* * *
Three days passed in which Holly kept busy. She saw patients and readied the office for her new partner. She’d been using the extra room for personal storage, and she needed to clear her things out before the first of the year, when Dr. Tollgate started working. After tackling the boxes and moving them into her own office, she began dusting the bookshelves and desk. She found that keeping busy also helped her think. Office cleaning was akin to clearing her mind and facing what she needed and wanted out of life. What she wanted from Dylan.
He had called her two or three times a day since he’d been gone, testament to his desire to prove he’d changed. That he wasn’t leaving her behind—if not without a thought, then without another word for ten years. She didn’t know what more he had in mind for them, but she understood that she had to come to terms with her own feelings before he returned.
She shook her head. Her feelings weren’t the issue. She loved Dylan. The problem lay with her insecurity. John had called her on it, and she knew he was right.
The door chimes startled her. Wondering if there was an emergency, she headed for the outer room to see who was there. She opened the door, looked around but saw no one. She was about to go back inside when she glanced down. A large manila envelope sat at her door. Inside was a map, a set of directions to what appeared to be someplace about half an hour outside of town and a note. In Dylan’s handwriting.
Heart pounding, she stepped back into the office so she could read the letter to herself aloud. “I promised I’d be back, and here I am.” She licked her dry lips before continuing. “I can’t change the past, but I hope to alter the future. Stop running and meet me. If you dare.”
If she dared. She shook her head, laughing and trembling at the same time. Leave it to Dylan to challenge her in the most basic way.
It was simple really. Either she trusted him or she didn’t. Melanie’s fake announcement and her own reaction to it had proven to Holly that she believed in him. Now it was time to question whether she trusted herself.
Before now, she’d never have pegged herself as an insecure person. Yet she was forced to admit that when it came to men and relationships, she was a complete weenie, and those insecurities dated back to Dylan’s departure ten years ago. After he left, she had thrown herself into her studies. Once she’d recovered and started dating again, she’d chosen safe men, none of whom affected her emotions and none of whom gave her that sexual zing she felt with Dylan. They were all good, decent men but posed no threat to her heart.
But now Dylan was back, and he was definitely a threat, not just to the heart she’d taken such good care of, but to everything she’d become as a person. She’d always considered herself confident and capable; after all, she was a doctor who’d been making decisions about her patients for years. What about herself and choices on her own behalf?
She glanced down at the note in her shaking hands. Stop running and meet me. If you dare.
Did she dare? She could easily offer Dylan North her heart and maybe even trust in his promise to handle both it and her with care. But was she secure enough in herself to believe she could hold on to him this time?
There it was, her biggest fear exposed.
She could run and never know the happiness she felt certain Dylan could provide, or she could shut the door on the past forever and believe in herself at last. Holly closed the extra office door, and aware of the symbolism, she locked it up tight.
Then, she straightened her shoulders. Decision made. Damn straight she was secure enough to handle Dylan now. If not, she wasn’t the person she thought she was.
And she’d worked too hard and come too far not to believe in the woman Dr. Holly Evans had become.
* * *
Snow covered the ground and big flakes began to fall. The longer Dylan stood on the property he’d own as soon as the legalities had been finalized, the more time he had to convince himself that Holly wouldn’t show.
He trusted Nicole to deliver the directions, so he didn’t think that was the problem. No, if anything, Holly was still unsure whether she could believe in him again. He’d done everything in his power to convince her. The decision was hers to make.
He rubbed his hands together and shoved them into his jacket pocket. Closing his eyes, he envisioned the house he wanted to build on this land. The only thing was that when he pictured a wife to come home to, it was Holly he saw there. Their children playing in the yard.
In his heart, he knew she shared those dreams, and he couldn’t make himself believe she’d let them down.
“Hi, Dylan.”
At first he thought he was imagining the sound of her soft voice until he opened his eyes. She stood before him bundled in a puffy down jacket, scarf and a hat with a small brim. Her eyes were wide and curious.
He was just damn glad to see her. “Hey, babe. Merry Christmas.”
She smiled before she shocked him big-time by throwing herself into his arms. Dylan wasn’t stupid, and he held on tight. “I missed you,” he whispered in her ear.
“I missed you, too.” She stepped back and studied his face. “Where are we?”
This
was it, he thought. The beginning or the end. “It’s home.” He gestured around the wide expanse of land. “Five acres of grass and trees. Of course, it needs a house and some other necessary things, like a dog and a few kids.”
He tried to shoot her a cocky grin, but failed. Everything he wanted out of life was on the line, and for the first time, his charm, looks and fame couldn’t give it to him.
Only she could.