Page 46 of Every Star that Shines

“Yeah, I did.” He grabbed a box of tissues from the side table next to the couch and took it over to her. She took several tissues from the box, smiling her thanks, and he set it on the table next to her mug, then slowly went back to the couch and sat down.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, then opened them. Now or never. “Delanie, I wanted to follow the plan. But I screwed up.”

Her gaze snapped to his. “What do you mean?”

“I was lost after you left. Things were so uncertain with my dad, and I had a lot to do with the farm. Mom was so stressed out that I was helping with the younger kids too. It was just a lot of responsibility for an eighteen-year-old to handle. A few months after you left, I was feeling especially bereft, so I went to this party with some of our friends from school. There was alcohol, and I thought, Why not? You know I had never even tried beer before, and I’ve barely touched it since. But that night with the alcohol buzzing through my system was the first time I’d felt okay in a long time. I drank so much that I don’t remember most of it. I do remember Monica being there. She was being inappropriate, but I let her. It felt good to be wanted.” He swallowed. “Six weeks later, she told me she was pregnant. And I did the right thing. I married her.”

He watched her face the whole time he spoke, expecting to see hurt and betrayal. Instead, he saw relief.

“You mean you hadn’t been seeing her before?” Delanie said, her eyes damp again.

He shook his head. “No. It was one time, one epic night packed full of mistakes. And it changed everything.”

She covered her mouth, the tears streaming down her face. “I thought . . .” She shook her head, dabbing at the tears with her tissue. “I thought you were cheating on me.” She leaned back, biting her lip. “All this time, I thought you had lied to me about why you didn’t come to Vancouver. But you didn’t . . . ?”

The raw emotion in her voice hauled him off the couch so he could take her hand. Squatting on the floor in front of her, he said, with as much emphasis as he could muster, “No, never. Delanie, you were my world. I wanted to marry you and live happily ever after. You were my dream girl.” He paused. Moment of truth, bro. “Still are,” he added.

She searched his face, her eyes still bright with unshed tears. She leaned forward and he met her in the middle, their lips colliding with the need to communicate a decade of pain and regret and longing. With his lips on hers and his hands tangled in her hair behind her head, none of that seemed to matter. He wanted this kiss—this moment—to last forever. But as his body awakened with feelings he had long ignored, he pulled away.

Don’t rush this, he reminded himself again. Take your time and do it right.

He took a breath and took her hand again. “That was . . . wow.” He shook his head in wonder and cupped her jaw in one hand. “I missed you, Delanie Fletcher.”

She searched his soul, her face only inches away. “After all this time, I can’t believe it. I . . .” She leaned back, looking away. “I can’t do this. I have a life in Vancouver, Caleb. I have to go back there. And you have Emma, so coming with me isn’t even an option this time. What are we doing?”

She was right. All of her objections were the same ones that had kept him from reaching out to her after he and Monica had divorced, and that had been screaming at him ever since he had seen Delanie chatting with his daughter in Mackenzie Playhouse a little over a week ago.

But right now, he didn’t care.

“Aren’t you the one who believes that things always work out in the end?” he asked. “Maybe it’s time you had a little faith.”

She looked at him pleadingly. “I don’t know, Caleb. I’m not sure I can go through that heartbreak again. Getting over you was hard enough the first time.”

He pressed his lips together and glanced out the window. Dusk had receded to the deep velvet blue of night. Above the river, high enough that the street lights couldn’t overwhelm it, glowed the North Star.

“Look.” He pointed out the window and got to his feet, pulling her up to come stand next to him at the window. “First star of the night. Make a wish.”

She gave him a long, uncertain look, then glanced at the pinpoint of white light before closing her eyes for several long seconds. He stared at her, drinking in her presence, her beauty, knowing she couldn’t feel uncomfortable about his gaze if she couldn’t see it.

Then her eyes fluttered open, and she blushed. “Were you looking at me the whole time?”

His face warmed. “Maybe,” he mumbled.

“Didn’t you make a wish?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t need to. My wish is standing right here.”

He pulled her into him and enveloped her in his arms. She stiffened, then relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning into his chest.

“I have a confession to make, Lanie,” he said. “I never got over you. Not for a single second.”

After a pause, she said, “A wish isn’t enough to overcome all the obstacles between us.”

“No. But it’s enough to make me believe we could. This time, I have no intention of letting you go anywhere without me. Whatever happens, I want to give us a fair shot.”

“But what about Emma?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

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