“Sorry to bother you so early,” he said, holding up a set of keys. “But I wanted to give you these. It’s my day off too, so I’m going to head out on the water for a few hours.”
“Oh, okay.” She curled her hand around the keys. “Thanks. And thanks for letting me use your truck. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. I packed up your cupcakes too. You’ll find them on my kitchen counter when you’re ready to leave for church. I left the name and address of the church on the counter too. Just plug it into the GPS.”
“Okay, thanks.” She felt as though that was all she had to say. Thanks. Of course, she did have a lot to thank him for.
“Sure.” He stepped back. “Well, good luck with the fundraiser. I guess I’ll see you when I get off the water.”
“Brady.” She stepped forward, grabbing his wrist before he could get away. “I’m sorry about last night.”
He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before he said, “You mean the kiss?”
“No.” She was surprised to find she wasn’t at all sorry about that. “I’m sorry that I left the way I did. I know you want to know more about me, but…”
“It’s okay.” He shook his head, stepping back and forcing her to release him “You don’t owe me any explanations. You’re just here for the summer. I get it. If we can be friends, great. If not, well, I guess I’m okay with that too.”
Her heart hurt as his words sank in. “So we’re not even friends now? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know what you expect me to say, Claudia.” He raised his hands, palms up. “I usually know my friends. I know about their pasts, their mistakes, hopes, dreams, that kind of thing. Can we really call this a friendship if you’re determined to keep me at arm’s length?”
Tears filled her eyes as she felt the rift between them growing. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. “Please don’t cry. I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t want to get hurt either. And I have a feeling with you I could.”
“What do you mean?” She would never intentionally hurt someone who’d been as sweet to her as Brady had.
“You’re the kind of girl I could fall pretty hard for, I think.”
She was flattered, but it was obvious he didn’t intend that as a compliment.
“And I can’t let that happen, not when there’s so much I don’t know about you.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black shorts. “You said your husband’s out of the picture, but until I know the whole story, I’d be crazy to get too invested.”
He was absolutely right. In his position, she would have felt the same way. “I just don’t want to say or do anything that will give you cause to feel differently about me.”
He narrowed his eyes as though he was dissecting her comment. “Are you saying you cheated on your husband? Is that what ended your marriage?”
She sucked in a breath as she closed her hand around the doorknob. “No, I would never do that.”
“Then why won’t you tell me what happened?” He tipped his head back, blowing out a frustrated breath as he stared at the ceiling. “I’ve tried to give you your space. I’ve even tried to convince myself that your past is none of my business, and I have no right to know what brought you here. But I saw every hour on the clock last night because I couldn’t stop playing out all these crazy scenarios in my head.”
“Can you give me a little more time?” She wasn’t even sure she had the right to ask, but she wasn’t ready to blurt out everything until she’d had a chance to think it through.
“Sure.” He nodded, backing up a step. “You know where to find me when and if you’re ready to talk.”
Claudia enjoyed getting to know Shay and Brady’s mother, but by the time they’d packed up at the church, she had come to the conclusion that she had to walk away from Brady or tell him everything. Those seemed to be her only two options, and both made her feel sick.
“Would you like to grab a coffee before we head home?” Shay asked. “Nick and Chase went to shoot hoops at the high school, so it’s not like I have anyone waiting on me.”
“I’d love that,” Claudia said, smiling as they walked to their respective vehicles.
“Bella’s is just down the street,” Shay said, pointing at Main Street. “We could walk from here, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” Claudia had been meaning to apologize to Shay for her deception at the inn, and she knew there would be no better time. “I’m really sorry about the other day. I, um, needed to talk to Nick alone.”
She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell Shay about her past, but she’d already decided it wasn’t fair to ask Nick to withhold things from his parents.
“Why is that?” Shay asked, looking confused. “I hope he didn’t say or do anything to offend you?”
“No,” Claudia said as they walked past the water fountain/wishing well in the middle of the small town square. “It was nothing like that. He seems like a great kid.”
After a moment or two of silence, Shay reached into the pocket of her sundress and withdrew a couple of coins. She handed one to Claudia. “You have to make a wish. It’s kind of tradition in Landon. You can’t walk by the fountain without making a wish.”
Claudia stood in front of the fountain, staring into the clear blue water at the shiny coins on the bottom. There was no way her wish could ever come true. But if she had to wish for something else, what would it be? The answer came in the blink of an eye—more time with Brady.
She closed her eyes tight and tossed the coin into the fountain’s spray as she wondered whether her wish would come true. For all she knew, by the time she returned to the inn, Brady might tell her it was time for her to move on.
Shay hooked her arm around Claudia’s, guiding her to a stone bench flanked by two flowerpots overflowing with colorful blooms. “Why don’t you have a seat here while I go get our drinks?”
“Okay.” She reached into her purse for money, but Shay waved her off.
“My treat. It’s kind of warm out here. Iced coffee okay?”
“Perfect, thanks.”
Claudia watched Shay walk away, wondering if her new acquaintance even realized how lucky she was. She was getting a second chance with her son and the love of her life. Some people would never get a second chance, no matter how hard they prayed for one.
She took her phone out of her purse and scrolled through the pictures she’d sent from her old phone. Pictures of her kids smiling and laughing, without a care in the world. She held the phone against her chest, feeling once again as though the physical ache could split her in two.
“Here you go,” Shay whispered, holding the plastic cup out to her. “I’m sorry, do you need a minute?”
A minute. An hour. A lifetime. It wouldn’t matter how long she had. The pain would never, ever go away.
“No, I’m okay.” She accepted the cup with a grateful nod while trying to rein in her sadness. She’d gotten pretty good at forcing it down, especially in public, but the prospect of talking about it again brought it all back to the surface.
Shay silently sipped her drink for a few minutes before she said, “Why did you need to speak to my son?”
Claudia had expected her to ask, but she still wasn’t sure how to answer without sounding evasive or, worse, like a liar. But the truth was her only option now. “Nick recognized me.”
“He recognized you?” Shay asked, with a sidelong glance. “You mean you two know each other?”
“Not exactly. We’ve seen each other in passing, but he, um, knows of me, I guess you could say.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“I lived in Brockville. That’s where I was coming from when my car broke down near Brady’s inn.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I asked Nick not to tell his uncle where I was from. I wasn’t ready for Brady to know about my past.”
“I’m confused,” Shay sai
d, rubbing her temple. “You seem like a really sweet person. What could be so terrible that you wouldn’t want Brady to know about your past?”
“It’s nothing I did. It’s something that happened. Something terrible.” Her voice trembled before she whispered, “And I just wasn’t ready to talk to Brady about it when I saw Nick. I asked him to respect my right to keep it to myself, but now I can see how unfair that was to him.”
“You said you weren’t ready to talk to Brady about it. Are you now?”
“I’m not sure I have a choice.” She took a sip of her drink, trying to weigh her options. “I never expected to get close to anyone. When I decided to leave Brockville, it was because I needed a little distance from the people I loved. Making friends was really the last thing on my mind.”
“So that’s what you and Brady are?” Shay asked. “Friends?”
Claudia had no easy way to define her feelings for Brady since she didn’t understand them herself. “I’m not sure what we are. I just know he wants to know more about me. He knows I’m holding back, and it’s frustrating him. We’re getting closer, but he’s starting to pull back because he knows I’m keeping things from him.”
“Interesting.” Shay smiled when a little blond-haired girl ran up the fountain and squeezed her eyes shut before throwing in her coin. “I’ve never known Brady to pry, especially with women. He usually likes to keep things pretty casual, not get in too deep, if you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, he told me he doesn’t really have time for relationships.” Claudia believed that, like her, Brady hadn’t imagined their friendship could evolve into more when they first met.
“He’s an amazing man.” Shay shifted to face Claudia. “I’ve known him a really long time. Since high school, in fact. And I can honestly tell you that the lady who’s lucky enough to call Brady hers will never have to doubt his honesty or sincerity. Like his brother, when he decides to commit, he’ll jump in with no reservations.”
Claudia admired men who weren’t afraid of commitment, but despite Shay’s endorsement, she wasn’t convinced Brady belonged in that camp. “How can you be sure? It sounds like he’s been single for a long time.”
“He has, but it’s not like he’s never been serious about anyone. For whatever reason, he didn’t love any of them enough to pop the question though.”
Claudia’s mind drifted back to her college graduation—the night Trevor proposed to her. “Some men just aren’t cut out for marriage. Maybe Brady is one of them?”
“I hope you don’t think we’re being nosy or gossiping about you because I promise we’re not, but Chase and I couldn’t help but notice you’re still wearing a wedding ring. Since there seems to be something between you and Brady, can I assume you’re divorced?”
Claudia couldn’t blame Shay for looking out for her future brother-in-law, but it wouldn’t be fair for her to tell Shay her story when she hadn’t been willing to share it with Brady. “My husband and I are no longer together.” She wasn’t lying, but implying that Trev had left her willingly, when she knew in her heart he would never have done that, felt so wrong.
“I see.” Shay’s gaze drifted to Claudia’s simple gold band. “But you still love him.”
Without thinking, she said, “I’ll always love him.” At Shay’s look of surprise, she added, “Brady tells me you and Chase know something about first love. That’s the way it was for us. He was my first and only love.”
“Then he left big shoes to fill.”
“I didn’t think it was even possible for me to feel again after I lost him. I was numb for so long. But being here with Brady...” She blew out a breath. “Let’s just say it’s the first time I’ve felt alive in a while.”
“Then you do have feelings for Brady?”
“My head tells me it’s too soon.” She tapped her index and middle finger against her chest. “But my heart feels differently.”
“For me and Chase, it was love at first sight,” Shay said with a faraway look in her eyes. “I know that sounds silly, especially since we were just teenagers at the time. But even during all of the years we were apart, I never felt that kind of connection with another person.”
“I know what you mean about that connection,” Claudia said, feeling disloyal for even thinking what she was about to say. “I just assumed it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but I guess it’s not because I think I feel it with Brady too.”
Shay’s face lit up as she grasped Claudia’s hand. “Really? Does that mean you’re going to stick around to give this thing with Brady a real shot?”
“I don’t know yet.” First, she had to figure out how to tell him about the life and love she’d lost.
Brady couldn’t believe it when he returned from fishing to find his old friends and mentors sitting on the beach, cold drinks in hand, waiting for him.
“Looks like you haven’t lost your touch,” Ray said, standing to give Brady a back-slapping hug. “Judging by that cooler, it looks like we’re gonna be havin’ us a big ol’ fish fry tonight, Helen.”
“I can’t believe you guys are here,” Brady said, feeling all of his stress melt away at the prospect of spending time with two of his favorite people.
“We’re just passing through,” Ray explained. “We’ve got the RV, so you don’t have to worry about putting us up for the night.”
“Hey,” Brady said, pulling up an Adirondack chair next to theirs, “I told you when you sold me this place, you’ll always have a home here whenever you want it.”
Ray smiled as he looked around the grounds, swiping a hand over his white hair. “I still can’t believe what you’ve done with the place. We barely recognized it when we pulled up.”
Brady felt a stab of guilt. He’d never intended to strip their memory from the place they built. “Hey, I took your vision and ran with it. Just like you taught me to do.”
“Don’t get us wrong, honey,” Helen said, leaning forward to take Brady’s hand. “It’s beautiful. We’re so proud to see it looking like this.”
“Thanks.” A big part of his reason for taking over the inn had been to make these two proud. “I’ll show you around my house a little later. It was just a shell the last time you were here.”
“Looks great from here,” Ray said, shading his eyes from the sun so he could see the structure. “But I knew it would be. After all, I was the one who taught you everything you know about wielding a hammer, right?”
Brady had worked alongside his father on small projects growing up, but it wasn’t until he got a job at the inn the summer he turned fifteen that building and fixing things became an obsession. “You’re right about that.”
“Oh hush,” Helen said, slapping her husband’s knee as her hazel eyes sparkled with interest. “I want to hear all about this new waitress you hired. Dana tells us she’s a real sweetheart.”
“And not too hard on the eyes either,” Ray said, chuckling. “Not that I’m surprised. The pretty girls always were on you like bees on honey.”
Brady smirked. No woman had ever seemed more resistant to his charms than Claudia. “She is beautiful and sweet, but…” He’d been thinking about her all day on the boat, trying to figure out where they go from here. If anywhere. “She’s complicated.”
Helen laughed. “All women are complicated, honey. It’s you men who are simple. Give you a game on the tube, a cold one, and you’re happy. We aren’t quite so easy to figure out.”
“Tell me about it,” Brady said with an affectionate smile. “And I can’t say that’s ever really bothered me before. I was content for the opposite sex to remain a mystery—”
“Until you met this little lady?” Ray asked, winking. “I know just what you mean. When I met Helen, I found myself asking questions like ‘What are you thinking?’” He laughed. “I never thought I’d hear myself utter those four little words, let me tell you.”
Like his parents, Helen and Ray had always been an example of how great marriage could be—with the right person
.
Brady nodded. “But you wanted to know what she was thinking. What she was feeling. Why she was hurting. Yeah, I can relate.”
“Have you tried asking her?” Helen asked gently. “Sometimes a woman just needs to know that a man cares.”
“At first, I thought giving her some space and hoping that she’d come around on her own was the right approach, but this morning I put some pressure on, and now I’m not so sure I did the right thing.”
“How did she react when you started asking questions?” Helen asked.
“She asked me for a little more time.” Brady stared at the lake. “It’s not like I don’t understand where she’s coming from. We haven’t known each other long. But we have gotten close in that time.” He sighed. “We’ve spent every evening together, usually having dinner and drinks at my place after work. It’s weird. It’s like we’ve been on ten dates, but we’re not really dating at all.”
“Sounds to me like you two need to have a talk,” Helen said. “It’s not like you to pull punches. If you have a problem with something, you’ve never been shy about voicing it.”
“I know, but it’s different with Claudia. She’s different.”
Helen and Ray shared a smile before he said, “Sounds like this could be serious.”
Ten evenings together. That was more time than Brady had spent with women he’d been dating for a couple of months. “In some ways, I feel like I really know her. But a part of me feels like she’s a complete stranger.” Brady wasn’t big on sharing his feelings with most people, but it was different with Ray and Helen. They’d helped raise him, and he knew he could tell them anything. “She’s been married. I know that she and her husband aren’t together anymore because he left her, but that’s all I know. She won’t tell me much about him, and to be honest, it’s making me kind of crazy.”
“Do you see him as a threat?” Ray asked, looking concerned.
“That’s just it. I don’t know. If I knew the whole story, I could decide what to think and how to feel. But the way things stand, I’m left guessing, and I hate that.”
Small Town Boss Page 6