Pucker Up (23 page)

 “Uncle
Dust,” a voice murmured, drawing his attention from his tree in the yard.  From
their
tree in the yard.

“Harm? 
What time is it?”

“Almost
sunrise,” she answered.  Hell, he’d been standing at the window all night.  No
wonder his back hurt.

“What’s
wrong, sweetie?” he asked, watching her hover tentatively in the doorway.

“I’m
sorry,” she whispered.

“After
the last twenty-four hours, I think you’re going to have to be a bit more
specific.”

“Well,
it was definitely stupid to take the car out and drive it halfway across the
state.” She sighed. 

“Yes,
it was.”  He should have been stern, but he couldn’t muster up the energy.  For
once he didn’t see how his anger or frustration was going to do anyone any
good.

“So
obviously I’m sorry for that and for scaring you guys and making you chase
after me.”

Dustin
cocked his head to the side at her tone and dropped down onto the window seat,
beckoning her over to sit beside him.  “You didn’t think we’d come after you?”

She
shrugged.  “No, not really.”

“Why
in the world would you think that?  Your dad and I would move mountains to find
you.”

“I
was with Mel, I was safe.”  She fidgeted slightly before continuing in a much
less confident voice.  “And you were so mad at Faith I figured you didn’t want
to be anywhere near her, so I thought I could go instead.”

“Harmony,
I don’t care if you were with the devil himself; we’d always come for you.”  He
wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a swift hug.  “Why
did you go, sweetie?”

“I’m
not stupid you know,” she murmured as a reply.

Dustin
pulled back and gave her a puzzled look.  “Excuse me, Nancy Drew.  When did I
say you were?”

“It’s
so clear, why didn’t you see it?” she said, jumping up to pace the floor.  He
recognized that maneuver, all the Andrews did it, but hid his smile as he tried
to concentrate on her words.  “As long as you have all the facts, it’s staring
you right in the face.  Well, Faith didn’t have all the facts, so I wanted to
give them to her.”

“Excuse
me?” he asked again.

“I’m
not sure what your problem is though,” she muttered almost to herself.  “How
could you not see she was still crazy in love with you?  I don’t even know the
whole story, and I can hear it in every one of her songs.”

“It’s
been years since I’ve listened to one of her songs.”

“Give
me a break.” Harmony scoffed.  “
Ranch Hand
is like your favorite song in
the world.”

“And
since when does Faith West sing
Ranch Hand
?” Dustin asked in confusion.

“Come
on, Uncle Dust, stop playing.  I know.”

“You
know what?”  He stood, the question and crazy direction of their conversation
propelling him to his feet.

“I
know
,” she said with smug satisfaction.  But only for a moment before
the color drained from her cheeks.  “But it looks like you don’t.”

Her
pacing shortened, three steps either way before turning.  “Crap, crap, crap,
Dad is so going to kill me.”

“Harmony
Joyce Andrews,” Dustin boomed in his most serious voice, “you tell me what
you’re talking about Right Now.”

“Do
I have to?” she squeaked.

“I
should say so.”

“Would
you accept a bribe instead?”  His glare silenced her. 

“Well?”
he said as her silence stretched on.

“I’m
trying to figure out who is going to be madder – you or Dad.”

His
grin was slightly ferocious.  “Well, I’m the one here right now.”

She
stopped pacing and looked him up and down, hands coming to rest on her hips. 
“I have a question first.”  He waved his hand for her to continue.  “Are you in
love with Faith, or aren’t you?”

What
did you tell a teenager about a decade’s old love?  He was all in, he’d always
been all in, but he’d spent half the night staring at the lemon tree wondering
if that was going to be enough.  The fact that she’d run into a rainstorm on
their wedding night was his fault – a huge misunderstanding that would wound
him always – but would they have made it anyway?  They’d been young and
idealistic and fought about petty things that seemed so unimportant now. Had he
created unrealistic hopes, building a bedtime story into something it was never
supposed to be?

But
that morning… He shook his head thinking about it.  That morning, their ten-year
anniversary evidently, before lawyers and divorce papers had arrived.  There
had been something there and not just children replaying familiar routines. 
He’d laid under her car and thought about what it would be like waking up
beside this woman for the rest of his life, not the ideal of ten years ago, but
the woman that she was. 

The
one that unabashedly smelled like lemons and had named their baby girl and knew
superheroes and movie stars.  The one that gave a girl she didn’t even know, saddened
by cancer, a business card to come see what the future could hold.  The one
whose voice had matured but still managed to touch something deep within him he
was afraid to name.

“Yeah,
I’m in love with her.  God knows I shouldn’t be after all this time, but yeah,
I am.  I never stopped being in love with her.”  It was her; it had always been
her.

“So
you’re not going to sign the divorce papers?”

“Excuse
me,” Dustin said in surprise.  “And you know about that how?”

“Umm,
that’s probably not so important.”

It
was Dustin’s turn for hands on hips in an unamused stance.  “I beg to differ.”

Harmony
sighed and rolled her eyes.  “If I tell you, you’re just going to be really mad,
and then we’ll get off topic.  Believe me, Dad has already punished me enough
for it.  You’re good.”

He’d
used to be a private person, right?  How had he gone from brooding, secretive
uncle to everyone knowing his business?  Only one answer – Faith.  “I have
absolutely no intention of signing any damn divorce papers.”

Harmony
smiled, relieved.  “I am so happy to hear you say that.”

Dustin’s
smile was less pleasant.  “Now why don’t we get back to what you seem to know
that I don’t.”

 She
took a deep breath and jumped right in.  “Faith West is Andy Peters.”

Dustin
just stared at her with a blank expression.  “If that was your bombshell, it
kind of sucks.  I have no idea what that means.”

“Could
you be anymore behind the times about the music scene, Uncle Dust?”

“Probably. 
I listen to those mixes Peter gives me, so at least there is a little pop
culture mixed in with my country tunes.”

Harmony’s
eyes got a devilish glint.  “What kind of songs does he put on them?”

Dustin
rolled his eyes, his patience wearing thin.  “They’re compilations, Harmony.  I’ve
never noticed much of a theme.”

“Well,
Dad is obsessed with this songwriter, so I bet all the songs were written by
the same person.”

“Makes
sense,” he growled.

“Come
on, Uncle Dust, put it together,” she admonished.

“Harmony…”

“The
songwriter he’s obsessed with, the same one who wrote
Ranch Hand
, is
Andy Peters.  And Andy Peters is…”

“Faith
West.”  He exhaled the words on a sigh, barely sure he believed it.  He’d been
listening to her music all this time; he’d never actually stopped.

Ranch
Hand
had always felt so familiar.  He played that song a lot when drunk, wondering
how he’d ended up alone, never having the kind of love the song talked about. 
He’d been a ranch hand; where was his fiery love affair?

Dustin
walked around behind his desk to the bookcase and started pulling out CD cases,
searching for the ones Peter had been giving him.  The first one, he realized,
was right after he heard Dustin record his bedtime story.  Sneaky bastard.

Harmony
shuffled silently out of the room.  Her work here was done.

Faith
was not alone in the waiting room for long.  By the time Barrett made an
appearance, his worried expression showing he was much more than just a
bodyguard, other family members had started showing up.  There was so much
commotion Faith had no more room for thoughts of Maya, Dustin, or her own trip
to the hospital.

Trevor’s
mother, Charlotte, arrived with half a dozen people in tow – family, friends,
all full to the brim with excitement.  Just the kind of people Faith expected
to find at the side of her charming houseguests.  There had barely been time
for greetings before Trevor came out to the waiting room, announcing that Madison
was fully dilated and getting ready to push. 

“Leave
it to Mad to be efficient,” her best friend, Sophie, had said with a laugh. 
Faith couldn’t help but agree; she’d made the drive to the hospital just two
hours before.  She’d been stuck in traffic longer than it took for Madison to
get ready to push.

But
that’s where the urgency had ended.  Baby Clark was content to stay exactly
where it was.  And so they all sat in a waiting room well into the night. 

Trevor’s
best friends, Clint and Enzo, entered the waiting room that had been emptied of
everyone but their group, and the aroma was heavenly. “Coffee for all,” Clint
said with a smile.

“Except
for the woman that said Madison was efficient,” Enzo grouched, holding the cup
away from Sophie.  She was more than a foot taller than him; he didn’t stand a
chance.

“Well,
the baby must take after Uncle Enzo then – meaning it won’t listen to anyone
and will annoy us all.”

“And
we’ll love it even more for it,” Charlotte said with a grin as she took a cup
from Clint.  “That smells wonderful, dear.”

“For
the pop star,” Enzo said with a grand bow that Faith couldn’t help but laugh
at.

“Thank
you, kind sir.”

“I
still can’t get you to hum a few bars?” he asked with a wink.

“I
don’t think I know that one.”

The
sun was just beginning to rise when Trevor approached again, beaming, to tell
them that their number had grown by one.  Faith couldn’t help but get swept up
in the excitement and love of the moment; even her heart was itching for a
guitar.

“And
just that quickly everything changes,” Charlotte murmured, pulling her son in
for a big hug.  He glanced at Faith, looking slightly sheepish.  She knew
exactly what he was thinking, but his meltdown didn’t matter anymore – she read
the conviction and peace in his stare.

“Change
never comes slowly,” Faith said.  In her life it always hit her like a Mack
truck.  Sometimes it took her longer to acknowledge, but it never came softly
or safely.  Crashed into her was more like it.  They filtered down the hall,
two by two, to see the new baby until only Faith was left.  She peeked her head
through the door, afraid to interrupt the new parents.  Their wide smiles told
her nothing could dampen their joy.

“Hi,”
Madison said.  “Come and meet the newest member of our family.”

“She’s
beautiful,” Faith whispered, already enthralled by the tiny baby sleeping in
Madison’s arms.

“Takes
after her mother on that one,” Trevor agreed, placing a kiss against her
temple.

“What’s
her name?” Faith asked.

“We
don’t know yet.” Madison laughed.   “I was so sure we were having a boy I
didn’t even think about girl names.”

“This,”
Trevor said, taking his daughter from Madison’s arms, “is Ella Margaret Clark.”

“What?”
Madison looked at him with a questioning stare.

“So
now,” he whispered, still looking at his wife, “there is a Cinderella in the
story.”

Tears
started steaming down the new mother’s face, and Faith’s hands itched for a
guitar.   “Here,” Trevor said, handing over the baby.  “Ella, meet Faith.  We
already ruined her car today, so be nice to her shirt,” he whispered to his
daughter as he placed her in Faith’s arms.

“When
are they releasing you?” Faith asked, captivated by the baby in her arms and
ignoring the kissing couple on the bed.

“They
want us to stay overnight,” Madison said, pulling her gaze from her husband. 
“And then we’re going to Trevor’s mom’s.  I don’t care how long the commute is,
I’m not going into work for a while.”

“That’s
what she told me, too,” Faith murmured as she rocked back and forth.  “She
didn’t sound like she wanted to let this little one out of her sight.”

“It’s
been a few years since there’s been a baby in the house,” Trevor said.  “But
she’s going to have to wrestle me for her.”

“I’d
like to see that.” Madison laughed.  And then yawned.

“I
should get out of your way.  Let the womenfolk get some rest,” Faith said as
she handed the baby back to her mother.