by Jill Sanders
“Yes, about you adopting Louie,” Carrie jumped in.
Hearing the dog’s name, he smiled. “I can’t wait to pick him up. When do you think he’ll be ready?”
“Didn’t you tell me he’d be ready later tonight?” Lilly added, smiling over at Carrie, who quickly jabbed her friend again.
“Yes.” She turned to him and her look changed. “That is, if you haven’t changed your mind?”
“No, I can’t wait for Louie to come home. How about I pick him up around six?”
“Can’t,” she jumped in, “family dinner is tonight.”
“After?” he asked, earning him a nod from her. “Eight?” Again, she nodded in response. “Good, I’ll see you then.” He started to jog past them, then stopped.
“It’s good to see you, Lilly. Tell your folks hi for me.” He started down the street again. He had about an hour to shower and get ready for his meeting with a company in Houston.
He took the back stairs to his apartment two at a time. He opened the door and smiled at the finished apartment.
The only things left to do were to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and to seal the hardwood flooring. After that, it was just basic cosmetic items like curtains and some more furniture.
The place would do for the next year at least, until he could find a house.
He showered, dressed, and headed downstairs to help Mason and deal with the video call he had scheduled. The call took longer than he expected, but the outcome was what he’d hoped for.
The call center was now on his payroll. He filled the rest of his day with helping Mason downstairs. For the most part, he’d done all the hard work early last year by writing the security program. Now all that had to be done was basic maintenance and sales pitches. Mason kept the program running smoothly.
He took a break for lunch and picked up sandwiches at a new place along the highway. He’d hoped not to run into anyone he knew there, but of course ran into Lacey and Aaron Stevens, Lilly’s parents. Lacey was still the mayor of the small town of Pride and knew everything that was happening and what everyone was up to.
He enjoyed catching up on what everyone in their family was doing.
Since that first week back, he hadn’t run into Carrie’s brother Aiden. He’d considered himself lucky, since the guy was always warning him away from Carrie, advice Josh was trying to listen to. But every time he was near her, he felt pulled towards her. It was like an invisible magnetic force.
Lacey had mentioned that Aiden had gone to Portland to finish school. At least he wouldn’t be bumping into him every time he turned around.
Now if only his old man would leave town. He was pretty sure everyone in Pride would feel the same relief he would.
After lunch, he made a few calls and set up a couple interviews for a business manager position. He needed someone to take the reins, so he could focus on programming and starting his life over.
He glanced down at his watch and figured he had enough time to shower again before he headed over to Carrie’s place to pick up Louie. He was about to head upstairs when the front door opened.
His father stood in the doorway, swaying. The bottle of whiskey in his hands was almost empty.
“Call the police,” he told Mason quietly.
“What are you doing here?” He stood up and then quickly ducked the bottle that was thrown at his head.
“Feel better?” he asked, bracing for whatever his father threw at him next.
“You ruined my marriage.” He pointed a finger at him. “You and your damn brother and sister. But you”—he slammed his fists together— “were the nail in the coffin. That’s what you are.” He was screaming and spitting at this point.
“You never have taken responsibility for your own fuckups.” He braced as the old man rushed towards him.
“That’s what you are, a fuckup.”
“Good, then we agree. You don’t like me, I can’t stand you. So why don’t you pretend I don’t exist and we can go our separate ways?”
“She won’t take me back. She even has a damn restraining order on me. Every time I get within ten feet of her, the damn sheriff shows up.”
“Smart woman. I’m thinking of following her lead.” He nodded to the police car that was pulling up out front.
“Fuck.” His father ran his hand through his hair. “She broke my heart,” he said softly. “Take my advice, son, don’t have kids. They ruin everything.” He spun around, knocking a stack of books from a desktop, and made his way out of the building. “I’m going!” he shouted at Robert who was leaning against his patrol car. Upon seeing the old man wobble, he marched across the street towards him.
He was expecting Robert to slap his father in cuffs and haul him off. Instead, they talked for a while, then his father followed Robert back across the street and got into the back of his car. Robert waved at him and he knew that the man was just giving his father a ride home or to the drunk tank to sober up.
“Sorry about that.” He turned to Mason.
“Don’t be. My old man was cut from the same cloth. The only difference is, it would have taken three cops to haul him in.”
“Robert’s just giving him a ride home or sticking him in the drunk tank to sleep it off since he didn’t see the old man drive over here himself.” He turned away from the widow. “Pride has always taken care of its own and my father has fought the battle before and knows his rights. My old man did serve five years for DUI once, even went through state-mandated classes and therapy.” He shrugged. “None of it did any good. He lost his license for a few years, ended up riding a bike or having his buddies drive him around. I’m afraid there’s nothing can stop that man.”
“Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do. It must be nice having the entire town watch out for you like that, though.” Mason sighed. “I’m going to like living here.”
And this was the reason he was home. “I’ve got to get going.” He glanced down at his watch and hissed. There went his shower. “I’ll clean up. What are you still doing here?”
“I’m waiting for Sophia, my new girlfriend.” Mason’s smile grew. “I was going to show her where I work.” He glanced at the window. “She should be here soon.”
Josh nodded. “I’ll get out of your way.” He picked up the broom to clean up his father’s mess.
“Go, I’ve got this.” Mason took the broom from him. “You have your own plans.”
“Thanks.” He headed towards the back.
“See you tomorrow,” Mason called after him.
He should have been happy while driving to Carrie’s place. After all, he was going to see her again and he was picking up Louie.
But the visit with his father hung over him like a dark cloud.
He was going to take a few minutes in the parked car before getting out at Carrie’s place to reset, but she stepped out onto the front porch when he pulled in behind her car.
Getting out, he tried to paste on a happy face, but the moment he stepped into the light, her smile fell away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He sighed. “Seriously?” He shook his head. “I should have driven around for half an hour before coming over.”
“What happened?” She motioned for him to sit down.
“Got a beer?” he asked before sitting down.
“Sure, hang on.” She disappeared inside and came back with two cold brews. She handed him one and sat down in a rocking chair. She motioned for him to take the other one. “So, spill.”
“My father paid me a visit tonight at the office.”
“Bad?” she asked. She sipped her beer.
“It could have been worse.” He took a swallow of the beer and let the cold liquid soothe the sour taste in his mouth his father had left. “It wasn’t so much what he did, but what he said.”
“Your father says all sorts of things. You never used to pay attention to him before.” She set her beer down.
“A lot has changed.” He set his b
eer down too. “I’ve changed.”
She was silent for a moment. “What did he say that has you so unsettled?”
“He said that my mother broke his heart.”
“He’s used that one before. Blaming her for the divorce.”
He nodded, then reached for the beer and took one more swig. “It was the way he said it.” He finished the beer off quickly. “For the first time in my life, I heard an emotion from him other than anger.”
Carrie reached over and set her hand on his. “I’m sorry he has you upset. You must have known that, moving back here, there would be… attachments you’d have to deal with.”
He chuckled slightly. “Is that what we are? An attachment that needs dealing with?”
Her hand moved away. “No.”
“What were we?”
“Fated.” She stood up and looked down at him. “Would you like to see your dog now?”
Before she could move away, he stood and grabbed her hand, keeping her there.
“There’s nothing I can say or do that will ever take the pain away but know that some things were out of my control.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?” She shook her head.
“Nothing.” He hated excuses and didn’t want to hash out the past. “Let’s go get Louie. I’m excited to see him.”
Chapter 6
Carrie tried to stay clear of Josh for the next few weeks. She kept her head down, worked, took care of the animals, and only went into town when she was sure he’d be busy. Still, she managed to run into him a few times.
Every time she did, Louie was right there by his side. The dog had quickly filled the role of best friend.
She started to jog with Lilly twice a week. They usually went early in the morning before she took care of the animals. She hated to admit it, but after Josh had left, she’d stopped exercising and had lost most of her muscle tone.
Lilly tried to convince her to run the same path through town, but she’d persuaded her to jog the beach or the state park instead.
When they spotted Josh and Louie on the beach one morning, she realized it was going to be nearly impossible to avoid the guy.
His words played over in her mind until she started boiling. What had he meant by “Some things were out of my control”? He was the one that left. He was the one who had called her with both feet already out of town.
She wanted to confront him, but every time she saw him, she chickened out and asked how Louie was doing instead. It was totally frustrating.
About a month after Josh moved back to Pride, she bumped into him while taking Brownie, a new horse she was rehabilitating, on a walk at the beach. She’d taken the gentle horse down the path from her place that led to the nearest beach and had lost track of time enjoying the ride.
When she heard the dog bark, she thought nothing of it, until Louie rushed up to Brownie. Thankfully, the horse was used to dogs and didn’t rear up.
“Sorry.” Josh had come running. He unhooked the dog’s leash, so it wasn’t dragging in the wet sand. “He saw you across the beach and jerked the leash out of my hands.” He smiled up at her.
Louie was dancing around the horse, as if trying to get to her.
She moved to get down and Josh’s hands wrapped around her waist. Holding onto him, she allowed her body to slide down his until her riding boots sank in the soft sand.
Their eyes locked and for a heartbeat, she thought about leaning in and kissing him. Would it feel like it always had? Like home?
“Who’s this?” He dropped his hands and moved to give Brownie some attention.
“Brownie.” She bent down and scratched Louie’s head. She took the stick that he offered and tossed it into the water. “I’m rehabilitating him.”
He glanced over at her. “For?” He looked over the horse. “He looks great to me.”
She chuckled. “He does now.” She ran her hand over the dark chestnut’s mane.
“I haven’t been riding since the last time we went.” He tilted his head and smiled at her. “Remember?”
Instantly, her face flushed, so she bent down and took the stick from Louie again. “How’s he doing?” she asked, tossing the stick once more.
“Why do you always do that?” he asked, dropping his hand from the horse, who instantly butted his head against Josh’s shoulder. Josh chuckled and continued to scratch between the horse’s ears.
“What?”
“Divert the conversation away from our past.” His eyebrows shot up. “You can’t avoid talking about what we had together.”
“Sure, I can.” She laughed. “If I want to.”
“Why do you want to?” He took the reins and started to walk with the horse. She followed him, a little frustrated that he wouldn’t drop the conversation.
“It’s a bit of a sour subject for me,” she threw out.
“You don’t think I regret what happened, how it happened?”
“Do you?” she asked as Louie fell into step with them.
He stopped and turned towards her. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it, don’t regret it.”
Her breath caught in her throat at the look in his eyes. “Why?” she said softly. “I keep asking, but…” She shook her head.
He looked away, past her shoulder, and then sighed. “Have dinner with me tonight and I’ll explain everything.”
She laughed. “No.” She shook her head, as if to reassure herself of her answer.
“Why not?” He started walking again.
“This”—she motioned between them— “is not going to happen again.”
“Why?” he asked, a slight smile on his lips. She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Seriously?” She snatched up the reins and stopped the horse from walking further. “You left me. You didn’t even have the common decency to tell me to my face. You called me from the airport! As if you didn’t—”
“Train station,” he corrected.
Her eyes narrowed. “Wherever. The point is, you weren’t there, standing in front of me, telling me face to face why you were leaving me.”
“I’m trying to do that now, tonight, over dinner,” he offered.
Her eyes narrowed even more.
“How about we meet at the Oar?” he threw out. “That way, you’ll know I’m on the up-and-up.”
After a few seconds, she finally nodded in agreement. “Around six?”
“Sounds good.” He turned to hunt down Louie, who was playing in the surf. “Which gives me enough time to give him and myself a bath.”
She smiled. Then he surprised her by grabbing her again and helping her back into the saddle. It was hard not to enjoy the way his hands circled her waist.
“See you at six.” He waved to her and then turned and called for Louie. The dog raced towards Josh with the large stick still in his mouth.
Carrie rode back up the pathway and was happily surprised that Brownie wasn’t too winded when they reached the barn. She took her time cooling him off and putting him in a stall.
Then she headed inside and showered. It took her a while to find an outfit to wear, since her closet consisted mostly of work clothes for both the Oar and the animals.
Finally, she settled on a cream-colored skirt with a large grey blouse over it. She added a few long-chained necklaces and pulled on a pair of grey flats. Checking herself one last time in the mirror, she smiled at the stylish outfit as she mentally noted that she would have to do a little shopping in Portland next time she was in the city.
As she walked out, she glared at her truck, which was still not starting. Jacob had told her it would cost her more to fix than the old beast was worth. She had decided to scrap the thing and find a new truck. Her mother was already keeping an eye out for one for her. She knew it wasn’t the truck she was upset at. It was the extra hours she was going to have to work in order to pay for a new truck.
Luckily, with Sara taking the reins at the restaurant, she’d have plenty of hours
to choose from.
She parked in the Oar’s parking lot and started to walk towards the back door out of habit. Catching herself, she made her way around to the front of the building and spotted Josh leaning against his bike.
“I wondered if you’d come around front.” He chuckled and walked over to her.
“Habit.” She rolled her eyes. She’d been working at the Golden Oar since the summer after she turned sixteen. She’d wanted a horse and her parents had said she had to earn enough to take care of it. So, she’d gotten a job here at her friend’s family restaurant.
Josh opened the front door for her and she stepped in.
“I really like what they’ve done with the place,” he said as they entered. She glanced around the new space and thought back to how it used to look.
“I still can’t get over how modern yet familiar it is,” she said as Riley glanced up at them. The realization that flashed in her friend’s eyes caused Carrie to stiffen. She hadn’t thought about what it would look like to everyone that they were there together. She wanted to explain, but it was already too late as Josh stepped up.
“Hey, Riley, do you have a private table out on the patio for us? You know, somewhere we won’t be disturbed by others?”
Damn, Josh might as well have just shouted out to the entire town that they were on a date.
Riley glanced between her and Josh and smiled. “Sure.” She grabbed up two of the new menus and they followed her out the back doors just behind the stone wall that held the fireplace. The table was in the far corner of the new deck that hung over the water’s edge and looked out over the Pacific coastline.
The view was amazing, especially since it was only an hour till sunset. Already, the sky was lightening up to pastel colors.
“Here you go.” Riley handed them the menus. “Julie will be your server tonight.”
Before leaving, Riley winked in her direction.
“You knew this would happened, didn’t you?” She glared at him.
Josh chuckled. “You were the one who didn’t trust me unless dinner was in a very public place.” He leaned closer. “Very being the opportune word here.”
“I hate you even more for this.” She held up her menu to block him from her view.