Page 97 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

‘Good.’ He grinned. ‘Because you deserve some attention too.’

God, this kid knows how to get to the heart of things.

‘Dexy!’ His mom waved to him from the corner. ‘You’ve got more fans over here who want to talk to you.’

He gave a dramatic roll of his eyes. ‘My mom is taking all of this a little too seriously.’

‘If you keep performing, I’m sure the adoration will continue, especially from the girls.’

‘Really?’ His brows perked up. ‘Maybe I will give that show at school a shot.’

I waved him off with another laugh as he skated away.

I continued to scan the square for Ford. As I walked, people stopped and congratulated me on the success of the show. Asking if I was going to take over the director role permanently. That wasn’t a question I was ready to answer at the moment, but the experience had taught me that theater was in my blood. That in some shape or form it would continue to be a part of my life.

Not far from the fountain, I found Ford sitting on a wrought-iron bench. I let my gaze wander over his riot of dark curls. Those full lips. How his glasses sat perfectly perched on the bridge of his nose. An ache crowded my chest, making it hard to pull in any air.

How was I going to say goodbye to him? Agree that once he was gone we’d only be friends? I’d done a lot of stupid things in my life but making him promise that we’d be nothing more than a summer fling might have been one of the dumbest.

He must have felt my stare because he turned and locked eyes with me. Gave me that sweet little wave.

I strode toward him and sank down onto the bench. ‘Where’s your mom?’

‘She left a few minutes ago.’

‘It was nice what she said about the show, but I have a feeling she did not drive all the way from Harpeth Manor to watch a bunch of kids dance and sing.’

He stretched his arm out behind me and tugged my body toward him. I’d never get over the way my bones went to jelly when he touched me.

‘You’re not going to believe this, but she came to apologize.’

‘For what?’

‘Years of not standing up to my dad. In her words, for not letting Gray and me run wild. Not allowing us to figure out who we wanted to be.’

I couldn’t hide my shock. ‘That’s a one-eighty turn.’

He pressed a kiss to my hair. ‘She also confessed that she kicked my dad out.’

I reached for his hand and squeezed. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s been a long time coming.’

‘Do you think it’ll be permanent?’

‘I don’t know. She says he has to prove he’s changed first.’

‘Can he?’

‘That’s like wondering if a bear can stop hunting fish in a stream. My dad has no other frame of reference than Harpeth Manor society. He’d have to change his whole way of thinking, and, sadly,’ he scrubbed at his chin, ‘I don’t see him being able to view his world in anything but black and white.’

He pulled me closer and we stayed quiet, letting the joy of the evening wash over us.

‘I wanted to uh, talk about something.’ He pulled away, took my hands in his. ‘My mother asked me a question tonight, and it’s made me consider a few things.’

‘What was the question?’

He pushed back a loose hair from my cheek. ‘I wanted to tell you…’

‘Well, this is an unexpected surprise!’ A deep voice boomed from behind us.

I froze in place. That voice had been a part of my life since the first day he handed me a lollipop after a checkup.

We both turned to find Dr Sheridan smirking at us. His white beard hung far below his chin. A chic purple-and-yellow silk scarf covered his wife Sylvie’s gray hair. A pair of battered black suitcases sat beside them on the brick-paved sidewalk.

Ford jumped to his feet. ‘What are you doing back so early?’

‘That’s a fine welcome,’ Dr Sheridan chuckled.

‘We were homesick for Ivy Falls. There are only so many Gothic churches and green rolling hills one person can see in a lifetime,’ Sylvie said.

As happens in Ivy Falls, word spread quickly in the square and the couple were surrounded two heartbeats later. There were hugs and rounds of questions that would most likely go on for hours.

Ford’s demeanor deflated like an old balloon, and I recognized exactly what he was feeling. We were supposed to have more time, but now with Doc Sheridan back neither of us knew what would come next.