The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) (25 page)

Luke turned to her. “How do you feel?”

“Terrific!” she said, giving him a thumbs up. “Thank you!”

He exited the vehicle, and she took one last look at the interior of the Lamborghini. Goodness, she’d thought Pearl was fast.

Vander sauntered forward as she got out and took her helmet off. “How was it?”

“Incredible!” She ran forward on unsteady legs and threw her arms around him. “Thank you so much for this!”

He wrapped his arms around her. “You’re welcome. Glad you had fun.”

“There’s only one problem,” she said, edging back.

His brow furrowed. “What? You’re okay, aren’t you? You didn’t get sick?”

“Sick? Of course not. Who do you think I am?” She swept her hand toward the car. “How am I supposed to drive my BMW after I’ve driven in this?”

He chucked her under her chin. “When you get all nostalgic, remember how many speeding tickets you’re avoiding.”

“Haha,” she said. “You have fun yourself.”

“I intend to,” Vander said.

Pretty soon she was watching the orange McLaren race around the course. She cheered as they whizzed by even though she knew Vander couldn’t hear her. But it gave her a funny feeling, realizing how much she wanted to support him—even though he wouldn’t know it.

She was falling for him. Hard.

Is this the man God designed for me?
That thought seemed to come out of nowhere, and it made her legs even more unsteady than going two hundred miles an hour in that Lamborghini. Holy heavens! What in the world was she thinking? This was only their first official date. Then the orange car pulled to a stop in front of her, and she watched as Vander emerged. The grin he had on his face seemed to light every cell in her body, almost like he’d become the nucleus of her being.

Yes, it was early, much too early to know if he was the one, and yet she’d never felt this way before, and she couldn’t imagine feeling this way about someone else.

When he reached her, he pulled her to him and kissed her without compunction, making her knees turn to jello. She fell against him, and his strong arms held her in place as his mouth ate at her lips with hunger. Somehow she managed to raise her tingling arms and wrap them around his neck.

He groaned in his throat and pulled her even closer. Their suits scratched against each other, and part of her wanted to rip it off so she could feel the angles of his body better. But he continued to kiss her, and she continued to kiss him.

“Y’all need to get a room,” she heard Luke say wryly with a chuckle.

Vander must have heard him because he edged back, keeping his arms around her. That was a good thing since she wasn’t feeling very steady on her feet.

“Shelby,” he said softly, looking straight into her eyes.

“Vander,” she whispered back, seeing his hunger for her, but also a simple sense of joy—a joy she realized was simply because of her.

“I’m…” He cut off whatever he’d intended to say, and she knew it.

“What?” she asked, tracing his dark eyebrows.

“I’m in deep waters here, Shelby,” he said, his voice grave.

“Me too.” Then she smiled. “But I’m not scared.”

Chapter 22

When Shelby stepped onto the back porch at Rye’s house for Sunday family dinner, her easy smile and radiant skin told Sadie the whole story. Her sister was completely infatuated with Vander. Of course, Shelby had called her to tell her about the dates they’d been on—they’d gone to the racetrack on Friday, then an art show the next night. It seemed like Vander was going out of his way to woo her by indulging in their common interests.

“You look so happy!” Sadie declared, hugging her sister. “I wish I felt like that. My stomach has been upset all day, what with seeing Mama.” Of course, she’d done her best to chat with other people at church after services. She was still avoiding Mama, and she hated that.

“I know what you mean,” Shelby said, glancing at the rest of their clan tucked away on the deck. “But it’s over now, and we need to do our best to not dwell on it.”

“I don’t have the same handsome distraction as you do,” Sadie said, earning a playful jab from her sister.

“I know.” Shelby got a far-off look in her eyes. “He’s amazing. I’ve never met anyone like him. He makes me feel…so alive. Oh, Sadie, I can’t wait until you meet your special someone.”

Sadie couldn’t either, but she was determined to have her eyes wide open the next time she got involved with a man. In truth, she’d rather be alone than with someone who didn’t make her shine the way her sister was doing right now.

“You’re looking pretty happy, Shelby,” Amelia Ann said, joining their group. “Are you seeing someone? Because I know that look. I see it every day in the mirror. I don’t care if that sounds smug. Hah.”

“There is someone,” Shelby said cagily, “but it’s early yet.”

“Sometimes all it takes is one look at a man for you to know he’s the one,” Amelia Ann said, fanning her neck with her hair in response to the heat. “That’s how I felt with Clayton.”

Shelby nodded. “Fine, I do feel like he’s different. I’m trying to not to get ahead of myself. He says this is unusual for him too, but… I’m trying to stay in the moment.”

Sadie knew better. Her sister had never spoken about another man this way, and since Sadie already thought Vander was wonderful, she hoped it worked out between them.

“What’s his name and what does he do?” Amelia Ann asked.

“I’m missing out on something, aren’t I?” Tammy said, walking out the back door and coming over to join them. “Shelby, you look amazingly great.”
 

Sadie heard what she wasn’t saying:
For the kind of week you had.

“There’s a man,” Amelia Ann confessed with a grin.

“Really?”
Tammy drawled. “Who?”

“We were just getting to that,” Amelia Ann told her sister.

Shelby gave Sadie a look and then fiddled with her manicure. “Maybe it’s too early to talk details.”

Rye bounced over and wrapped his arms around his sisters. “What are y’all talking about?”

“Shelby’s new beau,” Amelia Ann told him. “Come on, girl. We’re family. You can tell us his name and profession at least.”

“Good idea,” Rye said. “Then I can have my security manager run a check on him to make sure he’s good enough for you.”

Shelby’s natural glow was fading fast, and Sadie linked arms to support her. “Doesn’t Tory need help in the kitchen?”

Rye shook his head. “No, I finally talked her into lying down a bit before dinner. Why that woman insists on cooking and hosting family dinner when she’s so close to popping, I’ll never know. But you’re evading. Shelby, honey, who are you seeing? Don’t make me call J.P. over here. He’ll want to do his big brother act, although mine is much more effective. I have a shotgun.”

Sadie felt Shelby tense up beside her.

“All right,” her sister finally said, making an attempt to smile. “His name is Vander Montgomery, and he’s a private investigator.”

“Vander Montgomery?” Rye asked, shaking his head. “He and his firm did some work for me early on before I needed a full-time security team. He’s a good guy, but how in the world did you meet him? He runs in pretty different circles.”

Sadie all but heard her sister gulp. “Ah…Gail.”

Rye nodded. “Of course. How is that loony ol’ girl? Now, there’s a woman who knows how to mix it up.”

“She’s fine,” Shelby said, and Sadie could feel them all walking on shallow ice.
 

Tammy was looking at everyone with concern, and Sadie knew why. It hurt to keep such a whopping secret from their loved ones, but they could hardly justify concealing the truth from Mama if they told the rest of their extended family.
 

“I’m feeling all this heat suddenly,” Shelby said, fanning herself. “Sadie, why don’t you come inside and help me pour out some sweet tea?”

“Good idea,” Rye said, “I’ve got a powerful thirst. Shelby, you tell Vander I said hey when you see him next. I’ll hold back the gun threats until Vander does something naughty.” Then he gave a knowing wink.

She gave him the fish eye. “I’ll pass along your regards, you silly man.”

Sadie drew her sister to the back door as Rory and Annabelle raced out, almost bowling them over.

“Excuse us!” Annabelle called, waving a sparkly yellow fairy wand. “Rory and I have flowers to pick before dinner. Aunt Tory told us we could choose anything we wanted.”

“Mind the thorns on the roses, Annabelle,” Tammy hollered as her children raced off. “That girl. I tell you. She’ll walk right into brambles if there’s a pretty flower. I’ve even gotten her child gardening gloves, but she doesn’t wear them.”

“Too busy running so fast,” Rye said, smiling at his niece and nephew. “They’re a pair. I can’t wait for them to play with our baby. It’s going to be great for him or her to have cousins around.”

Tammy put her arm around her brother. “Indeed it is.”

Shelby tugged on Sadie’s arm to draw her inside. When she closed the door behind them, she all but slumped against it. “I shouldn’t have glowed.”

“Oh, good heavens,” Sadie told her as they wandered through Rye’s house to the kitchen. “You can’t keep yourself from glowing. Nor should you.”

“I hate this!” Shelby said, reaching for the plastic cups on the counter. “I don’t like holding back from everyone.”

“What are you holding back?” Amelia Ann asked from the doorway, still yards away but closing on them fast. “If you think I can’t smell when something is up, you’re crazy.”

Shelby sighed and looked over at Sadie. “I don’t know what to do,” she said.

“Well, I do,” Amelia Ann informed them. “You’ll tell me because Tammy already knows about whatever’s going on with your beau. I could see it on her face. She’s my sister, after all.”

“
Amelia Ann
…”

“You’re going to hurt my feelings, Shelby,” she said. “I thought we were friends if not sisters.”

Her expression was so crestfallen Sadie crossed the room to her and rubbed her arms. “Of course you are. It’s just…we haven’t even told Mama. It’s…delicate.”

Amelia Ann’s eyes grew wide. “You know you can trust me. I’d like to tell Clayton since I don’t like secrets between married folk, but if you don’t rather I didn’t, I won’t.”

Shelby glanced around the kitchen, then walked to all the doorways to make sure no one was hovering. “All right, we’ll tell you.”

And so she did, dredging up all the heartbreak and guilt Sadie suspected would never leave her. Even after hearing her sister recount their search for their daddy, Sadie couldn’t help but wonder for the thousandth time why the man who’d sired them had run from everything he knew at the prospect of seeing them. It was the worst hurt she’d ever felt.

“Oh, honey,” Amelia Ann said, wrapping her arms around Shelby when she finished the tale. “And Sadie. Come here, girl.”

They shared a long hug, and Sadie felt tears start to drip down her cheeks again. They’d hardly stopped these last few days.

“I wish there was something I could say to help,” Amelia Ann said, patting them both on the backs, “but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from working at the law clinic, it’s that there are no words to soothe the pain of abandonment. You were brave to look for him after all this time. More open-hearted than I could be. At least you’ll never regret it.”

“That’s the only blessing in all this,” Sadie found herself saying.

“And Vander,” Amelia Ann said, releasing her hold on them. “Meeting him sounds like a blessing.”

Shelby nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”

“God does work in mysterious ways,” Sadie found herself saying. “Maybe that’s what we need to focus on.”

“Maybe so,” Shelby agreed. “We aren’t going to tell Mama, which is why we haven’t told anyone outside of our siblings—and Tammy and Jake.”

“Of course,” Amelia Ann said. “I understand. That’s likely best.”

“Do you think so?” Sadie asked. “We never settled things completely. I know Susannah would like to forget about the whole thing.”

Their eldest sister hadn’t even risen from her deck chair to come over and talk with them, sticking close to her new husband. Susannah was keeping to herself after everything, and Sadie was trying to respect that.

“What are y’all doing?” Rye asked, coming in from the mud room. “I know trouble when I see it.”

Amelia Ann put her hands on her hips. “Women stuff.”

“
Oh
,” Rye said. “Well, excuse me. I was coming in for that sweet tea y’all promised me.”

“You’re excused,” Amelia Ann said, walking over to the kitchen counter and pouring her brother a glass from the pitcher. “Now, off with you.”

“You sure have gotten bossy,” Rye told her with a wink. “Keep it up. It sure beats the shy wallflower you used to be. I’ll leave you to your women stuff. I’m going to check on my beautiful wife and baby.”

He left the room, and Sadie took a breath. “That was close. We need to be wiser about where we speak about this.”

Shelby nodded. “Hopefully this is the last of the discussion.”