Chapter 44

CHAPTER

FORTY-FOUR

“ S o you’ll call me the moment you touch down in Oklahoma City,” Harry said, taking Belle’s face into both of his warm, capable hands. Belle smiled at him, feeling so loved and cherished as she stood outside the Jackson Hole airport.

“Yes,” she said, “I’ll call you the moment I touch down in Oklahoma City.” She swallowed, and she couldn’t hide that movement—that tell of her nerves—from Harry. He felt it, and his eyebrows went up, even as he lowered his head to kiss her.

They had talked about him going with her to visit her parents before she went on to Nashville for the meet-and-greet. In the end, Belle hadn’t been home in over a year, and she decided she wanted to visit her folks alone and that she’d meet him and Adam in Nashville.

“I wish I was going with you,” he said as he pulled away. “Are you nervous?”

She nodded because she’d told Harry that her parents didn’t really agree with her career choices and never had.

“They’ll be happy to see you,” he said. “I mean, I know they know you’re safe, but they’ll still be happy to see you.” He grinned at her. “It’s always better to see you in person than to not.”

Belle smiled up at him because she liked how he felt about her. It showed on his face and exuded from every pore of his body. Belle wanted to echo the things he’d said to her for the past month, about how much he cared about her, how much he loved her. She hadn’t found a way to do that yet. She felt like she’d gotten on a mechanical bucking bull, and she had to hold on with both hands as it thrashed back and forth, left and right, trying to get her off.

They hadn’t talked about money at all, though she knew Harry had to be pretty well off. And a little voice inside herself told her that she didn’t need to get country music gigs. She didn’t need to be looking for another job, something that she hadn’t done for a while as she prepped for the concert tour, then played in that and then started organizing this meet-and-greet in Nashville. There hadn’t been time for much else, and she had a little bit of savings from when she’d sold her house before going undercover. So far, it had gotten her by.

“I’ll miss you while I’m gone,” she said, and she could get her voice to say that .

“I miss you already,” Harry said, and he kissed her again just as an alarm went off on her phone.

Harry, though tall and strong and with muscles as hard as rock, was a squishy, soft, sensitive man. And she’d known he’d want to say goodbye for as long as possible. He pulled away and said, “You better get going.” He fell back a step and tucked his hands in his pocket.

Belle reached for the handle on her suitcase, realizing that the past five months between airplane trips for her had been filled with Harry, Harry, and more Harry.

“Love you, Belle,” he said almost casually now.

Belle looked up at him again. She wanted to ask him how he knew that he loved her. He said he’d never been in love before, and Belle certainly hadn’t. So how did he know?

This was why she needed to go to Oklahoma City and talk to her mom and dad alone. She had to tell them about Harry. She needed to be away from Harry to see how she felt when she was on her own. Not part of a couple. Not his plus one. His partner.

When she had to lay down on the couch by herself without him, how would she feel?

She also couldn’t walk away from him without saying anything, but I really like you, Harry sounded stupid in her head.

So she reached for him and pressed her lips to his in another quick kiss.

“I am so close to knowing if I love you,” she said.

“We’ve got plenty of time, sweetheart.” Harry had been kind and patient with her for weeks. He didn’t love her idea of a meet-and-greet in Nashville, but he’d agreed to go. He’d helped her plan it. He’d used all of his contacts in country music and so had his family. They’d just given them all to her freely, and her heart filled with tears at their kindness and generosity.

So while Belle didn’t know some things, there were others in her life that she knew absolutely for certain. One, she did not want a country music career in the way that Harry had it. She did not want to be on the stage playing and singing and greeting crowds and dealing with photographers and reporters. She didn’t want to do interviews.

Belle craved the life out of the spotlight, doing something she loved from inside a strong support network and a small-town community.

She turned and grabbed her bag again. As she walked away from Harry, she thought, Like the Youngs . It was one of the truer things she’d thought in a long time.

And Coral Canyon.

She did love Harry’s family and the small town where they lived. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to make that her life and her family.

Then you must love him , she thought as she entered the airport. Things got busy from there. She had to go through security, tow her bag everywhere, and get to her gate. She didn’t have time to stew through all of her feelings, and that was never really Belle’s style anyway.

She put her head down and got to work. And so, on the flight to Oklahoma City, she went over the meet-and-greet details one last time. She distracted herself by reading a romance novel. And when she landed in Oklahoma, she sent Harry a text that said, I am alive and well. My daddy’s already texted that he’s here, and I’ll send you a picture of us soon.

Harry came back with three red hearts, and Belle smiled at her device then tucked her phone away. Again, she had to navigate through an airport. And since she hadn’t checked her bag, it didn’t take her long until she found her dad standing in the waiting area, holding up a sign that said, “Belle Graves” in all caps and her mom clapping her hands in a cheer.

Belle jogged the last few steps to them both and wrapped her arms around them simultaneously.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, Tinkerbell,” her mom said, and Belle gripped her, though the nickname drove her mad. She wasn’t a child. She’d lived on her own now for thirteen years, she’d gone undercover, she’d solved one of the biggest cases Wyoming and the western states had ever seen, and she was dating country music sensation Harry Young.

Belle was anything but a tiny fairy from one of her favorite childhood cartoons. The nickname almost felt demeaning to her, like her mom didn’t trust her or didn’t believe that she was old enough to take care of herself, though she’d never given any other indication as such.

Belle stepped back and sniffled, saying, “What’s with the sign, Dad?”

“Oh, you know,” he said in his Southern drawl. “You’re a big star now.” He chuckled and folded the manilla folder he’d written on in half, and Belle laughed too as she shook her head.

“I’m not a big star,” she said.

Especially from far away, Belle felt like a pinprick of light, though she knew stars, in all their glory, were huge, like the sun. It depended on how close one got to them that determined how big and bright they shone.

“Are you starving?” her mom asked. “Because Daddy has a hankering for Saddleman’s.”

“Fish and chips,” her father said.

“Absolutely famished,” Belle said, grinning at her daddy. “You know what they don’t have in Wyoming that they really need? Sweet pea salad.” Her mouth watered just thinking about it. “I want that and some of their fried chicken.”

Her dad slung his arm around her shoulders and said, “Well, let’s go.”

Belle grinned her way out of the airport because while she hadn’t come to visit her parents for a while, having a family meant she could always ease right back into the spot that she’d left previously. She hadn’t felt like that at the Sheriff’s Department, and that told her that she didn’t belong there. She’d already left, but it was a nice confirmation from God Himself.

“So tell us,” Momma said the moment they got in the car. “How did you meet Harry Young?”

Oh, the stories Belle could tell, and they’d be good, something that brought a smile to her face and a skip to her heartbeat, something where she didn’t have to talk about dank apartments, dirty carpet, and the loud chimes of slot machines in a casino.

“I met him on a case,” she said. And she let everything she’d experienced and done and felt with Harry pour out of her mouth as her daddy drove them to Saddleman’s. By the time they got their food, Belle’s stomach clamored for it.

“One more question,” her mom said.

Belle had just forked up a bite of sweet pea salad. “All right, Momma, one more question.”

They hadn’t talked about her job or the meet-and-greet in Nashville yet, so surely her mother would have more questions. It was something Southern mommas were really good at—needling their children to death with questions.

“Sounds like you and Harry are very serious,” she said.

“That’s not a question,” Belle said, putting her coveted salad in her mouth.

“Do you love him?” Momma asked, going straight for the jugular. “Are you going to marry him and stay in Wyoming?”

In that moment, Belle realized that perhaps her mom had been thinking she’d come back to Oklahoma someday. Belle’s mind blitzed through all the memories of the past dozen years. Had she ever given her parents an indication that she would come back to Oklahoma? She couldn’t think of a single thing, so she chewed and swallowed and looked her mom straight in the face and grinned.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s the goal. Finish falling in love with Harry, marry him, and raise our family in Wyoming. ”

“Well, then we have to meet him,” her momma said, almost with a touch of coolness in her voice.

“I can’t wait to meet him anyway,” Daddy said, always the more easygoing one. “We watched your live stream from the Yellowstone Café.” He picked up another piece of fish. “It was fantastic. The man’s real talented on a guitar.”

“He sure is,” Belle said, dropping her chin and studying her food.

“So are you,” Daddy said, without missing a beat. “Just incredible, Belle.”

She raised her eyes to his again. “Really, Daddy? You think so?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Those fools in Nashville.” He chuckled. “I bet they’re really kicking themselves they let you go ten years ago.”

Belle saw the door open for the next conversation she needed to have with her family, and feeling brave and bold and strong and courageous the way Harry did everything, she said, “They are, as a matter of fact. I’m going there right after we finish our visit here.”

Later that evening, Belle sighed and put down her phone. She’d been texting Harry about the places she’d eaten that day, and all her parents had said.

She smiled just thinking about him, and she peeled back the comforter and sheet and slid to the floor. A mighty sigh slipped from her lips as Belle knelt beside her bed, folded her hands, and bowed her head.

“Dear God,” she whispered. Emotions stormed her then, and Belle’s throat closed around them.

Seeing her parents had been healing for her in a way she hadn’t anticipated and couldn’t describe. She did love Oklahoma, but “It’s not home,” she said aloud, sure God could keep up with her thoughts, the things in her heart, and what came out of her mouth.

Oklahoma wasn’t home.

Wyoming was.

“Harry is,” she murmured, and she breathed in and found her center. “Thank You for Your constant guidance in my life.”

She could thank the Lord for His hand in ensuring her safety, for orchestrating it so she and Harry had been in the Jackson Hole airport at the same time, for all the performances she’d had the opportunity to do.

But most of all, she needed to thank Him for Harry.

“Thank You for reminding me that I’m amazing on my own, but also for showing me that Harry and I belong together. Please help me to navigate this next step in my life, to find the courage and strength to pursue my dreams—but don’t let me do anything that will cost me Harry, okay?”

She knew better than most that country music couldn’t replace true love, and as she knelt next to her childhood bed, she let her feelings flow over her the way a waterfall rushed over cliffs.

And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she now knew what love felt like, and that she was falling, falling, falling the way that water did when it went over the cliff.

She was in love with Harry Young.

She stayed still for a few more moments, feeling the peace settle over her, before climbing into bed. She sent Harry a quick text: Can’t wait until we’re in Nashville together.

Belle lay back on the pillows, a sense of calm washing over her. She was ready for whatever Nashville had in store for her, knowing that she wouldn’t be alone here, there, in Jackson…or Coral Canyon.