Beckett hadn’t gone to town for two days. He’d shut off his cell phone yesterday to avoid any calls and when he got up this morning, he decided to keep it off. If anyone truly needed him for something important, they’d leave a message on his home phone. Or stop by.
They didn’t have another event at the barn for a few days and he planned on taking all the peace and quiet while he could get it.
The weather had taken a turn, showering the town with rain for the last three days, leaving the grounds around his house muddy. It suited his mood just fine.
Close to lunchtime, he wandered into the kitchen and heard the phone ring on the way. He didn’t check the caller ID, just let it go straight to the machine. He paused in front of the refrigerator, listening for a message, but the caller hung up.
Part of him kind of hoped it had been Poppy or Eli calling to invite him to dinner at Pearl’s or a family event. Then he remembered how awkward it had been at the last several events, how hard it had been to be around Anna, and he ignored the phone again.
Though he tried to convince himself differently, his house was getting a little lonely. He’d been visiting Anna nearly every day. He’d gotten used to walking into the back door of the bakery and smelling whatever delicious dessert she was making that day. He’d gotten used to seeing her in her apron, usually with flour smudged on her cheek or arm.
Anna.
Beckett yanked open the refrigerator door and browsed. Forget it. Right now he didn’t know how to fix the situation. But damn, they were bigger than this, right? It shouldn’t have to be this hard.
The fridge was nearly empty, and out of what was left, nothing looked appetizing. He could remedy that by a trip into town. Check to see if Anna was available for lunch.
And…that was a shitty idea.
Beckett opened the refrigerator door again, just to see exactly what he’d seen last time. Nothing had changed. And he still didn’t know what he wanted.
The doorbell rang and he checked the time again. Who was here in the middle of the day?
When he saw the silhouette of someone petite just outside the door, he thought for a moment it might be Poppy. Then he got closer and recognized honey blonde hair, and stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
Anna. What was she doing here? Was she the one who had tried to call?
When he opened the door, she gave a nervous smile. Her hair was loose around her face and she had on a pair of dark jeans tucked into tall brown boots. Her hands were snug in the pockets of her navy jacket and earrings dangled at her ears.
Damn, she looked good. Refreshed. Far better than he felt.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Anna said.
Beckett peered out to the drive. “Where’s your van?”
“I walked.”
There was a slight flush to her cheeks, and he opened the screen door, beckoning her inside. “You walked all the way here?”
“No.” She laughed and shook her head. “I mean, I walked from my car. I—it broke down again. I was…just out for a drive and then it sort of…stopped.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, I thought it was fixed. I really should’ve looked at it again.” He forgot all about the awkwardness between them, digging in his pockets in search of his keys.
“It’s fine. The rest of the family is in a meeting, and I tried your phone but no one answered.”
Guilt flickered. That’s what he got for not answering his phone. He’d left her stranded without a working vehicle, and she’d had to walk all the way here from…
“How far away were you?” he asked, noting her slight shiver. He reached out automatically for her hands, to warm them up, but then paused. He pulled back, not sure whether to touch her or keep his hands to himself.
“I wasn’t far, just down the road. I was hoping if you had a few minutes, you could take me back. Maybe check the van out. Only if you have time. You don’t—”
“Of course. I’m not doing anything right now.”
She peered toward the kitchen. “Not having lunch?”
“I…” He shook his head. “No. I guess I need to go grocery shopping.”
He opened the coat closet and pulled out his own jacket before turning back to her. “You want to wait for a bit? Warm up some before we head back out?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not really cold, just…”
Nervous. She was nervous because she didn’t know what to say to him. And she probably wished someone else could have come to get her, but he was the best option.
So much for smoothing things over between them.
He found his keys and opened the door again, walking to the truck. “Which way?”
“Uh…” She glanced over. “You know, kind of by the place we went for the picnic.”
“No problem.”
They got in, and he pulled away from the house, hating the heavy silence between them.
He cleared his throat. “Your cake at the wedding last weekend was amazing.”
“Thanks. It took forever, even with Leah helping. Eli got a picture and Jillian wants to put it in the new brochure.”
“Which means you’ll be making more of the same cake for the next dozen or so weddings.”
She laughed, and the sound made him relax slightly. “Yeah, probably. But I enjoy it.”
Did that mean she wasn’t going to France? That she’d decided to stay here because she loved her job?
When he glanced over, Anna was staring at him. “What?”
She smiled. “Nothing. How have you been?”
He shrugged. Miserable. “Not bad.”
“But not good?”
He glanced over again and looked straight into her eyes. What was she looking for here? Trying to patch up the friendship? Or was it more?
“It’s been a long week,” he conceded.
Anna squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged again, but it took everything he had not to reach out to her. Not to pull over the car and jerk her across the seat to kiss her. To fix this somehow.
He distracted himself with the road and drove around a few potholes before nearing the clearing they’d picnicked at. “Where is it again?”
“Just uh…” She gestured to a tree coming up on their right. “Pull over here.”
He slowed the car but narrowed his eyes at the road. “Where’s your van?”
“Right here,” Anna said, nodding. “Pull over.”
He did as she instructed and left the truck running, not seeing her van anywhere. “What’s going on?”
She blew out a breath and spread her hands. “Okay, my car’s not out here.”
“Anna.”
“I just needed to get you out, to talk—”
“I do have a house we can talk in. In fact, we were just there if you remember.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to talk here because…I’ll show you.”
He didn’t move, his hand squeezing the keys still hanging from the ignition.
“Please, Beckett. Just a few minutes and I promise you can go if you don’t want to stay. You can even leave me here.”
“I’m not leaving you here,” he said with a huff, turning off the truck and reaching for the door handle.
His shoes squished in mud when he got out of the car. He cursed, then rubbed his hands over his face. God, he hadn’t realized how hard this week had been until just now. How much of a toll it had taken.
Anna met him on the other side of the car, her hands tucked in her pockets. “Can we walk over here just a bit?”
“You can’t tell me right here?”
Her smile was apologetic. “Nope.”
His lips twitched, but he held back. Whatever she was doing had obviously been planned. He didn’t know whether to be flattered or pissed, but at the very least, he wanted an explanation. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to trudge across the clearing to get one.
He followed her through the grass, dodging tall weeds and keeping his eyes from her backside. Didn’t need that distraction right now. When they’d walked several feet, he noticed something at the edge of the clearing.
“Since you didn’t have lunch yet, I thought maybe we could start there.” She glanced over and saw his face, and quickly continued. “Or—not. Whatever you want. If you need to go or you don’t want to be here—”
“Anna.”
She wrung her hands. “I know it’s wet. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but see? Chairs, so we don’t have to use a blanket, and—”
“What’s going on?”
She reached out, gripping his hands with cold fingers and tugging him toward the chairs. “So we’ve got fried chicken just like last time and the strawberries. Also—”
“The time capsule.” His eyes zeroed in on the tin box he’d dug up for their last picnic. “Did you do this?”
“Yeah. And it was hell to find. I think another critter got to it, which is why there are sort of…pieces everywhere.” She shook her head. “Not the point.”
He eyed her outfit and the flush to her cheeks. “Is this what you were doing before you came to my house?”
“Yes. Poppy helped me and dropped me off at your house and everything.”
“I didn’t hear her car.”
“It was down the road a bit so you would believe my story about the van.”
His lips twitched again. “All this to get me out here?”
“Yes.” She squeezed his hand.
“Why?”
“Because I realized the time capsule was missing something.”
“What?”
“My new wish.”
He released a slow breath, taking in her words, trying to sort through how he felt about them. “What’s your new wish?”
“You.”
{}{}{}
For a moment, it looked like he didn’t believe her. He didn’t move, didn’t speak, only stared at her. Finally, in a low voice, he said, “Are you sure?”
She swallowed and nodded, her stomach a mass of nerves. “One hundred percent, without a doubt. Tell my entire family, and my extended family kind of sure. I love you, Beckett.”
A thousand emotions flickered across his face before he crushed her to him, arms like a band of steel around her. “I love you, too,” he murmured, voice next to her ear.
His lips found hers, warm and urgent, before they traced a path across her cheek and down to her jawbone.
“Beckett,” she whispered, body already responding to his.
“You lied to me about your car.”
Her stomach jumped, but when she glimpsed his face, he was smiling. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “I forgive you.”
“And I’m sorry about…everything else. I—I was scared about falling in love again. I was scared it wouldn’t work out.”
“You were scared of being hurt.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m not going to hurt you, Anna. I might mess up—threaten to kick your ex-fiancés ass or something—but I’ll never intentionally hurt you.”
She laughed, but it was close to a sob. “I know.”
When her eyes filled with tears, he brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Don’t cry. This is a good thing.”
“It’s a great thing,” she said.
He kept her hand in his, pulling her to the chairs. The clouds parted, speckling the field in sunlight.
“What about France?” he asked.
“You knew about it?”
“I knew about it.”
“It’s not where I need to be. I need to be here with you.”
And she meant it with her whole heart. It had taken her nearly thirty years to find what had been right in front of her the whole time.
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “I’ll take you someday.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
“And what about…” His voice trailed off.
“Tom?” Anna asked.
He winced. “Yes.”
“He came over that day because Catrina broke off their engagement and asked him to move out.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And he apologized.”
Beckett narrowed his eyes. “Really,” he said again.
“Really. I was surprised, too, but we kind of worked through things. Anyway, he moved back to the city.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day.”
She smirked. “He’s out of the picture.”
“I should have told you about Poppy and our plan,” Beckett began.
“No, Poppy told me everything and you guys didn’t do anything wrong. I—I just wasn’t ready for the next step. I guess I needed an out, and that was a good one.”
He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “You talked with Poppy?”
“I did. We’re good.”
“Good.” His lips curved. He kissed her again, lingering, taking his time, letting his hands roam.
When he eased back, she said, “One more thing.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What?”
“After our picnic, we should go tell my family.”
“About us? They already know. Pretty sure I had a hand in that one.”
She grinned. “I mean officially. We’ll do it right this time.”
He cupped her cheek with his hand. “I’d like that.”
“I love you, Beckett. And I want everyone to know it.”
He grinned. “I love you too, Anna Keller. But you know your family is going to make a big deal about this.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. Just remember, you’re part of my family now.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Which means Poppy is half your responsibility.”
He laughed, and it was the best sound she’d heard in weeks.