The Accidental Encore (28 page)

His mom interrupted his musings with a glass of lemonade and
sandwich with thick slices of ham. God love Patsy Archer, all five feet of her
dressed in old jeans and a flannel-lined coat.

“You’ve worked up quite a sweat in this chilly air,” she
said.
 
She set the sandwich and
drinks on the table his dad had made from an old oak stump. Patsy sat down in
one of the two porch rockers that Craig had noticed could use a fresh coat of stain.
“Figured I’d better keep you hydrated and energized if you’re going to make it
through the rest of the day.”

“You figured right.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek
before easing into the other rocker. He let out an “ahhh” for both the taste of
the sandwich and the relief of his back.

“I know you didn’t drop everything at home and come here
just to chop my wood and eat my excellent sandwiches.”

Craig scowled into the distance. He loved the view from the
front porch; he always had. A man could do some serious soul searching staring
into the endless twists of the forest and listening to the call of the birds.
At night, if he listened hard enough, he could hear the owls. He’d always loved
the owls. “I had some stuff on my mind. I can go whenever you want if I’m
cramping your style.”

“You’re not cramping my style. I just thought a week was
long enough for you to stew before I ask you straight out what’s wrong.”

“Got some things on my mind.”

“You can’t think at home?”

Craig smiled at his mother’s sarcasm. “Not like here.”

“Nothing better than clean mountain air to clear the brain.”
She stopped her rocker with the toe of her work boot. “Unless it’s not your
brain that needs the clearing?”

“What else is there?” he asked.

“You’ve got a pretty dusty heart inside your chest. I
figured—all right, hoped—you’d maybe met someone who’s good with a
dust rag.”

“Leave it be, Ma.”

“Your brother’s happy. I want to see you happy, too.”

“Who says I’m not happy?”

“Craig,” she stood up and swiped a hand across his shoulder.
“I’ve seen you happy, boy, and this,” she waved her hand in front of his face,
“isn’t it. Do whatever you need to do, take whatever time you need to take, and
get happy. Life’s too short to waste a second on anything else.”

Why did every damn body want him to be happy? Not everybody,
he admitted, only the ones who cared.

Chapter 33

Allie’s stomach curled with each turn on the winding road.
Every corner seemed to have the blacktop folding back on itself in an endless
climb through the naked woodlands. A month earlier and the leaves would have
been spectacular, but now the view seemed as cold and desolate as the task that
lay before her.
If
she made it up the mountain roads without losing her
lunch.

After everything she went through to get here, the least of
her worries had been the treacherous drive. She’d looked forward to having the
time to put her thoughts in order and formulate a plan. So much for a plan. At
this point, the only plan was to keep her eyes on the road and not throw up
when she arrived. If she ever arrived.

Mark should have warned her about the hairpin turns, but
then he’d jotted down the address and some basic directions before he changed
his mind and honored his brother’s request not to tell anyone where he’d gone.
Allie had Carolyn to thank for her quiet, but powerful influence in helping to
sway his decision. She hadn’t told them why she’d needed to see Craig, but
Carolyn understood, in the way only a woman would, that it was vitally
important.

Melissa warned her not to come, said he didn’t deserve to
know, that he’d forfeited his right to a say when he’d walked out on her. But
she wouldn’t be the second woman in his life to take the knowledge and choice
out of his hands. This time, Craig would know from the very beginning.

When the road leveled out and Allie spotted signs of life
along the road, a country store here, a gas station there, she felt the
queasiness in her stomach turn to nerves. She spotted the fly fishing shop Mark
had said to use as a landmark and turned right at the cross street. After two
more turns, she spied the mailbox, a fish mounted on a wooden post with the
name Archer illuminated in reflective letters. Allie pulled to the side of the
road, took a deep breath, said a small, but potent prayer, and turned up the
gravel drive that led through the woods.

She wasn’t expecting to find Craig sitting on the porch
smiling at a short woman with a capful of white hair. Craig’s face fell when he
spotted her car and she knew he wasn’t expecting her. At least Mark had kept
his word and not alerted Craig to her impending arrival. Without any chance to
change her mind and escape, she put the car in park, reached for her coat, and
got out of the car.

Craig and his mother met her at the top of the porch. The
scene reminded her of when a judge and bailiff meet the accused. “What are you
doing here?” Craig demanded.

His mother elbowed him in the side. “I’m Patsy Archer,” she
said with a warm smile.

Allie extended her hand in greeting, but stayed below on the
walkway. Craig’s posture—his hands on his hips, the muscle twitching in
his jaw, and the waves of disapproval that emanated from him—didn’t
invite her to approach. “I’m Allie Graves. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Archer.”

“Call me Patsy. Would you like some lemonade, Allie? I’ve
just made a fresh batch. It’s Craig’s favorite.”

“No, ma’am. I’m fine, but thank you.”

The silence only magnified the tension between Allie and
Craig.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to your business.” She ducked
inside the large wooden home.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Craig.”

“Why are you here?” He scowled down at her. “How did you
know where I was?”

She felt ridiculous standing below him, yet didn’t feel
steady enough to join him on the porch. She desperately wanted to ease into her
reasons for coming, and yet the way he stood staring at her as if she had three
heads, demanding an answer, left her no choice but to summon her courage and
spit it out. “I need to talk to you.”

“So talk.”

She raised her arm and motioned around her. “Can we take a
walk or something?”

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t drive all the way up here to
have a walk in the woods. Tell me. Is something wrong with Mark? Is it Leah?”

“No, no not at all. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Okay.” He blew out a breath. “Now I’m just curious, since the
last time we talked you told me to get out of your life.”

She hadn’t told him to get out of her life.
Dear God,
grant me patience with this man
. “I have to tell you something.”

“I think you said enough the first time.”

“There’s more you need to know. Something I didn’t know
before.”

He ran his hands through his hair and let out a shaky
breath. Good, she thought. She wasn’t the only one unnerved by being together
again.

“Spit it out, already,” he demanded.

Allie gathered her strength, touched a hand just below her
stomach, and walked up the three stairs to look the man she loved in the eye.
She wouldn’t allow him to look down on her when she told him the news. “I’m
pregnant.”

His body swayed, jolted to a stop, and his face drained of
color. “What?”

“I said I’m pregnant.”

“How?” he asked.

“Well…”

“You were on the pill. You told me you were on the pill.”

“I am; I mean, I was—”

His eyes narrowed into a dangerous stare. “Are you sure it’s
mine?”

She didn’t realize what she’d done until she saw his face
lash sideways and felt the sting of her hand. Her reaction left them both
stunned and speechless.

When Craig finally spoke, she would have known his anger
from the quiet fury of his voice even without the murderous look in his eye.
“When did you get off the pill? When you found out I was loaded?”

He couldn’t have hurt her more if he’d taken the ax against
the banister to her heart. “Go to hell.”

She turned, took each step with care, and walked to the car
while pieces of her shattered heart fell like broken glass at her feet. She was
amazed, when she put the car in reverse, that she didn’t see a trail of blood
marking her steps.

***

Craig stared at the leaves as they danced to the ground in
the wake of Allie’s departure. He was frozen to the spot; his feet refused to
move. He gripped the porch’s log post and leaned his head against the soft
grain. Allie pregnant? He couldn’t get a hold of his emotions or even
understand what he felt. Surprised? Hell yes. Afraid? More than he could
express. Happy? He wasn’t quite sure. The only thing he knew for sure was that
he’d hurt the most precious thing in his life and let her drive off upset. He
turned to retrieve his keys from the house and met his mom in the doorway.

“I’ll be back,” he said as he opened the screen and tried to
move past her. She stood firm and didn’t budge. “Ma, please. I’ve got to catch
her.”

“She’s not going anywhere. I put a call in to the sheriff.
He’s going to head her off before she hits the highway. He won’t let her
leave.”

“What?” Recognition dawned as his mother stared at him,
disapproval written all over her face. “You heard.”

“Hard not to.”

“I have to talk to her.”

“After the way you treated her, Craig, it had better be from
your knees.”

“I know, Ma. I’m sorry.” He shut his eyes, but opened them
again when the image of Allie’s face, fraught with pain, appeared in his mind.
“I panicked.”

“I can see that. You’re in love with her. She’s the reason
you’ve been hiding out up here for over a week.”

“Yes.”

“Love’s a gift, son, one you’re damn lucky to have been
given twice in a lifetime. I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t do everything in
your power to grab hold and never let go. And now a baby…”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t…I’m not…”

“You’re scared is what you are, scared to the bone.” She
stepped outside and let the door slap closed behind her. She reached up and
cupped his cheek. “Just because Julie died doesn’t mean every relationship is
going to end in heartbreak.”

“It’s more than her dying, Ma. I wish it were that simple.”

“She hurt you, Craig.”

He stared at his mother, at the way she was looking at him
as if she knew what he’d never told anyone but Allie. “What do you mean?”

“Ms. Keller was hurting real bad after the accident. Julie
was her only daughter and she was looking for someone to blame. She said if
you’d been a better husband, her daughter wouldn’t have had to look outside the
marriage for comfort.”

“Jesus, Ma. You knew all this time?”

“She apologized, begged me not to say anything to you or
anyone else. I didn’t want to be the one who told you. You were upset enough as
it was. And when you stopped being upset and you turned so bitter and cynical,
I figured you’d found out.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“It wasn’t my place. But now that we’re talking about it,
I’m going to say what I should have said a long time ago. I knew Julie Keller
since the day she was born. You two were kids when you fell in love, and in
many ways, she was still a kid when she died. You and Julie never had to work
very hard at being in love, you both just stumbled headfirst, and when times
got tough, neither one of you knew how to work at it. When your work took off
and she had to compete for your attention, she didn’t know what to do. I’ve
seen it played out too many times over the years not to know what happened.”

“I should have paid more attention. I should have set work
aside and been home more.”

“There’s two sides to every story, and you can shoulda,
woulda, coulda all day long. Doesn’t change a thing. She loved you, Craig. She
didn’t know how to breathe without loving you.”

He turned his back when he felt his throat close up. “I
wouldn’t have cheated on her. I couldn’t have.”

“She wasn’t as strong as you. You have to forgive her. All
this bitterness is making your heart so hard. I haven’t heard you laugh in so
long. I haven’t seen so much as a blip on your emotional radar until that
beautiful girl came driving up to the house.”

“She thinks I can’t have a relationship because I’m not over
Julie. I’m so over Julie I could spit.”

“You’ve never forgiven Julie. As long as you cling to the
bitterness and anger you feel towards her, Allie’s right, you’re not going to
be able to move on.”

“I don’t know how to forgive her, Ma.”

“It’s three little words, Craig. Three little words that
will set you free. Say them, mean them, and get on with your life. Allie
doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who’ll run away when things get ugly.”

“I guess I’m about to find out.” Craig felt the fist on is
throat loosen. “She’s irritating.”