Small Town Boss

by Cheryl Michaels

  He sighed, like he could tell she was waiting for him to explain his mood. “I’m sorry if I got a little weird earlier.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  Her husband hadn’t been big on talking through his problems. He’d preferred to go on a drive or work the fields when something was bothering him. She hoped Brady wasn’t like that. She wanted a man who wasn’t afraid to voice his concerns.

  “I want to know everything about you,” he said, crossing his arms. “The good, the bad, and the ugly.” The side of his mouth tipped up as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Though I can’t imagine a single thing about you being ugly.”

  She appreciated the compliment but rolled her eyes anyway. “Then you haven’t looked hard enough. I’m far from perfect.”

  “I’m not looking for perfect. I’m looking for real.”

  “Ah, now that I can give you,” she said, setting the bacon to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

  “What else can you give me?” he asked, his voice serious enough to make her uncomfortable.

  Her eyes shot to his, and she realized they were at a turning point in their relationship. He wanted to know if he was just a short-term diversion in her life, someone to distract her from the pain, or something more. Problem was, she wasn’t sure herself.

  “Um, I don’t know.” She carefully folded the omelets and set them on plates before reaching for the toast. “What do you want from me?”

  “My mind is screaming at me that it’s way too soon to have this conversation, but my heart’s telling me that I’m already in too deep and we should have talked about this before I fell for you.”

  “Because that would have made it easier to walk away?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “Who knows? Maybe. But I doubt it.” He took the plate she offered, letting it rest between them. “There are a lot of things I’m not too sure about right now, and I was hoping you could help me figure some of them out.”

  He led her to the dining table situated between his kitchen and great room. He’d already set out coffee and juice.

  “Why don’t you start by telling me how you feel when I talk to you about my family?” She smoothed the paper napkin in her lap, trying to pretend the word family didn’t make her heart clench.

  “I want to know about them.” He picked up his knife and fork, holding them as he stared at his plate. “But I’m not going to lie, hearing you talk about your husband is kind of… hard.”

  She tried to put herself in his position and knew she’d feel the same way. Anyone who’d dated a widow or widower would likely feel they were competing with a presence that was always with them in spirit.

  “Well, my marriage wasn’t perfect.” Before Trevor passed, she’d never said that because she’d never needed or expected their relationship to be perfect. Since then, she’d thought saying it would feel disloyal.

  “It wasn’t?” he asked, buttering his toast as though he needed the distraction. “I just kind of assumed you guys were destined to be together, hearing you talk about him.”

  “I think we were,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “We had two beautiful children together. We loved each other, and we respected each other. I know that’s a lot more than most people have.”

  “But…?” Brady shook his head. “Forget I said that.”

  “It’s okay.” She knew he wasn’t inviting her to speak ill of her husband. He was just asking her to be honest so he could better understand her. “Sometimes I felt like we were too different to really connect the way I wanted us to. Trevor was quiet, very reserved. I was the outgoing one, always jumping into projects around town, trying to help whenever I could.”

  He smiled as he reached for his coffee. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “We had a hard time communicating.” She took a bite of her omelet, trying to process her feelings. “Whenever we had a fight, he’d just shut down or walk away.” She shrugged. “I wanted to talk, to try to work it out, but nothing ever seemed to get resolved. Just shelved until it came up again.”

  He nodded. “My mother always told me if she had to attribute her long and happy marriage to one thing, it would be communication. I guess that’s why when we were growing up, they always tried to keep the lines of communication open with us.”

  She smiled, thinking about how similar their parents sounded. “It was like that in our house too. I think that’s why I didn’t get mixed up with any bad stuff when I was a teen. If I needed to talk to someone other than a friend, someone who could guide me, my parents or grandparents were always there to listen and offer advice.”

  Brady stared at her a second before he released a long slow breath. “You and I, we make sense. I haven’t been able to say that about any other relationship I’ve had. I guess that’s why none of them felt… real.”

  There was that word again. Real. Claudia had to admit he was right—as a couple, they did make perfect sense. Too bad nothing else in her life made sense.

  Chapter Eleven

  Brady was having fun showing Claudia around Landon. They’d visited the waterfalls, took a few selfies, browsed the antique shop, grabbed lunch at the café, and picked up a few books at the bookstore. She’d even dragged him into his friend’s wife’s boutique so she could buy a dress for church the following Sunday. Of course he’d slipped the clerk his credit card while Claudia was redressing, much to her dismay.

  But when he led her into Ainsley’s flower shop, she pulled back on his hand. “Why’re we going in here?”

  “Just to say hello.” He led her inside, smiling at the girl behind the counter. “Ainsley around?”

  “She just stepped out to grab some coffees.” Her gaze slid to Claudia before she said, “My sister’s been wondering why you haven’t called her. I guess now we know.”

  Claudia slipped her hand from his as she leaned over to admire a bunch of blue and white hydrangeas.

  “Uh, excuse me?” He’d never seen this girl before in his life.

  “You don’t see the family resemblance?” she asked, glaring at him. “My sister’s Ellie.”

  Ugh. Ellie was a dental hygienist he’d gone out with a few times before Claudia came to town. “Oh, uh, I didn’t realize she had a sister,” he said, wondering what he was supposed to say about a girl he hadn’t given a second thought about since he met Claudia.

  “Oh, hey, you guys,” Ainsley said, breezing through the door holding two coffees. “If I’d known you were here, I would have grabbed two more.”

  “That’s okay,” Brady said, noting that Claudia’s eyes were fixed on the door. “We just popped in to say hi.”

  “Actually, that coffee smells so good,” Claudia said, barely sparing him a glance. “I think I’m going to go grab one. Nice seeing you, Ainsley.”

  “Yeah, you too,” Ainsley said, watching Claudia leave.

  When the girl behind the desk said to Ainsley, “I’m going to work on those orders now,” Brady exhaled slowly.

  “Okay, what’d I miss?” Ainsley asked, walking behind the glass counter to set down the coffees.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you’d hired Ellie’s sister?” Brady snapped. “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have brought Claudia in here.”

  “Who’s Ellie?” Ainsley asked, looking confused.

  Brady wasn’t surprised Ainsley didn’t know her. Her family had moved to the area a few years ago and she went to school out of state, only returning for summer and Christmas vacations. She’d just gotten a job in town a few months ago. “Just someone I was seeing before Claudia came to town.”

  “Oh.” Ainsley peeked into the backroom, but there was no sight of her employee. “Did she say something to make Claudia uncomfortable? If she did, I can have a word with her.”

  “It’s okay,” Brady said.

  He had no one to blame for this but himself. Ellie had texted him a couple of times over the past two weeks, asking if he wanted to get together. He’d told her he was busy
, instead of telling her he was no longer interested. No wonder she and her sister were mad at him. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones.

  Leaning on the glass, he said, “Okay, you’re the expert. What kind of flowers do you buy a lady when you want to apologize for being stupid?”

  Ainsley threw her head back and laughed. “I’d normally suggest pink roses since they happen to be my favorite, but since I saw Claudia admiring the hydrangeas when I walked in, I’d go with those.”

  “Cool, wrap ‘em up.” He watched his friend do her thing, cutting the stems and wrapping the flowers in colorful paper before finishing the bouquet off with a satin ribbon. “Speaking of idiots, have you heard from yours?”

  “If you’re referring to your brother’s partner, he’s not my idiot. For all I know, he could be someone else’s by now.”

  “But that would bother you,” Brady said, taking his wallet out of his pocket so he could extract his debit card. “Wouldn’t it?”

  “I don’t care what he does.” She flashed a smile as though she felt the need to punctuate her point. “With the idiot’s discount, that comes to forty-two dollars.”

  Brady laughed, reaching for the debit machine while she entered the sale into her computer. “Gee, thanks.”

  “Claudia ran out of here so fast I forgot to ask if she wanted to help me and Shay do some baking for the Founder’s Day party. Her cupcakes were so awesome, I’m guessing she has some other tricks up her sleeve?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll ask her.”

  Making friends in Landon would be good for Claudia, and it would increase her odds of staying.

  “I’ll tell her to give you a call if she’s interested,” he said, sticking his card back in his wallet. He took the receipt and flowers. “When did you want to do it?”

  “We were thinking Thursday and Friday evening, since the party’s on Saturday. Would that work with her schedule?”

  “I can make it work, if she’s up for it.”

  “Cool, thanks. We could definitely use her help.” Ainsley peeled back the lid on her coffee as she sat back on the stool she kept behind the counter. “You are planning to bring her to the party, aren’t you?”

  “Assuming she’s still speaking to me.”

  Ainsley laughed, pointing at the flowers. “Don’t worry. Those should go a long way toward getting you out of the doghouse.”

  “I sure hope you’re right.”

  Claudia stirred her coffee as she wrestled with her jealousy. Logically, she had no reason to be upset. She’d known Brady was seeing at least one other woman casually when they met. He’d told her so. And the girl behind the counter in the flower shop said he hadn’t called her sister in a while, so why did Claudia feel betrayed?

  When a shadow fell over her table, she looked up at the sight of a contrite-looking Brady, his handsome face partially obstructed by a beautiful bouquet of her favorite flowers.

  “How’d you know I love these?” she asked, trying to hide her smile as she reached for the hydrangeas.

  “Ainsley guessed.” He gestured to the chair. “Mind if I sit down?”

  “Since you’re my ride home, I guess it’s okay.” She waited until he was sitting to set the flowers on the window ledge beside her. “Thank you for these. They’re beautiful.”

  The last time Trevor gave her flowers had been for their first wedding anniversary. She told herself it didn’t matter that he hadn’t been romantic, or particularly thoughtful, but she couldn’t deny Brady’s unexpected act melted her heart.

  “My pleasure.” He reached for the coffee she’d bought for him. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He ran a hand over his face. “I owe you an apology. If I’d known Ellie’s sister worked there, I obviously wouldn’t have taken you in.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, shrugging. “It’s no big deal.”

  “Really?” He looked into her eyes before reaching for her hand.

  She thought of their conversation that morning, and the words honesty and communication filtered through her mind. “Okay, I admit it. I’m jealous. Happy now?”

  He flashed a grin before dipping his head to try to hide it when she pierced his hand with her short nails. “Sorry, but I’m not gonna lie. I think your possessiveness is kind of cute.”

  Her jaw dropped when she realized she was being possessive. For the first time in her life. She’d never cared whether Trevor talked to other women. When she saw him chatting with a pretty girl at a party, she’d chalked it up to harmless flirting. So why did the green-eyed monster keep rearing its ugly head when she thought about Brady with another woman?

  “What?” he asked, drawing back to look at her. “What did I say? You’re not mad at me again, are you?”

  She shook her head slowly, wondering if she should tell him the truth. Communication, Claudia. Honesty, remember? “You do make me crazy,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “You’re too good-looking. Maybe that’s the problem. I get the feeling you’ve dated half the single girls in town, and those who haven’t dated you probably want to.”

  “Not half,” he said, pretending to be offended before smiling. “Maybe a quarter.”

  She withdrew her hand from his, sitting back as she crossed her arms and tried to keep her lips from twitching. “You’re impossible.”

  “But here’s the deal,” he said, his eyes suddenly searing her with their intensity. “I’m kind of feeling that they were just practice for the real thing.”

  “Really?” Claudia sounded a little breathless, but she couldn’t help it. They both kept skating around the truth, but it was obvious they were falling hard for each other. And it was scary as all get out, but exhilarating at the same time.

  “I know I’ve said this before, but this…” He gestured between them with his hand. “Feeling like this is new to me. And I should be scared. Who I am kidding? I am scared, but I’m also excited about the possibility of a future with you.”

  A future? Her past filtered through her mind: her wedding day, the day they moved into their own home together, the births of her babies, christenings, birthdays, first days of school… Suddenly it was all too much.

  She jumped up. “I’m sorry, do you mind if we leave now?”

  Brady knew he’d stuck his size eleven in his mouth when he suggested he and Claudia could have a future together. If the beeline she’d made out of the café hadn’t tipped him off, the near-silent drive back to the inn would have.

  “I’m sorry,” he said when he pulled into the parking lot of his inn and cut the engine. “I know what you’ve been through this past year. I have no business talking to you about the future when you’re still trying to deal with what happened. That was really insensitive of me.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” Her sad smile broke his heart as she brushed her thumb across his knuckles. “I love that you think I’m special. If I’d met you a few years after the accident, maybe this wouldn’t be quite so hard. But right now, I’m still suffering so much every single day. And I don’t know how I can think about the future when I’m still haunted by the past.”

  “Helen and Ray suggested something that might help.”

  “What’s that?”

  “First off, they know about the accident.” Before she could make any assumptions, he said, “Not because I told them. They found out on their own.”

  “How?”

  He was almost embarrassed to admit it because he knew it would make her think they were buttinskis, which they typically weren’t. “They asked Dana your last name. Apparently they Googled you and the story came up.”

  She nodded, not looking as upset as he had expected. “Probably because the local papers interviewed my parents for their story after the accident.”

  “Are you upset that they did that? I’d understand if you were.”

  “No.” She smiled, stroking the stubble on his jaw with her fingertips. “They love you. They’re looking out for you. How could I be angry about
that? They don’t know me. All they know is that they come here, and you’ve fallen for some girl who isn’t willing to tell you about her past or where she’s from. That would raise red flags for anyone.”

  “Yeah well, when they found out what you’d been through, they reminded me that there’s a great support group at the church for people who need to talk about their grief over the loss of a loved one.”

  “Really?”

  Encouraged that she wasn’t shutting him down and was willing to connect with more locals, he said, “I’m not sure when the meetings are, but now that you have the truck, you can go anytime. I’ll make sure we work out your schedule, so you don’t have to work when there’s a meeting.”

  “I’ll look into it. Thanks.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for today. I had a wonderful time.”

  “I did too.” He wasn’t sure if he should invite her back to his place, but he didn’t want to let her go yet. “There’s a game on tonight. You feel like watching it with me?”

  “Actually, I’m pretty tired. Rain check?”

  “Sure.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand before kissing her softly. “Can I walk you to your room?”

  She smiled. “I don’t think so. If you did, I’d probably invite you in.”

  He sighed dramatically. “Fine, shoot me down.”

  “Stop,” she said, laughing playfully. “You know I’d spend every waking moment with you if I could.”

  All of the fears that had been dogging him the past couple of hours suddenly receded, making him smile. “You would?”

  “You know I would.”

  “Hey,” he said before she could reach for the door handle, “I almost forgot. Ainsley wants you to help her and Shay bake for the Founder’s Day party this weekend. You up for that?”

  “That sounds like fun. I’ll call them and get the details.”

  “Does that mean you’ll go to the party with me?” He knew it should be a given, but he didn’t want Claudia to think he was taking anything for granted.