The Homecoming Read online

  Women like Shania didn't come along everyday, and I know it wouldn't be long before some other asshole tried putting the moves on her. Even now, Scott looked like he was giving that very idea some thought.

  "Not that I would ever do anything about my little crush, a woman like that would have no use for a guy like me. Besides, her brothers would probably beat me to a pulp, gun or no gun." He grinned from ear to ear.

  I studied the younger man closely to detect the level of seriousness in his statement, and though I could sense some infatuation, I was relieved to note that the kid hadn't fallen head over heels, or at least not all the way over. Shania could do that to a man.

  Not that it would've mattered, no one was going to stand in my way this time, not even Shania herself.

  "They probably would at that, then again from what I remember, if Shania's anything like the girl I knew, she can pretty much take care of any unwanted attention on her own."

  "Ain't that the truth, she sure was something when we were kids wasn't she?

  “ According to her brothers she was a handful.”

  "She sure was that, but she's always been just a cut above the rest. Good old Shania, it's no surprise that she's done so well for herself. Must've been hard on her folks though, her running off to those far away places in all that danger." He shook his head and gave a slight shudder.

  The woman had gotten herself into some scrapes over the years. If we'd been together, it probably would've given me grey hair. That's another thing; what were we going to do about her penchant for getting into dangerous situations?

  I'm a Chase, and there's no way I would let the mother of my children go off squatting in some hovel in Central America, waiting to catch unsavory characters in the act. Which, according to one of her books, is something she'd done before.

  "Scott you're becoming an old woman, what is this, the gossip hour?"

  "Just shooting the breeze Lieu, ain't nothing much to do around here at end of shift."

  "Is that right, I'll have to find something for you and your cronies to do to keep busy around here then."

  "Aw Lieu, why'd you wanna go and do that for? If the guys got wind of this they'd probably Shanghai me. Forget I said anything, I'm going, I'm going. I'm pretty sure I can find plenty to occupy myself with." He scampered out of the room leaving me laughing behind him.

  SHANIA

  I wish everyone wouldn't make such a fuss over me; they're acting as though I haven't been back since I left. It had only been in the last two years that I'd missed holiday time, because I'd been on assignments. But before that, I'd been back numerous times throughout the years.

  Though it would be good to see everyone again, the truth is that I'm getting over a bad experience and don't feel quite up to socializing at this point.

  I know it would hurt mom's feelings if I'd denied her the opportunity to have a welcome back party, so I resigned myself to my fate. How I was going to keep a smile on my face throughout the night was another issue.

  I feel like such a fraud, like I'm deceiving everyone. All my unsuspecting friends and neighbors, who had no clue as to why I'm really returning home. No one seemed to question why a highly successful woman, nowhere near her prime, would choose to return home to essentially cool her heels.

  They probably think I'm planning to sit around and enjoy my accumulated wealth. I have no intention however, of giving up the life I had made for myself. Though my career had paid well, it was the royalties from my two in depth novels, on some of the world's greatest horrors of the day that had garnered me the fame and fortune.

  Dorian that prick, came very close to taking it all away. He'd shown me how blind and stupid I really am, while I'd spent my whole life thinking, that I was a modern woman, with all the answers, who knew what I wanted and where I was going, I had been so wrong.

  He'd used me in the most despicable way, a way in which men and women had been using each other since forever. Thank heavens I'd never let things go too far between us.

  It would’ve been much harder if things had progressed any farther between us than they had. As it was I feel like a fool for accepting his proposal. I’d been flying so high, on top of my game. Then it had all come crashing down around me, in a most spectacular way.

  Mom was barely able to contain herself on my return. She’d been plotting my homecoming for so long, practically the day after I’d left for college in fact. But even she was heart broken at the reasons for me being back.

  My dad and my brothers thankfully were still free men. My little mishap might’ve cost them their freedom, especially Jus, had it not been for one man; a man that it hurt even to think of.

  It’s funny how, in the midst of all that turmoil, his had been the one face I’d seen. It was his teasing voice I’d heard, as I’d laid in a ball of pain on my living room floor. Too sick and tired to make it to my bed in those last few days of hell.

  Now here we are, and the whole town had come out to welcome me home. It was harder than I’d thought to keep the façade up.

  These people had known me my whole life. I’m pretty sure mom had shared all my triumphs with them, what would they think of my one huge failure? Or was I, like my eldest brother had said, making too much of it. People faced these things everyday after all.

  Chapter 5

  DONOVAN

  The party seemed to be in full swing by the time I reached the Spalding residence. Yes, I held out as long as I could, but in the end, there was no way I could miss seeing her tonight. It was almost like a fever in the blood this need.

  Would she have changed a whole lot from the girl I still pictured in my mind? Will she be happy to see me? Or will I just be another face in the crowd?

  I searched her out as soon as I entered the room full of people. My eyes were automatically drawn to her like a magnet. After all this time, it was still the same, that same kneejerk reaction to her beauty.

  I said a few absentminded hellos to people in passing, but my entire being was focused on her. Surreptitiously of course, couldn’t start the tongues wagging too soon.

  Had to get the lay of the land first. To everyone here, I was just a friend of the family, someone who had been close with her brothers since kindergarten. No one would question my presence here tonight.

  Everyone seemed to be having a good time, everyone that is except the guest of honor. Could no one else see how sad she was?

  "She's not having a good time is she?"

  "Oh hey Jus." He'd snuck up behind me.

  "I expect you to fix that shit as soon as possible."

  "Excuse me?"

  "Dude, don't you think I know you have the hots for my little sister?"

  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  What the fuck, could I really be that transparent?

  "I was there when your heart fell into her little hands bro."

  "What?" Had I fallen into some alternate universe?

  "Her sixteenth birthday party, when it fell, that shit was as loud as a thunder clap. We had a good laugh that night; you should've seen the look on your face. Looked like you'd been gut shot." He started laughing, while I went into a tailspin.

  "We, who's we?"

  He gave me the ‘don't be an ass’ look.

  Well shit, what was I in for now? I really didn't want to deal with this tonight.

  "Who else knows about this?"

  "Pretty much the whole family, including dad." He wiggled his brows at me and I'm man enough to admit, I felt a little trepidation at that. Chief Spalding was not to be trifled with, and especially not when it came to his little girl; the man was a bear.

  "I have to say, we appreciate you not putting the moves on her back then, I wouldn't have liked having to rearrange that pretty boy face of yours."

  That sounded about right. It was one of the reasons I’d never done anything about the feelings she invoked in me back then. The fact that it would’ve cost me my best friend, and that she was so fucking young. Too young for th
e things I wanted from her back then. But she was all woman now.

  "If you guys knew this, how come I'm still breathing?"

  "Because we trusted you not to do anything about it. Then."

  "So what're you saying?"

  I studied him, to see if he was trying to set me up, or some shit. I no longer had a young man’s fear of being taken down by the men in her family, but I wasn’t about to step in it either.

  When I finally get my hands on little Ms. Shania, there will be nothing standing in my way. But these things needed to be handled the right way.

  Knowing how her family felt about her, I knew I had to be sure that this was something we both wanted. Just because I was finally ready to make my move, that didn’t mean that she was on board. It might take me some time to get here there after what she’d just been through. One way or the other, I intended things to end with her under me though.

  "Are you that dense? Bro, you're both adults now, have been for a while, no need to hold back anymore. Besides we've talked about it, and we all decided, you're just what she needs. She needs someone who's going to really love and take care of her, especially after what that asshole did to her."

  Did he have any idea what he'd just done? He'd basically given me the green light, the go ahead. The one stumbling block in my way had been the men in her life. I’d wondered how I was going to get past their defenses, how I was going to convince them to let me have a shot without too much blood shed? Now here he was, telling me the path was clear.

  "Maybe she has other ideas, you guys think of that?" Like that was going to stop me.

  "Are you that blind bro?" I looked at him at a lost; what was he getting at now?

  "What do you mean?" He looked at me for a long while before answering.

  "I mean it wasn't just me she'd been following around all those years."

  "You mean..." I looked across the room at her before looking back at him.

  "Yeah, you've wasted a lot of time, I was beginning to think you were one stupid fuck, until I realized you really didn't have a clue. You better get your shit together though man, almost lost her this last time." He walked off like he hadn't just changed my whole life.

  I looked back to the corner where I'd last seen her, and found her looking at me. Then she smiled at me and pretty much sealed her fate.

  Chapter 6

  SHANIA

  I knew the second he walked through the door. Every hair on my body stood up straight, my heart raced in my chest, and I started blushing for no conceivable reason. Nothing had changed there.

  I saw him and my brother having an intense conversation, as I tried to pay attention to what Jennifer Moore was prattling on about. She hadn't changed much since high school either; only that wasn't such a good thing.

  I couldn't believe he still held such a pull for me. I'd thought with time and distance, it would've abated, but no such luck. This is why I was so angry with myself concerning the whole Dorian debacle. The fact that I’d been willing to settle when all along I've always known where my heart laid.

  Though he was way out of my league, he would never see me as anything other than his best friends' kid sister. Maybe if things had been different...no, there's no use in playing what if.

  I’d played that game too many times to count. It was going to be hard being in the Cove though, knowing he was here and still out of my reach.

  When I’d been away, it hadn’t been as hard. Life went on, and even though I’d had moments where I’d get lost in thought and his amazing face would fill my head, I always knew it was just a pipe dream. But how I wish…

  I turned to watch him, just as he'd finished talking to my brother, and our eyes met. I felt the telltale hitch in my chest and the tingling down my spine, same as always.

  The smile started in my heart and worked its way across my face. Before I knew what I was doing, I was walking towards him, Jennifer forgotten.

  When he hugged me the tears came. I don't know what came over me, just the touch of his hands made everything rise up in me.

  Where before I hadn't been able to cry, when it seemed like I was holding my breath, waiting for something, one look at him, one touch of his arms, and the floodgates opened up.

  "Ssh, don't cry Princess, come on."

  He led me out of the room full of people, who thankfully hadn't noticed my breakdown, and out onto the patio. I let the cool night air calm me down as I tried to repair my face the best I could. Great, the first time I’d seen him in years and I had to go and spoil it with stupid tears.

  "I'm so sorry, I have no idea what's come over me." I tried laughing through my tears, as I dried my cheeks.

  When he pulled me back in and kissed my forehead gently, it made me cry all the harder. Why couldn't he love me, why couldn't he feel anything more for me than just friendship? And why are you being such a ninny?

  Like your life isn’t in enough turmoil as it is. I’m sure he’d moved on with his life and was making some other woman very happy.

  I’d stopped asking mom about him a long time ago, when she’d last told me about his latest relationship. It had been too hard even then to hear about it. Still, I’d been set to marry someone else.

  I selfishly enjoyed the comfort he offered, fantasizing for just a few brief moments, that he was mine and I had every right to be in his arms.

  How often had I had that dream? A young girl’s wishful thinking! I wondered fleetingly if he’d ever guessed at my true feelings all those years ago. If that’s why he’d stayed away all those times when I’d been home? That thought had once made me sick to my stomach for days.

  Thinking that he’d somehow seen me as nothing more than a pest back then had torn my heart to threads. Still, he’d always been the one that I’d measured everyone else up against. And in all this time no one had ever come close. I tried to steal a few more precious moments in his arms even though the well had dried up.

  "Feeling better?"

  I nodded against his chest. Please don't let me go, not yet, just a little while longer. I wanted so badly to hug him tighter, but had no doubt he would pull away and I would just be making him uncomfortable.

  He'll never see me in that way, and I had resigned myself to a life without him, a long, long time ago. Why was life so unfair? I’d excelled in everything else, but this one thing. I’d travelled the world doing what I love, but still this one thing, the one I wanted above all else, eluded me.

  ***

  DONOVAN

  Oh my fucking word, this was...there are no words. She belonged right here in my arms. I don't know what had made her fall apart like that, but I'm sure glad I was the one that was here to pick up the pieces.

  As much as her tears tore at my heart, they'd brought her to me. For the first time in my life, I was free to touch her without the fear of scaring her away, or giving myself away.

  I pulled her in closer and hoped like hell that she couldn’t feel my body’s reaction to her. Not yet, I didn’t want to rush things, but neither was I willing to drag things out much longer.

  I’d thought to give her time to settle in, to get over what she had left behind, but her tears, that smile; there had been something in that smile. Something I think I’ve been waiting for all this time.

  Did she know that I would never let her go, that from this day forward we were one? That she'd sealed that bond with her tears, by seeking solace in my arms? It was as though she’d held it in until I came.

  She’s one of the strongest women I know, and yet she’d held it together long enough, with everyone else, but me. That said a lot, and though her brothers might think I’m slow, or blind, the blinders were off and there was no going back.

  I didn’t question my surety, didn’t ask myself why the haste? As far as I was concerned, we’d waited long enough. I can’t believe I’d waited this long to hold her like this. And the feel of her in my arms told me everything I needed to know.

  I would have to court her of course, do all those things
people in love did. All my adult life I'd shied away from any form of commitment; now with her I wanted it all, I couldn't wait. Couldn’t wait to explore all those feelings that I’d held in check all these years.

  I felt as giddy as a teenage girl on prom night. Could it be possible that I was finally going to get to hold the one girl I’d always wanted in my arms forever? Had I known when I woke up this morning that everything I’d ever wanted, would be mine for the taking?

  There was so much we needed to talk about. If what her brother had intimated was true, then we’d both wasted way too much time, and I wasn’t about to waste any more. Whatever I needed to do, I will, to make sure that she belonged to me.

  Back inside, where the party was going strong, six pairs of eyes found each other with understanding and sighs of relief. Their little girl was finally home and if all went well, she’d be here to stay.

  Here, where they can keep an eye on her, and make sure she stayed safe. And the man they’d chosen for her, each for their own reasons, was finally getting it together. Thank heaven; it’d only taken the sap ten years.

  They went back to their guests, a little more secure in the knowledge that she was in good hands.

  Chapter 7

  DONOVAN

  I walked into the station house the next day, with a huge smile on my face, and a pep in my step. We'd spent the night together, under the stars, talking. We didn't touch on anything major, nothing too heavy, but I laid the groundwork.

  We’d laughed and joked, but neither of us had touched on the newly revealed feelings, that were somewhat out in the open. I’m sure she didn’t need words to tell her why I was holding on so tightly to her hand. Or why I kept running my fingers through her hair.

  I hadn’t wanted the night to end, but she was tired from her trip, and it sufficed my heart that she wasn’t in any more of a hurry for the night to end, than I was. By the time we called it a night, her tears were forgotten, and she’d lost that sullen look she’d been wearing when I first saw her.