Home to Hope Mountain (Harlequin Superromance) (21 page)

His heart ached for his daughter, but she refused to accept his condolences. Now Adam tried to put an arm around her but she shrugged him off. Then a microphone screeched, drawing their attention to the dais.

Archie MacDonald was the mayor, a tall, red-faced man of about sixty with a comb-over that lifted in the light breeze. He adjusted the microphone and welcomed the townspeople before introducing his wife, Flora, and a grizzled man in a blue suit named Dave Green who was chairman of the memorial committee. Off to the side, the high school band waited to play with the occasional rattle of drums or quiet toot of a horn.

Adam’s gaze drifted back to Hayley. Her arms were entwined with Molly’s and Rolf’s. Everywhere, people were holding hands or had their arms around each other. Hardly any words had been spoken yet, but the chill mountain air was already thick with emotion.

He felt bad about his fight with Hayley last weekend. All week they’d barely spoken, only seeing each other in passing. She always seemed to have something else to do, either at the café or with Summer and the horses. He had work on the Shanghai development that Lorraine had left him. He still hadn’t made his decision and it weighed on him, especially when his relationship with Hayley was so tenuous. He hadn’t even had a chance to ask her what she’d done with the watch.

“We’re not here to mourn,” Archie MacDonald began, the remnants of a Scottish accent in his rolling
r’
s. “We’ve mourned every day of our lives since the fires. We’ll mourn for years to come. Today we celebrate. Celebrate the lives of our loved ones and our neighbors, people who lived in this community and will be forever remembered. And now, to read out the names of those who perished, here is Dave Green.”

Dave stepped to the microphone with a long sheet of paper and began reciting the names of Hope Mountain residents who had died in the fires. As he read, a boy from the school band put a violin to his shoulder and played “Danny Boy” softly in the background.

The names went on and on. Dave Green’s voice wavered more than a few times. When he came to the names of his wife and grandchildren, he had to take a moment to regain his composure. Around Adam, people were crying and holding on to one another.

Hayley’s hands were clasped behind her back, and he could see her fingers twisting and untwisting. But her shoulders were straight, and when she turned to comfort Molly as Leif’s name was read, her cheeks were dry, though her face was taut with strain. Adam could only imagine what agonies of the heart she was going through. He didn’t think for one second that Leif cheating on her made his death easier to bear. If anything, the war between hurt, anger and sorrow made healing even more difficult.

Dave stepped back and Archie called on the minister to lead them in the Lord’s Prayer. All heads bowed. The murmur of a multitude of voices reverberated as Adam joined the prayer. He hadn’t lost anyone close to him, but the group’s sorrow swept through him, making his eyes prick. Summer’s head was bowed and this time when he wrapped his arms around her, she didn’t pull away.

When the crowd seemed ready to dissolve in tears, Archie came back to the mike and told a joke that his good friend, Harry, who’d died trying to flee the burning mountain in his car, used to tell down at the pub. It was so unexpected that Adam laughed. Many others did, too.

Archie then called on Dave, who told a cute story about his deceased five-year-old granddaughter. The pride and love in his voice when he spoke of little Maggie trumped grief and made everyone smile. Next, a woman talked about the garden her husband had put in last year and how she thought of him as she made soup from the leeks he’d planted. One by one, people mounted the dais and told story after story of their departed loved ones, building a picture of small-town life, of love and laughter and happiness, of quiet lives filled with family and friends. Adam was first moved and then surprised to feel the mood shift from anguish to near euphoria.

Hayley made her way to the stage. Adam tensed. What would she say? Would her anger come out in her voice? Her hurt? Summer glanced at him, a worried frown creasing her forehead. He squeezed her shoulder. “Hayley’s strong,” he whispered. “She’ll be okay.”

Hayley cleared her throat and wrapped her cardigan closer, looking so slight she might blow away in the gentle breeze. “Leif loved taking people on trail rides, especially into the high country. He was a natural-born storyteller and he had a million stories to recite around the campfire. Some of them were even true.” She paused as a ripple of laughter rolled through the crowd.

“Anyone who went on one of his rides came back raving about the experience. About eight years ago, Dave Green’s nephew, Chris, came out from the city. Chris had never been on a horse before. He was nervous and scared but Leif stuck by his side, teaching and reassuring him. By the end of the trip Chris was hooked on horseback riding. He was a regular all that summer. The next year his parents bought him a horse of his own.” She paused and let her gaze sweep the crowd. “Chris is now on the Australian Olympic Equestrian Team. It might never have happened without Leif. That’s how inspiring my late husband could be.”

Adam thought that was the end. Then she found him in the audience and held his gaze. “This memorial service is about celebration. As a community and as individuals we need to be thinking about the future. I know I am, and I know Leif would have wanted that. For years I was part of Leif’s dream to build a dude ranch. Lately, I’ve realized that I need to follow my own dream. I’ve decided to go into horse therapy full-time. New funding for Horses for Hope looks likely, thanks in part to Adam Banks.”

She gestured to Adam and the crowd turned to him and clapped. “Adam thinks of himself as an outsider, not part of Hope Mountain. But through his generosity he’s earned a place in all of our hearts.”

“Wow, Dad, did you really help her get Horses for Hope going again?” Summer asked.

Smiling and shaking his head, Adam held up his hands in self-deprecation to the applause. To Summer, he said, “It hasn’t happened yet. All I did was get Graham to write her a grant proposal.”

Hayley was the one with the dream and the determination to achieve it. She was the one making a permanent difference in her community. Unlike himself, contemplating building luxury apartments for complete strangers.

Hayley stepped off the dais and returned to Molly and Rolf. The trio hugged, rocking back and forth. Adam was moved and he admired her even more. Leif had treated her badly, but she’d found the strength to be forgiving enough to talk about her late husband’s good qualities.

The high school band started to play “What a Wonderful World” and a girl with wildly curly dark hair sang the words. After the first verse she encouraged the crowd to sing along to the chorus. Everyone linked arms and lifted their voices.

At his side Summer’s sweet soprano rang out high and clear. Adam glanced down at her. She met his gaze and grinned. Uplifted by the crowd, the song, his daughter’s smile, Adam joined in. It was indeed a wonderful world.

* * *

“E
XCUSE
ME
, M
OLLY
, R
OLF
—I’ll see you tonight. Right now I need to talk to someone.” Hayley spied Dave and ran to nab him before he disappeared in the dispersing crowd.

“Dave!” She gave him a hug. “You did really well up there. If you still want horse therapy you’ll be first on my list when I start up again.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Dave said. “Today was good for this town, good for all of us. Chris wanted to be here, but he’s riding in an equestrian event in America.”

“Actually, Dave, I have something I’d like you to give Chris. Leif would’ve wanted him to have something to remember him by.” She pulled the gold watch from the pocket of her sheepskin jacket. “This was Leif’s. Please give it to him the next time you see him.”

Dave turned the watch over in his hands, unaware that the highly polished back had once bore an inscription. The jeweler had done a good job of erasing all traces. “This is an expensive watch. Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She hadn’t been able to think of anything else to do with it. It would mean something to Chris to have a personal item of his mentor’s, and she would be happier knowing it was far away from Hope Mountain. And her.

“Thanks so much. I’ll be seeing him in a couple of weeks at my sister’s birthday party. I’ll give it to him then. I know he’ll cherish it.” Dave hugged her again. “Take care.”

After Dave moved off, Hayley found herself alone at the cenotaph where a single wreath had been laid to mark the victims of the bushfire. She touched a yellow freesia woven into the wreath, releasing its sweet scent. “Goodbye, Leif,” she whispered. “You were a good man even if you weren’t a good husband. I...”

She wanted to forgive him. She desperately wanted to let go of all the negative emotion swirling inside her. But she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She didn’t feel forgiving. She felt anger and grief and shame.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Adam came up to stand beside her.

Her heart did a little flip at the sound of his voice close to her ear. “I’d been dreading today, but it was okay.”

“I’m sorry about last week—”

“Sorry, I was so—”

They both spoke at the same time and then broke off with sheepish grins. Adam slid his arms around her and drew her close. “I was too harsh. I was reeling from my meeting with Lorraine.”

Hayley waited for him to say more but he just continued holding her as if he’d almost lost her. She leaned into his solid strength. “I was too rash. I shouldn’t have said anything to Summer without running it by you first.”

“We’ll sort it out,” he said into her hair. “I don’t know how, but we will.”

She soaked up his warmth and generosity, wishing with all her heart she could allow herself to fall in love with him. But she was afraid and weak, not the strong, resilient woman he seemed to think she was.

“I was surprised at how uplifting the service was,” Adam said. “Those stories made me cry and laugh at the same time. I can see why this community is special to you.”

“You’re part of it, whether you see yourself that way or not. I know about you dropping cash in the donation jars around town. And helping out here and there.”

“That’s nothing,” he said, waving it away. “But you pricked my conscience by thanking me publicly. So I had a word with the mayor just now and made a more substantial donation to the reconstruction efforts.”

“Adam, that’s fantastic. Thank you. They’ll probably name a building after you.”

He brushed a strand of hair off her face. “Sounds like they should name it after Leif. I found it hard to hold on to my dislike of the guy when you told the story of him mentoring that boy.”

Hayley shrugged. “No one’s all good or all bad. Everyone loved Leif.”

“You’re very generous but it’s to your credit.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “Want to get some lunch?”

“Can’t. I have things to do this afternoon.” She met his gaze. “But I’m looking forward to the dance tonight.”

He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “I’m looking forward to after.”

Her pulse quickened at the rough timbre of his voice and his warm breath tickling her ear. “After?”

“I’ve been thinking about you, about us, all week. It’s time we stopped letting our doubts hold us back. Time we stopped circling around each other and found out whether we’ve got something worth fighting for.”

She smiled slowly. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Dad!” Summer hurried toward them along the path through the park. Zoe followed, hanging back.

Hayley eased out of Adam’s arms as the girl came closer. In spite of Summer’s endorsement of her as a candidate for her father’s affections, Hayley didn’t feel comfortable with her seeing them being affectionate. Until Hayley knew where this was going, she wanted to be discreet.

“Can Zoe stay at our house tonight after the dance?” Summer asked.

“Tonight?” He threw a glance at Hayley. “I don’t know....”

“We want to be near Jewel. We’ll sleep in the barn.” Summer put her hands together below her chin. “Please.”

“Oh, the barn. I guess that would be okay.” He put on a stern expression. “You can’t be running in and out of the house all night, though.”

Hayley bit back a smile and kept her gaze cast down.

“We won’t,” Summer promised fervently.

“And don’t stay up all night talking.”

“Da-ad. We’re not nine years old.”

Adam turned to Hayley. “Does that mean, of course, they’re going to stay up all night talking?”

“I think so,” she said, laughing. “You’re just not allowed to tell them not to anymore.”

“Well, okay then—Zoe can spend the night. Do you ladies want to grab some lunch?”

Summer glanced uncertainly at Hayley. “I, uh...”

“Summer and I have plans,” Hayley said smoothly. She glanced at her watch. “In fact, we should get going.”

“I’ll just tell Zoe it’s okay.” Summer ran to her friend.

“What are you two up to?” Adam asked.

“Oh, this and that. Girl stuff.” Hayley couldn’t look him in the eye. Not because she thought she was doing anything wrong, but she was afraid
he
would think she was.

“Okay.” Adam looked puzzled but thankfully didn’t ask any more questions. “I’ll see you back at the house.”

“Did I mention we’re picking up Jacinta tonight? She doesn’t have a date, and I don’t want her to have to go alone.”

“That’s fine. Is she coming for a sleepover, too?”

Hayley grinned. “Over my dead body.”

“Good. Not that I have anything against Jacinta, but tonight I want you all to myself.” His smile faded. “Is that possible, to have no ghosts in the room?”

She took the open sides of his jacket in both hands and pulled him down for a brief but emphatic kiss. “No ghosts. Just you and me.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

W
HY
WAS
THE
doctor taking so long with Summer?

Hayley leafed through a women’s magazine in the waiting room, barely seeing the airbrushed celebrity photos. Earlier in the week she’d brought Summer to the clinic for blood tests. Today they would hear the results.

Hayley kept telling herself Summer was going to be fine. The girl’s overactive imagination and guilty feelings had combined to make her think she could have an STD when she more than likely did not.

But what if Summer did have something that needed treating? She was a minor. It wouldn’t be right to keep taking her to the clinic behind Adam’s back. If he found out she’d kept this from him he would be furious, and rightly so.

Hayley flipped pages. She wouldn’t worry about that now.

A door down the corridor opened and Summer came out. “Thanks, Dr. Margolis,” she said to the young female doctor.

Hayley rose, scanning Summer’s face for clues as to the results of the blood tests, but the girl was remarkably good at hiding her feelings when she wanted to.

“We can go now.” Summer headed straight for the exit.

Hayley quickly paid the bill and caught up with her in the gravel parking lot. “Well?”

“I’m clear.” Summer burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. The tears were short-lived as she wiped them away and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “That was so embarrassing. I never want to answer questions like that again.”

Hayley hugged her. She could guess how excruciating it must have been for Summer to answer the doctor’s intimate questions. “Never mind, now. It’s over. You did good.”

“Thanks for coming with me,” Summer said, pressing her face to Hayley’s chest. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“If you ever need me again, I’ll be there for you.” She gave her another hug, then said, “Come on, let’s go.”

When they were in the car she put the keys in the ignition but didn’t start the engine. “You really should speak to your mother about this stuff, though. Next time you see her, talk it over.”

“I couldn’t. We always fight.” Summer slumped in her seat and stared out the side window. “She doesn’t care about me.”

Hayley’s heart twisted. “I know that’s not true. She stayed in Hope Mountain for you, even though there was nothing left for her here.”

Summer snorted. “She had nowhere else to live. Dad was at the apartment in the city. She wouldn’t have gone there.”

“Your mother’s a strong-minded individual, kind of like you. She would have found another place to live if she’d wanted to.”

“I can’t talk to her!” Summer burst out. “I can’t forgive her for what she did to my dad. And to you. She and Dad were still married when she started seeing Leif. If she hadn’t taken up with your husband, she and Dad might’ve gotten back together.”

Hayley closed her eyes on a stab of pain. She was almost tempted to ask for details of how and where Leif and Diane’s affair had started and was conducted. But besides the fact that it was inappropriate to ask Summer, what was the point in torturing herself? No ghosts. She would do herself more harm than good by dwelling on the past.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “I don’t think that’s true from things your dad has said. I’m sorry. Every child wants his or her parents to be happy together. Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way.” She paused, then added quietly, “My parents divorced when I was ten. It was really hard.”

And maybe that was why she’d attached so strongly to Molly and Rolf, her ideal of a married couple. Her parents’ split had come after years of tension and fighting. Seeing Molly and Rolf so loving and strong together had given her hope and, yes, expectations, that she and Leif would have that kind of marriage. Hope that had lasted through multiple affairs. That’s how badly she’d wanted the dream.

To change the subject, she asked as casually as she could, “So what now for you and Steve?”

“He wants me to go to the dance with him tonight.” Summer’s face scrunched in confusion. “I like him, but I’m afraid he’ll think I want to go back to the way we were.”

“And you don’t want to.”

“No. He let Bailey go because he was a coward. I get that he was scared and everything...but Bailey died because of what he did.”

“He couldn’t have known that would happen. And you wouldn’t have wanted him to be killed in the fires, would you?” She’d already said this but it bore repeating.

Summer shook her head. “It’s my fault—”

“It’s not. You made mistakes, you’re human. You have to forgive yourself. The fires were a tragedy that was bigger than all of us. Lots of mistakes were made that day and some ended in death. We can’t let that poison our lives. Yes, Steve should have gotten his parents to pick him up, but that mistake doesn’t make him a bad person, right?”

Again Summer mutely shook her head.

“And you’re not bad because you sent him and Bailey out into the woods that morning. When you’re young, sometimes your judgment isn’t the best. As for what you and Steve did that night, it’s not my place to lecture—”

“The doctor did, don’t worry,” Summer said drily.

“I’ll just say this—when young people are intimate before they’re old enough to be responsible for their actions, it can lead to the kind of mistakes you and Steve made that night. And if you’d been older and not so concerned with what your parents would think, you wouldn’t have left it so long to see a doctor and find out if you had anything to worry about.”

Summer was silent, her head down.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. But how will I know when I’m old enough?”

“It’s hard to give a specific age because everyone’s level of maturity is different. The important thing is, when you do make love it should be because you want to, not because the guy pressures you, or all the other girls are doing it, or you think he expects it, or to please him. Or to keep him.”

“I don’t know if I can even be friends with Steve,” Summer said. “Every time I see him, I think of Bailey and I’m angry all over again. I don’t know what to do with those feelings. Working with the horse therapy has helped me control them, but they haven’t gone away completely.”

Oh, boy, could Hayley empathize. She felt like a fraud giving advice, but she had learned a few things recently. If her mistakes could help Summer, she had to try.

“It will take time, but you’re doing really well. Maybe it would help if you think about what Steve’s lost. You, for a start. Plus he’s got scars on his body. He probably feels guilty, too. His life will never be the same as it would have been had he not ridden into the woods that night.”

Leif had lost his life. There wasn’t a much bigger price he could have paid for his mistakes.

“What if he wants to, you know...” Summer turned pink.

“Tell him exactly how you feel. Be honest. You have a right to define your own life. It’s not having sex that empowers a girl—it’s being able to choose to have it, or not. If you just want to be friends and he loses interest, then he wasn’t the guy you thought he was.”

“I guess.” Summer sniffed and blotted her nose with a tissue. “Can we get ice cream now?”

Hayley didn’t take offense at having her little speech dismissed. She’d given Summer a lot to process. “Sure. After that we can pick up snacks for you and Zoe tonight.”

“Oh, Dad will do that.”

Hayley shook her head at the casual way Summer took her thoughtful father for granted. She started the car and pulled out of the clinic parking lot onto the highway. On the other hand, it was nice she knew she could count on her dad.

“You’re lucky,” she said. “Your father’s pretty great.”

Summer had the grace to look sheepish. “I know.”

Hayley smiled to herself. It must be tough being a parent. She only hoped that someday she would get to find out for herself. Maybe, just maybe, if things worked out with Adam...

* * *

A
DAM
CARRIED
THE
groceries and supplies he’d picked up for tonight into the house. Champagne and soda went in the fridge along with the first sweet strawberries of the season and handmade chocolates. Chips and other junk food for Summer and Zoe he stashed in the pantry.

Fresh flowers on the dining table and more on the dresser in his bedroom. He changed the sheets even though they didn’t need it and put fresh towels in the bathroom en suite. He paced through the house, making sure everything was perfect. The moon would be full tonight, so maybe they would have their champagne on the deck, looking over the moonlit valley.

It hardly seemed possible that only a few weeks ago he hadn’t even known Hayley. So much had changed in that short period of time—he’d changed. After he and Diane had split up he hadn’t thought he would fall in love again for a long time.

Love? Was that what this was? It would explain the buzz of anticipation as he prepared for the evening, how Hayley entered his thoughts a million times a day, the way his heart did that funny somersault whenever she came into the room. He was thirty-six but he was as excited as any eighteen-year-old.

It felt a little odd to be setting out Diane’s candles to romance another woman, but, hey, life moved on. She certainly had. When she’d moved out of the apartment they’d both known there was no turning back. He felt badly for Summer’s sake, but now he and Diane were free to find someone they were more suited to. He wasn’t sure they would ever be real friends. She’d had an affair with a married man, not caring if she caused the man’s wife heartbreak. Not acceptable by Adam’s standards. But they would be friendly, for Summer’s sake.

Now that he was free, would his choice be Hayley? She was very different from his previous women friends, but she had a knack of fitting in with anyone simply by being unapologetically herself. She would be a breath of fresh air among the city-centric architects and engineers he hung out with. And she and Summer had bonded. He was grateful his daughter had a female role model who was so grounded. Diane had her good qualities, but she lived in a bubble of money and privilege that allowed her to be self-indulgent and self-centered.

Tonight he would tell Hayley about Lorraine’s offer to head up the office in Shanghai. Maybe by talking it out with her he could come to a decision. He was really torn.

This was his reward, the prize for working long hours over the past decade. But seeing the community of Hope Mountain respond to tragedy with optimism and hope had been inspiring. The life Hayley had here was real. It was the kind of life he’d experienced as a kid on his grandfather’s farm. It was the kind of life he wanted for his daughter. Was he willing to give up everything he’d worked for careerwise to stay in Australia, to stay in Hope Mountain? To marry Hayley if she would have him? Or had he spent too long in the city to be satisfied with a simpler existence?

Adam went back downstairs. Everything was ready. He still had a couple of hours before the dance, so he went back to his drafting board and got to work. He’d put in every fireproofing feature known to man on Hayley’s house, including sprinkler systems and nonflammable building materials—and he’d done the same for the stables and outbuildings.

As a final touch he drew in a fire bunker where she could shelter in case of another bushfire. Whatever happened between them, he wanted her to never again have to share a dam with snakes while she watched her property burn. Hayley’s safety had become paramount to his own sense of well-being.

A couple of hours later Summer burst into the house with a clatter, bringing the aroma of pizza with her. She set the boxes on top of the counter. “Hey, Dad. We’re home.”

Adam put down his pencil. When was the last time she’d greeted him on entering the house instead of slinking upstairs without a word? “How was your afternoon? Where’s Hayley?”

“She’s coming.” Summer opened the pizza box and got out plates. “We’d better eat it while it’s hot.”

“I don’t know how she has an appetite after putting away a double fudge sundae,” Hayley said, coming through the back door carrying a small gift bag.

“What’s that?” Adam was dying to ask what they’d been up to all afternoon. Not shopping, if one tiny bag was all they’d come home with. And even the biggest sundae didn’t take Summer more than fifteen minutes to demolish.

“It’s for Summer.” Hayley passed the bag to the girl.

“When did you get this? What is it?” Summer was clearly surprised at receiving a present.

“I got it while we were at the café, when you went to the ladies’ room. You’ve worked so hard and done so well. Open it.”

Summer put down the slice of pizza and wiped her hands. “You didn’t have to get me a present.”

“I wanted to. And Molly agreed.”

Summer took out a small box and lifted the lid. Nestled on a black velvet square was a pair of garnet earrings. She looked up at Hayley and her eyes filled. “These are the ones I tried to steal. Is this a horrible joke?”

“No, sweetheart.” Hayley pulled her into a hug. “I thought you took them because you liked them.”

“I love them. But I don’t deserve them.”

“I think you do. They’re a gift from me.” Hayley hugged her harder. “Now stop crying. You don’t want your eyes to be red tonight.”

Summer wiped her eyes. “Dad, can I keep them?”

“Of course you can. What do you say?”

“Thank you, Hayley.” She hugged her again. “And thanks to Molly, too. I’m so sorry I took them. I’ll never do anything like that again. I’m gonna try them on.” Clutching her earrings, she ran upstairs.

“All’s well that ends well,” Hayley said.

“So, did you two have a good afternoon?” Adam asked.

“The best.” She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t ask because I won’t tell. I’ll just say we had a breakthrough today. I think from now on Summer’s going to improve rapidly.”

“Well, that’s worth celebrating. Do you want champagne before or after the dance?” He stole a kiss, his hand sliding down to linger on her butt. “I have a few other tasty treats to go with it.”

Hayley leaned over to open the fridge. “Ooh, strawberries and chocolate. You devil. Definitely
after.
” She went back into his arms and ran a hand up his chest. “I’ll try not to tire you out on the dance floor.”