Page 48 of A Family Affair: The Plan
Her face lit up.My mom makes the best cakes ever. This one’s part chocolate and part vanilla. You can have two pieces since the party’s for you.
An hour later, after the last person said goodbye, Mimi turned to Hope. “You look like you need a little quiet time in the garden.” She squeezed her hand, her expression filled with compassion. “The cleanup will wait.”
How did Mimi always seem to know what she needed? Oh, how Hope would miss this woman, but just because she couldn’t see Mimi every day, didn’t mean she had to lose touch with her. No, Hope wanted a relationship with Mimi Pendergrass and she intended to have one. “Thank you. I just need a few minutes.”
Another hand squeeze, a nod, and then “Take as long as you want.”
Hope made her way to the back door and into Mimi’s garden. Who would have thought flowers could bring such calm and joy to a person’s soul? Certainly, not Hope, but it had happened and she planned to create her own garden wherever she lived. That was the next question… Wherewouldshe live and how?—
“I thought that party was never going to end.”
Hope swung around, gasped. Sam stood several feet away, his expression partially shielded by the night. “Sam? What are you doing here?”
He ignored the question, asked one of his own. “So you’re leaving?”
“Yes, I’m heading out in the morning.”
“Looks like you had a pretty good crowd.” Pause and a quiet, “Not surprising.”
Small talk? That had never been Sam Harrington’s specialty. Fine, she could do “small talk”. “Yes, there were quite a few people, and I’m glad I got to see them.”
He cleared his throat, fumbled with his next words. “I’d say the town has adopted you. I’m sure they’re going to miss you.”
Okay, that was enough. “I’m sure you didn’t come to talk about the guests or how they’ll miss me. Why are you really here?” Anger burned through her next words. “Why can’t you justleave me alone?”
He moved toward her, close enough so she could see his face. “I can’t.” He dragged a hand through his hair, sucked in a breath. “I can’t let you leave without telling you how sorry I am.”
“I’m sorry, too.” She folded her arms across her chest, planted her feet, and blasted him. “I’m sorry you wouldn’t even give me a chance. Sorry you believed the very worst of me, even when you knew how difficult it was to open up and share… But I did it for you, and I’m sorry you refused to see that.”
“Hope.” His voice cracked, spilled pain. “I don’t want you to walk away and think I don’t care.” A sigh, a shake of his head. “I care too damn much, and it scared the hell out of me. I told myself you were just using me, that I didn’t mean anything to you, and what we shared was temporary. That’s not true. If you’re going to walk out of my life, then at least you have to know the truth. I want you beside me as I create the pet sanctuary and the rehab center and stock the pond and add the damn navycolors to the farmhouse. I want you next to me for all of it, even though I don’t deserve you.” He paused, spilled more truths. “I never thought I’d care about anyone the way I care about you, but it happened, and I don’t want to lose that. I screwed up bad, but Iknowwe could be good together, side-by-side…all-in.”
Hope tried to comprehend the meaning behind his words. “What are you really saying, Sam? You want me to stay indefinitely? You want me to help create your dream? You want me to be here as your partner until you don’t trust me again?” She frowned as fresh anger spilled through her next words. “What is it? Because from my position, I thought we were headed in that direction, and then it all blew up and you shut down. I’m not interested in that. Not with you or anyone.”
A nod, a quiet “I get it. I refused to listen to anything you or anyone else had to say. Lily tried, my father tried—” he laughed and shook his head “—my mother neverstoppedtrying. I even had a visit from Martin Southerfield.”
“Martin contacted you?” That was a surprise. “When?”
“He paid me a visit about a week ago, told me how sorry he was for what happened, and guaranteed this place will be left alone, as it should be.” His gaze settled on her. “He also told me how much he cares about you, and then he offered an observation, even though I didn’t ask for one and at that time didn’t want one.”
Hope could not help commenting. “Martin isn’t the sort who remains quiet when he has something to say.”
Sam laughed, his lips pulling into a smile. “You’re right on that. He told me you and I belonged together. Of course, I refused to listen, but that didn’t stop the man from voicing his thoughts.” He took a step toward her, offered the rest. “Martin said I should trust you, that you’re a good person.” Pause and a husky, “He said you’d opened your heart to me, and you’d neverreally done that before.” Those whiskey-colored eyes glittered in the moonlight. “He said you loved me.”
Martin said that?Hope stumbled for an answer. “Just because Martin says something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s one hundred percent accurate.”
“But could it be close?” Sam took another step toward her, stopped when he was a touch away. “Is there any possibility it could be true?” When she didn’t respond, he offered his own confession. “I screwed up a lot with you. I told myself we’d never make it together, that you’d hurt me worse than Celeste ever had. I vowed tonotlet that happen. No way could I let you have that much control over me. It didn’t matter.” He reached out, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You already lived in my soul and you weren’t going away, whether you lived in Virginia or Hawaii. I love you, Hope Newland. I willalwayslove you, and if you give me another chance, I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much we belong together.”
“I… I…”He loved her! He wanted to be with her!
“You don’t have to say anything right now. I just want you to consider what I told you, and maybe come back to visit…and let me visit you. We can take it slow and?—”
“You don’t know the real me.”You don’t know where I came from…how I grew up…
“Yes, I do.” He trailed a finger along her jaw, held her gaze. “I know you.”
She shook her head, stepped away. “We didn’t have much money when I was growing up, but after my father died, we hadnomoney.” There, she’d finally admitted that to him. “My mother got a job at a bed-and-breakfast so we could live there rent-free.” She didn’t want to tell him about her pathetic childhood, but she had to… “I cooked, scrubbed toilets, washed floors.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Ironed, baked, and I learned to make pies before I turned fourteen. We shoppedsecond-hand stores for clothing and shoes and rarely bought anything that hadn’t been worn before. My mother insisted I could create a different backstory once I left for college. In fact, sheinsistedI do that and even provided a ‘playbook’ that included trips I never took, relatives I didn’t have, and a life that didn’t exist.” Another tear, then another. “The person you met when I arrived in Magdalena wasn’t real, and somehow you saw that. So, before you tell me you love me, you need to know who I really am.”
He remained silent for several seconds, and then he began swiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Iknowyou, Hope. I’m sorry you weren’t allowed to be a child, but you don’t have to pretend with me or anyone else.” His voice gentled. “I don’t want you to be perfect. I just want you to beyou.” Sam clasped her hands, brought them to his lips, kissed each knuckle. “I love you. Can you find it in your heart to give us another chance? We’ll take it slow, whatever you need, as long as you don’t say no.”
