Everybody Knows (Sunnyside #1) (30 page)
Read Everybody Knows (Sunnyside #1) Online
Authors: Jacie Floyd
“And I saw Zach sneaking over to her place most
nights after dark.” One of Harper’s neighbors voiced that information. “It was
disgraceful what I saw him do there night after night.”
“That speaks more to my morality than hers, don’t
you think?” came a beloved voice from the back of the room.
Chills ran down Harper’s back. Her head jerked
around. She stood to get a better view, too shocked to speak. Blinking, she
couldn’t believe her eyes.
Zach!
She
gulped several times, too overcome to get her head or thoughts in working
order.
But she didn’t need to speak. With his
reappearance, the crowd went wild. Only in Sunnyside would Zach Novak draw a
bigger response than one of the world’s most famous cover models and her
legendary rocker father.
“If a single lady sleeping with a single guy
violates some kind of morals clause in this county,” Jimbo said from his place
by the door, “I’d have to hang around outside the Lucky Dog and arrest half the
couples who leave there.”
Half the crowd shouted with laughter.
“I don’t know about you, Mick,” Zach said, “but I
think you have enough testimony and evidence to put an end to these
proceedings. And I think the council owes Harper an apology. Do you want to
take your vote now?”
“All in favor of dropping the charges against
Harper Simmons and tendering her our heartfelt apologies instead, say ‘Aye’.”
Each council member spoke the affirmation in turn.
Then Cassie spoke up. “I know don’t officially have a vote, but ‘aye’ from me
too, Daddy.”
Her mother followed suit.
Then Daxina and her brother chimed in. Miguel
Sanchez, Myrna Hooper, and others picked up the word, too, until the nearly
unanimous vote rang out around the room. Applause and cheers burst from the
crowd. Harper wasn’t sure if she was laughing or crying by the end of it.
Mick let Harper and her friends have a moment to
bask in their approval before he banged the gavel to restore order.
Then he looked directly at her. “I’m sorry for the
pain you’ve suffered by some old-fashioned and misguided members of this town.
Although you’re under contract to us for another nineteen months, we know you
can’t be forced to stay, and you may choose to resign. If you prefer to leave
after all that’s occurred, we’ll try to change your mind. As my grandmother
used to say, ‘Old ways don’t open new doors’, and we’ve held on to some of our
old ways for too long. What do you say, Harper? Are you willing to give us
another chance?”
Her hands and knees shook as she stood and faced
the people of the town she loved. “I say yes, if you’ll have me. I may have
gotten off to a rocky start here, but I’ve always wanted to stay. There was
never any question about that.”
“Thank you. This meeting is adjourned to my
offices across the street where there’s hot chocolate and Myrtle’s cheesecake
waiting for us. I don’t know how much cheesecake we have, but everyone’s
invited.”
“I’ll get all the desserts the diner has left for
the day,” Lenore said. “She’s partial to my double chocolate malted cake you
know.”
“I’ll raid the bakery too,” Marty offered. “Zach
loves my cherry tarts.”
Harper beamed as everyone crowded around,
congratulating her and expressing their support. A stellar moment and a triumph
she’d always remember, but through it all, she kept her eyes on the four people
who meant the most to her, the ones huddled together in the corner talking to
Mick.
Although some people approached Zach to say hello
or welcome him back, others gave the luminous quartet a wide berth, as if leery
of getting too close to so much beauty.
Mr. Novak, Rachel, Kate, Josh, and Susannah made
their way to Harper’s side. “I was wrong about you in the beginning,” Zach’s
sister said. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” Harper was thrilled
to receive this show of approval from Zach’s family. “You’ve more than made up
for it with your friendship and support since then.”
Josh’s eyes held a twinkle when he said, “I told
Zach what was happening, but I didn’t think he’d show up. Were you surprised?”
“To say the least.” Her head still reeled. “I
wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again.”
“Give the guy a break, will you?” Josh suggested.
“It must be hell to always have to wear that halo.”
“I owe you an apology, too.” Kate grimaced as she
made the admission. “I was wrong to hold Zach to our agreement when I could see
he’d fallen for you. It’s about time I figured out some things about my own
life, and I hope the town will support me the way have you.”
“They already love you,” Harper reminded her. “It
won’t be too hard.”
“I try to stay out of all the drama that goes on
around here,” Zach’s dad said. “But it sounds like you’re the kind of new blood
this town needs. Thank you for not letting small minds run you off.”
“I have a job to do. I intend to do it.”
“Good for you.” His eyes crinkled at the corner,
reminding her of Zach. “And if you being here keeps my son back home, all the
better.”
“I can’t guarantee that. He’ll make his own
decision.”
He tipped his head in Zach’s direction. “I hope he
already has.”
Mr. Novak went to greet his son, sending Harper’s
family in her direction. India and Fiona swooped in for giant hugs. “Thank God,
that’s over,” India muttered.
“I guess we showed them,” Fiona whispered.
Wexley hung back until the two women let her go.
Harper went on tiptoe to give him a peck on the
cheek. “Thank you for being here. It means the world to me.”
“Now, where else would I be?” He wrapped his arms
around her and held her tight. “You’re my baby girl, same as Fiona, and don’t
you forget it.”
“I never will again.”
“This here doctor wants to have a chat with you,
but if he gives you any trouble, you just holler. We’re going to stick around
until tomorrow, and I can put him on a plane to someplace nobody will ever find
him if you want me to.”
“Thanks, Wex, but I can handle him on my own.”
India hooked arms with her husband and Fiona.
“We’ve been invited to the party at the mayor’s office. We’ll see you over
there, yes?”
“Yes. I’ll be along in a second. And plan on
staying at my house tonight.”
India flicked an amused look toward Zach. “We’ll
see.”
The people gathered around faded away and, in the
space that cleared, there stood Zach.
Tired and gaunt, in desperate need of a haircut,
rumpled, and unshaven, but handsome and smiling. The look in his eyes said it
all. “I like your mother and stepfather.”
She swallowed. “I’m glad you finally got to meet
them.”
“Me, too.” He shuffled his feet and stuck his
hands in his pockets. Gone was the self-assured Dr. Novak. “I don’t know what
to say.” He spread his arms as if he was at a loss but then spread them wider,
inviting her into them. She took a gigantic leap forward. Another cheer went
up, and the crowd started a chant. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
“They want us to kiss,” he said in her ear. “I
want that, too.”
Harper didn’t wait. They kissed with all the
passion and longing Zach had put on hold for the past months. With all the
relief and joy she felt at being vindicated by the town. Accepted by them. But
most of all, the moment was about homecoming and love.
“You look so tired. So hungry.”
“Hungry for you.” He held her close. “You are more
beautiful than I remember.”
His words were flattering, but she was still sort
of confused by his presence. “Why are you back?”
“I heard you could use some help, but I guess I
heard wrong.” He leaned in for another kiss. “Your family showed up in spades,
and everyone here loves you. Just like I do.”
“You do?” Dazed by the admission, she thought
she’d never hear those words from the man who guarded his heart so savagely.
“Since when?”
“Since the first moment I saw you. It just took me
a while to realize it. And I’m sorry I left you.” He stroked his fingers
through her hair. “But I needed to leave to get my head on straight and find my
way back. Now there’s no doubt. I need this town. And I need you. I want you,
and I love you, Harper. Will you marry me and live with me in Sunnyside and
stay with me always?”
The word
yes
sprang to her lips, but her heart said,
not
so fast
. “Are you going back to Syria or some other faraway place where the
people need you more than we do?”
“I’ll work out something with Josh where I can
practice here with him, and I can go on humanitarian missions one or two months
a year. But my life is here. My home is here. My heart is here. What do you
say, Harper? Will you marry me?”
Of course, she would. Never any doubt about it. He
was the one who’d returned to Sunnyside, but she was the one who’d found a
home.
Thank
you
for reading Everybody Knows, the first book in the Sunnyside
Series!
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Anthology:
CHRISTMAS
WITH YOU
Six Heartwarming Novellas by Best-Selling Authors, including HAPPY THIS
YEAR
The Sunnyside Series
Excerpt
Book 1 of
the
Billionaire
Brotherhood
Chapter One
Connecticut, present day
The sudden vibration of
Kara
Enderley’s
cell against her desktop interrupted
her concentration. Frowning, she clicked to save next week’s art review column
before snatching up the phone. “Hello!”
“Hello yourself, Kara
mia
.”
The deep, Southern drawl that haunted her dreams reached out to her like a
caress from two thousand miles away. “Is this a bad time?”
Wyatt freaking Maitland. Damn, she really should
remember to check the caller display before answering, or get in the habit of
letting more of her calls roll into voicemail.
Unwanted, unexpected memories crashed through her
as her gaze shifted from the computer screen to the crooked smile and
mischievous amber eyes in the framed photo on the shelf above her desk. One of
the few mementos she’d saved from the spring they’d spent together three and a
half years ago. The spring that had reassembled the fractured pieces of her
life. Before she knew the truth about Wyatt freaking Maitland… and about his
family.
Equal parts thrill and panic fluttered in the pit
of her stomach—just as they always did when he called. “Hi, Wyatt! I’m in the
middle of something. Can I call you back?”
“You’re always so busy, Kara.” His chiding tone
pricked her guilty conscience. “Can’t you take a minute to talk to an old
friend?”
An old friend? She pondered the phrase. They were
friends, but not friends. Lovers, but not lovers.
Still, she owed him much more than a minute of her
time.
“Of course.” Clutching the phone tightly, she
prepared to follow the long-established rules of their long-distance
relationship.
Keep things light. Surface
topics only
. “Have you been to Atlanta to see your family lately? How are
they?”
“Allie and
Xander
are
both fine.” He followed the news about his sister and nephew with the
inevitable pause. “Mother, too.”
Shivering, Kara envisioned the reigning Georgia
Ice Queen at her chilling best. “That’s great. And how’re things at Southern
Cal? Are you drowning in mid-terms?”
“I’m ass-deep in a stack of essays, waiting to be
graded.”
Silence settled between them, stretching into
awkwardness. After a glance at the clock, she stole a moment to listen to him
breathe. Probably not much time before she really would have to go.
“What can I do for you?” She winced at the abrupt
question.
“So much for small talk. I guess I’ll get right to
it. I’d like to see you.”
Her heart pirouetted with joy, but her
ever-present fear reached out and stomped all over the emotion. “Why?”
“There’s something important we need to discuss.”
She hesitated. “I doubt that. We agreed a long
time ago that we wouldn’t—”
“Would you
be willing to meet with me Friday night?” The interruption marked a rare breach
of his perfect Southern manners.
“
This
Friday?” Kara bit the inside of her cheek. Their periodic conversations always
required her to perform a careful balancing act between desire and deceit.
Seeing him in person would render that trick impossible. She hadn’t been
dodging him for three years just to let him stroll back into her life now.
Tapping the eraser-end of a pencil on her desk, she attempted to maintain a
breezy tone. “How will that work? I leave Connecticut and you leave California
at a designated time and hope we bump into one another somewhere in the middle
of the country. Kansas, perhaps?”
“That’s one possibility.” She pictured him smiling
before continuing. “But I’m willing to go the distance.”
She pulled in several deep breaths, her thoughts
racing. “You plan to come
here
?
Friday, huh? Great. Just let me check my schedule.” Randomly flipping the pages
of her desk calendar, she groped for inspiration. “Oh, no! I’m sorry. I almost
forgot. I’ll be out of town this Friday.”
“What, again?” He made a clicking noise with his
tongue against his teeth. “I hate to hear it.” He didn’t sound disappointed. He
sounded skeptical. “It’s amazing how you’re always out of town when I have
business in New York. Is this a trip you can postpone? I really need to see
you.”
“I’d postpone it if I could, but I can’t. I have
plane tickets. And reservations. I’m going—” Desperately, she flipped through
the stack of mail she’d brought in earlier. Electric bill, nope. Invitation to
join a health club, no help. Offer for a free cruise.
Yes!
“—on a cruise. To the Caribbean. With a friend. I’m sorry.”
Her guilty
conscience finally strangled her disjointed ramblings and brought them to a
halt. The fabrication must be stone-cold obvious to someone with Wyatt’s
razor-sharp acuity. God, how many times had she imagined meeting him face to
face and revealing the truth? Too many to count, but she could never make
herself go through with it. She had too much to lose.
“That sounds like fun.” His framed likeness on the
wall mocked her. “I’m sorry I won’t get to see you, Kara
mia
.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
How many times had he used that word since they’d
last been together? How many times had
she
used it?
“Then I’ll see you the next time I’m in town?”
“Absolutely! I’ll look forward to it.”
“No, I think you should count on it.”
The heir to the Maitland fortune could charm the
pants off a nun if he tried, and he was accustomed to getting his way in most
situations. The pointed comment sounded very much like a threat. Or maybe that
was her overburdened conscience talking again. “I sure will.”
“I have a couple of reasons for coming to New York
this week, but one of them is that I want to talk to you about your son.”
Kara’s vision clouded. Stretching out a hand to
steady herself, she switched the phone from one ear to the other and wiped a
sweaty palm against her jeans. Her heart thudded sickeningly against her ribs.
“My son?” She managed to squeeze out those two small words from a throat
constricted like a vise.
“You said once that Adam’s death had seemed so
pointless.” Wyatt’s delivery was quiet and careful as he tiptoed into one of
their many off-limit topics. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to change
that.”
Bitterness honed Kara’s pain with a sharp edge.
“Nothing you do or say can change it. Discussing it again serves no purpose.”
He may have cursed under his breath before
speaking more diplomatically. “You don’t know that if you won’t listen.”
Before she could reply, another voice, one located
much closer than California, beckoned her from the baby monitor on her desk.
“Mo-
om
. Mom-
mee
.”
“I can’t listen to anything you have to say about
my son. I
won’t
listen.” There. She’d
admitted it. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” She covered the phone’s mouthpiece
to muffle the sound of Sean sneezing in the background.
“You can’t keep avoiding me, Kara. I’ve been
patient long enough.” Wyatt’s words arrived with more steel than he normally he
needed to employ.
“We’ll talk again soon. As soon as I get back from
the cruise.” Her son’s voice through the speaker became more demanding.
Raspier. She leaned forward and strained to hear, frantic now to get off the
damned phone. Did he sound congested? Had he seemed feverish before his nap?
She needed to check his temperature. Immediately.
“Have a good trip.”
“Thanks. You, too.” She opened her mouth to
apologize yet again, but closed it. Words wouldn’t comfort either one of them
unless they included her full confession. And forgiveness on
both
sides. And that was out of the
question.
She’d made her choices long ago. Too late to
second-guess those decisions now.
“
Wanta
get up.” Sean
followed the announcement with a cough.
“Thanks for calling.” Kara’s hand clutched the
phone for one more regretful moment before she cut the connection.
She hurried to her son, but memories of another set
of amber eyes accompanied by a whisky-smooth voice under a starlit sky haunted
her thoughts.