Luann McLane - Moonlight Kiss

“Altering your appearance doesn’t change you on the inside.”

“I know.” Unable to witness the hurt, the disappointment, in her eyes Rick looked down at the floor for an agonizing moment. Finding the courage, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “I admit that I haven’t been a good father . . . good person for a long time. But, Maggie, I want to live differently. I want to reach out to Garret. I have plans that I’ve been working on for a while. I was going to tell you about all of it tonight.” He waited for a heartbeat and then said, “Will you come back to the cabin with me?”

“No, Richard.” She shook her head slowly.

“Why not?”

“Because you’ve been lying to me the entire time.” She raised her hands upward. “I don’t even know who you are. I’m sorry, but we’re through,” she said quietly but firmly. “You should . . . you should go.”

“I’m so sorry.” Rick nodded. “I understand how you must feel.” He stood up. He wanted so badly to tell her how much he loved her and about the plans he had for the future. Big plans that he’d been so excited to reveal. “I’ll leave, Maggie, but I want to thank you for at least letting me in so that I could attempt to explain things and to make sure that you were okay.” He angled his head. “But I will tell you one thing that you’re wrong about.”

“What?” she asked softly.

“You know me better than anyone.” With that, he walked to the door and let himself out. He stood on the back deck for a moment, holding on to the railing until his legs were steady. He hoped that she’d rush to the door and tell him that none of that mattered, only that they’d found each other. But she didn’t.

And so he left.

But as Rick drove back toward the cabin his despair turned into determination. He loved Maggie McMillan and he was going to show her just how much he cared for her. But first he needed to put into action the plans he’d been working on for the last couple of weeks. His plans included his son, Garret.

“And it’s about damned time,” Rick said as he pulled up to the cabin, and felt a little bit better about himself. But after walking inside he felt a pang of sadness. The table was set for the dinner that never happened. Sighing, Rick looked away from the table and headed into the office and sat down at his desk. After gathering his notes he put in a call to Pete Sully. It was time to get the ball rolling.

“JEFF!” REID HURRIED ACROSS THE YARD WHEN HE SAW his brother’s Ford F-150 come to a stop in front of the house. As soon as Jeff’s long legs emerged from the truck, Booker and Little John pounced on him with so much canine love that Jeff started laughing.

“At least somebody missed me,” Jeff said with a grin. He pushed past the dogs and gave Reid a bear hug. “How’ve you been, bro?”

“Good,” Reid replied. “What brings you home from Nashville?” Reid asked, and then shook his head. “Wait. Are you the special concert that Sully’s been talking about all week? The whole town is buzzing with anticipation. There was speculation it could be either you or Cat Carson.”

Jeff hesitated and then tipped his cowboy hat back. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy but I’ll tell you this much: Don’t miss it.” He hesitated again. “And make sure the whole family is there.”

“Are you kidding? I think all of Cricket Creek is going to be there. There’s a stage set up with a sound system that looks incredible. They’re roasting a pig. Come on, I promise not to tell.” Reid gave Jeff’s shoulder a shove. “What the hell’s going on?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Reid sighed. “Okay, damn, you’re a tough nut to crack.”

“Just get there early. You bringing that girl you’ve been seeing?”

“I’ll bring Addison. She’s been talking about it all week too.”

“Wow, would you just look at you?”

“What?”

“The mighty Reid Greenfield has fallen in love.” Jeff shook his head. “Well . . . well, first Sara and now you. Mom must be happy.”

“Hey, hold on, now. I didn’t say I was getting married.”

Jeff chuckled. “Speaking of that, how is the barn renovation coming along?”

“Ahead of schedule. They’ve got so many requests that Sara is talking about moving her wedding date up.”

Jeff reached down and scratched Booker’s ears. “Are you finally on board with the whole thing?”

Reid shrugged and then gave Jeff a wry grin. “Everything I’ve shot my mouth off about has become a success and this is no exception.”

“You were just looking out for Sara.”

“My heart has always been in the right place. But listen, Jeff. I’m sorry I didn’t encourage you to pursue your singing career years ago. I regret that I took Mom and Dad’s side and became part of Team Guilt that tried to keep you here on the farm. You’re super-talented. I hope I didn’t hold you back.”

Jeff shrugged. “It means a lot to me to hear you say that but, in truth, you know how hardheaded I am. The more you preached against it the more I wanted to prove you and everybody else wrong.”

Reid nodded but he knew his brother was being generous. “Ahhh, so then you owe your success to me?” He jabbed his thumb at his chest. “Do I get a cut?”

Jeff gave him a shove. “Yeah right. But seriously, make sure you’re all at Sully’s tonight.” Although Jeff sounded causal there was a nervous energy about him that told Reid that whatever was going down was going to be something big.

“Damn, you have me curious. The whole doggone town is buzzing with excitement, no matter where you go. Can you give me a little hint?” He looked at Jeff expectantly. “You know I could probably wrestle it out of you.”

“Not anymore, big bro. I work out. And I think I’m taller.”

“Well, then, I guess I’ll just have to wait. Everybody else is in the house getting ready. There’s leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes in there.”

Jeff started hauling some of his stuff out of his truck. “Awesome. I could use some of Mom’s cooking.”

“I’ve got to go and shower up before I pick up Addison. I’ll see you there. Oh and, Jeff?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve still got you by a good inch.”

“In your dreams! And I bet I can beat you and Braden arm wrestling.”

“You’re on!” Reid laughed. It would be good to have all of his siblings together. It sure had been a while.

After a quick shower Reid tugged on some cargo shorts and a blue golf shirt. Since the tail end of spring had started yielding some summerlike weather he dug out his flip-flops, glad to be out of his boots. After tossing a blanket and some lawn chairs in the bed of his truck he headed over to pick up his girl.

“Hey, baby. Aren’t you ready?” Reid asked when Addison answered the door in her bathrobe. “Jeff told me it’s going to be packed so we’d better get a move on.” He leaned in and kissed her.

“Your brother is in town?”

Reid nodded. “Yeah, and he knows what this whole mysterious thing is all about. He wouldn’t tell but said that the family should be there. It’s definitely more than just a concert. I have a feeling there’s going to be some sort of announcement.”

“Wow, okay. I’ll hurry. I was talking on the phone with my mom and the time got away from me.”

“Everything okay?” Reid asked, since Addison seemed a little bit distracted, but she gave him a bright smile.

“Yes, we’ll talk about it after the concert,” she said. “I’ll be ready in just a few minutes. It’s still hot out, right?” she called over her shoulder.

“Yeah, perfect night for an outdoor concert.”

True to her word Addison emerged from her bedroom less than fifteen minutes later. She wore a deep yellow sundress dotted with white butterflies and carried a white sweater. “I didn’t have time to curl my hair.”

“Are you kidding? I love it like that.” Reid reached over and tucked a silky lock behind her ear. “You look amazing, Addison.” He leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder. “Mmmm and you smell so good. I wanna gobble you up,” he added with a playful nip. He spanned his hands around her waist and pulled her against his body. “God, I want to kiss you, but if I do I won’t be able to stop.”

She giggled and then reached up and rubbed her hand against his cheek. “Oh . . . sexy stubble.”

“You said you liked it even though my mom will give me crap for not shaving.”

“Mmmm, yeah, I like it when you rub—”

“Stop.” He put a fingertip to her lips and groaned. “Don’t say it. You’ve already got me half aroused.”

“Only half?” She reached over and checked.

Reid laughed and then grabbed her hand. He loved that she had become open and playful with him. Being with her was coming naturally, easily, and he loved it.

He loved her.

And tonight he was finally going to tell her.

“You’re right. The weather has been calling me outside,” Addison commented as they headed for his truck. “I’ve been looking forward to the concert all day long, and after you told me what Jeff said I’m over-the-top excited.”

“You’ve got me super-excited too.” He shot her a wicked grin.

“Oh stop,” she said, but the pretty pink color in her cheeks spoke otherwise.

Reid reached over and took her hand and brought it to his lips. After so many years of worry it felt so good to feel happy and as close to carefree as his personality would allow. So much of his mood had to do with the pretty woman sitting in the passenger’s seat. “Wow,” Reid said when they pulled into the parking lot of Sully’s Tavern. “It’s already getting packed.” The main lot was nearly full but Pete had set up a grass field with additional parking.