Never Far Away (12 page)

 
  After the CT scan, Ella wanted to go to the store to check in and make sure everything was running smoothly since she made the hasty retreat to the beach.

 
  When Porter’s truck turned onto the street of Poppy, Ella’s heartbeat thundered through her chest.  As her store front came into view, she felt her body start to shake.

 
  “Ella, Baby, what’s wrong?”  Porter pulled the truck over and scooted towards her, enveloping her in his arms.  He stroked his hand down her hair, rocking her gently side to side.  “Please, talk to me.”  Ella was still shaking, but with her face buried in his chest she tried to answer him.

 
  “I just haven’t been back to the store since I remembered the accident,” she said through shaky breaths.  Porter pulled her in closer to him, tightening his hold on her.

 
  “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t even think about that,” he said gently.  “Do you want to go?”  She shook her head against his shirt.

 
  “No, it’s my store.  I can’t avoid it.  I just need a minute.”  So they sat there as she focused on breathing and the sensation of Porter’s hand sifting through her hair.

 
  “Can I ask you something?” 

 
  “Sure,” she said as she pulled back from him.

 
  “Do you remember who shot you?”  He whispered, almost as if he was afraid his voice would break her.

 
  “I remember seeing the man who shot me, yes, but I never saw his face.”

 
  “Could it have been Kyle?”  He asked gently.  Ella looked in Porter’s eyes and saw the pain in them.  She knew he wanted nothing more than for Kyle to be the bad guy so that he had someone tangible to blame all their heartache on.

 
  “No.  It wasn’t Kyle,” she whispered.

 
   Porter placed his hand on the side of her face, stroking his thumb across her cheek.

 
  “You’re sure?”

 
  Ella silently nodded her head.  He placed a kiss on her forehead and let out a loud sigh.  She knew he was upset, even with her memory coming back they were no closer to knowing who had shot her than before.  She almost felt disappointed in herself.  She could only imagine the hope that had been hinged on her getting back her memory.

 
  “I’m sorry I don’t remember, Porter.  I didn’t see his face, but I would have known if it were Kyle.  I would have recognized him.”

 
  “I know, Baby.  You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” He paused for a moment.  “Do you still want to go inside?”

 
  “Yes.  I can’t let the memories stop me from going into my own store.  Thank you for holding me,” she looked up at him.

 
  “Always,” he said and gave her a small kiss.  He pulled away, got out of the truck, and came around to her side, ever the gentleman.  He opened her door and linked his fingers with hers as they walked towards Poppy.

 
  Ella was glad to see the store was pretty busy, customers perusing the racks and her two employees helping women accessorize and find matching pieces.  When Brittany, her most experienced employee, saw her, a smile formed along her lips.

 
  “Ella, hi!  We weren’t sure we would see you today.”

 
  “Hi, Brit.  How are things going today?”

 
  “Just great.  Pretty busy for a Monday,” she said as her eyes strayed towards Porter and his hand linked with hers.

 
  “Brittany, this is Porter.  Porter, this is Brittany, she is one of my valued employees.”  Porter reached out with his free hand to shake hers.

 
  “Nice to meet you,” he said.  “I’ve heard good things about you.”

 
  “Really?  Well that’s good,” she said smiling.

 
  “We just came by to check on the store, make sure everything was going well.”

 
  “Everything’s fine, promise.  Do you guys have plans today?”

 
  “Not really, we just came from the hospital.”

 
  “What?” Brittany asked, concern flashing across her face.  “Is everything ok?”

 
  “Yes.  Everything is fine.  Better than fine, actually.  My memory came back Saturday night.”  Brittany’s eyes went wide and her smile was back.

 
  “Ella! That’s great!  I’m so happy for you.”

 
  “Thanks, I am too.”  Ella looked up at Porter and saw he was smiling as well.  “I am just going to check my messages and then I will be out of your hair.”

 
  “Ella, this is your store.  You’re not in my hair,” she laughed.  Ella led Porter to the backroom and she sat down at her desk looking at some papers that had been left for her.

 
  “So, when do you actually work? You seem to come and go from here as you please,” Porter asked.  Ella laughed.

 
  “I’m lucky enough that I can hire a full staff.  So the store runs whether I’m here or not.  I spend a lot of time here, more than forty hours usually, but I’ve been distracted the last couple of days.”  She winked at him.

 
  “So, your store makes enough of a profit that you can fully staff and you don’t even have to be here if you don’t want to be?  Why haven’t you opened a second store sooner?  It’s obvious that you are very good at this.”

 
  “Fear of failing, I suppose, or being too comfortable.”

 
  “You’re not afraid anymore?”

 
  “No, the fear is still there, but the excitement and need for change is stronger.  I guess I’m just ready.  Besides, I feel like I can do anything if you’re there helping me.”  He came to stand behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

 
  “I’m honored to help.”  Just then her phone rang and she gave him a worried look.

 
  “It’s my mom,” she said and then answered.  “Hey, Mom.”

 
  “Ella, where have you been?  We’ve all been worried sick about you.”

 
  “I’m fine, Mom.  Sorry you worried.  Listen, can I come over for dinner tonight?  I have something I want to talk with you about.”  Her mom let out a sigh and Ella knew she still wanted to be upset with her for disappearing.

 
  “Of course you can come over for dinner.  I’ll see you around six?”

 
“Sounds great, Mom.  Oh, and I’ll be bringing a date.”

 
  “A date?”

 
  “Yes, a date,” she threw a smile at Porter, which he returned and made her insides quiver.

   That evening as they drove to Ella’s parents’ house, Ella could feel the tension radiating off of Porter and it was making her nervous in return.  He drove his truck and hadn’t spared a glance her way since they left her apartment.  His hands gripped the steering wheel with impressive strength.

 
  “Baby, what’s bothering you?”  Ella reached across the cab of the truck and gently stroked his forearm, trying to calm him down.  He pushed out a loud breath and ran a hand through his hair which made Ella smile because his hair was constantly in disarray because of his habit.  “What is it?” She pressed.

 
  “The last time I spoke with your mother she basically told me to move on.  She told me to give up, that you wouldn’t ever remember me, or us, and that I should just cut my losses,” he paused.  “I just don’t know how I feel about ambushing her like this.  I don’t know what I’m going to do if she’s upset that we’re together.”  Ella scooted across the seat and placed Porter’s arm around her shoulders so that she could press herself into his side.

 
  “First of all, my parents will probably be so ecstatic that my memory came back that will overshadow anything else.  And secondly,” she said as she placed her hand on his chest.  “It doesn’t really matter what my mom thinks about us being together.  Nothing could keep me from you now.  Besides, my mom isn’t really the type to forbid something.  I’m a grown woman.  Once my mom sees how happy we are, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

 
  “I just don’t want anyone to be upset.  We’ve had enough drama already.  I just want everything to go smoothly.”

 
  Ella kissed his cheek and patted his chest.

 
  “Everything is smooth sailing from here on out, promise.”

 
  When they pulled up to her parent’s house, Ella made sure she held Porter’s hand in hers.  She wanted there to be no mistake about their relationship when her parents saw them together.  Ella knocked on the door and then opened it.

 
  “Mom?”  She called out.

 
  “Back in the kitchen.”  Ella gave Porter’s hand a squeeze.  When they entered the kitchen, Ella saw her mother’s eyes lift to take them in and confusion immediately painted across her face.

 
  “Hi, Mom,” Ella smiled at her.

 
  “Ella, what’s going on?”  Her mother’s voice was calm and smooth, genuinely concerned but still friendly.

 
  “Mom, I’ve got something to tell you and Daddy.  Is he around?”

 
  “Ella, is that you?”  She heard her father’s voice as he entered the kitchen, and the same concerned and confused expression came across his face to match his wife’s.

 
  “Mom.  Dad,” Ella started.  She wasn’t really sure where to start, so she decided to just jump in.  “Saturday night my memory came back,” Ella said with half a smile, hoping they would understand what she wasn’t saying: that she remembered Porter.

 
  “Your memory came back?”  Her mother asked.

 
  “Yes.  It was completely random, out of the blue, and hurt like hell.  But it came back.”  Her mother’s hand came to her chest and she could see tears forming in her eyes.

 
  “It hurt?”  She asked through the tears.

 
  “Yes.  It felt very much like a migraine and then it was like a thunderstorm was in my brain.  The worst of it didn’t last long and it was over quickly, but it did hurt.”  She felt Porter squeeze her hand.  She looked up at him and he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

 
  “And it appears you’ve remembered Porter as well?” Her father asked.

 
  “Yes, I remember Porter.  He’s the first thing I remembered,” she smiled up at him.  “I drove to his house immediately that night.  That’s why you couldn’t get ahold of me.”

 
  “So, then it’s true?”  Susan asked and Ella could see a small smile was playing across her lips.

 
  “What’s true?”  Ella asked, confused.

 
  “That you fell in love with him at the beach?”

 
  “Yes,” and a rush of air followed as Ella finally released some of the tension she’d brought in with her.  “I fell in love with him at the beach, and I fell in love with him again in Portland, before I remembered him.  I would fall in love with him over and over again, I’m sure.  Although, I think we’d both rather that this time it stuck.”

 
  “You’ve been seeing each other in Portland?”  Her mother’s eyes flicked between her and Porter.

 
  “Yes, Ma’am.  I’m sorry if you feel like I went against your wishes.  I just couldn’t stay away from her any longer.” Porter said, sounding like he was bracing himself for an onslaught of anger and argument.

 
  “Obviously, you can understand, given the circumstances, we made decisions based on what we thought was best for Ella,” her father began.  “It was a stressful time for everyone involved.”

 
  “Daddy, I know why you and Mom made your decisions.  Porter and I are just hoping now that I remember everything and know with everything inside of me that I love this man, that you will give us your blessing to be together.”  Ella’s parents looked at each other and seemed to communicate silently, something that can only come with years of marriage.  Ella could only hope that one day she and Porter could boast about how long they’d been married, and give each other looks that communicated entire thoughts.

 
  Ella’s mother walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

 
  “All we want is for you to be happy and healthy.  Porter proved himself to us at the hospital and every day since.”

 
  Ella pulled away from her mother and saw her father shaking Porter’s hand.  Her father leaned into Porter, said something quietly near his ear, and she saw Porter nodding in affirmation.  Everything worked out the way she had planned and she could almost see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, a point in her life in which she was happy, with a man who truly loved her, and thriving.

 
  Her father informed them dinner was ready and served on the deck.  When they walked outside they were seated and surrounded by food.  Ella’s mother had a tendency to over prepare.