“I guess so. I can’t get away from coffee even when I’m on vacation.”
“How long have you been co-owner of a coffee shop?”
“Two years. It has been doing well and I am a bit of a workaholic, so Carla said she’d take care of things while I got away to get my mind off of…”
Off of… what? “Lemon Grove is a good place to be when you want to take your mind off things.”
“I’ve found that to be true.” She smiled at him and his knees almost buckled beneath him. He searched his mind for more things to say or do to make her smile again.
“Do you want to see a view of the town?” he asked.
“From here?”
“Yes, just ahead is an extra loop we can take to a viewpoint. Ten minutes, tops.”
“That would be lovely.” The smile had returned even wider now.
Rick called ahead to the couple and guided them to the path toward the view. Molly’s stride lengthened and Rick heard her boots crunch against the trail. Even the couple picked up their pace. His suggestion of stopping at the viewpoint brought a new level of excitement to the group.
He caught himself sneaking quick glances in Molly’s direction and she appeared to be keeping her eye on the trail, watching for the upcoming view with little thought to the man at her side. Why would she want to look at him? Molly was a city girl and was most likely attracted to success. It was his connections to his father and his father’s money that made him a catch to the ladies in the city. In Lemon Grove, he was only a guy with a dog. Even his truck wasn’t impressive. Sure, he didn't look all that bad (if he did say so himself), but what else did he have going for him? From what Molly had seen, not much. No wonder she hadn’t seemed to react when he touched her hand at the gas station. He concluded that anything he had experienced came from his own head and was one-sided. There was no sign to lead him to believe she might be looking at him the same way.
But what did he feel? Curiosity. Attraction. It had to be an interest in someone unfamiliar. She was new to town, and he needed to talk to someone outside of his usual small social circle in Lemon Grove. He needed to keep his thoughts in check and recognize them for what they were. Time with Molly had become a break from the mundane and nothing more.
“I see the town,” the wife called excitedly from the front of the line.
They gathered together at the unmarked viewpoint where no trees grew on a large rock overlooking the valley below. Nestled in the trees were the rooftops of Lemon Grove.
“The trees to the left of town are the campground.”
“And those large buildings over to the right?” asked the wife.
Rick sighed. There was no missing the five-story building and the other outbuildings sticking out among the trees. “That is Lemon Eagle Resort.”
She grimaced. “I’m sorry, but it’s kind of ugly.”
“I can’t argue with you there,” Rick said. The way Robert Fletcher changed the landscape with his eyesore made Rick hot with anger. The town should never have granted the resort the permits to develop the area as they did. It made Rick wonder who Robert paid to make sure they built the resort according to his plans, no matter how much of an impact it made on the area.
Molly took a step toward the edge, and Rick grabbed her elbow, pulling her back.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s instinct. Don’t get too close.” The last few words were for him as he left his hand on her arm a little longer.
“Where do you live?” Molly asked. She fixed her eyes on the buildings below. Her elbow still in Rick’s grasp.
He moved closer. “You can’t see it from here. My home is to the left of the resort. Between the house with the red roof and the last resort building.”
It was impossible to make out the red roof or the last resort building from where they stood. Those unfamiliar with the area would probably struggle to pick out his home among the thick trees, but Rick knew where his house was.
Molly turned to him and held out her camera. “Would you take my picture?”
“Of course.” Molly tucked her hands inside her jacket pockets and smiled for the camera. He checked the picture on the screen. She was beautiful in a photograph, too. “Got it,” he said.
“How about the two of you together?” The husband took the camera from Rick and gestured for him to stand beside Molly.
Rick mimicked her pose, slipping his hands in his pockets, and stood by her side.
“Come on.” The husband waved his hand in the air. “Put your arm around her.”
Rick smiled and watched Molly’s face for her approval. She gave a nod and as he slipped his arm around her waist, he thought his heart would burst.
“There.” The husband returned the camera to Rick and laughed. “You two make an adorable couple.”
“Oh,” Molly’s cheeks reddened, “Rick and I—”
“Thank you,” Rick said. His face smiled back at him in the photo on the LCD display. “This is a great picture of us.”
The husband held his wife’s hand as he walked proudly down the trail with their terrier leading the way.
“I want a copy of that,” he said to Molly. “Can you send it to me?”
“Don’t you have a picture of yourself with the town already?”
He shrugged. “I think I like this one more.” Leaning close, he showed her the image of the two of them smiling side-by-side.
“It is a wonderful picture,” she said softly.
It was a keeper. And from Rick’s perspective, so was Molly.
* * *
Molly had never looked as happy in photographs as she did standing beside Rick. Even in pictures with Brad, there was still a hint of sadness behind her eyes. But here was evidence it was possible for her to be happy with someone. Even someone she was still getting comfortable with.
She turned off the camera and tucked it away. Relationships had a way of going sour once she got to know someone better, as they were never the same as they first appeared. On the surface, Rick might appear like a small town guy who loves his dog, but there had to be more to him than that. He didn’t like people questioning his care of Hudson, however, he knew how to apologize. It was a trait Brad lacked.
“Be careful around the roots. Don’t trip.” Rick had his eye on everything from the trail, the couple, the dog… even Molly.
She found comfort in being with someone who wasn’t only looking out for himself. Rick had put thought into this trip to create an enjoyable experience for his guests. From reassuring the couple and offering them options to packing lunches, he now called out hazards on the trail, and it seemed to come naturally to him, which put Molly at ease. She would be happy with someone like Rick. Someone who would put other's needs before himself. Someone who might put her first.
Molly didn’t mean to trip on the root, but the toe of her shoe caught the edge and sent her tumbling forward. There wasn’t even time to gasp before her arms waved in the air as she searched for something to keep herself from landing on the ground. And her arms found Rick. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him to stop her fall. His grip tightened into a light squeeze and then his hand relaxed, leaving her hand in his.
“I’ll make sure you get over this rough patch,” he whispered. It was the same reassuring voice he had used at the gas station. The soothing voice. Now, instead of covering her hand, he held it entwined with his.
Her heart beat fast with every step their hands remained locked in their hold. Neither released the other as they continued down the trail hand-in-hand and Hudson walked beneath their outstretched arms.
While Molly had cautioned herself not to get caught up in a relationship with someone she would soon leave behind, she saw no reason she couldn’t hold hands with him. As long as she recognized this as a perk that came with the Lakewood Lake tour package, she could let it slide. If it continued after today, she might need to set a few more boundaries for herself. She assured herself it wouldn’t happen again. Rick was being helpful, and the li
ngering of his grasp was a pleasant and harmless surprise.
The walk continued on with the couple taking additional pictures of the empty lake. With its little legs exhausted from the walk, they carried their small terrier in their arms. Despite Hudson’s age, he trotted along just fine, keeping up with his human companions.
Molly was thankful for the slow pace. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but knew she had held hands with Rick for half the length of the loop and she estimated they would soon be back at the truck.
A raindrop hit her cheek. Another soon followed. And another. Then the clouds unleashed their worst, sending down sheets of rain.
“Get under some branches,” Rick called to the couple.
They tucked themselves under the shelter of a pine tree, which caught much of the rain in the branches above. Rick pulled Molly to a tree off to the side of the trail. Once hidden under the branches, Rick wrapped his coat and arms around her, further shielding Molly from the rain. Her mind swirled as she breathed in his outdoorsy scent. Holding hands was one thing, but her head resting against his chest was another. The longer she remained in his arms, the more she begged the rain not to stop.
A drop broke through the branches, striking the side of her face. As she lifted her arm to wipe it away, Rick leaned back and ran his thumb across her cheek. Molly rolled onto her toes, inching herself closer. His hand remained on her cheek for a moment, his eyes staring back into hers before he pulled her back against his chest.
“This shouldn’t last long,” he whispered, or the rain drowned out his voice. Molly couldn’t tell which.
“It shouldn’t?” Her voice trembled from excitement, or it could have been the chill of the rain. Her heart knew the difference.
He wistfully replied, “Nothing like this lasts forever.”
Chapter Thirteen
Stepping through the front door to his cabin, Rick whistled a cheerful tune. This day took a turn he could never have predicted. Only twenty-four hours before, he had been planning a tour for a retired couple, and it caught him off guard when Molly joined them. The tour had started innocently enough, but when she fell into his arms, he didn’t want to let go.
He took a risk when he held her hand. Molly could have pulled away and refused to talk to him for the rest of the hike. Through the corner of his eye, he had seen her tumble forward and in an instant he grabbed her. Then as they walked, any awkwardness of taking her hand for the first time had drifted away. His heart soared when she left her hand, small and cool, in his. He was sure he felt her slide her fingers between his… or maybe he had done it? It happened in a second.
The weather was out of his control. He wanted to take credit for the rain that forced them to seek shelter under the tree. Normally, he complained about his clothing being drenched, the raindrops streaming down his spine, but he would stand in the rainstorm for hours if it meant she would still be in his arms. Sadly, there were others he needed to think about on the tour.
At the first break in the weather, he directed the couple to lead the way back to the truck. Even with the poor weather, there was laughter and smiles from everyone, including Molly. He hoped she enjoyed herself and didn’t find it awkward to spend the day with him. It seemed she had when Molly agreed to meet him for coffee tomorrow.
“It’s a date,” he had said, leaving her with a stunned expression. She didn’t disagree when he dropped her off at the campground. And so, he whistled his merry tune on his drive home and continued whistling as he walked into his bedroom, where he peeled off his damp jacket and T-shirt and found a set of clean, dry clothes from his dresser. His phone rang in his jacket pocket. Was it her?
Checking the call display, Rick saw his father’s name and his positive mood drained away with every chime of the ring-tone.
“Where have you been all day?” his father demanded.
“I was giving some folks a tour of Lakewood Lake.”
“I’m not paying you to give people tours.”
Rick trapped his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he wrestled himself into a dry pair of jeans. “That would be why I booked the day off. One second.” He dropped the phone onto his bed and pulled a dry T-shirt over his head. “What can I do for you, Dad?”
“While you were off sightseeing with friends, I was working on a business deal.”
“Sounds promising.” Rick knew there was more to his father’s phone call than just another round of criticism. He needed something and expected Rick to deliver.
“I need you here tomorrow to finish it off.”
His father always had a way of ruining his plans. “I’m pretty busy here.”
“Anything you can do there, you can do here.”
Rick couldn’t have his coffee date with Molly in the city, and his father would never accept a date as an excuse. “I have another meeting.”
“With who?” Not getting an immediate response from Rick, his father continued. “Any other meeting isn’t as important as this one. Cancel whatever you have scheduled and meet me in my office at nine.”
Rick ran his hand through his hair. “Do you realize how short notice this is? You can’t ask me to drop everything because you—”
“Listen, Rick. Your mother and I can’t be the only ones sacrificing for this company. How many times in the past year have I asked you to come back for a meeting?”
There were other requests. Paperwork. Equipment reviews. Staff parties. His father had plenty of non-meeting demands for Rick to comply with.
“I’m asking for more notice than to call me in for a meeting the evening before.”
His father exhaled into the phone and made the hair on the back of Rick’s neck stand upright. He had been on the wrong end of his father’s temper many times before. “Don’t you tell me how things are going to be. If you won’t respect me as your father, you will at least respect me as your employer, and I am telling you I expect you in the office tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
It was a crushing end to what had been a spectacular day. If not for this meeting, his good momentum with Molly would have carried over into tomorrow. Instead, his family was unknowingly stopping the momentum in its tracks. Without even being here, his father messed things up for him and brought the drama into his life.
He flopped backward onto his bed, thinking of how he would need to break the news to Molly. At least he had a reason to call her and hear her voice one more time before the day was over. Luckily, he had her number written on the waiver.
* * *
Molly knew the date was too good to be true. Rick hadn’t even waited twenty-four hours to change his mind. She never even had time to call Carla to tell her about Lakewood Lake, the hike, and the rainstorm before he called to cancel. He should at least have been honest with her about not being interested than pretend he wanted to reschedule. Now she understood why he was single. He couldn’t commit and would come up with lies to get out of a date. Sure, he needed to go to the city. She dodged a bullet there.
“I didn’t know they were going to ask me to come in.”
Mm-hmm.
“I tried to get out of it.”
Sure.
“Let me make it up to you.”
She heard it all before, but from someone with another name. Somehow, in her effort to forget about him, Molly ended up in Lemon Grove, where she had apparently found his small town twin. Why was it she always attracted the same men? What vibe was she giving off to draw them all to her? For once, she should be entitled to meet a nice guy who would treat her like she was his priority. At some point, her bad luck had to run out.
For now, there would be no morning coffee date. Rick might be back in time for a dinner date, but no guarantees, and Molly saw through it. He had no intention of making a second attempt at a date. It was time to move on. Was it fun while it lasted? Perhaps. If only she could erase the memory of Rick holding her as they stood under that tree. She wouldn’t soon forget the way he stared back at her as if he was readi
ng her thoughts. If only she could have read his.
Rick was right, nothing like that moment would last forever.
* * *
As the early morning light spilled between the buildings, Rick pulled into the asphalt parking lot, and took a breath. He was a stranger in the land of concrete and asphalt. This was not his world anymore, yet his family still dragged him back. The staff parking lot was full, leaving only a handful of visitor stalls to choose from. As the son of the owner, any empty parking stall was available to him and he could force an employee to park on the street. He chose visitor parking. He would not be staying long and had no desire to displace any of the employees for the sake of his convenience.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he checked for messages. There were none, although he wished for an important phone call to whisk him away from the anguish he was about to endure. He would take any call at this point. A call to say the pipes had burst at his cabin would do. If only he had thought ahead and asked a friend to call during the meeting to save him.
There was only one more thing to do before he went inside. He needed to switch his mind away from the negativity he had been thinking about work, and focus on something positive. Rick knew what to do.
He scrolled through his phone contacts and found Molly’s number. She would be awake as Hudson stopped by for his morning visit.
The phone rang, and she answered.
“Hi, Molly. It’s Rick.”
“Hey. Aren’t you in the city?”
“I just got here,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Hearing her voice, he became energized, forgetting all about his troubles. The sooner he got through this meeting and finished the deal for his father, the sooner he could get back home and take this woman out to dinner. “If Hudson isn’t there yet, he will be there soon.”
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