One Hundred Goodbyes (An Aspen Cove Romance Book 9)

by Kelly Collins

  “I appreciate your offer, but I hate to impose. Surely, there’s got to be a place nearby that I can stay. A hotel in the next town over, maybe?” How fast would her meager savings dwindle if she was forced to pay per night? The check from her sister still sat uncashed. When Suzanne was paying for the birth of her baby, it seemed reasonable, but now that she no longer wanted the child, it didn’t seem right.

  Eden had never wanted money to have the baby. It was a gift. Having thought about it for hours on end, she now wondered if the whole situation went back to her desire to have a lasting relationship with a woman who’d barely given her the time of day. They were worlds apart in every way. More than a decade separated them in age, but that wasn’t where the differences started or stopped.

  Suzanne was driven by something that Eden didn’t understand. Her sister would walk across fire or find someone else to do it so she’d get what she wanted. This time it was Eden who would bear the heat and the blisters and the scars of Suzanne’s desires. How many people had come before her? Now that she thought about it, her sister was an island. There weren’t many friends knocking down her door for coffee dates and girls’ nights out. Suzanne was singularly focused on herself, and that didn’t leave much room for anyone else.

  “You okay?”

  She shook her head. There was no way she’d tell him her thoughts. To tell him the truth would only make her look as stupid as she felt. In what world had she thought that Suzanne would make a great mother?

  “Yes, I was thinking about what towns were close enough that I could see about a room, so I don’t impose on anyone.”

  “Really, Eden, lodging is expensive, and I would assume a person in your situation would need to conserve her resources.”

  It bit at her that he could see she wasn’t in a position to not take his hospitality. “A woman in my position?”

  “No offense, but you’re leaving something or someone. All your belongings are probably in your car. I’ve been in your car and there’s not much in there. You’re heading to Alaska to an aunt? That means you’re turning to family. I’m not blind, and I’m far from dumb. You want to talk about it?”

  “Nope. I can’t argue with your logic, but you’ve got me all wrong.” He didn’t at all, but she hated that he looked on her with pity.

  “Is that so? Tell me where I’m wrong.”

  “It’s complicated. In hopes of keeping my blood pressure in check, I’m going to plead the fifth.”

  “Fair enough. Is it settled then? You’ll be coming home with me.”

  Her shoulders sagged. What choice did she really have? “Yes, but I can pay you. I insist on paying you.”

  He chuckled. “There’s no need. I pay the same for my house whether you’re there or not.”

  “Are you all this nice, or have I only met the cream of the crop in town?”

  Thomas shrugged. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say from my experience you can’t go wrong with the people here. If you had to get stranded anywhere, this is the place to be.”

  They finished their dinners and Eden insisted on paying. It was the least she could do. When they walked to her car he asked if she’d like him to drive.

  “Don’t you have to drive your own vehicle?”

  “No, I walked. I live up the road a few blocks.” He pointed toward the west where the mountains created the perfect backdrop to the setting sun. “Let me run in and get my groceries, and I’ll be right back. Do you need anything?”

  “No, you’ve done enough.” She watched him disappear into the store. He rushed back out as if he was afraid she’d climb into her car and take off.

  She tossed him her keys and he caught them in his free hand. “You trust me?”

  “Don’t really have a choice now, do I?”

  Chapter Ten

  Thomas

  He pulled her car into the driveway and looked at his house from her perspective. He’d spent so much time working on the inside that he hadn’t really considered the outside until today when he’d plucked weeds and straightened out the pickets.

  “It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a work in progress.”

  “Oh no, it’s great. It has a lot of charm. Have you lived here long?”

  He chuckled. “Feels like a lifetime but in all honesty, I just bought the place.”

  “Umm, I didn’t ask, but do you have a wife or a girlfriend? It could be awkward bringing home a stray.”

  The light rumble in his chest turned into laughter. “Nope, no wife and no girlfriend. Not looking for one.”

  “Right, okay.” Her cheeks blushed pink. “Are you okay with Porkchop?”

  He turned to look at the cat, who had been moved to the backseat to make room for Eden.

  “I wasn’t certain at first, but it looks like we’ve come to an understanding.” He opened the door and rushed around to get hers. “Let me show you around, and then I’ll come back and get your things.”

  “Oh no, I can get my stuff.” She lifted to her feet, but he could tell she was still feeling the strain on her muscles.

  “Nope. My mom would be so disappointed in me if I allowed you to carry anything. She’d reach over several states to give me a wallop across the head.”

  He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. He liked the way her palm fit inside his. It reminded him of a time when his heart was open, and his life was different.

  In Aspen Cove he rarely locked his door. There didn’t seem to be a point. Every street had an old-timer that kept an eye on things. His gate guard was Mr. Larkin, who was already peeking his head out the door.

  “You work fast, my boy. I didn’t know they came mostly baked.”

  “Go back inside, Peter.” Thomas opened the front door and rushed Eden inside. “Sorry about that. He’s old and lonely. I offered him a beer today. Maybe that’s like feeding a stray cat or a raccoon. I fear he thinks we’re best friends now.”

  “He seems harmless.”

  They stood in his entry, which was really just the side of his living room. The older bungalow type homes were made for working class people. They didn’t have fancy foyers or grand entrances.

  “This is the living room.” He walked her straight ahead to the kitchen. “Help yourself to anything you want. Right now, there’s not much in the way of food but as soon as I unload my groceries, what’s mine is yours.”

  “I’ll be happy to provide meals for us.”

  “You cook?” He hadn’t given her contribution much thought. He had no expectations of Eden except that she made it to the end of her pregnancy in good health.

  “I love to cook.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t expect you to cook but if you’re cooking for yourself and there happens to be enough for two …” He left it at that and moved her down the hallway. “The first room on the left is the master bedroom.” He looked around and realized that he’d have to give her his bed. He only had one bed in the house and he couldn’t expect her to sleep on the couch. “You’ll be staying in here.”

  “No, this is your room. I can stay in the spare room.” She peeked her head out the door down the hallway where there were additional rooms.

  “That’s all good in theory, but you’ll see the problem soon enough.” He moved ahead of her to the first door. “This will be my office as soon as I have time to patch the holes in the walls and fix the electrical.” He flipped on the switch to make a point that there was no power to the room. He moved to the next door, which was a bathroom. “I’ll use this bathroom.” He walked to the last room. “This is …” What did he say … his man cave? “It’s a media room.”

  She looked inside and then glanced over her shoulder toward the living room. “What would you call the place where we entered?”

  “The living room?”

  “Okay,” she said with a soft upwards lilt to her voice. She peeked back inside. “Oh, I see, this television is bigger than the one out there.”

  “Cute and observant.”
/>   “Excuse me?”

  “I said you’ve got a good eye. That screen in there is eighty-four inches. This one … well, it’s bigger and you know, they say size matters.”

  He wanted to superglue his lips shut. Why the hell did he tell her that?

  “Apparently it does as far as televisions go.”

  As he looked down at her, he could see her hair was the color of a full moon. An almost angelic white. There were touches of pink that weaved through, as if she’d been dipped in cotton candy. Her eyes were like a good scotch, a golden amber brown that lit up when she smiled.

  “Let me get your things so you can get moved in.” He turned to walk away, but she laid her hand on his arm.

  “Thomas, I don’t know what to say. Thank you seems inadequate.”

  He said nothing. He simply looked at her, gave her a nod and rushed down the hallway and outside.

  His heart raced so fast he was certain it would explode in his chest. How in the hell had he come face to face with his biggest fear?

  In his head, he heard his mother’s voice. “What you don’t face head-on will always chase you.” Sarah’s betrayal hadn’t only hurt him but his parents too. They had been ecstatic about becoming grandparents. Deep inside, he knew that was part of the reason they’d moved to Florida. Seeing Sarah and her daughter, whom she’d named Heather, would have been like opening a wound. Peeling off a scab each time. It was the main reason he’d left Silver Springs. As much as he’d tried to avoid her, there were plenty of times they’d crossed paths and he wasn’t a masochist.

  He reached in for Porkchop and the bag of groceries. It took him three more trips to get her belongings, the litter box, and the cat tree that was wedged into the back.

  When he made the last trip, he found her standing in front of his bed. “If I take your room, where will you sleep?”

  “I’ve got the couch.”

  She shook her head. The soft curls framing her face bounced with the movement.

  “No way. I’m not taking your bed. I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll fit, you won’t.”

  He lifted his brows. He didn’t want to point out that while her height was an advantage, her girth was not. Not that she was huge. She was a healthy pregnant weight. All belly and boobs. He mentally chastised himself for having noticed the latter, but hell if he could miss them.

  “Let’s give it a try and see what happens. You’ll be more comfortable in my bed and it’s your lucky day because today was sheet changing day.” He pointed to the pile of laundry on the floor in the corner.

  “I’d say I’ve hit the lotto with my stop here in Aspen Cove.”

  Before he could reply, a howl came from the living room. “Is that the cat?”

  “Oh, my goodness, she probably needs her litter box.” Eden rushed past him, leaving him in a cloud of her sweet scent. He wasn’t sure if it was floral or sugar. She smelled like pancakes on a Sunday morning or a flower shop full of blooms. It was an intoxicating blend that made his entire body respond.

  I need to get out more. The fact that a pregnant stranger could make him hard was testament to the dry spell he’d encountered. It wasn’t because of lack of offers. It was because of lack of interest. No one caught his eye.

  By the time he got to the living room. Eden was filling up the litter box and letting out the cat. Thomas had never been a pet kind of guy. He spent too much time at the station and felt it would have been irresponsible to own an animal he couldn’t devote his time to. If he were honest with himself it was probably the number one reason his relationship with Sarah failed. More than half of his time was spent on shift at the fire station. That left her a lot of hours on her hands. It never crossed his mind when she called and said she was working late that she was actually on the couch in her boss’s office. It gave new meaning to the position of cocktail waitress to him.

  “Let me get that.” He took the heavy box of litter from her hands. “Aren’t litter boxes dangerous to pregnant women?”

  She looked up and smiled. “Cute and intelligent.”

  They both laughed.

  “I tie a scarf around my face when I change the litter. So far it’s not been an issue.”

  He picked up the box and carried it to the unfinished room. “How about we set up the kitty bathroom in here? I’ll take over as the official pooper scooper from here on out. I don’t want you anywhere near it while you’re on my watch.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m no one really.”

  He had no warning before she threw herself into his arms. “You’re wrong. You’re everything to me. You have no idea.”

  The curve of her stomach pushed low against him. Naturally, his arms wrapped around her. Tugging her tightly to his body, he rubbed her back and leaned his chin on the top of her head. “It will be okay, Eden.”

  She said nothing for a long moment before she took a big breath and stepped back. “It will have to be, won’t it?”

  He emptied a couple of his drawers for her and shifted his clothes in the closet to make room for hers. It was an odd feeling to have dresses hang next to his pants, but it was also comforting. He’d been alone for so long. He hadn’t realized or wanted to admit how lonely he’d become.

  It should have been painfully obvious when he’d been excited to have the octogenarian over for a beer. When had his life gotten so out of whack? That was easy math. Five years ago, when he found out the baby wasn’t his.

  “The master bath is remodeled. The shower has jets so when your back is sore that would be a good place to go.” He moved toward the en suite and showed her where the towels were and pulled out an empty drawer and told her it was hers.

  “Do you talk to your mom often?”

  It was a strange out of the blue question. “Sure, we talk a few times a month. Why?”

  She stared up at him with a soft expression. “Next time you talk to her, tell her she should be proud of the son she raised. You’re a good man, Thomas.”

  “How would you know?”

  “Look at what you’ve done for me.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it to the top of her rippling belly. “Even the baby says so.”

  His first instinct was to pull his hand away as if he’d been burned but he couldn’t because he was mesmerized by the strength of the kicks.

  “Wow, you’ve got a soccer player in there. Does that hurt?”

  She moved his hand around as if following the baby’s movement. “Sometimes, but not now. It’s like he or she is telling me thanks for dinner. Pretty soon everything will settle down for the night.”

  He let his hand drop from her stomach. “Thank you for sharing that.”

  She let her head fall. “It’s all I really have to share.”

  He leaned down in front of her. “Hey little person, you’ve got a good mommy.”

  “How would you know?”

  She’d repeated his words.

  “What you’re doing? It’s the ultimate commitment. You’re sharing your body twenty-four-seven to bring a baby into this world. You think I’m a good person because I’m sharing my house with you for a month. I pale in comparison.” He stood straight and walked out of the room.

  He didn’t see her the rest of the night, but he heard her. At first, he thought it was the cat, but when he put his ear to the door, his heart tumbled into his stomach. Eden wept for hours while he stood by not knowing what to do and hating himself for it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Eden

  She stretched her arms and let out a yawn. There was no doubt that when she ventured into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, she’d see the effects of last night’s emotional breakdown. How she hated herself for being so weak. Despite the negative turn of events in her life, her number one focus was delivering a healthy baby. Crying for hours wasn’t a good habit.

  She rolled to her feet and padded across the hardwood floors to the bathroom. One look at her puffy eyes doubled her remorse. Not only would she feel bad for the baby, but e
veryone who would come into contact with her today. Her appearance was frightful.

  With a hand on her stomach she turned on the taps to start her morning routine. She was running out of time to make a plan. A plan that started with finding a job, investigating options for her unborn child, and somehow paying Thomas back for his hospitality.

  Her circumstances could be deemed unlucky, and in many ways, they were, but how she’d rolled into Aspen Cove was a mystery that only a craving for candy could explain. How lucky was she that she’d found a place that was willing to help a stranger?

  Fifteen minutes later she opened the door to the bedroom confident enough that when she encountered Thomas, she wouldn’t frighten him. Her hair was brushed, her makeup applied, and she was dressed and presentable.

  The house was quiet. She ventured down the hallway to find the couch empty. The only thing signifying anyone had slept there was a neatly folded comforter and a pillow stacked on top. Her heart squeezed at his chivalrous behavior. Men nowadays weren’t raised to open doors, let a woman go first, or give up their bed.

  Most would throw out a smile and wish that something happened to improve her lot in life right before they walked away. Thomas Cross was different.

  “Thomas?” she called out. “Are you here?” She listened for any sound, but the only response was Porkchop tearing down the hallway and sliding on the slick wooden surface until she collided with her ankles.

  Her plaintive meows were her way of telling Eden she was starving.

  “You’re so predictable.” She squatted down to give the cat a scratch between the ears. She’d given up bending over months ago. Her center of gravity was off and invariably she almost always took a stumble forward.

  “Let’s go.” With the cat strutting behind her, they entered the kitchen where to her surprise she found a note taped to the coffee pot.

  Good morning Eden,

  I made you a pot of decaf knowing that most pregnant women avoid caffeine. If that’s not the case I apologize for my assumption. Help yourself to anything you need and don’t forget that Doc Parker wants to see you sometime today.