Rekindled Romance. Lorraine Beatty

Not the way he’d intended it to go. Or was it?

      His conscience faulted him for being harsh and judgmental, but his heart told him he had to protect his kids from people like Shelby. People who turned their backs on the things in life that really mattered. He owed her an apology for his bad attitude but not for his position. As far as he was concerned, she was a stranger passing through. Nothing more.

      Matt set his jaw and strode past the van toward the house. Shelby had assumed he had a handyman business. He should have expected that. She’d called him “a small-town man with small-town dreams.” He’d started to explain, then changed his mind. Let her believe whatever she wanted.

      All that mattered was protecting the hearts of his children.

      * * *

      Shelby stared at the closed door, struggling to breathe through the thickness in her throat. She’d imagined her reunion with Matt in a thousand different ways, but never like that. She knew she’d hurt him when she’d broken their brief engagement, and she’d expected him to be angry. But the man who had walked out of the house wasn’t the gentle, tender boy she remembered. He was a fierce, protective guardian warning her to keep her distance from his children.

      He’d made his opinion of her crystal clear. He had never forgiven her for what she’d done. She couldn’t blame him. She’d turned her back on everything he cared about. Belittled his beliefs and his dreams. She sank into a kitchen chair, fighting tears. “Small-town man with small-town dreams.”

      How many times had she longed to take back her angry words? She wanted to explain to him how she’d felt that night fifteen years ago. How scared and confused she’d been. They’d had plans to go to college, to escape the backward life of Dover. But the day after he’d given her the ring, he’d changed. Instead of talking about their dreams for the future, he’d talked about settling down, staying in Dover. She’d felt betrayed. He’d said he wanted the same things she did, but apparently a ring on her finger had erased all that. Her mother’s dire warning was coming true. She’d said that ring only meant one thing, that Matt would expect her to give up her dreams for his. “You’ll be trapped here just like me.” She hadn’t wanted to believe her mother was right, but at that moment, it had seemed all too true.

      It had all been so clear to her then. Either marry Matt and spend the rest of her life in a choked-off life in Mississippi or run like crazy toward college and her dreams of working on a magazine. Only one course of action had made sense. Run. It had been a matter of survival. And she’d achieved her dream. She stood at the top of her field. Though for how much longer, she didn’t know.

      But at the moment she had a more urgent concern. Gramma was setting the table when she entered the kitchen. “Gramma, I can’t babysit Matt’s kids.”

      “You aren’t, sweetie. I am. You’ll be my backup. It’ll be fun. They are darling kids. You’ll love them.”

      “I met them this afternoon while you were gone. Their dog came over.”

      “Aren’t they precious?” Gramma smiled. “Matt and Katie did a great job.”

      Katie. The wife. Her throat tightened. “How did his wife die?”

      “Cancer. That’s why he moved back home.”

      Back home? “He hasn’t been here the whole time?”

      “No. He owned some kind of big computer business in Atlanta. He sold it and moved back here about a year ago to be closer to his family.”

      Shelby sorted through this new information. She’d always assumed Matt would never leave Dover. It was the crux of their breakup. It didn’t make sense.

      Sinking down into the chair, she rested her elbows on the table and cradled her aching head. Could things get any worse? She’d come here to rest, ease the stress in her life, but how was she supposed to do that with Matt right next door? She’d have been better off if she’d stayed in New York. Matt’s pointed warning echoed in her mind. “He doesn’t want me watching his kids, Gramma.”

      Ellen set the plates down on the table, a deep frown creasing her forehead. “Is there something between you two I should know about?”

      Shelby inhaled. Great. She couldn’t avoid this any longer. “We dated.” Might as well tell it all. “We were engaged. Briefly. We broke up.” She hoped her grandmother wouldn’t press for more details. She couldn’t deal with that at the moment.

      “I see. When was this?”

      “The summer before I went to college. I was working at the Durrant’s hardware store. You and Grandpa were in Belize.” She shrugged as if it were insignificant, hoping her grandmother would let the subject drop.

      “Oh.” Gramma lowered herself onto a chair. “I had no idea you were serious about anyone. That does make things awkward, but that was a long time ago. Why should it bother you so much now? Unless...” Gramma eyed her closely. “Ah. I see.”

      Shelby squirmed. She never could hide her feelings from her grandmother.

      “Well, it seems to me you two need to settle this thing between you pretty quick. It’s been going on way too long, don’t you agree?”