The Girl He Left Behind (14 page)

“Gee, thanks,” Eve said wearily.

“Well, just sayin'.”

The twins were oblivious, though. When Eve talked to them, they chattered happily. They were having a great time, they loved California, they were excited about meeting Adam and couldn't wait to see him again and this was the best summer ever.

Eve listened, her heart aching. They had no idea what was coming. How their lives were going to be turned upside down.

If only she could do something. Anything. But she couldn't. All she could do was wait for Adam to come back.

But Adam didn't come back when he'd said he would. And she didn't hear from him, either. She did hear from Bill, who wanted to know what was going to happen, and she couldn't tell him.

“This is unacceptable,” he said. “What is he waiting for?”

But Eve didn't know, and her misery and worry grew each day. She thought about calling Adam, but each time she started to, she changed her mind. She wasn't sure why, but she had this feeling that it was better not to push him, to just wait and let him call her.

Finally he did.

“I've had a change of plans,” he said. “I'm not coming back to Crandall Lake right now. I'm going to stay here in Nashville for a while.”

“But—” Eve stopped. She didn't know what to say. What did his decision mean? “I—I thought you wanted to talk.”

“I need more time to think about everything before we talk. When will the twins be home again?”

“They'll be back the second week of August. They have to be. School starts the following week.”

“Okay. Maybe by then we'll know how we want to go forward.”

“You mean you're not coming back until then, either?”

“There's no reason to, is there?”

Eve closed her eyes. Fought the tears that threatened. His voice was so reasonable and so cold. He was making it so clear that he no longer loved her. Finding out about the twins had changed everything for him.

“Have you told the twins about me yet?” he asked calmly, for all the world as if he hadn't just broken her heart.

“No. I...didn't know if you wanted to be there...” Her voice trailed off. She didn't trust herself to say anything more.

“I've thought about that. I think you and Bill should tell them. Let them get used to the idea before they see me again. That might make everything easier...for all of us...don't you think?”

I can't do this. I cannot do this.
“If...if you think so.”

“I do think so.”

He sounded so impersonal. As if she were a stranger. She wanted to weep. He hated her now. She wanted to ask what would happen with his mother, if Lucy would be going to Nashville, or what, but she couldn't. His distance, the way he was talking to her as if she were a stranger, wouldn't let her. She wanted to say,
Don't do this, Adam. Don't shut me out. Forgive me. Please forgive me.
But she couldn't say that, either. She couldn't say anything.

Somehow she got through the rest of the call without breaking down. Adam said he would keep in touch, let her know exactly when he was coming back. Then just before hanging up, he added, “If the twins, either one of them, want to call me, give them my cell number.”

“I... Okay.”

“Thank you. I'll see you next month.”

Eve could barely function the rest of the day. And that night, she cried herself to sleep, knowing this was only the first of many more lonely, tear-filled nights in her future.

* * *

At the end of July, Eve flew out to California again. She had been afraid Bill would fight her about telling the twins anything, but he surprised her, saying he and Missy had had several long talks about the situation, and she had pointed out to him how happy they were and how Eve deserved a second chance at happiness, too.

“I'm still not thrilled about having to tell the twins I'm not their birth father,” he said, “but I know it has to be done.”

Eve, who seemed to cry at the drop of a hat nowadays, got teary-eyed again. Bless Bill. Bless Missy. So Eve and Bill told the twins about Adam together.

Nathan squealed when he realized what they were saying. “Adam? Adam Crenshaw is our
father
!” His eyes were huge, his grin infectious.

Natalie's mouth dropped open and the color drained from her face. She seemed to be in shock. “Mom?” she said softly, moving closer to Eve. “Is it true?”

Eve took her hand. “Yes, darling, it is.”

“But, Mom...” Natalie's eyes filled with tears.

With all her heart, Eve wished she could have spared her children this trauma.

The four of them talked for a long time. After putting little Will to bed, Missy joined them.

“Does this mean Will isn't our brother?” Natalie asked, her lip quivering.

“Of course he is,” Missy said. “He'll always be your brother.”

“Just like I'll always be your father,” Bill said.

Natalie nodded, but her eyes were sad, and Eve knew her daughter was smart enough to know that nothing would ever be the same again.

Eve stayed in California for three more days before going home again, and by the time she left, the twins seemed to have absorbed this new fact of their lives without any more drama. Kids were resilient, it seemed. They'd even asked if they could call Adam and talk to him, and she'd given them his cell number, although she knew Bill wasn't happy about that, either. But he loved the twins enough not to make a fuss.

Her heart felt like a stone in her chest as she boarded her plane. She thought about her upcoming birthday, which was her thirtieth, and how everyone would be wishing her happiness.

Right now, she wasn't sure she'd ever be truly happy again.

Chapter Fourteen

I
t took three weeks of bad
publicity and reporters hounding her before Bethany finally barged into Adam's
office, glared at him and said, “You win, you bastard! I'm not pregnant, never
was, and trust me on this one—I'm
thrilled
to not be
having your baby!”

Then she picked up the guitar-shaped paperweight Adam's agent
had given him and threw it at him. Adam caught the paperweight before it hit
him, and gave her a hard look. “If I were you, I'd leave now. Before I call
security and have you thrown out.”

Bethany stared daggers at him for a few more seconds, then
turned on her heel and stalked out, slamming the door behind her.

Adam took a long breath, then carefully set the paperweight
back in its place of honor. “Good riddance,” he said softly.

Now he could get on with his life.

* * *

The twins came home suntanned, filled with things to
tell her and excited about starting fifth grade the following week. Both of them
liked school, which had always made Eve happy, because she'd loved school.
Natalie got better grades, but Nathan was a good student, too.

“Adam's coming back to Crandall Lake tomorrow,” Natalie told
her once they'd gotten through the first greetings. “He told me to tell
you.”

“Did he?” Eve kept her voice measured. “So you've been talking
to him a lot?”

“I talk to him every day,” Nathan piped up. “I call him when
I'm ready for bed. He said he likes saying good-night to me.”

Eve hated how absurdly weak she was, how the smallest thing
could reduce her to a quivering, emotional mess. But the guileless way Nathan
had conveyed this information, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about
Adam, the way he didn't seem to understand every word was like a knife to her
heart, had undone most of the serenity she'd managed to build the past two
weeks.

“You're both calling him Adam,” she finally managed to say.

“Yeah,” Natalie said. “He said he understood it would be too
hard for us to call him Dad.”

Eve nodded. Calling him Dad would have destroyed Bill. She
didn't know if Adam had considered Bill when he'd said this, but even if he
hadn't, she was grateful.

“So do you think he's gonna move here to Crandall Lake now?”
Nathan asked. He took a huge bite of the lemon pie Eve had bought earlier.

“I don't know,” Eve said.

“Adam said we'd all talk about the future when he gets here,”
Natalie said.

That night, Eve resorted to taking a sleeping pill because she
knew if she didn't, she wouldn't sleep at all. She was wound too tight. And
tomorrow she would need all her strength, and all her wits about her, because
she was determined to face Adam and hear what he had to say without going to
pieces.

She might lose everything else, but she still had her
pride.

* * *

Adam didn't sleep well. He was nervous in a way he
hadn't been nervous in a long time. He knew why. He wanted something badly, and
he wasn't certain he would get it. That was something else that hadn't happened
in a long time, because ever since he'd had his first number one record, when
Adam wanted something, it was handed to him.

He hoped his luck hadn't run out.

Because he wasn't sure he could be happy again if things didn't
work out his way.

And there was no guarantee they would.

* * *

Adam called Eve at twelve thirty. “Have you had lunch
yet?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Are you at home or the office?”

“I'm working at home today.”

“Are the kids there?”

“No, they're at my mom's house.”

“Good. Can I come over? I think we should talk before the four
of us meet.”

“Okay. But give me thirty minutes.”

Eve was shaking after they'd hung up. Once again, he had
sounded so impersonal.
You can do this. You're strong. You
can see him without falling apart, no matter what he says or
does.

She changed clothes, dressing carefully, wanting to disguise
the fact she'd lost weight since last seeing him. White tapered pants, a bright
coral print top and a coral headband. She used more makeup than she normally
did, too, otherwise he might wonder why she was so pale.
Please, God, help me get through this
, she prayed.
Don't let me start crying in front of him.

Her doorbell rang exactly thirty minutes after their phone
call. Her heart caught at her first sight of him standing there. He looked
wonderful, as always. Today he wore his uniform of jeans and a T-shirt, but it
didn't matter what he wore. He had never looked bad to her.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.” He hadn't smiled, but he didn't seem angry. Or cold.
Maybe they could eventually be friends. Maybe one day she could see him without
it hurting.

“C'mon in,” she said, standing aside.

He walked past her, and she shut the door. When she turned to
face him, he had a funny expression on his face. She opened her mouth to say,
“Let's go into the living room,” but before she could, he reached for her
hand.

“Eve...” Even his voice sounded odd.

She swallowed.

And then he pulled her to him and kissed her. Every single
nerve ending in Eve's body responded as if they'd been touched by flame. The
kiss went on and on, hungry and demanding. They both moaned, and kissed and
kissed. It was a good thing he was still holding her tight when the kisses
ended, because Eve's legs wouldn't have held her up otherwise.

“I love you, Eve,” he said. “I love you. I don't want to live
without you anymore.”

“I love you, too,” she cried brokenly. “I've always loved
you.”

“Can you forgive me for the way I've treated you the past few
weeks?”

Tears slid down her face. “I already have. I—I know I hurt
you.”

“Yes. You did. But I understand why.”

“I hope so.”

“I still want to marry you, Eve,” he said. “If you'll have
me.”

“Oh, Adam, more than anything, I want to marry you. I just
don't know how it can all work.”

He smiled then. A big, beautiful smile that made her heart
leap. “We'll figure it out. As long as you love me, we'll figure it out.”

“I do. I do. So much.”

They kissed again. And again. And kept saying they loved each
other. Finally, he reached into his pocket and took out the ring box. And this
time, when he opened it, she let him put that magnificent ring on her finger.
The sight of it there made her start crying again.

“Why are you crying?” he said, kissing the tears.

“Because I'm so happy. But I'm also scared.”

“Don't be scared. Let's go sit on the couch and talk. I promise
you, we'll work this all out.”

Two hours later, they were still talking, but now they were in
the kitchen and she was making grilled-cheese sandwiches with sliced tomatoes,
because she'd lied when she said she'd already had her lunch, and he'd admitted
he hadn't eaten, either. After devouring a couple of sandwiches apiece and
discussing every possible scenario, they'd finally come up with the best
solution they could manage.

Their plan was, as long as the twins were in school, Adam would
base his day-to-day operations out of Crandall Lake. Bill and Eve's custody
agreement would stay intact for the school year, with them switching weeks. When
Adam had to travel, if Eve could and wanted to, she would come with him, and the
twins would stay with Bill. During the summer, though, the twins would live with
Eve and Adam, going wherever they went, except for when Bill took his family on
vacation. If he wanted the twins with him then, they would be.

“I think this is fair, don't you?” Adam said.

“Yes,” Eve said. “I do.”

Adam had said he would keep both his Nashville home and his
Malibu home, at least for now. They could decide later what they wanted to do
with them in the future, depending on how well things were working out. He and
Eve talked about building a new home in Crandall Lake, though.

“Somewhere on the outskirts, with some land,” he said.

Eve smiled. It all sounded wonderful. Too good to be true,
actually. She wondered if Bill would agree. She knew he wouldn't be happy about
the summers, but Adam had said he wouldn't press the legal stuff if Bill was
reasonable about everything else.

“I won't even object to them keeping his name. Later, when
they're old enough, if they want to take my name, I'd love for them to.” He even
said he wouldn't insist on making any kind of announcement about their
parentage.

“People are bound to find out, though,” Eve said. “The twins
are dying to tell people now.”

“Bill can't blame us for that.”

But Eve wasn't sure about that. One thing she did know. She
wouldn't be entirely happy until they'd talked to Bill and he'd agreed to their
arrangement.
If
he agreed.

“I think your cousin Olivia is right,” Adam said when she said
this aloud. “You do borrow trouble.”

At four o'clock, Eve called Bill and asked him if he could come
over that evening. “Adam is back,” she said, “and has a proposition for
you.”

“I have something to tell you, too,” he said.

Eve frowned. That didn't sound good. Some of her happiness
faded. What now?

But she could never have imagined what Bill was about to say.
After he and Adam had warily shaken hands and the three of them were settled in
the living room, Bill said, “Before we left California, my company offered me a
permanent position in LA, and I want to take it.”

“What?” Eve said, shocked. She'd never expected this.

“It's a terrific opportunity, more money and responsibility
than I'd ever have if I stay here,” Bill said. “Missy's excited about it, too.
You know her sister's in San Francisco.”

“But the twins...” Eve said.

“I know. That's the only bad part. I thought maybe if you have
them during the school year, I could have them summers and holidays.”

“Summers and holidays!” Eve said. She looked at Adam.

“I have a better idea,” Adam said. “Eve and I haven't had a
chance to tell you yet, but we're planning to get married. We had talked about
me making Crandall Lake my new base. But what if we live in California for the
school year? I have a house in Malibu just sitting there empty. If we lived out
there, you could see the twins on a regular schedule.”

At first Bill seemed taken aback, especially when Adam went on
to explain how he wanted the twins free to travel with them summers. For a
while, Eve was afraid he was going to fight them, but after thinking about
Adam's proposition for a few moments, he quit objecting. “I think it sounds like
a workable plan,” he said.

Eve met Adam's eyes. Maybe he was right. Maybe she
did
borrow trouble.

* * *

“Do you mean it?” squealed Nathan. “You're getting
married
?”

“And we're moving to California?” Natalie said. She was just as
excited as Nathan, but in her new persona of an almost fifth grader, she
obviously felt she had to act as if she wasn't.

Eve smiled. “Yes to both questions.”

“And we're gonna live with you out there?” Nathan said.

“Yes. But you'll see your dad on weekends. And anytime during
the week that you want to. And you'll stay with him when Adam and I have to
travel.”

“But what if our school is far away from where he lives?” This
came from Natalie, who was always more practical.

“We'll figure all that out later,” Adam said. “Maybe you'll go
to a private school halfway between our houses.”

“For now,” Eve said, “let's just all be happy and...plan the
wedding!”

This brought a delighted laugh from Natalie. She loved fairy
tales and she especially loved weddings. “Can I be a bridesmaid?” she asked,
gray eyes shining.

“A junior bridesmaid,” Eve said, hugging her.

“When will the wedding be?”

“As soon as possible,” Adam said, looking at Eve.

“Can I have at least a month to get everything ready?” she
said, laughing.

“That long?” he said, looking to the twins for support.

“Yeah, Mom, that's too long,” they both said.

Eve couldn't stop smiling. She was so happy. She couldn't
believe how happy she was. God was good.

Two weeks later...

From the Facebook page of Adam Crenshaw

Posted by Amy Trenton, publicist for Version II

Here's a picture of Adam and his beautiful bride, the former Eve
Kelly, flanked by their twins, Nathan and Natalie. Adam and Eve were married
yesterday at City Hall in Crandall Lake, Texas, where they both grew up. Adam
says they'll have their marriage blessed in church at a later date, “but we
didn't want to wait any longer to begin making our home together.” The new Mrs.
Crenshaw said she would keep everyone informed of their future plans and was
looking forward to sharing Adam's life.

For the fashionistas among you, Eve's and Natalie's dresses, as
well the dress of Eve's witness, her cousin Olivia Britton, are Vera Wang
originals. Adam's tux was designed by Armani, as were those of his two brothers,
Austin and Aaron.

Five hundred guests attended last night's reception honoring
the new Mr. and Mrs. Crenshaw—see more photos below—which was held in the
ballroom of the Crandall Lake Inn. After a short wedding trip to Paris, the
newlyweds will make their home in Southern California and Nashville, with
frequent visits to Crandall Lake in between.