of course. So that was the bond the two of them shared—Belva had trusted him with her secret.

Hazel, apparently tired of waiting for a response from her, tried a slight change of subject. “I hear he went to see you this morning.”

Verity grimaced. “Word certainly travels fast around here.”

“Well? Was it just to let you know he was leaving?”

“That, and he asked us to watch over Beans while he was away.”

“I hope this means the two of you have made up.”

“Made up.”
Verity couldn't control the note of anger in her voice. “Hazel, we didn't have a lover's spat. He put Joy's life in danger. That's not something I can easily forgive.”

“I know, but—”

“The subject is closed. Besides, there was something altogether different I came here to discuss with you.”

Hazel didn't seem at all happy with her change of subject, but she didn't argue. “And what might that be?”

“I've decided that I'm not ready to open a millinery shop right now after all, so there's no point in us discussing it.”

“If it's the money, I can—”

“It's not that.” She grimaced. “Well, it's not
just
that. I've decided I want to spend more time with Joy. Setting up a millinery shop, even if I did it here with you, would take away from that. Maybe, once she starts school in the fall, we can talk about it again.”

Hazel's lips were pursed in disapproval and her hands were crossed over her chest. “And when fall arrives you'll have some other excuse.”

Verity was taken aback by her friend's directness. “You don't know that—”

“Oh, but I do.” She waved a hand. “It's what you do. Any time,
any
time, you get close to achieving some long-held dream, you find a reason to back away. Like you're doing with your millinery-shop dream. And with the way you're pushing Mr. Cooper away.”

Verity took exception to that. “Pushing Mr. Cooper away has
nothing
to do with anything but his trustworthiness. He promised to keep an eye on Joy, and because he broke that promise she wandered off. It ended well, but that was no thanks to him.”

“Actually, according to what I heard, it was he who actually found her.”

Verity made an impatient movement with her hands. “Yes, of course. But she was missing for twenty minutes. So many things could have happened to her.”

“But they didn't. And what did he do to earn your wrath—he turned his back for just a few minutes in order to help one of the other children.”

She couldn't believe Hazel was actually taking his side in this. “With a child Joy's age, a few minutes is all it takes.”

“You mean like that day a few weeks ago when she ended up in the street in front of my shop.”

Verity felt as if she'd been slapped in the face. “I don't... It's not the same...”

Hazel's expression softened. “I wasn't trying to imply that you're not a good mother, Verity. I just wanted to help you see that it can happen to anyone, even the most vigilant of guardians. Even
you
can't keep your eyes on Joy every hour of every day.”

Verity shook her head, refusing to accept that.

But Hazel wasn't ready to let it drop. “Yes, something could happen when you're not looking. Like with Arthur. And with your parents. But you've got to trust that God is in control.”

Then Hazel straightened. “But, back to my original complaint. You've become quite adept at giving up before you reach the finish line. I'm not sure what it is you're scared of—failing, achieving your dream but being disappointed by it, or something else. Whatever it is, you need to take a really good, honest look at yourself and see what kind of example you're setting for Joy.”

What did she mean by that? Surely—

Hazel stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Verity. “I love you like you were my sister. But it's a sister's job to say the things to you that no one else will.”

Unsure how to respond to that, Verity merely nodded and took her leave.

Not wanting to pass in front of Nate's shop, she turned in the opposite direction. Then turned on Schoolhouse Road. She wasn't ready to return home yet. She needed to be alone and do some prayerful thinking about what Hazel had just said to her. And there was a nice quiet spot in an open field just past the schoolyard that was perfect for that.

How could Hazel, her very best friend, have said such things to her? That she was being too hard on Nate. That she was setting a bad example for Joy. That—

“Mrs. Leggett?”

She stopped walking and found herself confronted by a young boy. She realized now that she had been passing the schoolyard and all the children were out at recess, which must be where he had come from.

Taking a closer look at the student, she recognized him as one of the boys who'd been involved in Nate's rescue of Davey.

“Hello, JJ. Is there something I can do for you?”

“I just wanted to say how really sorry I am for what happened with your little girl on Friday.”

His words caught her by surprise, but she smiled down at him. “Thank you for your concern, JJ, but Joy is fine now.”

The boy swallowed, something obviously still on his mind. “But I've been feeling real guilty about what happened, and I just wanted you to know.”

“Guilty? JJ, I know you were there when Joy went missing, but none of this is your fault.”

“Yes, it is.” The boy's Adam's apple bobbed twice, then he drew his shoulders back. “Mr. Cooper, he asked me to keep an eye on Joy while he was helping Davey. I was supposed to let him know if she tried to get up. But I was just so worried about Davey, and then he yelled real loud and I just forgot all about watching her. I'm just so, so sorry.”

Nate had assigned someone to watch Joy? Why hadn't he told her? Then the explanation jumped out at her—because he was trying to spare JJ's feelings, of course.

She put a hand on the boy's shoulder. “Thank you for telling me, JJ, and for your apology. It takes a really brave person to own up to something like that.”

Some of the tension seemed to leave the boy and he offered her a shaky smile. “I just thought you ought to know, it wasn't Mr. Cooper's fault.” And with that, he rushed back onto the schoolyard.

Verity slowly continued on her way, her head spinning with everything she'd heard today.

What if Nate had told her about JJ's role? Would it have made a difference? Or would she have railed at him, anyway? Was she, like Hazel said, afraid of achieving her dreams, to the extent that she looked for reasons not to reach for them?

What had she become?

And what had it cost her?

* * *

The next morning, Verity approached the saddle shop with some trepidation. She'd spent much of yesterday searching her heart and praying for both clarity and guidance.

So many things had come clear to her now, not the least of which was that she had been hiding behind this cautious, indecisive attitude for most of her life, and it had kept her from enjoying so many of the blessings God had in store for her. And even worse than that, she had been well on her way to doing that to Joy, as well.

She had also realized, with absolute clarity, that she loved Nate, had loved him for a while now, and that she had been doing just as Hazel said, pushing him away out of fear.

But no more. She was ready to reach for that dream—even if she was too late, it was worth risking that disappointment to have a chance at that kind of happiness.

But some of her old fears returned as she wondered if she'd taken too long to come to her senses. He'd said yesterday that he was ready to let her go. Had he meant it?

She reached his shop door only to find it locked. The Closed sign hung in the window and all the shades were drawn. Well, that was to be expected since he'd be leaving today. But surely he hadn't actually gone to the station yet—the train didn't leave for another hour and a half.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

Nothing. No light, no sound of movement.

Had she missed him after all?

She knocked again, louder this time. Still no response.

She couldn't let him go off for goodness knows how long without letting him know how she truly felt. She'd prefer to have that discussion in private, but if she had to have it at the train depot, or in the middle of Main Street for that matter, she intended to have her say.

From the corner of her eye, Verity saw that she had attracted some attention from a few passersby on the sidewalk. She also spotted Hazel standing in the doorway of her shop, giving her an approving grin.

Titling her chin up defiantly, Verity ignored her audience, raised her fist, and this time she pounded the door for all she was worth.

Chapter Twenty-Two

N
ate had his bag packed and was ready to head to the train station. Trouble was, it was ninety minutes until the train was scheduled to pull in.

So what did he do with himself in the meantime?

If he had a piano here he could lose himself in music. If Beans were here, he could take him for a walk.

But since neither of those things was true, he was left to his own thoughts. And he'd had just about enough of his own thoughts lately.

An unexpected sound caught his attention. Was someone knocking at his shop door?

He considered ignoring it—after all, he was leaving town, so he wasn't available to do any repair or commission work right now. But then he thought better of it. Perhaps whoever it was wanted one of his stock pieces. Besides, it was a distraction, and that's just what he needed right now.

As he headed down the stairs, the knock came again, this time louder, more insistent. That didn't sound like a customer. He quickened his pace, making it to the door in record time. He turned the knob and yanked the door open, then froze as he saw Verity standing there, poised to knock again.

“Hello,” she said feebly, looking suddenly shy and uncertain.

“Is something wrong? Is it Beans?”

She waved a hand in a feeble gesture. “No, no, nothing like that. I just needed to speak to you before you leave.”

What was going on? When he'd met with her yesterday she'd hardly said anything at all, and what words she
had
uttered had been hard, unforgiving. He wasn't sure he could stand much more of that right now.

Then she looked at him with a vulnerability that snagged at his heart. “May I come in? I promise I won't keep you long.”

Without a word he stepped aside to allow her to enter.

She walked to the center of the room, then turned to face him.

Whatever she had to say, she was being uncharacteristically dramatic about it.

“I made a couple of decisions last night,” she said by way of opening. “Well, this morning, really, since it was well after midnight.”

Where was she going with this? “Making decisions is a good thing,” he said mildly.

She nodded. “I decided I'm going to take Hazel up on her offer and go into business with her.”

Despite the tension between them, he was proud of her. He knew how much she hated taking risks, and this was a big one. This time he was able to give her a genuine smile. “So you're finally ready to reach out and try to catch your dream. I know it seems scary, but if there's anything I can do to help, from a purely business perspective of course, let me know.”

“Thank you.” The smile she gave him was every bit as warm as those she'd given him during that ill-fated berry-picking expedition. Was her excitement over her newfound business decision spilling over into other parts of her life?

Then he shut down that train of thought. He'd let himself be fooled by her softening attitude in the past. He couldn't let it happen again. So he pasted on a polite smile. “I'm almost disappointed that I'm going to be away while you're getting everything up and running.”

“So am I.”

It was getting harder and harder to ignore those wistful looks she was giving him. “Talk to Adam. He can help you get your business off on the right foot.”

“I will.”

She stood there silently, but he could tell there was something else she had left to say. Then he remembered she'd said she'd made two decisions. “Was there anything else?”

“Yes.” She straightened and met his gaze with a straight-from-the-heart directness. “I couldn't let you go away without telling you how I feel.”

Everything inside him stilled, waiting to hear what she'd say next.

“I've been a fool and a coward. You have an adventurer's heart—you're impulsive, you're willing to try new things, and you know how to make a game out of most anything. You're not afraid to take charge when necessary, but you can follow just as well. When you see someone who needs help or something that needs doing, you find a way to get it done. And you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.”

His pulse, traitor that it was, was ignoring his resolve to not read too much into her words. She could just be apologizing, nothing more.

But she wasn't through talking. “Yet, knowing all that, I ignored what my heart was telling me and looked for ways to push you away. Because you're not the kind of man I wanted to fall in love with—you're not predictable, deliberate or particularly cautious.”

She took a step closer. “But as I said, my heart has a mind of its own, and it finally got through to me. I love you. You're not a safe choice, but you're the person I want to spend my life with. I know you have no reason to trust me, to return those feelings, but I had to say it to you because you deserved to know.”

She loved him? Did she really mean that? Or would she turn on him the next time he failed her? “What happened with Joy—”

“Was no more your fault than her nearly getting run over by a wagon was mine.” Her expression held regret and something else. “You could have thrown that back at me all the time I was blaming you, but you didn't.”

“I couldn't. You already felt so guilty—”

Her smile wavered. “There you go, being all noble again, making me love you even more.”

He still couldn't wrap his mind around those words, couldn't believe after her coldness of the past few days that she could mean those words.

Then he saw her expression shift, saw the hurt and disappointment behind the overly bright smile she pasted on her lips. “Well, I've said what I had to say. And as I said, I don't really expect you to return those feelings after all I put you through. I hope you and Belva have a nice trip.”

She made as if to pass him and he stepped in front of her. “Verity, please don't say those words unless you mean them.” The words felt as if they'd been torn from someplace deep inside him. “Because I do love you—deeply, completely, eternally. And I love Joy as if she were my own daughter. But I will never be those things you say you want. I will never be the safe choice. So it would be far better for you to never say those words to me again than to say them lightly.”

She lifted a hand to stroke the side of his cheek. “You are the man I want—not some list of traits. I love you, not because you're a hero—which you are, by the way. But I love you because of the man you are. I love
you
. Today and forever.”

Those beautiful words, the love shining from her eyes, the soft caress of her hand on his face all combined to erase the last of his doubts. His hand snaked up to close over hers and he gave her palm a quick kiss, his gaze never leaving hers. But he'd much prefer to kiss those sweet lips of hers. And when she lifted her face to him, it was all the encouragement he needed.

He pressed his lips to hers. And once more was lost.

* * *

Verity wrapped her arms around Nate's neck. Because of all they'd been through, and all they'd just promised each other, this kiss was much sweeter than the last one. Her heart was so full she thought it would burst from her chest.

And this time when the kiss ended, it was with mutual sighs. He held her against his chest a moment, stroking her hair, both of them comfortable with the silence, knowing that there would be time enough later to speak of the future they would build together.

For now she reveled in his closeness, in having his arms around her, in knowing he'd forgiven her and returned her love.

Why had she ever feared this?

Finally she pushed back, resting her hands on his chest. “You still have a train to catch.”

He grimaced. “I wish now that I'd never agreed to go.”

“You wouldn't be the man I love if you hadn't. Belva needs you right now.”

He bent down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I expect you to be planning a wedding while I'm gone. Because I'll be wanting to walk you down the aisle when I get back.”

She raised a brow and put a hand to her heart. “Why, Mr. Cooper, is that a proposal?”

Nate frowned. “Did I skip over that part?”

“I do believe you did.”

He placed a finger under her chin and tilted it up. His beautifully intense blue eyes were filled with an emotion that set her heart aflutter all over again.

“Verity Leggett, will you do me the very great honor of agreeing to be my wife?”

She threw her arms around his neck again. “I thought you'd never ask.”