Page 44 of Oops, I Fell For The Town Bad Boy!

Dear Kane,

If you’re reading this letter, that probably means you didn’t make it back before I died. There was a time I might have been angry about that, but I’m not angry now, and I don’t want you to live with any guilt over it. The longer you stayed away, the harder it must have been to face coming back.

Kane found he had to put the letter down for a moment. He had never believed anyone, not even Taylor, who had suggested that his father might have forgiven him. He had needed to hear it for himself.

I’m sure you’re surprised to find out that I knew about your little hiding place. I wasn’t as uninvolved as you might have thought I was in your life, but I believed the best thing to do was to let you go your own way and make your own mistakes when you needed to. Now I wish I hadn’t done that. I think I was unfair to you by not giving you a little more guidance. If we had had a better relationship, you might have felt that you could talk to me about things. But the past is in the past. There’s nothing we can do to change it now. The point is that I knew you had this hiding place, and I knew — I hoped — that if I left this note here, you would be the one to find it.

You and not Taylor, that is.

By now you’ll know that I’m leaving the place to the both of you. I don’t know how you’re going to navigate that, and I hope you’re not too angry with me over it. Whatever you and Taylor decide to do about the house is fine with me, but I’ll feel better thinking of you two working together in some capacity. She was always good for you. She was always my favorite of your friends, and she’s become a remarkable woman. You could do a lot worse than someone like her. Something for you to think about while you’re here.

Kane’s heart beat faster. His father had been playing matchmaker. He wanted to think of Kane and Taylor getting involved with each other.

He had known Taylor for years. She’d been his nurse. They’d had a closer relationship than Jason had had with Kane. And yet Jason still wanted Kane in her life.

He hadn’t thought his son was a bad influence who would drag Taylor down. He had thought they were good for each other.

I hope you know how proud I am of you. Everything I’ve learned about the things you’ve done since you’ve been away has impressed me. Your service record, your career — you’re not the person you were when you left Miller Creek. I see the man you are today, even though you never made it home to show me in person. I believe you’re ready to show yourself to the rest of this town, and to make amends for the past. So welcome home, son. Be kind to yourself, and go forward as the person I know you’ve become.

Love always,

Dad.

Tears streamed down Kane’s face as he lowered the paper, but he laughed through them. His dad had seen so much more than Kane had ever given him credit for — even the way he felt about Taylor. And having his father’s blessing to move forward with that relationship felt like exactly what Kane needed.

He felt the touch of a cold nose on his hand and looked over to see Toby looking at him with what looked like concern on his face.

“Don’t worry, boy.” Kane grabbed him and tugged him into an embrace. “We’re not going anywhere.”

CHAPTER 23

TAYLOR

Taylor sat in her car, staring at the front door of the house, trying to force herself to face the inevitability of going inside.

It would be empty today. Empty for the first time in weeks. No welcoming bark from Toby. No creak in the floorboards as Kane made his way to the kitchen to greet her. No discussion of how their days had each been. Nothing.

A part of her didn’t want to go in at all. Maybe she should go over to Maddie’s and ask to spend the night at her and Bradley’s place. She knew her friend would welcome her with open arms, that she’d want to stay up late talking about everything that had happened between Taylor and Kane. That was all Taylor wanted to do as well.

But she also knew that she needed to face this. It wouldn’t get any easier unless she did. She needed to accept that he wasn’t going to be a part of her life any longer. If she left now, that empty house would loom over her, making it feel impossible to come back to it. If she went in, she could begin to heal.

With a sigh, she got out of her car. She needed a good meal anyway, after all the work she had put in today getting ready for the fundraiser. They were ready to open to the public tomorrow. This should have been an exciting night, not a painful one.

Someday, she thought as she climbed the porch steps, I’ll find a way to be angry with Kane for ruining this, instead of just sad that he’s gone.

She wished she could feel that way today. But she couldn’t.

She opened the front door and went inside.

Immediately, the aroma of garlic hit her. Taylor froze where she stood, trying to process what was going on — had she made garlic bread for breakfast and forgotten about it? No, that wasn’t right, she’d had cold cereal…

“Hey, Taylor.”

There he was, emerging from the shadows — Kane.

He stepped into the light of the kitchen. Taylor couldn’t help staring at him. He had a spatula in his hand, and he was wearing one of her aprons. It didn’t fit him at all. She blinked several times — was this some sort of fantasy?

His dark hair fell into his eyes. He brushed it out of the way. “I was hoping you might be in the mood for spaghetti.”

---