Colton 911--Soldier's Return, page 22
“It’s pretty,” she said. “Very green with lots of trees. And no, I haven’t.”
Now, she thought. Now would be the perfect time to ask him the question she’d been wanting to ask since they’d left Chicago. Heart pounding, palms sweating, she tried to think of exactly what she wanted to say.
“Let’s not talk about anything else that’s serious,” Micha told her, effectively canceling out her short but to-the-point speech. “Okay?”
What could she do but agree? Her question would have to wait until later, but since they weren’t too far from Micha’s parents’ place, Carly knew she didn’t want to wait much longer. She couldn’t. She needed to have things clear in her head. And she could only hope once everything was settled, the end results would match her heart.
Chapter 15
During his time as a captive and later while in the hospital recovering, Micha had often wondered if he’d ever see his childhood home again. It had felt odd to feel nostalgic for a place he’d only wanted to escape, but he figured that was part of human nature. Until he’d joined the army, the farm had been the only place he’d ever lived. He even pictured it, most often in the context of him simply driving down the gravel road in his vehicle, looking out over the familiar green fields that would be still unchanged from his childhood, and maybe even taking a picture of the front of the house he’d grown up in. This hadn’t ever included him seeing his parents in person.
Surprisingly, seeing his parents again made him feel both nervous and eager. Meanwhile, he took in the familiar scenery and allowed a place inside of him that he hadn’t even known was broken to slowly heal.
Then something new and unfamiliar made him sit up straight.
A sign advertising a new housing development sat at the corner of his parents’ private drive and the now-paved main road.
“What the...?” he wondered out loud, just as they crested the small hill and he caught sight of several large houses in the area where his family had once grazed cattle.
“Nice houses,” Carly said, fidgeting. She seemed antsy for some reason. He put it down to nerves at meeting his mom.
“They are nice,” he reluctantly admitted, admiring the clean lines of the houses. “Though they’re out of place here.”
“Maybe this will soon be an up-and-coming residential area.” Hands on the steering wheel, she practically bounced in her seat. “And look at the size of their yards.”
He shook his head. Carly always made small talk when she was nervous. It was part of her way of processing stress.
“If I was in the market for a new home in this part of Ohio, I’d definitely consider one of those,” she continued. “I bet they’re a lot less expensive here than in Chicago.”
Though Micha found their presence in what had been unspoiled farmland unsettling, he swallowed hard and agreed.
The road curved, and once they’d left the subdivision behind him, the rolling, treed hills he remembered took over.
Finally, his parents’ house came into view. Still painted a cheery yellow—his mother’s doing—the single-story ranch house looked a little more weathered than he remembered. Carly pulled the Jeep up in front of the two-car garage and parked. She killed the engine and turned to face him, wiping her palms off on the front of her jeans.
“Nervous?” he asked, wondering if she’d find it comforting that he was, too.
“A little.” Carly nodded, fidgeting in her seat. “Though not about what you think. At least not entirely.” She took a deep breath, the worry in her wide-eyed gaze making him want to comfort her. “Listen,” she continued. “Before we go in there, I need to ask you something important.”
“Anything,” he said, meaning it. “What is it?”
“Just a second.” To his surprise, her hand appeared to be shaking as she reached for a delicate silver chain she wore around her neck. Her gaze locked on his, she pulled it out of her shirt. “This,” she told him, showing him what she wore dangling at the end of the necklace.
He caught his breath. “Is that...?”
“Yes. The engagement ring we picked out together before you went back to active duty. I wore it on my finger for a year after I was told you died.”
Touched, he swallowed hard. “You kept it.”
“Yes. Once I stopped wearing it on my hand, I wore it on this chain, tucked inside my clothes so no one could see. I just took it off and put it in my jewelry box right before you came back. I put it back on this morning. This ring means that much to me. It’s a symbol of our love.”
Their love. Hope bloomed within him, unfurling in his chest.
Then, while he struggled to figure out the right words to say, she unclipped the chain, removed the ring and held it out to him.
Throat aching, furious with himself for actually daring to hope, he froze, eyeing the ring as if it were dangerous. In a way, it was.
She was giving it back. Now, as he prepared to face one of the most difficult times in a life that hadn’t been easy in a long, long time, Carly Colton had decided to stab him in the heart.
“No.” He refused to believe it, his chest aching. “It’s yours. You keep it. I don’t want it back.”
“What?” Tilting her head, she eyed him as if she thought he’d lost his mind. “You thought... Oh, Micha. I brought the ring back out to ask you if you wanted me to wear it again.” She lowered her hand. “That’s what I get for being presumptuous. I wanted you to put it back on my finger.”
Thoroughly confused now and almost afraid to dare to believe he’d heard her properly, he looked from her beautiful blue eyes to the sparkling ring and back again. He thought his heart might explode from his chest. “Do you mean...?”
“Yes. I’d like to go back to being engaged,” she said primly, though a tiny smile hovered at the corner of her mouth. “That is, if you still want to marry me.”
“If I still want...” He sucked in his breath. “Carly Colton, are you proposing to me?” he asked, blood roaring in his ears. “Because if you are, the answer is yes. Definitely, unequivocally yes!”
“Well, technically I’m asking if we can reinstate our engagement,” she began. Then her eyes widened. “Yes?” she repeated. “Does that mean we...”
“Have a wedding to plan.” Leaning over, he kissed her. Not a long, deep kiss like he longed to do, but a quick one due to them being parked outside his childhood home. “I love you,” he said. He took the ring and, gazing in her eyes, slowly slipped it over her finger. “Back where it belongs. Engagement reinstated.”
“You know what?” she asked, her expression suddenly solemn. “I love you, too, Micha Harrison. I always have and I always will.”
Now he knew he could face anything. “Let’s go inside and meet my mother.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Now I’m ready to meet my future mother-in-law.”
Her simple choice of phrase made his throat close. The thought that his father might never get to know the wonder and beauty that made up Carly Colton hurt. But he couldn’t focus on that now. His mother needed him. And too many years had passed since he’d hugged her.
Pushing aside all raw emotion, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the Jeep at the same time, linking hands to walk up the sidewalk. They made it halfway when the front door of the house opened and his mother stepped out onto the front porch. She wore a pair of faded blue jeans, work boots and a cotton, button-down shirt. She looked the same, he thought, except she now wore her silver hair in a stylish short cut.
“Micha!” She cried out his name and opened her arms.
Micha stepped into them without hesitation. Carly remained a few steps back, quietly watching.
Clinging to him, his mother wept. “It’s so good to have you home.”
“It’s good to be here,” he replied.
“What happened to your head?” she asked, pulling back far enough to peer at his bandage.
“That’s a long story,” he told her. “I’ll save it for later, if that’s okay with you.”
Expression troubled, she searched his gaze, exactly the same way she’d used to when he was a teenager and she was trying to ascertain if he was telling the truth. “But you’re all right, aren’t you?”
He hugged her tight. “I’m all right, Ma. I promise.”
When she finally released him, Micha turned her around and introduced her to Carly. “Mom, this is my fiancée, Carly Colton.”
More hugs, more weeping, and finally his mom ushered them both inside the house. She kept checking back over her shoulder to make sure they were following her.
Inside, the place appeared the same as he remembered, untouched by time. The familiar floral wallpaper decorated the kitchen walls, and the same metal-and-vinyl kitchen table and chairs sat under the same stained-glass light fixture. It felt like stepping back into the past.
Except now he knew his father wouldn’t come stomping in through the kitchen door, having left his dirty boots on the back stoop, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a good meal.
Micha waited until they were all sitting around the old kitchen table sipping on his mother’s freshly made lemonade before asking about the subdivision.
“We had to sell off some of our land,” his mother explained, only slightly apologetic. “With your father slowing down due to age, we were struggling to keep the ranch running. Finally, we decided to just hang on to the house and ten acres. Even that was a lot, though. Right before Al had his stroke, we were even talking about moving into Lima since it’s less than a half hour away.”
“Dad is considering living in town?” Micha asked. Next, he halfway expected her to tell him pigs could fly.
His mom nodded. “He’s sick, but technically he’s living in Lima now. He was at Saint Rita’s Medical Center, but yesterday they moved him into a rehabilitation facility. They said he’d be there a few weeks.”
Rehabilitation. His dad must hate that. Al Harrison had always taken such pride at being a man’s man, big and weather-roughened, his large hands calloused from hard work. Micha couldn’t imagine how he’d deal with being weakened by a stroke. “Will we be able to visit him?”
“Yes.” Expression troubled, his mother placed her hand over his. “But I should prepare you. He’s in and out of consciousness. I’m not sure he’ll even recognize you.”
He hadn’t expected that. He swallowed hard. “I hope he does. There are a few things between us that we need to settle once and for all.”
Though she nodded, his mother once again started to cry. Carly, with her big heart, got up and went to her, wrapping the older woman in a tight hug. “It’s going to be all right,” she murmured. “You’ll see.”
Though she nodded, his mom’s bleak expression indicated she wasn’t sure anything would ever be all right again.
“We’ve received an offer on the house and remaining ten acres,” she finally said. “By the same people who built that fancy subdivision. Though your father and I were only considering it before he had the stroke, I’m likely going to accept it now.”
For a moment, Micha couldn’t catch his breath. But then he realized she was right. He hated the thought of the two of them struggling to run the ranch. Who knows, maybe they’d be open to moving closer to Chicago. He decided to bring that up at some point before he left.
After finishing their drinks and refusing his mom’s offer to make them something to eat, they got Bridget settled in the kitchen and then they all piled into Micha’s Jeep to drive to Lima. After all these years away, Micha would finally see his father again. He only wished it were under different circumstances.
* * *
Thoroughly charmed by Micha’s mother, who’d asked her to call her Beth, Carly kept quiet and stayed in the background while Beth and Micha reconnected. For as long as she’d known and loved Micha, he had buried his emotions deep inside regarding his family. Seeing him now, clearly hurting yet full of love, only made her realize she’d made the right choice in reinstating their engagement.
As if she’d ever doubted. Even when she’d been furious and hurt over the way he’d let her think he’d died, she’d still loved him with every ounce of her being.
Micha had let his mother ride in the front seat and he’d taken the back while Carly drove. Pulling up in front of the rehabilitation hospital, she parked. The single-story brick building appeared welcoming.
Carly glanced at Beth and then Micha. “Should I wait out here?” she asked, willing to give them all the privacy they needed.
“No,” Micha answered immediately. “I want you with me.”
Beth wisely stayed out of the discussion, rummaging in her purse for something.
Carly got out, motioned at Micha to do the same. “I think you should talk to your father privately at first. Once you’re comfortable, you can bring me in and introduce me.”
Opening his mouth as if to argue, Micha considered. He exhaled. “Maybe you’re right.”
“You and your mother,” Carly urged. “I don’t want to intrude right now. I’m sure they have some sort of lobby. I’ll sit there and wait.”
Though Micha still appeared uncertain, he nodded. Inside, he waited until Carly had gotten settled in a chair before offering his mother his arm. Together the two disappeared down one of the hallways.
Her phone chimed, indicating a text. It was Jones, just checking to make sure she’d arrived in one piece. They texted back and forth for a little bit, and right before he said he had to go, he reminded her to let Heath know she was okay. She did that, received a brief, I’m glad, in response, which meant her eldest brother had to be too busy to chat.
She checked social media, scrolling through her feed, when she looked up to see Beth had returned.
“I’m letting them have alone time,” the older woman stated, dropping into the chair next to Carly. “Al has been in and out of it since they moved him here. He’s sleeping a lot, though they tell me they’ve been able to get him up out of bed in a wheelchair. Micha is talking to him, hoping his father will respond to the sound of his son’s voice.”
Carly nodded. “Has he been awake much with you?”
Slowly, Beth nodded. “A little bit,” she said. “It’s been really frightening, not knowing if my husband is going to recover.”
Reaching over, Carly hugged her. “It’ll all work out. Sometimes these things just take time.”
Once Carly let go, Beth eyed her curiously. “You sound awfully confident. How do you know?”
“Because I’m a nurse.” Carly smiled. “Pediatrics, though. I work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Time, along with modern medicine, often bring about surprising healing. Now I don’t know your husband’s particular medical situation, but I’m sure his doctor can give you a lot more information.”
“Oh, he has. He actually said something similar to what you just did. We need to give Al time and see what functions he regains. The therapy here is supposed to help with all that, too.”
“I’m sure it will.”
Both women looked up as Micha reappeared. He seemed composed, Carly thought.
“Dad woke up,” Micha told his mother. “Not for long, but I’m pretty sure he saw and recognized me.”
Beth’s gaze searched his face. “Did he say anything? I know it can be kind of hard to understand him.”
“No. He just looked at me and smiled. Then he closed his eyes again.”
“How long are you staying?” Beth asked, her tone guardedly hopeful.
Micha glanced at Carly. “I’m not sure. We haven’t actually discussed it yet.”
“I see. Well, you’re both welcome to stay as long as you like. Please, at least another day,” she pleaded. “We have so much catching up to do.”
“We’d planned to spend the night,” Micha replied. “Beyond that, I’m not sure.”
“I’m glad. That’s a start.” Beth got up slowly, relief shining in her eyes.
Carly’s heart went out to her. If Micha wanted to stay a couple of days, she’d be willing.
Once they arrived back at the farm, Beth informed them she would be making something special for supper, including dessert, so she asked them to please save their appetites. She showed them the room she’d given them to use, asking if they wanted to stay together or in separate rooms.
Micha tugged Carly close. “What do you think?” he asked, only half teasing.
“If you’re okay with it, Beth,” Carly replied. “Together. We’ve actually been living that way at my place for a little while.”
“I don’t mind.” Smiling, Beth turned to go. “We’ll probably be eating at six. Why don’t you two rest up a little and then join me in the kitchen?”
Once she’d left, closing the door behind her, both Carly and Micha dropped down on the bed and sat, legs dangling off the side.
“I haven’t heard anyone call dinner supper outside of a television show,” Carly mused. “I like it.”
“We’re country folks,” Micha said. He looked around. “This used to be my bedroom growing up,” he. “It’s been painted and fixed up, but that actually looks like my bed and old dresser.”
Unable to resist, Carly wiggled her eyebrows. “I bet you never slept with a girl in it. Or have you?”
He laughed. “No. This will be the first time.”
“And the last,” she pointed out. “We’d better make it matter.”
Hauling her up against him, Micha kissed her. “Oh, we will. I can promise you that.”
By the time he released her, she couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m so glad we came,” she said, resting her head against his shoulder.
“Me, too.” He tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear. “Before we go back home, I’d really like you to meet my dad.”
