Page 13

I’d been back in New York for just a few days, but I’d left my heart in Tennessee. Jace didn’t want me. He didn’t want to try to make things work. Even though we hadn’t known each other very long, the feelings I had for him ran deeper and stretched longer than the whole Hudson River. I told myself I’d made the right move, but nothing about the hollow ache in my chest felt like the right anything.

I wasn’t sure how to patch up my heart, so I sat on the couch in the house where I grew up, trying to drown my emotions in an extra-large chocolate shake. It wasn’t working.

The knock at the front door was loud enough to make me jump. I wasn’t expecting anyone. My parents had gone out for the night and wouldn’t be back for hours. No one else even knew I was back yet, and I wanted to keep it that way. I was sulking, hiding out and licking my wounds, too hurt to venture out into the big, wide world again.

Reluctantly, I set down my shake and padded to the front window. But when I peeked through the curtain, my heart did a full somersault. Jace’s truck was parked at the curb.

And he wasn’t alone.

Wren and Eli tumbled out of the backseat, both of them wearing Big Wood t-shirts and sneakers streaked with dirt. Wren clutched a sketchbook to her chest. Eli had a tackle box tucked under one arm. They looked like they'd jumped straight out of one of my favorite memories.

And Jace… he stood at the bottom of the stoop like he was afraid I might meet him at the door with a shotgun.

I yanked the door open before he could knock again.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice a little breathless at the sight of the three of them.

He looked up at me, that familiar furrow between his brows softening. “We’re here for you.”

His voice cracked just a little on the last word, and my heart did the equivalent of a double take. Was he really standing there, kids in tow, willing to admit he’d made a mistake?

“You drove here?

“Straight through, all the way from Tennessee.” His eyes held so many questions, but it was answers I wanted.

Before he could say another word, Wren and Eli pushed past him and ran up the steps. I barely had time to brace myself before they threw their arms around my waist.

“I caught a catfish!” Eli blurted out, pulling back just enough to smile up at me. “And I used the secret bait you told me about!”

“And I finished the new park trail map.” Wren held out her sketchbook like a gift. “Dad said we can print copies and hand them out to everyone who comes to visit.”

So many emotions lodged in my throat as I crouched down and hugged them again, tighter this time. “I missed you two so much.”

“We missed you more,” Wren whispered.

By the time I stood, Jace was on the top step. He shoved his hands into his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them. I’d never seen him look so unsure of himself.

“I thought you wanted me to go,” I said, trying and almost succeeding at keeping my voice steady.

“I did.” He nodded but held my gaze. “Because I thought it was the right thing. For them and for you. I’ve spent so long trying to protect my kids and myself and make sure no one gets hurt. But someone recently reminded me that love means putting yourself out there. It means taking risks.”

He stepped closer, not just physically but emotionally, too. The man who’d once been all steel and self-preservation was now baring his heart on a borrowed doorstep.

I swallowed hard, too nervous to let myself hope.

“I told you to go,” he said. “But I didn’t mean it.”

He took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. My lungs squeezed tight. I was afraid to look away, afraid to even breathe.

“I want you to come back, Delaney. To us. To me.” His voice cracked again. Just enough to let me know he was feeling exactly the same things as me. “Because I love you. And I was a damn fool to let you walk away without telling you that.”

The words rushed over me like warm rain after a drought, unexpected, overwhelming, and everything I’d hoped to hear but hadn’t dared let myself imagine. I blinked against the tears filling my eyes.

The kids stepped back, like they understood something big was happening and didn’t want to interrupt.

Jace moved forward and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I pitched the state board a new job. Environmental Education Director. It’s a permanent position with a salary and full benefits.”

My jaw dropped. He’d done this. For me. For us. I could see the nerves flickering in the tightness around his eyes, like he was bracing for a no. There was no way I could refuse a man who was willing to move mountains for me.

I didn’t know where to start. “When did you have time to do that?”

“Yesterday. Before I loaded the kids in the truck and came after you. It’s yours if you want it, but if you come back, I hope it’s for more than the job.”

The tears I’d been trying to hold back finally spilled over.

He hesitated. “And one more thing… I’ve been terrified to take the kids to visit their mom’s parents. I thought I might lose them. That they’d see some fancy house and think life would be better without me. But the truth is, I was projecting. I’ve been afraid the life I’ve build for them in Tennessee wouldn’t be enough. But Wren and Eli didn’t stop talking about you the whole way up here. They couldn’t wait to see you, for us to all be back together again.”

Jace gave his head a little shake before he continued, like he couldn’t believe he’d been so blind.

“It made me realize… maybe what we have in Big Wood is exactly what they need. Not perfect. Just real. With all of us in it.” He reached for my hand, his eyes clear and full of all of the love I could ever want. “So, what do you say? Will you come back to Tennessee with us?”

I laughed through my tears and launched myself into his arms.

“Yes,” I whispered against his neck. He smelled like the forest. I’d missed it. But even more than that, I’d missed him. I’d missed being a part of their lives and feeling like I’d found my place in the world. “Yes, to all of it.”

Wren squealed behind her dad. Eli yelled something about going fishing to celebrate.

“How about we celebrate by helping Delaney pack?” Jace suggested.

“I don’t have to.” I held the door open so they could come in. “The thing is, I was so sad to leave, I never actually unpacked when I got here.”

“Well, that makes it easy.” Jace leaned against the doorframe, the corners of his mouth tipping up in an irresistible grin. It was a grin that looked like hope. Like maybe we weren’t just picking up where we left off, that we were building something stronger. This time, with our eyes wide open.

I grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and tugged him into me. “I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“How did you know where to find me?” My mouth less than an inch from his, I waited for him to answer. I’d given up my apartment when I got the offer to take the job in Big Wood and hadn’t left a forwarding address.

His smile widened. “I could lie and say I’m just that good at tracking.”

“Or?” I asked.

“Or I could tell you I grabbed your parents’ address off your emergency contact form from the park office.” His brows arched. “You know, if we leave right now, we might make it back before we’re supposed to be at work on Monday morning.”

“Does that mean I’m rehired to finish out camp for the summer?” I’d loved spending time with the kids and seeing their reaction to everything I’d taught them. Hopefully, the new Environmental Education Director would still get to spend a lot of time in the field.

He brushed his nose against mine. “Yes, please. I can’t do it without you. The kids were bored out of their minds with me trying to take your place.”

“He had us making butterflies out of felt.” Wren wrinkled her nose. “And he made us sing Ranger Rhonda’s old songs. You’ve got to come back, Delaney.”

I laughed at the disgusted expression on her face then turned my attention back to Jace. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled his lips down to mine. “I’m ready. Let’s go home.”