A Time To Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) Read online

  “Yes.”

  “I cannot believe you!” Gracie said as she put the picture back on the table and started pacing the room. “Do you realize how much good could have been done with that money?”

  “I know. I made some mistakes,” Eva said.

  “Mistakes? Seriously? You bought an apartment, a car, took vacations…”

  “You don’t have to make me feel worse, Gracie. I already know I screwed up! Plus, there’s one more thing I didn’t tell you.”

  Gracie steeled herself for whatever Eva had up her sleeve.

  “What?”

  “I was married.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I got married three years ago. I met him on a crazy trip to Vegas with some former girlfriends of mine. We were only married for nine months, and he ran off with some of my money.”

  “Good Lord…”

  “I know, I know. I make bad decisions. I always have,” she said putting her face in her hands.

  “Who was this guy?”

  “I met him at a casino. His name was Nick, and he was sexy and cool and… sexy…”

  “Is that all you cared about? Sex?”

  “Of course not! He made me feel good about myself.”

  “Oh, well that’s a great reason to get married. What do you want from me, Eva?” Grace finally asked.

  “You’re my only family, Gracie. I need a place to start over.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! You want to stay here? With me and my husband?”

  “Yes. Please. I know it’s an inconvenience…”

  “An inconvenience? It’s way more than that! I haven’t seen or heard from you in years. You didn’t even come to our wedding, for goodness sakes!”

  “I know, and I felt terrible about that. I really did…”

  “Where is Jack?” Gracie asked referring to Eva’s father.

  “He passed away last year, Gracie. Heart attack. I was devastated,” Eva said, her eyes welling with tears.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Gracie said without looking at her.

  “Thank you. So can I stay?”

  “Look, Eva, this isn’t going to work. You’re going to have to make other arrangements.” Gracie stood up and walked to her kitchen to make a cup of coffee, hoping that her sister would walk out the front door and right out of her life.

  “Gracie, I have nowhere to go. I have no money!” Eva said following her. “You’re my sister. We’re supposed to be there for each other!”

  If looks could kill, Eva would have been dead. Gracie’s eyes were squinted as she leaned across her counter and stared at Eva.

  “Sisters? You gave up the right to be my sister when you took our mother’s money and left me high and dry. You gave up your right to be my sister when you didn’t even show up for my wedding. You’re nothing to me now.”

  The silence was deafening as Eva’s face became stained with tears. Without saying a word, she picked up her purse and walked out the front door.

  ***

  As Gracie got ready for work the next morning, she thought back to Eva’s short visit. Was she too harsh? Maybe. Was she too nice? Probably not!

  Randy had expressed some sympathy for Eva saying she seemed to be a lost soul who’d never experienced the right kind of love. Maybe that was true, but Gracie had given her chance after chance, and taking their mother’s money was the last straw.

  Starting her car, Gracie drove down the long driveway heading for the main street when she noticed her sister’s rental car parked in an abandoned parking lot just outside of her driveway. She pulled up, partly out of concern for her sister’s safety. It had been a pretty cold fall evening, and she wondered if her sister had been picked up by someone.

  As she walked to the window of the car, she saw Eva huddled up in a ball sleeping under a blanket in the driver’s seat.

  “Eva! Wake up!” she yelled as she banged on the window. Slowly, Eva pulled her head out from under the cover and looked at Gracie. It was obvious she had cried herself to sleep. Her face was red and puffy, and her eyes were swollen.

  Eva unlocked the car door, and Gracie swung it open.

  “What are you doing?” Gracie asked.

  “I had nowhere to sleep. I told you I was homeless,” Eva said shaking from cold and exhaustion.

  “My God, Eva. I thought you were just being dramatic. Come on,” Gracie said holding out her hand. Eva took it, and the two women got into Gracie’s car after locking Eva’s rental.

  “Where are we going?” Eva asked shaking.

  “To the diner where I work. You can get some coffee and breakfast there.” Gracie couldn’t look at her sister, but from a humane perspective she just couldn’t leave her in that condition.

  “Why are you helping me, Gracie?” Eva asked softly.

  “Because I’m a nice person,” Gracie said as she drove into the parking lot of the diner. “But don’t think this changes anything. I will help you get on your feet, but then you have to go, Eva. I can’t allow you to screw up my life. Understand?” she asked as she stared straight ahead with her hands still on the steering wheel.

  “Understand. Does this mean I can stay with you?”

  “For a little while. You need to find a job and then get your own place as soon as possible. Preferably in another town.”

  “I wish you didn’t hate me, Gracie.”

  “I don’t hate anyone, Eva. But just because we’re related by blood doesn’t mean we have to have a relationship,” she said opening the car door.

  Chapter 3

  Gracie walked Eva through their small house showing her where she would sleep. The bedroom wasn’t very big, but Eva wasn’t about to complain. Sleeping in her car for one night was a small price to pay for getting her sister to do what she wanted. It was unfortunate she needed her help, but her mother had made it difficult for some reason.

  “Dinner is at five thirty,” Gracie said flatly as she walked past Eva’s room.

  “Thanks.”

  Eva closed her door and opted to read a book instead of interacting with her sister. It would be difficult to live with her for any length of time given their history, but one phone call to her mother’s estate attorney had been enough to convince her.

  When Eva had run out of money, the first call she made was to the attorney she had come to trust after her mother’s death. She needed advice on how to recoup any of the money she’d lost, but he had told her there was no way to do it. However, he also gave her some news she wasn’t expecting at all.

  “Eva, I’ve got some news for you. You mother had a lot more money than three hundred thousand dollars,” Clayton Emory had said.

  “She did? Where is it?” Eva asked, giddy at the prospect of having more money.

  “She set a fund aside in case you ever got yourself into this predicament. However, there is a stipulation.”

  “What is it?”

  “The only way you will get this money is if you can repair you relationship with Gracie and prove it to me.”

  “What? Are you crazy? Gracie hates me!”

  “Well, your mother set a substantial amount aside for you to have, but only if you can prove that you and Gracie are sisters again.”

  “How much is substantial?” Eva asked.

  “Two million dollars.”

  “Oh my God!” Eva screamed into the phone.

  “However, this money will be donated to your mother’s favorite charity in three more months if you cannot forge a relationship. She had it all planned out to donate upon what would have been her sixty fifth birthday.”

  “Three months? It would be a miracle if I could get Gracie to take me back in that short a time.”

  “Well, that’s up to you. Let me know,” he said and hung up the phone.

  Eva stared out the window looking at the mountains in the distance realizing just how big the hurdles were she would have to climb to get Gracie to have a relationship with her. She desperately needed that two million dollars, so she w
ould do anything to make sure their relationship was repaired as quickly as possible.

  As they sat down to dinner, Eva did her best to make small talk with her sister and Randy. It was more than obvious neither of them really wanted her there, but with dollar signs flashing in her head, she was determined to force a relationship by all means necessary.

  One thing she didn’t understand was why her mother wanted this. After all, she didn’t even leave money for Gracie at all, so why would a relationship be important after her death?

  “So, what are you planning to do about a job?” Gracie asked between bites of pot roast.

  “Well, I just got here, so I haven’t really thought about it,” Eva said laughing before realizing that Gracie was quite serious.

  “You aren’t going to live here for free, Eva.”

  “Gracie,” Randy said trying to cool her off.

  “No, Randy, she needs to understand. My sister can be a bit dense about real life… obviously.”

  “Is this how it’s going to be? With you belittling me all the time?” Eva asked as she took a sip of her tea.

  “Don’t you think you deserve it, at least a little bit?” Gracie asked.

  “Maybe. But I am trying, Gracie. I want a good relationship with my sister. We’re all that’s left of our family.” Eva had a hard time keeping herself calm after the verbal assaults her sister was making, but the two million dollars was dancing around in her head. And she would do just about anything to get to that money and get the heck out of Mill Creek Crossing.

  “I don’t need a sister, Eva. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, but I have no plans to trust you ever again. Now, back to the original question. When and where will you be applying for jobs?”

  Eva smiled wearily across the table at Randy before she began to speak. Maybe she could get him on her side.

  “Well, I guess you’ll have to tell me the best places to apply. What about the diner?”

  “No.”

  “Why? You could easily get me a job there.”

  “Because I work there, and it’s bad enough I have to see you at home. I do not want to work with you. Besides, Stella just hired two new waitresses, so we don’t need anyone else.”

  “Okay…”

  “My suggestion would be O’Malley’s Bar.”

  “A bar? You can’t be serious!” Eva said with her mouth gaping open.

  “You want to make money, don’t you?”

  “Well, yeah…”

  “O’Malley’s is the best place then. You can be a waitress or bartender and make lots of tips. Plus, I know Lizzie Maynard just got married, so there’s an opening. You can go by there and ask for Brice.”

  “Great…” Eva said sarcastically as she shoved a big bite of biscuit into her mouth. “Who’s this Brice guy?”

  “He runs the place. His father owns it, but he’s been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.”

  “I’ll drop by there tomorrow then,” Eva said.

  “I’d do it tonight before they fill the position. Plus, bars are open at night, you know…”

  “Tonight? But I was going to take a nice, long bath and…”

  “Eva,” Gracie said with a pointed look. “This isn’t a vacation.”

  Eva pursed her lips and looked down at her place. “Fine. I’ll go after dinner.”

  ***

  As Eva drove into town, she fumed at the thought of having to work nights at a bar. She wasn’t a bar type of woman. She enjoyed fine wine and art exhibits and a good cup of strong espresso. Now, she was relegated to a small town life where she expected Barney Fife to walk by at any moment. Instead of good wine, she would be serving beer to sweaty, fat, country bumpkins. Instead of art, she only had access to what she considered being homemade crafts. Instead of espresso, she would have two hours old coffee at her sister’s diner.

  “Two million dollars,” she whispered to herself as she pulled into the parking lot of O’Malley’s.

  As she got out of her car, she noticed the bar was full of people. With a pit in her stomach, she wasn't sure she wanted to go through with this job. Even though two million dollars was on the line, surely she could find some other kind of job to help pay the bills. She had an idea Gracie and Randy might be having money troubles, so she knew she had to contribute to the household finances in some way. As she started to turn around and walk back to her car, she heard a man call out to her from the front door.

  “Where are you going?” he called out in a gruff voice.

  “I'm in the wrong place,” she said as he hurried toward her car.

  “I don’t think so. Aren’t you Gracie’s sister?” he asked with a wry smile.

  Eva turned around and saw a big barrel of a man standing on the porch of the bar. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes with darker skin than she would've imagined. He was tall, broad shouldered and looked like he just stepped out of some mountain around them. She took a few steps towards him as he leaned against the porch railing.

  “How do you know who I am?” she asked.

  “Because Gracie called and told me you were coming by. She thought you might try to run away when you saw the place.” His smile sent shivers down her spine: she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “That's just great,” Eva mumbled as she put her hands on her hips.

  “The good news is we do have an opening. You got any waitressing or bartending experience?” he asked.

  “Obviously not. Do I look like someone who's ever worked at a bar?” she asked as she waved her hands up and down her body. Wearing a stylish black pantsuit, she looked completely out of place in the town; much less at the seediest bar in the area.

  “I don't know a thing about you, Ma’m. All I'm trying to do is help a friend out by offering her sister a job opportunity. Are you interested or not?”

  Eva stood there for a moment, unsure how to approach this kind of man. She was used to being around more cultured men in the big city, not some mountain man that scared her a little bit every time she looked at him. However, she also knew she needed a job quickly. Otherwise, Gracie was going to kick her out of the house, and then she'd never have a chance at getting the two million dollars.

  “Do you at least want to come inside and take a look at the place?” he asked.

  “I guess that would be okay,” she said hesitantly.

  As she walked toward the porch, she couldn't help but notice how masculine and ruggedly handsome this man was. She had no idea of his name or background, but she was very aware of his presence. In fact, no man had ever made her feel quite this uncomfortable in her own skin.

  The man walked her inside, and she immediately noticed she felt completely out of place. The bar was very loud and rowdy with lots of music playing and smoke filtering through the air. There was a long, hard wood bar across the back of the room while people danced around on the dance floor.

  Being in a pantsuit certainly made her feel more out of place. He touched her arm and led her towards a small office in the back corner of the room. His touch was firm and masculine without being overbearing. However, he made her feel even more uncomfortable. What was she doing in a place like this?

  Men didn’t touch her like this in the city. She didn’t appreciate being manhandled into a back room like some kind of bar brawler. Although he wasn’t being rough, he was taking control of her in a way she wasn’t accustomed to and wasn’t sure she liked.

  “Let go of my arm,” she said pulling away as he closed the office door.

  “Pardon?” he said with a quirk of a smile as he sat down on the edge of his desk. Noticing his form hugging jeans and brown cowboy boots, she felt a surge of heat rise up her body.

  “Why did you grab me like that?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

  “Honey, that wasn’t grabbing. I was just leading you to my office.”

  “Don’t call me honey. I’m not your honey,” she said pursing her lips.

  “If you’re going to get along wit
h people around here, you’ve got to get that corn cob out of your butt,” he said shaking his head as he walked to his chair and sat down.

  Eva was steaming mad at this point. What right did he have to say something like that to her? She believed she was above him in all ways, and she wasn’t going to be belittled by some gruff mountain ape wearing boots and smelling like the best thing she’d ever smelled.