VALENTINE’S DAY
BELLA VITA ISLE
Chase pressed a gentle kiss against his sleeping fiancée’s naked shoulder and rolled from the bed. He pulled on his boxer shorts, opened the bedroom’s French doors, and stepped barefoot out onto the verandah overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
Below, the surf roared and frothed and foamed as it rolled onto the sandy beach. On the horizon, the setting sun painted cotton-candy clouds against a cerulean sky. Ordinarily such sights and sounds on the heels of sun, sand, and afternoon sex soothed his soul. Today, he found no peace within himself. He wasn’t exactly sure why.
Maybe because today was supposed to have been his wedding day? Because the woman even now asleep in his bed had made absolutely no acknowledgment of the fact, much less expressed any regret at what had turned out to be an unnecessary postponement?
He grasped the balcony as resentment slithered through him. Immediately, he regretted the emotion. It wasn’t Lana’s fault that the team had experienced one delay after another for the past month. Preparing for a shoot like this one was a tremendous amount of work, and both he and Lana were doing the jobs of three people. Logistics were a nightmare. Personnel, a headache. Throw in the departure of two producers and it’s no wonder they did more arguing these days than making love.
Chase was glad he’d insisted they take the weekend getaway. They’d needed the break from contract negotiations and phone calls and complaints. They’d needed some couple time. Badly. Things had been rocky between them ever since he’d returned from his visit to Eternity Springs.
He wasn’t exactly sure why. He’d left Colorado tired and hungover, at odds with his parents and haunted by the late-night exchange with Lori. He’d arrived in New York with a chip on his shoulder and acid in his gut, needing reassurance about the choices he had made. Over a month later, the doubts continued to plague him. Why?
Because postponing the wedding shouldn’t have been such an easy call? Because she canceled hair and nail appointments with more regret?
Because the memory of forest-green eyes wouldn’t die?
Don’t go there. You’re with Lana now. You love Lana. You’re going to marry Lana.
“Someday,” he murmured.
“What a gorgeous view,” observed the feminine voice behind him.
Chase glanced over his shoulder to see Lana sitting up in bed, the sheet pooled at her waist. “It’s a pretty sunset.”
“I’m not talking about the sky, darling.”
He turned around, turning his back on both the Caribbean and his malaise. “The view’s not bad from here, either.”
She did take a man’s breath away. Her devotion to her exercise routine combined with the physical rigors of the Thrillseekers, Inc., work kept her body toned and taut and looking a good ten years younger than her actual age.
Chase appreciated beauty as much as the next guy, but what had hooked him was her spirit. Always ready for a dare. Always game for adventure. She didn’t just keep up with him. She ordinarily stayed ahead of him.
She rolled out of bed, scooped up his shirt from the floor, and slipped into it. “That was a glorious nap. Did you sleep?”
“A little.”
“Good.” She joined him on the verandah and gave him a quick hug. “This was a good idea, Chase. I’m glad you talked me into this trip.”
“I do have good ideas from time to time. Which reminds me. Flynn Brogan told me about a shipwreck about an hour offshore that makes a great half-day dive. I thought I might set something up for tomorrow morning. Sound good?”
“It sounds fabulous.”
“Excellent.”
She gave him a slow once-over, then her lips spread with a salacious smile. “Yes, you are. You absolutely are.” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her perfect breasts against his back. “So excellent, in fact, that I think we should postpone our dinner reservations.”
You’re all about postponing. The bitter thought flashed before he could stop it. Annoyed with himself, he smoothly turned and swooped her up into his arms and carried her toward the bed. “Have you ever known me to turn down sex?”
“Never,” she said on a sigh as he laid her upon the mattress. “That’s one of the many things I love about you.”
He knelt, straddling her hips, and trailed his finger down the valley between her breasts, making her shiver. He knew just what to do to make her body hum. Knew exactly what it took to make her scream. He bent himself to task, but before he’d coaxed so much as a whimper from her lips, her cell phone rang. “Ignore it,” he demanded when she reached toward the bedside table where it lay.
“I can’t.” She checked the number. “It’s Amanda.”
Her agent. Chase bit back a curse and rolled off her. As she launched into a conversation with obviously the most important person in her life, he pulled on his shorts, grabbed his running shoes, and quit the room. If Lana even noticed that he’d left, he couldn’t tell.
Chase went for a long run on the beach, and when his legs began to give out, dove into the surf and swam until physical exertion finally drained his anger and frustration. He emerged from the water to find her waiting for him. She handed him a towel. “I’m sorry, Chase. That was poorly done of me. I should have let the call go to voice mail.”
He wiped his face and torso with the towel, nodded an acceptance of her apology, and tried to let go of his resentment. He only partially succeeded. His emotions were in turmoil. “What did Amanda want that couldn’t wait until next week?”
Lana hesitated before speaking with obvious reluctance. “She wanted to know where we’re having dinner. There’s a rumor that a royal yacht might pull into port here, so photographers are on the island.”
That bit of news didn’t improve his mood one bit. Being stalked by the paparazzi and, in instances like this, courting them, was one of the things he hated most about being with Lana. “This is supposed to be a private trip.”
“I know and I didn’t tell her where we’ll be tonight. However, since we will be out of the public eye for months while we are filming, it would be foolish to pass up this opportunity completely. I told her to set up a photo op in the market tomorrow afternoon.”
Chase shot her a hard look.
“Just stop it,” Lana snapped. “It’s good for the show.”
“Heaven forbid we do anything in life that isn’t connected with the show.” He slung the towel over his shoulder. “Is that why you said you’d marry me? Thought a little romance would boost the ratings?”
She sucked in her breath. “That’s a horrible thing to say. I love you, Chase.”
“Do you? Do you really?” He grabbed hold of her hand and asked the question that had been churning in his gut all day. “Then why didn’t we get married today?”
Confusion clouded her eyes and she pulled away from him. “You wanted to get married on Bella Vita Isle?”
“I wanted to get married in Eternity Springs!”
“I know.” A confused smile fluttered on her lips. “I wanted to do that, too.”
“Did you? Did you really? Do you know what today is, Lana?”
“We already exchanged Valentine’s Day gifts.”
“We were supposed to exchange vows!”
“Come on, Chase. Be fair. When we canceled the wedding neither one of us thought that we’d still be Stateside on Valentine’s Day. Is that what’s been eating at you for the past month? You’re upset that we canceled the wedding?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Damn, he was so confused. He felt like an idiot or a petulant child or both, and that embarrassed him. “It bothers me that it was such an easy decision for us. What does that say about our commitment to the marriage?”
Lana touched his arm. “Chase, I committed to you when we moved in together. I’ve told you all along that I don’t need a piece of paper and a ceremony to be committed.”
He resisted the urge to shake off her touch. “I do.”
“I know you do. And that’s why we decided to get married in Eternity Springs in front of your friends and family. You know, for a man who thrives on adventure, you can be very traditional.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “And what’s the matter with that?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. But two failed marriages taught me that I’m not a traditional person, and trying to pretend otherwise is a colossal mistake. You’ve known that about me from the first. I’ve always been up-front with you about what I want out of life. I haven’t changed, Chase. My goals and dreams and desires haven’t changed.” She paused and drew a deep breath. “I think maybe yours have.”
Denial formed on his lips, but when he went to speak the words aloud, another truth emerged. “I love you, Lana.”
“I believe that. And I love you, too. But I am who I am. I will never be a traditional wife. I will never be a mother to any children you may decide you want. I will never be a small-town, hearth-and-home kind of woman.”
“That’s not what I want,” he fired back, meaning it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! I could have had that. I did have it. I walked away.” I let Lori go.
“And I wonder if you’re coming to regret it.”
Chase shifted his gaze away from her. He shoved his fingers through his hair and demanded, “All this because I’m unhappy that we unnecessarily put our wedding off?”
“All this because you’ve been unhappy ever since you returned from Eternity Springs after New Year’s. What happened there that has left you so unsettled?”
“I damned sure didn’t realize that I’m pining for small-town life.”
She stared at him thoughtfully. “I wish I could believe that. I believe you believe it. Truly, I do. But I think it’s probably a good thing that you’re leaving with the advance team on Monday. You should spend this time that we’re apart examining your heart.”
He imperceptibly stiffened. “Are you dumping me?”
“No. I’m saying you need to make a choice. I love you, Chase, and I want to wander the world with you for the rest of my life. I want you to be absolutely certain that you want the same thing from me in return.”
I’ve been down this road before. “Lana, I—”
“Ssh.” She rested her finger against his lips. “No more talking. Not tonight. Take me back to our room and let’s finish what I so foolishly allowed Amanda to interrupt.”
They spent the balance of their time on Bella Vita Isle in a state closest described as a truce and departed for New York with an underlying tension humming between them. On Monday, Chase phoned his parents before boarding the first leg of the flight that would take him to Chizickstan. The conversation was stilted from his father’s end, tear-filled from his mother’s, and as uncomfortable on Chase’s part as any he could remember. Not quite ready to say good-bye but desperate to fill the awkward lull in their exchange, he asked what was new in Eternity Springs.
His mother answered. “The biggest news of the month is that the Callahans are expecting again and Nic wants to be a full-time mom. She has convinced Lori to take over her practice. Sarah and Cam are over the moon. Lori is coming home.”
Chase closed his eyes and told himself that the ache in his chest had nothing to do with yearning.
MAY
ETERNITY SPRINGS
Lori Murphy, DVM, walked arm in arm with her mother up Spruce Street toward Ali Timberlake’s restaurant. Her father followed behind them holding her two-year-old brother Michael’s right hand. Her brother Devin held the toddler’s left. It was a beautiful Saturday evening in Eternity Springs with spring in all its glory. Flowers bloomed everywhere you looked. Pots of red geraniums decorated sidewalks and porches. Window boxes filled with purples and whites and pinks and yellows dressed every sill. Cascading baskets of color hung from every conceivable spot. Townspeople did love their color.
“There are the Callahans,” Sarah said, slowing and lifting her free hand in a wave. “I’m so glad you asked them to join us for dinner, sweetheart.”
“Me, too.” The casual invitation Lori had issued to Nic when she’d called to explain why she couldn’t attend the graduation had done the trick, though Ali had assured her she had backup plans for getting the Callahans there.
Lori tried to keep the excitement humming through her from bursting free. She was honestly amazed that no one had spilled the beans. Things were working out perfectly.
The Murphy family paused and waited for Nic, Gabe, and the girls. Her smile wide, Nic rushed up to Lori and gave her a fierce hug. “Dr. Murphy. I am so proud of you. I am so sorry that I couldn’t make it to the graduation. It broke my heart not to be able to see you walk across the stage.”
“You’re the lucky ones,” Devin piped up. “Graduations are a beating.”
In a show of sisterly affection, Lori stuck her tongue out at her brother. Then she turned back to Nic. “I know you were there in spirit, and nothing is more important than this little guy.” Lori patted Nic’s baby bump. Per her doctor’s orders, Nic was confined to Eternity Springs until she delivered her baby.
“I’m just as important as Twig!” seven-year-old Cari Callahan declared, scowling up at her. Twig, Lori knew, was the nickname the Callahans had taken to calling the baby after Gabe suggested naming their little boy after his father, Branch.
“Me, too!” her twin, Meg, chimed in. She folded her arms and glowered.
Oops. Lori knew better than to tread on sibling sensitivities. Didn’t she have a few twinges of her own in that area from time to time? And she had almost twenty years on the Callahan twins! “That goes without saying, doodlebugs,” she said. “Actually, you’re more important because you are the big sisters. Being a big sister is a very important job. In fact, now that I’m going to be living in Eternity Springs, I think we should form a club. The Big Sisters Club. What do you think about that?”
Both girls’ eyes lit. Meg asked, “Could we have a clubhouse?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“We can get Cousin Brick to build it,” Cari added. “He’ll do anything we ask.”
The adults all laughed, recognizing the truth of that statement. Brick Callahan loved all of his young cousins, but Meg and Cari held a special place in his heart.
As the group continued toward the Yellow Kitchen, Gabe and Cam talked about the latest shipment of fishing rods to arrive at Refresh, her father’s sporting goods store. Devin regaled the women with a story about a friend who’d decided it was a good idea to adopt a Saint Bernard puppy and keep him in his college dorm room, while the Callahan girls made silly faces at Michael that made him laugh.
The Yellow Kitchen’s front door opened as they approached, and as arranged, Celeste Blessing stepped outside. She wore a white tunic over a broomstick skirt, and when Lori noticed her earrings, she did a double take. Instead of her customary angel’s wing earrings, gold dog bones dangled from her earlobes.
“Well, if it isn’t Dr. Murphy!” Celeste said, her delight genuine, the surprise not so much. She held out her arms for a hug. “Congratulations, sweetheart. We are all so proud of you.”
“Thank you, Celeste.” Lori stepped into the older woman’s embrace and returned the hug with enthusiasm. Without Celeste and the economic turnaround her decision to open Angel’s Rest had brought to Eternity Springs, she honestly didn’t know if she would have managed to complete her undergrad degree, much less vet school. “I couldn’t have done it without all the support from family and friends.”
“I know that family and friends helped to clear some of the obstacles in your path, but I firmly believe that you would have achieved your dream in any case. You are a determined young woman, Lori Elizabeth. Such a trait is a blessing. It is something you’ll be able to call on throughout your life when circumstances require strength of resolve.”
Celeste moved to hug first Sarah, then Cam. “Careful there, Mr. Murphy. All that pride filling your chest … if you’re not careful you’ll pop your buttons.”
“It could happen.” He bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Watching my daughter receive her diploma was one of proudest moments of my life.”
“As is only right. You know, when I was living in Charleston, my next-door neighbor graduated three children on the same day. A horrible-weather day it was, too. Why—”
While Celeste held the Murphy family politely captive with her tale, Lori murmured, “Excuse me,” and slipped into the restaurant. She’d wanted to be in position to see her mother’s and Nic’s faces when they entered, and Celeste had been charged with the task of making it happen. Ali met her at the door and handed her a glass of champagne, asking, “So, did we pull off the surprise?”
“Completely! Oh, Ali, thank you so much.” She gave Ali a quick, hard hug.
Lori knew that Ali had worked hard to keep the party secret from Sarah and Nic—not an easy feat in a town the size of Eternity Springs, especially when all of their close friends were in on the surprise. But Ali had pulled it off, and as Lori took in the scene—the restaurant filled with dear friends and the banner she’d requested hanging on a wall—joy filled her heart. “I am so blessed.”
The door opened and Celeste led the guests of honor into the room. Sarah and Nic were chatting with each other, so it took them a moment to notice that this was no ordinary evening at the the Yellow Kitchen.
Nic’s gaze scanned the crowd—all of whom were staring at her. “What in the … oh!”
Sarah covered her mouth with her hands as she read the banner. “My dream came true because of you. Thank you, Mom and Nic!”
A wide smile spread across Cam’s face as his gaze shifted between his wife and daughter. Ali signaled the waiters, who handed champagne to the newcomers and sparkling grape juice to the children. “Oh, Lori,” Sarah said, her voice choked. Tears spilled from her eyes when Lori stepped forward and raised her flute of champagne. She’d been planning what she wanted to say for weeks, but now that the moment was upon her, emotion pushed her speech right out of her mind. So, she spoke from the heart.
“Nic. Mom. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Nic … when you moved back to Eternity Springs and allowed me to hang around your clinic and indulge my love of animals, you changed my life. I don’t have words to explain how much I value your encouragement and support. You’ve been my teacher, my confidant, my friend. I can never repay you, but I will promise to try to fill a similar role for Meg and Cari and Baby Branch as they grow up. I love you.”
“Oh, Lori. Thank you. I love you, too.”
Lori drew in a deep breath, then turned to her mother. Tears blurred her eyes and her throat went tight. “Mom, where do I start? You are my hero. By both word and deed, you taught me every important lesson I’ve learned in life. From you I learned the power of dreams and the necessity of hard work. I learned the value of family and friends. I learned how to love and be loved. You are the best mother in the world and I’m so proud to be your daughter.”
Sarah’s audible sob tipped the scales for Lori. Blubbering, she rushed into her mother’s arms. As they opened their embrace to include Nic, Cam lifted his champagne glass and completed the toast Lori had been unable to finish. “To Nic and Sarah.”
When the women broke apart, Cam lifted his glass once again. “That was lovely, Lori. Now, I’d like to offer a toast. Do you mind?”
She gestured for him to proceed.
“All right, then. I have a few things I’d like to say publicly to my beautiful daughter, Dr. Lori Murphy.”
“Aw, Dad,” Devin Murphy protested in a long-suffering voice. “Are you going to get mushy, too?”
“Probably.” Cam met Lori’s gaze and smiled warmly. “Definitely.”
“Obviously left your man card at home.”
Lori elbowed Devin in the side and teased, “Deal with it, squirt.”
“For a guy who finished high school as an afterthought, I’m still in awe at the idea that my firstborn has earned the right to use ‘doctor’ before her name. I’d like to be able to claim some credit for her accomplishment, but we all know that would be a lie. This is Lori’s accomplishment. Lori and Sarah’s. I’m so proud of you, Lori, and of your mother, too. I’m also grateful more than I can say to this awesome little town who kept my girls safe for me until I found my way back home. So, to my girls. I love you dearly.”
Then, the party got started.
Ali served Lori’s favorite pasta Bolognese as the entrée, the house Chianti, and pizza for the children—of which there were many. Very many. Lori gazed out toward the back patio where the usual tables and chairs had been cleared out to make room for picnic benches and a bounce house. Two high-schoolers had been hired to babysit—another example of Ali’s excellent planning. Although, in another year, the increased munchkin population among their friends would probably require a need to hire three. Lori leaned toward Brick Callahan who was seated next to her and said, “I think we might have to change the name of the town to Maternity Springs.”
Brick sipped his wine. “That’s an idea. Maybe if Celeste’s angel theme ever needs a reboot, they could consider it. It’d be a great marketing tool. I can picture it now. Spend the night at Fertility Falls and nine months later, visit Maternity Springs.”
Lori laughed and Brick shot her a grin. Then, unexpectedly, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You done good with this, Lori. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for Nic. Gabe, too. They’ve been a bundle of nerves since her early-labor scare. It’s nice to see them relaxed and enjoying themselves.”
“Yes, it is.”
When Maggie Romano brought out her famous Italian cream cake at the end of the meal, the guests all cheered, and Lori decided that the whole evening had been just about perfect.
Two beloved faces were sadly missing. Her maternal grandparents, Frank and Ellen Reese, had been irreplaceable influences in Lori’s life during her childhood and early teens. Both were gone now and their absence left a hole in her heart.
So did the absence of another.
Chase.
Her gaze drifted to Ali and Mac, who were seated at the table across from her. She’d spoken to Ali a number of times since her visit after New Year’s, but she’d never brought up the subject of her son. That was nothing new. Since the relationship ended, any conversation about Chase between her and his parents had been awkward.
Of course, the postponed wedding had been quite the topic of conversation in Eternity Springs for a time. Publicly, Ali had said little more than what Chase had told Lori during their middle-of-the-night meeting—that work had interfered. However, Caitlin hadn’t hesitated to give Lori the lowdown when the two met for lunch in Denver in late March. “You walked into the middle of it,” she’d said. “You deserve the truth.”
Caitlin also shared the tidbit that Chase had left for Chizickstan a month later than originally scheduled, which meant that he and Lana need not have postponed the wedding, after all.
“Seriously, they could have married in Eternity Springs and honeymooned in Chizickstan. I mean, how many people could say they spent their honeymoon camping in the wilderness of a third-world nation?”
Lori smothered her sigh with a bite of cake. Chase had been on her mind more than usual during the past week, the what-ifs and if-onlys chirping like crickets in the night in her mind.
She was listening to Brick and Gabe tell a story about the Callahan family Christmas yard display when she noticed one of the waiters approach Ali with a worried look on his face. Was there a problem? She turned her head to look out at the children on the patio. No obvious problems, just lots of smiles and laughter and happy kiddos.
Lori looked back in time to see the waiter hand Ali a telephone. Lori couldn’t hear what Ali said, but she could read her lips. Hello? Lana?
Every drop of color drained from Ali’s face. Lori reached for her mother’s hand at the same time Ali shot to her feet. In a loud, fearful voice, Chase’s mother said, “What do you mean, he’s missing?”
She listened for another interminable ten seconds, then Ali Timberlake collapsed.