How’s it going in there?” Naomi stood outside the small closet that acted as a dressing room in Gracie’s classroom. Her daughter—excuse her—the fairy godmother star had been holed up in there for a good ten minutes perfecting her look for the big show tonight. Which started in…Naomi checked her watch…fifteen minutes. “The show’s going to start soon, honey,” she called through the door. Wouldn’t do for the fairy godmother to float in late.
After some shuffling, Gracie emerged, dressed in her blue costume, her reddish hair piled on top of her head, complete with a sparkling tiara. “Well, Mom…how do I look?” she asked nervously.
Too grown-up. And Mom? Since when had she called her Mom instead of Mommy? Naomi looked her daughter over, taking in the glimmering turquoise eye shadow and the gloss that made her lips shimmer. God, how was she ten already? It was crazy how the years flew by. It seemed like just last week Gracie had been spinning around on stage in her tiny little tutu. Now they only had eight more years together before Gracie would head off to college.
“You look so pretty, honey,” she murmured quietly, fearing Gracie might hear the quiver of emotion in her voice. “You’re going to be amazing tonight.”
“I don’t know about that, but at least I’ll look amazing.” Gracie threw her arms around Naomi. “Thanks for making me this awesome costume.” She leaned in closer. “I think it’s even prettier than Cinderella’s,” she whispered, her eyes twinkling.
Naomi hugged her back. “You’re my princess, you know that?”
“Of course I do.” Gracie pulled away and looked around quickly, as though worried that some of the other girls might have seen their little display of affection. But most of the girls had already left the room to go backstage.
“Come on, Gracie girl,” Naomi said, tugging on her hand. “One more picture, then I’ll walk you to the gym.”
Her daughter rolled those spry green eyes but a smile broke through. She posed with both hands clasped under her chin, which only proved she loved the spotlight and all of this attention.
“No more pictures until I’m on stage,” Gracie instructed, leading her mother out the door. “And don’t call me ‘Gracie girl’ in front of my friends,” she whispered. “I do have a reputation to think about.”
Despite the maternal tug at her heart, Naomi laughed. “Yes, ma’am,” she said with a salute.
They paraded down the hall, Gracie a good foot in front of her, nearly skipping in anticipation of her stage debut. Naomi remembered being like that once. Confident. Full of assurances that she could do anything, including standing on a stage reciting lines in front of a whole roomful of people. What had happened to that girl? The fun-loving spontaneous girl who’d once skinny-dipped with Lucas in a high mountain lake?
“Hey look!” Gracie broke into a jog. “There’s Lucas!”
Naomi stopped, her eyes searching down the hall where her daughter had pointed. Sure enough, there he stood, just outside the gym doors, dressed in dark jeans and a black button-down shirt, holding his cowboy hat in front of his waist respectfully.
Her heart took a dive. One look at him and she was going down in flames. Her hand instantly rose to smooth her hair into place, like it always had when she’d seen him around the halls in high school. Not that he looked the same as he did back then. He’d always been good-looking, but when they’d dated he’d had that appealing boyish look. Nowadays he went way past appealing to downright arousing. His complexion had darkened from the years of outdoor work, and his eyes had a deeper tint, a hint that he’d become far more experienced in life. To top it off, he carried himself like a man who knew what he wanted.
“Lucas! Hey, Lucas!” Gracie beelined down the hall, and Naomi had no choice but to follow her right to the man she’d spent so much time avoiding.
When she finally caught up, the roar of her heart stole her breath.
Lucas had knelt in front of Gracie and was handing her a single yellow rose. “Good luck tonight,” he said. “If that bit in the car was any indication, you’re gonna knock ’em dead.”
“Thank you!” Gracie squealed, smooshing the rose against her nose and inhaling deeply. “No one’s ever given me a flower before!” She held it up to Naomi. “Look, Mom! Yellow’s my favorite color!”
“I know.” She smiled down at her daughter, though her heartbeat came in painful hard thumps.
“Oh! I have to go!” Gracie tore away from the two of them, headed for the cafeteria. “Bye, Mom! Bye, Lucas! I’ll see you after the show!”
Before she could even give her daughter a good luck kiss, Gracie had disappeared into the sea of horses and mice and pumpkins who were all streaming into the cafeteria.
“She’s incredible,” Lucas said, gazing after her. “I can’t believe how much she reminds me of you.”
And she couldn’t believe how the simple act of standing close to him brought her body to life. Blood surged, flooding her with a tingling heat she hadn’t experienced in so long…
“The rest of the crew’s already inside,” he went on when she didn’t say anything. “They’re saving seats. I wanted to make sure I saw her before.” He shoved his calloused hands into the pockets of his jeans just like he had back in high school when he was nervous.
She wasn’t nervous. She was downright spooked. But she did her best to snap out of it. She couldn’t stand here mute, staring at the old love of her life as though trying to erase the years that had put distance between them. She had to say something. Anything…
“Thanks for bringing her a rose,” she managed. “That was thoughtful.”
His gaze darted sideways in that bashful way. “Jessa said she loved yellow,” he admitted. “I’m glad she—”
“Excuse me.” Eleanor Bradley, the principal of Topaz Falls Elementary, cut in to the conversation. Though she was short and stocky, she had the power to make a sixth-grade boy cry with just one look. She cast her sternest glare at Lucas. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a clipped tone.
His jaw fell open. So did Naomi’s, for that matter. Eleanor might be strict, but she’d never seen her act so…rude.
Lucas didn’t seem to know what to say so she stepped in. “We invited him,” Naomi said just as sternly. “He’s here to watch Gracie in the play.”
“I see.” Mrs. Bradley lifted her chin, almost like she wished she could look down at him. “As long as you’re here with someone, then,” she muttered before quickly retreating down the hall, shaking her head the whole way.
Naomi’s face flamed with embarrassment on behalf of the principal. “I have no idea what’s gotten into her. She must be stressed out about the play.”
“That’s not it,” Lucas said drily. “Trust me. I get that a few times a week. Pretty much whenever I show up in town.”
“Oh God. Really?” She’d never thought about that—about what it must be like for him. Everyone knew what he’d done. She’d heard some people even blamed him for the town losing out on hosting any more competitions. “But it was so long ago.” How was it that people still saw him as the same screwed-up kid? She didn’t. She recognized pieces of him—his humility, his humor, his kind heart—but there were so many new qualities, too. So much to explore if she would let herself…
“Doesn’t seem to matter how long it’s been,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as if worried Eleanor would come back. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I shouldn’t have come.”
“That’s ridiculous.” A sudden protective impulse led her to take his arm. “Of course you should be here.” She tucked her arm around his, stunned by the overpowering rush of longing, but she soldiered on down the hall anyway. “Gracie invited you. She wants you here.” Gulping a breath of courage, she looked up at his face. “And so do I.”
He stopped abruptly and turned so that he faced her. “Really?” he asked, his eyes searching hers. “You want me here?”
That breath of courage got stuck in her throat. Didn’t he know? Couldn’t he feel her heart drumming? Couldn’t he hear it? “Yes,” she said, regretting all those months she’d avoided him, looked away, walked away. The way she’d been acting, he probably thought she was no better than the rest of the town, holding some stupid grudge against him.
But it hadn’t been out of anger or contempt. It had been out of fear. He couldn’t have known that, though. He must’ve thought she hated him. “Lucas…I—”
“There you are!” Jessa darted over, squeezing herself between them and urging them to the gym. “The play’s starting in, like, two minutes,” she said impatiently. “And people are giving us dirty looks for saving two seats in the front row.”
“Right.” Naomi sighed. She snuck a glance at Lucas, who still stared at her as though waiting for her to finish what she’d been about to say. But now was not the time. Later. She would tell him everything later.
* * *
On a typical evening, a woman’s hand brushing his thigh didn’t do much for him, but tonight every square inch of him seemed to be on heightened alert.
“Sorry,” Naomi whispered, and even in the dimly lit gymnasium he noticed the color that flooded her cheeks. He simply grinned at her. Let her read into that whatever she wanted.
He obviously didn’t mind her touching him.
Before the performance, they’d definitely had a moment, but Jessa had gone and ruined it. Then, for the last hour, he’d sat next to Naomi in the crowded gymnasium, her delicate shoulder fixed against his, and God help him, he couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering over to her. Not because the dress she wore was particularly suggestive. It was one of those wrap thingies, fitted and elegant. Maybe not so striking on any other woman, but the teal color set her red hair on fire. That, combined with her happy, sunshiny scent, kept tempting him to touch her, put his arm around her, hold her hand as if they were here together.
Which they weren’t, of course. But she’d said she wanted him here so he figured that was something.
Somehow, in between glimpses of Naomi and trying to keep his body under wraps, he’d managed to take in most of the show. Gracie was a convincing Fairy Godmother, confident and articulate. She didn’t fumble one line. Naomi had been the same way back in high school. Captain of the debate team and persuasive as hell. It was those eyes of hers—the deep intense jade of them made people stumble over their words. He sure had when she’d become his science partner sophomore year. The two of them had never really talked before that—they’d tended to run in different crowds growing up, him with the misfits and her with the cheerleaders and jocks. But that first day in science class when they’d sat across from each other wearing their protective eye goggles, Naomi had made him laugh. It had felt like years since he’d laughed, and he was done for. Completely one hundred percent hers. No woman had given him that feeling since.
The show ended with the cast celebrating the wedding of Prince Charming and Cinderella. Gracie twirled around the stage gleefully, her blue tutu flaring. The applause started and swelled into a standing ovation that rang in his ears. He stood with the rest of the crowd, praising the kids for their performance, but mostly Gracie.
“She was the best one up there,” he whispered, leaning closer to Naomi. “I could hardly even hear Cinderella.” Who should’ve been the star of the show. With her wit and those dimples, Gracie had definitely stolen that honor.
“Lack of confidence has never been one of her weaknesses,” her mother said, face beaming with pride. He felt it, too, though he had no right. He hadn’t done anything to make Gracie into who she was. Seeing her up there, it only made Naomi more amazing to him. What did she have to go through in those early years? An eighteen-year-old with a new baby all on her own, on top of dealing with the shame and the rumors her situation had brought. He couldn’t imagine.
The music stopped and the stage broke into a flurry of uncoordinated activity.
As though unable to contain their excitement any longer, the kids flooded down the steps and poured into the audience, their parents gathering them into tight hugs.
Gracie ran down the aisle and flung herself into her mother’s arms.
“You were amazing,” Naomi gushed.
“Star of the show!” Jessa agreed.
“You should’ve gone for the lead role,” Lance said before Lucas could jump in with a compliment. “Seriously. You would’ve made a great Cinderella.”
“I didn’t want to be Cinderella,” she said with a look of horror. “She doesn’t do anything.”
Lucas laughed. This girl…she was something else.
“I wanted to be the one who grants the wishes,” Gracie went on, her eyes as bright as her mom’s. “The Fairy Godmother is my favorite character in the story.”
“Why’s that?” he asked.
“Without the Fairy Godmother, Cinderella never would’ve found her happily ever after. That makes her the most important character in the story.”
The wisdom of that statement struck him. What girl cared more about granting the wishes of others than being the beautiful princess?
“Can we get ice cream?” Gracie pleaded, transforming into a typical ten-year-old again. “All of us together?” she looked around at Jessa and Lance, Darla and Cassidy, and then even at him.
Though he wanted to say yes—to grant her every wish—he deferred to Naomi.
“Of course we can,” she said quickly, gathering her daughter under her arm. “Come on. We’d better hurry or A La Mode will be packed.”
They all herded out the gym doors and down the halls in the same elementary school he’d attended, though everything looked so much smaller now. The desks, the drinking fountains—everything seemed miniature.
Once they’d made it outside, Gracie broke away from her mom. “I’m gonna ride with Auntie Cass, okay?” She attached herself to Cassidy’s side. According to Jessa and Lance, Cassidy had babysat Gracie since she was two years old.
“That’s fine, honey,” Naomi said, waving. “We’ll meet you there.”
The rest of the group paraded into the parking lot, but Lucas hung back and snagged Naomi’s arm. For months, he’d been waiting to steal a moment alone with her and while it may not have been the best time, what with the ice cream and all, he also didn’t know if he’d get another opportunity.
“Thanks for letting me come,” he said, not meaning for his voice to sound so husky and wanting. He couldn’t help it. Tonight he’d felt like part of a family. And it’d been a long time since he’d had the luxury of feeling that.
“Of course,” she murmured, between what seemed to be quick shallow breaths. “I’m glad you could come. It meant a lot to Gracie.”
And what about her? He pressed his gaze into her eyes. There was so much he wanted to say. Years of words that had never been spoken. And God, he was such a coward. He could hot-brand a bull’s ass but he couldn’t tell this woman how much he’d thought of her. How much he still wanted her after all this time.
What if she didn’t want him back?
“Why didn’t you answer my letters?” The question was so quiet, he almost didn’t hear. “I sent you so many letters,” she said, louder. “And you never wrote me back. You never even opened them.”
The blend of anger and sorrow in her voice hit him like a shot to the gut. Was that why she’d been avoiding him all these months? Because he hadn’t answered her letters?
“I know you might not understand, but I wanted you to move on.” It’d killed him not opening those letters. Writing Return to Sender and tossing them back in the mail pile. But he couldn’t take her down with him. “I thought my life was over, Naomi.” The shock of his prison sentence had shut him down completely. “I knew I couldn’t come back here after what happened. And I wanted you to have everything you’d ever dreamed of.” He’d known he couldn’t give that to her. Not then and likely not now, either. Not with everyone in Topaz Falls blacklisting him.
Her humorless laugh dulled the air between them. “Look how well moving on worked for me,” she said, staring down at her trembling hands.
He reached for her face and lifted it back up toward his so she could see the truth. What the hell was she talking about? “You’re a good mother. You’ve made a good life for yourself. And for Gracie.” Even with that asshole ex-friend of his walking out on them. “You’ve given her everything. A happy life. A whole community of people who love her. She had more people watching her in that play than any other kid on that stage…”
“Things could’ve been so different,” Naomi whispered, tears shining in her eyes.
That look of pain cut through him. “I know.” He focused on her delicate face, the months of subtle yearnings brewing into something fierce.
“I never believed you started that fire.” For once, she looked at him directly, as if trying to see the answer to her unspoken question.
He silently pleaded the Fifth. Knowing the truth wouldn’t do Naomi a lot of good now. “I’m sorry I let you down.” That encompassed pretty much everything he’d wanted to tell her for ten years. The night he’d confessed to starting that fire, he’d lost her. And he didn’t exactly deserve to have her back now.
She stared at him, those heart-shaped lips parted. “There were so many things I never got the chance to tell you. I tried. I wanted to tell you everything…”
“You don’t know how much I regret it.” Shutting her out. Making the decision to cover for his brother. To save his brother from god knew what. At the time he’d been so sure he’d get off easy. “I didn’t want you to give up anything for me.”
“You should’ve let me decide.” A tear did fall then, and even though it killed him to see her hurt, it also meant she still felt something for him. Something deep.
“I’m so sorry, Naomi.” For whatever reason, her heart had opened to him. Maybe only a crack, but that was all he needed. He stepped closer to her, so that her body was pressed against his. Out in the parking lot, a line of headlights moseyed out to the road, but he didn’t care. He didn’t know when he’d have this chance again. So he took her into his arms because he couldn’t wait. Couldn’t analyze. He had to see. He had to feel her. Had to know she was as desperate as he was.
“Lucas…” she whispered, closing her eyes.
He rested his hands on her hips, urging her closer. “I need to know you don’t hate me,” he said, drowning in the feel of her. His hands slipped down low on her back, until he had her locked in his arms.
“I don’t hate you,” she squeaked. “God, I don’t hate you at all.”
That was all he needed. Holding her tightly in his arms, he lowered his mouth to hers, unable to stop himself, unable to hold back anything. Her lips tasted sweet, so warm and wet. He pressed into them, drinking in the scent of her, the feel of her curves that fit so tightly against his throbbing body.
She kissed him back, sighing deeply into his mouth as though letting go of her protests and hesitations.
His tongue sought hers, rekindling that connection they’d always had, electrifying everything else until the sparks of desire flashed through him.
Her soft moan purred into him as her lips clung to his, and those hands of hers, always delicate but strong, climbed their way down his chest. He’d never regretted walking away from her as much as he did now, gripped by this one small taste of how it could’ve been with her…
Naomi’s wandering hands tensed, then pushed him back. “Wait. I can’t…we can’t…”
“We could,” he insisted, not willing to give up yet. That one kiss had stirred up the fight in him. How could he let her go now? How could he leave and go back to the McGowen Ranch? How could anything ever be the same? He didn’t have an answer yet, but he would fight for her, he would figure it all out…
“No,” she gasped. “I’m sorry. We have to go. Meet Gracie for ice cream. And…” She backed up another step so she was just out of his reach. “There’s something I need to talk to you about. Before I can…do any more kissing.”
“Sure. Anything.” She used to tell him everything. And though he wanted to pull her back to him, to kiss her until she agreed to go home with him, he could be patient. Or at least he could try.
“Not now. Not here,” she said, glancing around at the empty parking lot. “I’ll find a babysitter and we can go out one night this week.”
“Any night.” He would make anything work. Two days ago she wouldn’t talk to him. He had no idea what had changed in her but he wasn’t above accepting small miracles.
“I’ll let you know when I find someone to watch Gracie,” she said, stumbling down the curb and into the parking lot. “We can meet at Darla’s place.”
“Name the night and I’ll be there.” He’d go anywhere as long as it held the promise of kissing her again.