Serenity Falls(65)

“I didn’t come here looking for love, Mrs. Sandy,” I say quietly.

“I know you didn’t. Sometimes love just finds you, especially when you’re not looking for it.”

There’s no way I can argue with that. I’ve been fighting it the past few days, trying to delude myself to the fact that I was only starting to fall for Wes, not that I had already fallen for him. “What if he doesn’t love me back?”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Wesley had a high school girlfriend for a while, Leslie, but she was no good for him. Will and I both saw it. We heard the rumors of her cheating on him, but I think he just wanted somebody to fill the hole in his heart that Colt left. When he graduated high school and left for Dallas, he left her behind, too. Thank the Lord for that.” She shakes her head and chuckles. “But the way he looked at her, and the way he looks at you are completely different. I don’t doubt that, at one point, he loved that girl, but he was never in love with her.”

“How do you know?” I ask, my eyes diverting from hers, as I begin to feel a little insecure.

“His smile didn’t reach his eyes. His touches never went beyond holding hands and the occasional hug, at least that I know of. Above all else, Wes was never tender with her the way he is with you. And that little kiss on the forehead proves it.”

I nod my head, and accept that what she’s told me is more than enough proof that maybe Wes loves me, too. My hands grasp the edge of the table as I scoot my chair back. I stand up and walk around the table, enveloping her in a hug. My heart swells as she wraps her arms around me. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Sandy,” I whisper next to her ear.

She pulls back, cups my face in her hands, and smiles at me. “I love you, Kenleigh. You’re good for my son, and he knows it, too.”

My vision of her blurs as tears build up in my eyes. They fall freely as I nod my head and smile at her.

“Why are you crying?”

A burst of laughter escapes me before I answer. “Because I love you, too. I love your family very much, your son included.”

Mrs. Sandy drops her hands from my face as she leans across the table and plucks a tissue out of its box. Instead of handing it to me, she wipes away my tears and whispers, “I’m very glad to hear that, but no more crying, okay?”

Another laugh escapes me. “Yes ma’am,” I mumble, nodding my head. I pull back and add, “I’m gonna go and clean myself up. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She leans back in her chair with an easy smile.

I feel lighter than I’ve felt in a long time as I make my way upstairs and into the bathroom. A wave of nausea hits me as I think of how to tell Wes. I stare at myself in the mirror, realizing that I know now that I’m in love with him, and his mother knows too, but he doesn’t. I want to tell him, but not until I explain what I went through as a child with my depression. I don’t feel that it’s right to give such a huge piece of myself to him and not trust him with my past. My head drops, and my hands squeeze the edge of the vanity as Jackie’s words filter back in about how I’m too nice for Wes. I shake my head, pushing those thoughts far, far away. As long as I continue to believe in what Mrs. Sandy told me, then I’m sure everything will be just fine.

With my face free of all the tear stains, I go to my room, open the door, and gasp in surprise. Wes is lying there on my bed, his arms tucked behind his head, waiting for me. “What are you doing in here?” I ask, whispering loudly.

“I was waiting for you.” He pats the empty side of the bed next to him. “Come lay with me.”

I have to give it to him. Even after what his mother said, he’s still as tenacious as ever.

I shake my head, smiling as I crawl onto the bed next to him. “Do you not remember what your mom just said?”

“What?” he asks, innocently. “I’m just laying in bed with my beautiful girlfriend. What’s wrong with that? We’re not doing anything,” he says as he pulls me into him.

“Girlfriend, huh?” I tease.

He nuzzles my neck and whispers, “Exactly. My girlfriend. I told you I won’t be sharing, and I meant it.” Gently, he bites into the tender flesh of my neck, and instead of pain, a bolt of desire shoots through me.

“You better stop that,” I whisper as I grind my ass against him. “Because I would hate for you to start something you can’t finish.”

He growls into my neck, making my whole body flare to life. Wes pushes back against me as he mumbles, “You know I finish everything I start.”