Page 146 of Hometown Girl

The faces of Harold, Sonya and Jess Pendergast smiled back at her, radiating life and hope and promise. Their dreams had been dashed by an inexplicable accident, an accident that robbed them of their chance at ever having a proper goodbye.

That would change today.

She turned at the sound of footfalls entering the small church and found Drew standing in the doorway.

He, like the rest of them, had spent the entire week working nonstop on the farm, but he’d taken frequent breaks to check on her, talk to her, steal kisses from her. Something inside him had shifted, and she sensed he’d found exactly what he was looking for here at Fairwind.

Funny, she had too.

Her heart leapt to think she could be a part of his prize.

At the sight of her, Drew stopped moving, as if he needed a moment to drink her in. “Is it wrong for me to really love the way you look in that dress?” His mouth pulled upward in a crooked smile.

She smoothed her hands over her simple black dress, tapered at the waist and fitted perfectly to her body. She wore a small strand of pearls around her neck, and she’d pulled her long hair up into a simple, messy bun.

“If it’s wrong, then we’re both guilty,” Beth said, eyeing him in his dark jeans and a blue button-down that skimmed his body in all the right places. “You clean up nice.”

His smile dangled there for a few long moments, and then he drew in a deep breath, as if he’d only just remembered why they were there. “I never thought this day would come.”

She glanced at the photo of the Pendergast family, then back at Drew. “I hope you’re still feeling okay about a memorial service.”

“I am. And it’ll be good to lay Jess to rest here with her parents.”

They would bury Jess at Fairwind, in the family cemetery behind the chapel. Sonya and Harold had been buried there, and beside their graves, a small stone had been placed in Jess’s memory. Now, thanks to Drew, they’d be able to reunite the little family once and for all.

At the sound of approaching voices, Beth started toward the door, but Drew grabbed her arm, stopped her. “Beth.”

She met his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything. You did this.”

“No.” He looked away. Words still didn’t come easily for him. And that was okay. He needed to know it was okay.

“It’s okay, Drew, I—”

“You gave me a safe place,” he cut her off. His blue eyes looked even brighter in the light of the chapel, or maybe a shadow had been lifted, making everything clearer, crisper. “I’ve never had that before.”

Beth wanted to wrap her arms around him, to hold him forever.

In a way, he’d given her a safe place too. A place to be herself, even if that wasn’t who she’d expected it to be. He’d loved her without condition, in a way that didn’t make sense to her, and she prayed in that moment she’d be able to do the same for him—for as long as he would let her.

Molly appeared at the doorway, with their mother and Bishop close behind. Beth gave Drew one last knowing glance, then moved toward the door to meet her family as Drew went to the front of the chapel.

She reached her mother, who pulled her into a gentle hug.

“You’re doing a wonderful thing here,” Lilian said.

Beth smiled. “Thanks for the push, Mom.”

Her mother’s eyebrows shot up. “Me? I had nothing to do with this. This was all you girls. And that handsome man up there, from what I’m told.”

Beth followed her gaze to Drew, who stood near the front of the chapel, looking over his notes. “Yes, I’ll introduce you. After. Go find a seat.”

Her mom studied her for a moment. “You seem happy.”

“And you seem healthy.”

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