Nightingale Way: An Eternity Springs Novel (37 page)

“Probably so, but I’m not taking any chances. I figure that no matter how badly you want to get away from me, you won’t jump out of a plane all on your own.”

“Are there parachutes on board?”

“I’m not telling. I have something to show you. Join me at the table in the back?”

While she took a seat, he reached into an overhead compartment and withdrew a thick file folder and a rolled set of plans. “I want to show you what I’ve been doing since I quit my job in August.”

Everything inside Cat froze. “You quit your job?”

“A week after you left Eternity Springs.”

That confused her. “But …”

“You’re wondering why it took me seven months to tell you?”

“Yes.”

“I asked them not to. I wanted to do this in my own time, my own way. I was going to tell you when I saw you last month, but …”

“I wouldn’t go for coffee.”

“Yes, but that turned out okay. This is better.”

She folded her arms. “I can’t believe my dad didn’t say anything.”

“Your mom is the person I feared might spill the beans. She wanted me to chase after you immediately. She said that you should know I gave up what mattered to me most for you and that it was a grand romantic gesture.” When Cat’s eyes widened at that, he shrugged. “I told her she was wrong. I know you better than your mother knows you. You didn’t want a grand romantic gesture from me. It wasn’t that easy. Besides, I’d told
you I wouldn’t take the job and you still left. I knew I needed to prove myself. To both of us.”

“I didn’t want to change you. I wanted you to be you. I just couldn’t live with the ‘you’ that you were.”

“You couldn’t live with the ‘me’ that I
used
to be. I’m a different man now. That’s what I had to come to understand.”

“You’re not making sense.”

He took her hand and kissed it, his blue eyes shining with sincerity and peace. “I was at a crossroads when you left me and Eternity Springs. I took a few days and did a lot of soul-searching. Oh, I knew the moment you left that I would come after you. I wanted you and I wasn’t going to let you go for good. But I wanted to do this the right way. I was sure of you, but I wanted to be sure of myself. To do that, I had to jettison some baggage—thus, the soul-searching. In doing so, I figured out that it was never the job itself that I found so rewarding and fulfilling, but the outcome of the job.”

“So, you’ve quit?” she asked, worry rolling through her. “You don’t help people now? You don’t rescue them?”
He’ll shrivel up and die
.

“I like to think I do more rescuing than ever before. Look.” He unrolled the paper, and she saw it was a set of plans. Buildings. Roads. A big project. “This is the first undertaking of the new foundation. It’s a summer camp, the Rocking L Ranch, and it’s for kids who have suffered a significant loss, to give them a little time in the healing atmosphere of Eternity Springs. It’s been built on Murphy Mountain—I had to track down Cam on his honeymoon to get him to sign the paperwork.”

“You did what? Jeez, Davenport. It’s a wonder Sarah didn’t feed you to a great white!”

“She is still cranky with me for that, but she’ll come around. Gabe Callahan did the design with Mac Timberlake
in charge of the legal work and Colt Rafferty overseeing all the safety aspects.”

“And you paid for it?”

“Lauren’s Gifts paid for it. That’s the new foundation.”

“Lauren’s Gifts?” she repeated.

He cleared his throat. “I decided that our daughter needed a legacy. She’ll always be in our hearts, but why not share her with the world?”

“Oh, Jack.” Her eyes went wet with tears. “You did all this? For her?”

“For her. For you. For us.”

“Tell me everything.”

He cleared a thickness from his throat before explaining that Lauren’s Gifts had been organized as a children’s charity that awarded grants based on a broad mission statement. “We’re completely separate from the Davenport Foundation and the Bade Foundation. For those charities, I write checks like I’ve always done. But I’m hands-on when it comes to Lauren’s Gifts.”

“Let me get this straight. You quit being a spy to run a children’s charity?”

“I was too old to become a fireman.” He flashed a grin that quickly faded to serious. “Your mother gave me the opportunity to do what I couldn’t do as a child—save people from the proverbial fire. What I have learned is that there are lots of ways to rescue, Cat. You know it. You’ve lived it. Look at your volunteer work, your professional work. I don’t know why it took me so long to see it. I can do this for the rest of my life—no guns, no danger—no intrigue. Face paints and pig races are a lot more fun. I’ve found perspective, and I’ve found it because you showed me the way.

“There’s a problem, though. It’s a big job, Cat. I can’t do it all myself, and frankly, I don’t have the background in nonprofits. I’m hoping you’ll come aboard as my executive director.”

“So, you’re offering me a job.”

“I’m offering you a lifetime. Do this with me. Take the risk. I promise you this isn’t just a grand romantic gesture to get you back. This is for keeps. For life. For better or for worse.”

For better or for worse. As much as she wanted to throw herself into his arms right now, she couldn’t help recalling the “for worse” part of their previous relationship. Her hesitation must have shown, or else he could read her mind, because he added, “I know I wasn’t the best husband. I was younger and full of myself. When our infertility became an issue …”

Cat went on guard. This was the touchiest of all touchy subjects.

“… I know I let you down. I was a jerk about the fertility treatments. I don’t have a good excuse other than the fact that I was young and selfish. I’m definitely older and I hope wiser. If you give me—give us—another chance, I give you my word that I’ll be on board if you want to try to have another baby. If you don’t want to go there, I’m good with that, too. If adoption holds any appeal, well, I have a special place in my heart for orphans. All I want … all I need … is you. I love you, Cat Blackburn.”

Emotion clogged Cat’s throat. He was offering her everything she’d always wanted, everything she’d always dreamed of having. “I love you, too, Jack Davenport, and the idea of Lauren’s Gifts and the Rocking L just blows me away. It’s perfect for you, and as a career volunteer worker, I have to admit I’m dismayed that I didn’t think of it. I do see three potential problems, however.”

He visibly tensed. “What are they?”

“First, where is the home office of the Lauren’s Gifts Foundation?”

“It’s currently in Eternity Springs, but I’m willing to discuss relocation if that’s a sticking point. What else?”

Cat pursed her lips but she knew her eyes must be twinkling. “This executive director thing. Is it a full-time position?”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Well …” She studied her fingernails. “Emily Hall sent me an email just yesterday saying she’s decided to move to be near her brother and she’s putting the
Times
up for sale.”

“Oh, yeah? I didn’t know that. It’s a weekly newspaper. I don’t see why you couldn’t manage both. I’m sure your photographer would be happy to pitch in to help whenever necessary. And the last potential problem?”

Cat found it difficult to hold back her smile as she sat back in her seat, folded her arms, and lifted her chin. “Well, in all that heartfelt talk, I don’t believe I ever heard a particular question posed that, frankly, should have preceded the others.”

The last furrow in his brow eased. “Oh. That.” He checked his watch. “Can you give me about forty-five minutes?”

“Why do you need forty-five minutes?”

“Well …” He gave an exaggerated wince. “I’m afraid that once again, I listened to your mother.”

Cat groaned and hung her head.

“It’s a good thing. Really.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Spoil it.”

He sighed. “Oh, all right. It’s my grand romantic gesture. I decided that you did deserve one this time around. I also realized I needed to give you one.”

Her heart simply melted. “Oh. Okay. Forty-five minutes, hmm?”

“Give or take.”

“Well, then.” She circled her lips with her tongue suggestively. “Whatever will we do to pass the time?”

His slow smile was downright wicked. “I have another roll of sticky bandage. We could play doctor.”

“That’s an idea. Or … since you’re a pilot and this is your plane … I’ve always had this fantasy about being a flight attendant.” She rose up onto her knees and straddled him. “What do you say, Captain? Coffee, tea, or me?”

Cat stood on a snowy slope high on Murphy Mountain and said, “Paragliding? Really? I thought this was to be a grand romantic gesture. Tell me something, Davenport, do you have something against keeping both feet on the ground?”

“I’m the Eagle, remember?” Jack double-checked the strap on her helmet, then the fastenings on their tandem rig. “Trust me.”

“You’re the Eagle. If you make me a widow before I’m a bride, I’ll kill you.”

He laughed and gave her a quick hug. “Do I need to repeat the instructions?”

“No.”

“You ready?”

“You’ve done this how many times?”

“Hundreds, maybe thousands of times.”

“Okay. I’m ready.”

On his signal, she started to run, and in just a few steps they caught the air and began to fly. Expertly, he guided them away from the mountain, and soon they soared over the valley where the first wildflowers of spring had begun to bloom, and dozens and dozens of flowerpots filled with yellow roses spelled out the question she’d been waiting for.

Marry me
.

In her ear, the Eagle murmured, “I love you, Nightingale. Come share my sky.”

My thanks to the entire team at Ballantine for the fabulous support. Libby McGuire; Gina Wachtel; Scott Shannon; Linda Marrow; Lynn Andreozzi and the art department; Janet Wygal and the production department; my editor, Kate Collins; and Junessa Viloria. A special thank you to Robert Steele who created the breathtaking art used for the covers of the Eternity Springs books. To Mary Dickerson, Christina Dodd, Lisa Kleypas, Nic Burnham, and Susan Sizemore, you’ve helped Eternity Springs come to life and I am forever in your debt.

“There’s a new girl in town.”

Sheriff Zach Turner first heard the news from Cam Murphy when he arrived at the man’s outdoor-sports shop, Refresh, on his day off. The fly rod he’d noticed on his previous visit was proving to be quite a temptation. A sports equipment junkie, Zach had been both delighted and dismayed when Murphy’s shop opened in March. Having such a great selection of gear within spitting distance of the sheriff’s office was playing hell with his wallet.

Zach lifted the rod from the rack, tested its feel, and replied, “A troublemaker?”

“A looker.”

Ah
. “And you are compelled to share this information why? Still threatened that Sarah will come to her senses and decide that she can’t live without my superior kisses, after all, Mr. Murphy?”

“I’m too sexually satisfied to respond to that dig, Sheriff.”

“Ouch.” Zach set the rod on the counter, then wandered over to the bicycles where a red Enduro Evo caught his eye. He’d been wanting to move up from his Stumpjumper, but he couldn’t justify the cost. Not now anyway. Maybe this summer …

“Actually, I’m giving you a heads-up,” Cam continued.
“The quilt group met at my house last night and your love life—specifically, your lack of a love life—was one of the main topics of conversation.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. The women have matchmaking on their minds.”

Zach groaned aloud. “Does it never occur to them that they don’t know everything they think they know about my love life?”

Cam folded his arms and arched an inquisitive brow. “You have a fish on the line we don’t know about, Turner?”

Zach’s thoughts went to the ski instructor he’d been seeing over at Wolf Creek. Inga Christiansen was a lovely, tall, talented woman who was as athletic in bed as she was out of it. He’d enjoyed the time they’d spent together, but they’d both gone into the relationship knowing it was seasonal. “Actually, I recently cut one loose.”

“Someone I know?”

Zach gave a slow smile. “Inga.”

“Inga?”

“She’s going home to Sweden and I just didn’t want to move with her.”

“Ah, a Scandinavian! I used to love it when we had snow bunny Scandinavians sign up for dive trips,” he said, referring to the dive boat tour business he’d owned when he lived in Australia. “Nice scenery.”

Zach mentally envisioned Inga the last time he’d seen her naked. “Very.”

“Although, I will repeat that the new Southern comfort we have to enjoy is pretty scenic.”