A Soldier's Promise (Crystal Lake Series Book 2) (18 page)

Things were working out exactly the way they were supposed to. She was so happy for Derek.

And so sad for herself.

She slipped away from the crowd, intending to head back to her car to begin the long ride home, when Derek’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Hey, where are you going?”

She closed her eyes and mentally braced herself to turn and face him. “I need to head home, Derek. It’s a long drive, and I have to work tomorrow.”

“The Donnells want to take us out for brunch.”

“I think that’s a great idea. I’m sure being together as a family will do wonders for Lexi.”

His intense blue gaze searched hers. “Why don’t you join us?” he asked softly.

Her heart squeezed, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat. “I think it’s best if I head home,” she said. “Dropping the custody battle is a big step for the Donnells, and I think the four of you could use a little bonding time together.”

Without her being the unintended painful reminder that Claire wasn’t here anymore.

A hint of uncertainty flashed in his eyes, but after a long moment, he nodded. “I think you might be right,” he agreed. “Thanks for everything, Julie.”

He drew her in for a hug, and she clung to him for a moment before gathering the strength to pull away. “Take care, Derek.”

“Wait.” He caught her hand before she could leave. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Lexi?”

Her heart was breaking, but of course she couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Lexi. When Derek called his daughter’s name, she came running over.

“I’m hungry, Daddy. Grandma says we’re going for blunch.”

“Brunch,” he corrected softly, running a hand over his daughter’s glossy, dark hair. “Breakfast and lunch together is brunch.”

Julie smiled down at Lexi and forced a cheerfulness she was far from feeling into her tone. “Have fun. Unfortunately, I have to head home, Lexi.” She wrapped her arm around the child’s shoulders. “Goodbye, sweetie. Take good care of your daddy, okay?”

“Do you hafta go?” Lexi asked, returning her hug and staring up at her with a plaintive gaze that reminded her too much of Derek. “I want you to stay.”

She wanted to stay, too, but she understood that staying here wasn’t part of God’s plan. “I’m afraid so, sweetie. I have to work at the hospital again very soon.” Her vision went blurry, and she had to sniffle back her tears. “I love you, Lexi,” she said huskily. She released the child and turned to walk away, hardly able to see where she was going.

It took every bit of strength she possessed not to turn and look back at what she was leaving behind.

___________

Julie reported for her shift at seven a.m. the following morning, hoping no one would notice the puffiness of her eyes from her crying jag the night before.

But, of course, she couldn’t fool her friend Merry. “What happened?” she demanded. “Did he hurt you?”

“Nothing happened.” Julie couldn’t have pasted a smile on her face if her life depended on it. “Derek went back home to his family, that’s all.”

“Oh, Jules,” Merry said, giving her a quick hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s certainly not your fault. And you did warn me, remember?” She pulled away from her friend to glance up at the patient board, desperately needing the distraction of work. “Fill me in on my patients, okay?”

She sensed Merry wanted to say more, but her pager went off, announcing the arrival of an ambulance. “I’ve assigned you to team three today,” Merry said. “Ask Debra to give you the rundown while I go check on this new arrival, okay?”

“Sure,” she murmured as Merry hurried away.

The shift started out busy, but around lunchtime, there was a definite lull, giving her far too much time to think. To wonder what Derek and Lexi were doing. To wonder if they missed her just a fraction of how much she missed them.

To wonder if she should try inviting them up for a weekend sometime soon for a picnic and boat ride on the lake.

No, don’t even think about it, she told herself sternly. Derek and Lexi were back in St. Louis where they belonged. No point in dragging the agony out even further. She was happy for them and for the Donnells, who would still get to see their granddaughter.

The time she’d had here with Derek and Lexi had just been a tiny detour for them. And she had no one to blame but herself for getting too emotionally involved.

By the time her twelve-hour shift was over at seven-thirty in the evening, she was battling a wave of overwhelming exhaustion. Lack of sleep from the night before hadn’t helped. She dragged herself out to her car and headed home.

When she pulled into the driveway, she heard the faint sound of laughter coming from the back side of the townhouse and inwardly groaned. Obviously, the tourists were still playing out on the lake while she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, pull the sheet over her head to shut out the rest of the world, and try to get some sleep.

Which wasn’t likely unless Derek and Lexi stopped invading her dreams.

As she climbed out of the car, she heard the front door slam. Alarmed, she whirled around and dropped her jaw when she saw Derek and Lexi walking over the front lawn toward her. Belatedly, she recognized a strange car parked along the opposite side of the street.

“Hi, Julie.” Lexi greeted her with an enthusiastic hug.

“Hi, Lexi, Derek.” She returned Lexi’s hug but couldn’t tear her gaze away from Derek. “What are you doing here?” she sputtered.

He lifted a brow. “I did a little work on the townhouse, and then Lexi and I made dinner. Hope you’re hungry?”

She knew she was gaping but couldn’t seem to pull herself together. “But how? Why?”

He chuckled, and she realized that, in all the time they spent together, she’d rarely heard Derek laugh. “I borrowed a car from Claire’s parents and you don’t lock your doors in Crystal Lake, remember?”

That wasn’t what she meant, but she was so thrilled to see them she didn’t care. “I’m just surprised to see you, that’s all,” she managed. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“It’s great to see you, too,” he said in a low, husky tone. For a moment, his gaze bored into hers, but then he smiled and reached for her hand. “Come on, I want to show you what I managed to get done today,” he said, tugging her toward the townhouse.

She didn’t understand how he’d gotten anything done, considering it was a long drive up from St. Louis, but when he opened the front door with a flourish, she realized he’d completed one entire wall with new drywall. “Derek! This looks amazing!” Then she scowled. “You did this with your sore ribs, didn’t you?” she demanded.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, grinning from ear to ear. “But it looks great, doesn’t it? If I do say so myself,” he added modestly.

She shot him an exasperated grin. “Yes, it does.”

“Come on, let’s eat. I have some marinated chicken breasts on the grill, and hope you don’t mind, but Lexi and I helped ourselves to your garden to put together a salad.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” she said. How could she when she was still reeling from the knowledge that Derek had come back? To see her?

Or maybe just to repay a debt. As she followed Derek outside to the patio, she glanced back one more time at the finished wall and told herself not to get too excited about his being there. Now that she really thought about it, she figured he’d only returned to finish his part of the deal. Not that she’d expected anything more from him, but she sensed his pride wouldn’t allow him to leave the job undone.

And if that was the case, she had no idea how she’d manage to protect her heart long enough for him to finish the stupid townhouse.

___________

Derek found it increasingly difficult to keep his gaze off Julie as they ate the meal he’d prepared. The moment she’d arrived home, he’d wanted nothing more than to sweep her into his arms and kiss her soundly but had held back for two reasons. First of all, because she’d left St. Louis so abruptly, which made him wonder how she felt about him and secondly, because he knew Lexi was watching.

Hopefully, Lexi would be tired from their trip and go to bed sooner than later. He wanted, needed a little time alone with Julie.

As soon as they’d finished dinner, though, Julie jumped to her feet. “Since you cooked, it’s my job to clean up,” she said as she stacked the dirty dishes together. “Why don’t you and Lexi enjoy the sunset? This won’t take long.”

Was it his imagination, or did she seem nervous? “Lexi, let’s help Julie carry everything inside.”

His daughter was eager to assist, and soon they had the patio table cleared off. Because Julie was so determined to do the dishes, he went back outside with Lexi.

“Did you see that, Daddy?” Lexi said with excitement. “That was a firefly!”

“There’s another one,” he said pointing off to the right. As darkness fell, the winking lights from the fireflies became more noticeable. He had to laugh as Lexi ran around the yard, chasing the flashes of light and trying to capture them in the palms of her hands.

“It’s so great to hear her laughing,” Julie said as she came back outside.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. He leaned over and captured her hand to guide her into the chair beside him. “Hopefully, all that running around will tire her out,” he added dryly.

Julie gently pulled her hand away and laced her fingers together in her lap. “You didn’t have to come back to finish the townhouse, Derek,” she said softly.

Did she really think that was the only reason he came back? “Yes, I did, because that was a good excuse to see you.”

He heard her soft gasp of surprise and grew a bit concerned. Was it possible she didn’t feel anything for him after all? The morning before, when he saw her crying in the courtroom, he thought for sure she cared about him. Maybe even had started to fall in love with him.

The way he’d fallen in love with her.

“Daddy, I caught one!” Lexi shouted.

“We have to talk,” he said to Julie before getting up and crossing over to Lexi. It took some finagling, but he coaxed her into letting the lightning bug go so the little guy would be free to fly through the night with his friends.

“Time for bed, Lexi,” he said. “Say goodnight to Julie.”

“G’night, Julie,” Lexi repeated, running over to give her a hug. “See you in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” Julie said. “Goodnight, Lexi.”

He took his daughter inside and waited patiently for her to use the bathroom, brush her teeth, and then say her prayers, a new ritual for them.

Lexi closed her eyes and pressed her hands together. “God bless Mommy up in heaven, Grandma and Grandpa in St. Louis, Daddy and Julie here in Crystal Lake. Amen.” Lexi opened her eyes. “That’s everyone, right, Daddy?”

“That’s right, baby-doll. I love you.” He gathered her close for a tight hug and a kiss. “Sweet dreams.”

“G’night, Daddy.”

He headed back outside to Julie, trying to ignore the sudden attack of nerves. Thankfully, Julie was still sitting right where he’d left her, head tipped back as she gazed up at the stars.

“It’s so beautiful up here,” he said as he sat beside her. “Lexi was not happy when she discovered she couldn’t see the stars in the city.”

“I’m so glad everything worked out for you, Derek,” Julie said softly.

“I accepted a new job,” he said.

“Really? That’s wonderful! I’m so glad Robert changed his mind.”

Robert? Did she really think he’d planned on staying in St. Louis? “Julie, I accepted the dispatch job here at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department. I start next Monday.”

“You did? But why? You promised to let Robert and Gladys see Lexi on a regular basis. It’s an eight-hour drive from here to their home in St. Louis!”

“I’ve promised them they’ll get plenty of time with Lexi,” he assured her. “But I happen to like it here in Crystal Lake. And so does Lexi.”

“I...don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “I never expected you to come back here permanently.”

He heard the doubt in her tone and decided enough was enough. He rose to his feet and pulled her up, too, so that he could wrap his arms around her. He gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face and cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand. “Julie, tell me that what I’m feeling isn’t one-sided,” he said in a pleading tone. “Tell me that you have some feelings for me, too.”

“Oh, Derek.” She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. “I do, but are you sure about this? I feel like I should pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

“I’ve fallen in love with you, Nurse Julie,” he whispered before claiming her sweet mouth with his. After a long moment, he lifted his head to catch his breath. As far as he was concerned, he could stand here under the stars and kiss Julie all night long. But he still needed to know that she felt the same way. “Lexi loves you, too. Is it too much to ask that you give us a chance?”

He could feel her draw an unsteady breath and tried not to fear the worst. “No, it’s not too much to ask,” she murmured. “But I was engaged once before, and, well, things didn’t work out. So I have to be honest and tell you that this all feels like too much, too soon. You’ve always lived in the city, Derek. Living out here, it’s nice, but the pace is slower. The winters can be long and brutal. I don’t think you really understand what you’re getting yourself into by moving up here.”