by Lexy Parker
Philip seemed like a protective daddy. I had a feeling he’d be the kind of guy who wouldn’t want me near his kid until he thoroughly vetted me first. That was another point in his favor. I liked that he was protective. The late wife, obviously he loved her still. He still wore his ring. That could be tricky. Hopefully, he’d tell me more on our date and I could get a better read on him. I couldn’t compete with a ghost. If he were still in love with his wife, I was not going to get in the way of that.
“Why are you smiling?” Dani said, startling me.
“Where did you come from?” I asked, looking around as if she had materialized out of nowhere.
“The door. You know, the big glass thing up front with the little bell on it,” she said dryly.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I got it.”
“So, why are you smiling? You have a weird look on your face, like you just ate the best tasting chocolate in the world.”
I grinned. “Do I?”
“Yes, you do, spill. What were you doing back there?” she asked, her brows raised.
“I got a date.”
She walked to the back door and yanked it open. She looked left, then right. “Are you having some kind of sleepwalking episode?”
“Stop it. I have a date with Philip.”
She closed the door and stared at me. “Philip the delivery driver with the wedding ring?”
I nodded. “Yes, but his wife passed away a few years ago.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You know other men have used that same line plenty of times.”
I shook my head. “He wasn’t lying.”
“How do you know?”
I shrugged. “I could tell. He was being honest.”
“You better be careful. I don’t want to have to hunt this man down and kick his ass. I am a lot stronger than I look,” she said, her chin hoisting into the air.
I laughed. “I’m sure you are. If nothing else, your skinny little legs can definitely outrun him.”
She scoffed. “These legs are tougher than they look. I could definitely deliver some good, strong kicks.”
“I’m sure you could, but you’re not going to have to. His wife is gone,” I assured her.
She nodded, clearly not convinced. “Okay, but please, be careful. I don’t want you hurt. I know how much it would kill you if you found out he lied.”
“Thank you. I’m sure it’s fine. He has a little girl,” I said.
“What? Really? He’s a daddy!” She gasped.
I laughed. “Yes, he is. I don’t know how old she is, but I’m guessing young.”
She smiled. “That would be fun.”
“Fun?”
“You two get together, things work out, and you get a little girl without the hassle of pregnancy and birth. None of those late-night feedings,” she said with a laugh.
I smiled and nodded. “True, but I hope to one day have to deal with all that. Either way, I’m not going to get ahead of myself. This is a first date, nothing more. It could end up that we hate each other and have nothing in common.”
She shrugged. “Maybe, but I think you need to try your best. You’re not getting any younger.”
My mouth dropped. “I’m two years younger than you.”
“But I look your age,” she said with a wink.
“You are just full of piss and vinegar today,” I muttered.
She burst into laughter. “What I meant to say was you need to put your best foot forward. I want you to knock his socks off. Hell, maybe you’ll knock his jeans off.” She grinned.
“I get it, I won’t wear my scrubs.”
“Nope, we need to go shopping. You need something hot and new. None of the stuff in your closet is first-date worthy. You need sexy, youthful, and you need to show off those fabulous tits you always keep covered in those sweaters.”
My mouth dropped and I immediately put my hands up to cover my breasts. “You are so vulgar.”
“I’m so real. I’m your friend, and as your friend, I have to tell you these things. No one else will,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Thank God,” I mumbled.
“Come on, close early today, and let’s go shopping,” she insisted.
I thought about it. The idea did have merit. I wanted to impress Philip. He’d only seen me in my jeans and the boob-covering sweaters. A new dress could be a good thing.
“Okay.”
“Really!” she squealed. “What time should I be back here?”
I shrugged. “How about three thirty,” I said, not wanting to close too early.
She rolled her eyes. “Way to live dangerously. Fine, three thirty it is. Dust off that credit card, we are going shopping.”
“You’re such a bad influence on me,” I mumbled.
“I am and you love it. I’ll see you later,” she said and waltzed out of the shop.
I heard the bells tinkle as she opened the door. I had a date. I was still in a little bit of shock. When he virtually ignored me yesterday, I assumed he’d had a change of heart. I wasn’t going to beg him to take me out and played it off as if it had never been mentioned.
I watched the clock all day, getting more anxious by the minute to go shopping. It had been too long since Dani and I got to have a real girls’ day. It wasn’t going to be a full girls’ day, but a few hours were better than nothing at all. We’d been in a weird limbo since Gage’s death. Christmas had been very subdued. It was as if we were both afraid to have fun, to be happy and laugh. We used to have regular shopping trips and go out for manicures. Everything had changed the moment we had gotten the news. It was as if the world as we knew it altered. It had. The path we had all been on had taken a harsh, painful V. The future as we had planned and expected had been ripped away in a flash.
This was our new norm. Dani and I were living a different life and it was a lot like learning to walk all over again.
“Baby steps,” I whispered.
I knew she wanted me to be happy. I felt a twinge of guilt about how excited I was to go on a date. When the bells on the door rang promptly at three fifteen, I knew it was her.
“You’re early,” I called out.
“I figured I have to encourage you to actually leave,” she said.
I laughed. “Nope, I’m about ready.”
She clapped her hands. “So, what are you thinking? Little black dress? Swanky blue to match your eyes? Cleavage?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. I figure with your guidance, I’ll find something perfect.”
She smiled. “Thank you for trusting me. You know I’ve got your back.”
I nodded and quickly took care of the last few closing duties before taping my sign to the door and locking up.
“Let’s go,” I announced.
We headed for the small strip mall with the store we had been frequenting for years. It wasn’t high-end, but it wasn’t exactly scraping the bottom. Hope didn’t exactly attract a lot of department stores. We didn’t have time to drive the thirty minutes to one of the larger cities around us.
I felt the change the second we walked through the door. It was like taking a step through time, back to when our lives were simple.
“We haven’t been here in a long time,” she said on a sigh.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
The last time we’d been shopping at the store was a week before Thanksgiving. We’d gone shopping for a new outfit for Dani to welcome Gage home. An outfit she had never gotten to wear. I imagined it was probably still hanging in the plastic somewhere in the back.
Dani immediately started rifling through the racks. She had a good eye and I trusted her to help me pick out something perfect.
“This?” she said, holding up a simple blue dress with long-sleeves and a boat neck.
I took it and held it against my body. “I don’t know, it feels very school-teachery,” I mumbled.
She nodded, snatching it out of my hand. “You’re right. You’re not going to educate him, well maybe in the fine
art of good sex, but you need something sexier.”
“I don’t know if sexier is the word, but yes, something a little more flirty, youngish,” I said.
She was already back in the searching mode, pulling dresses off the racks and quickly replacing them. I heard her gasp, so I spun around from where I had been looking at a rack of skirts.
“This! This is it!” she squealed.
She held up a black dress, knee length with a black lace hem. A matching black lace strip around the middle provided a nice little peek-a-boo with lace across the upper chest. It was chic, sexy, and absolutely perfect for my date.
“I love it,” I said with a smile.
“Good. Go try it on. Your black heels will go great with this,” she said.
I took the dress and headed for the changing room to try it on. As I slid it over my head, butterflies flitted through my belly. I was looking forward to my date. I was afraid to be too excited, knowing there was a good chance it would be a dud, like many first dates were.
With the dress on, I stared at my reflection. I stood on my tiptoes, turning to look at it from the side and nodding. It was perfect.
“Here I come,” I called out.
“Get your skinny ass out here and let me see the goods,” she said a little too loud.
“You’re so raunchy,” I grumbled, pushing open the paper-thin door.
She gasped when I walked out. “Oh. My. God. You’re hot, like smoking hot.”
I giggled. “Thank you.”
“No, seriously. That dress is amazing. It’s the one,” she said, gesturing for me to spin around.
I slowly turned, holding up my arms to let her see all of the dress. I stopped and turned to face her.
“Well?”
“You know it’s perfect.”
“Thank you. I’ll take it off and then we can grab dinner,” I told her.
“Wait,” she said, stopping me.
“What’s up?” I asked her.
She reached out and grabbed my shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For? You chose a dress for me,” I told her with a smile.
“No, thank you for being my sister and my best friend. I know we’re not related by blood, but I think of you as my sister. You’re my family,” she said, a small tear sliding down her cheek.
I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around her. “Of course. You know you are my sister, always and forever.”
She hugged me before stepping away. “Hurry up and change, I’m starving.”
I laughed and went back into the dressing room. The moment the door closed, I let the tears fall. I used the sleeve of my sweater to wipe them away before taking a few deep, cleansing breaths to push away the sadness. I had to stay strong for her. It’s what Gage would demand, and I wouldn’t let him down.
Chapter 15
Philip
I drove Sadie to Clay’s house, feeling more nervous about leaving her than I was about the date. I guess that was a good way to keep my mind off the first-date nerves. Sadie was absolutely thrilled for an evening with Uncle Clay. She had a list of movies she wanted to watch, games she wanted to play, and a list of junk food that would make a dentist cry.
“Be good and brush your teeth after every bite of chocolate,” I ordered Sadie.
She wrinkled her nose. “Eww, that will make the chocolate taste icky.”
I shrugged. “If you want to eat it, that’s the price you pay.”
“I got this. Go,” Clay ordered.
I nodded. “I’ll check in later,” I said.
“Don’t you dare,” he warned.
“Clay…” I started.
He shook his head. “Seriously, focus on having fun. You know Sadie is going to be fine.”
“I know. You’re right. I will try, but this is a first.”
“I know,” he said, nodding.
I gave Sadie a quick kiss on the forehead and headed for home to shower and change. I pulled on the dress shirt and tucked it into the black slacks. When I looked up, catching a glimpse of my face in the mirror, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of guilt.
“I can’t do this,” I mumbled.
I felt my heart squeeze. I closed my eyes, sifting through the conflicting emotions running through my mind. Part of me wanted the date, wanted to feel alive again, to feel the love of a good woman again. Another part of me just wanted Tara back. That part was the irrational side, the part that refused to believe she was gone. She was gone and she’d been gone. She wasn’t coming back.
“You have to do this,” I said with renewed strength.
I finished dressing, committing to give myself a break. I had to try. The worst that could happen was the date went badly. Then, I’d kick myself and go back to regretting the moment I asked her to dinner. Until then, I was going to do my best to have fun.
I headed for my truck with her address programmed into my phone’s GPS. I had a good idea where her house was but didn’t want to risk getting lost and being late. I turned onto her street, found her house, and parked the truck. It was a small house, newer than mine, but not much bigger. I got out of the truck and headed up the walk.
When she opened the door, she quite literally took my breath away.
“Wow, you look amazing.” I said exactly what I was thinking.
“Thank you, you look very nice,” she said with a shy smile. “I just need to grab my purse, then we can go.”
I stayed at the front door waiting for her. She returned a few second later. By the time we got to the restaurant, I was back to regretting asking her out. The ride had been quiet and awkward, both of us trying to find something to talk about and failing.
“This is a nice place,” I said, pleasantly surprised to find such a nice restaurant in the small town.
She laughed. “You sound shocked.”
I shrugged. “My friend Clay recommended this place.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
I laughed. “Let’s just say Clay’s idea of a gourmet meal is one that comes in a box rather than a bag.”
She burst into laughter. “Well, I have eaten here a few times before. I can assure you it is very good food. I don’t know if it can compare to a five-star restaurant you might find in Seattle, but it’s pretty damn good.”
“Great, I’m looking forward to a good steak,” I said with real enthusiasm.
We were shown to our table. Things seemed to be a little more at ease now that we were in a more relaxed environment. We both ordered Cokes to go with our steak dinners.
“Do you like it here?” Jamie asked.
I nodded. “I do. I really do. I’m still getting used to the lay of the land, but I like it.”
She laughed. “We’re not too small town, but it is a nice place to raise children.”
“That was my goal. I wanted somewhere safe for my little girl to grow up, plus, I needed a fresh start,” I confessed.
“What’d you do in Seattle?” she asked.
“I worked for a security company, pretty standard for an ex-military guy,” I said with a smile.
Her eyes lit up. “Military? What branch?”
“Marines.”
A smile spread across her face, mixed with a hint of sadness. “How long were you in?”
I looked down at my glass. “Almost seven years.”
She had a puzzled look on her face. “Injury?” she asked.
“Not exactly. I was deployed, Afghanistan, when my wife, Tara, died. I had to leave to take care of my daughter,” I explained.
I didn’t want to get into the details. I couldn’t. It wasn’t exactly light dinner conversation.
“Oh,” she said, her voice a whisper. “I’m sorry. I’m especially sorry I accused you of all that stuff,” she said, waving a hand.
I shrugged. “You couldn’t have known. It’s in the past. Sadie and I are here to start fresh.”
“Sadie, that’s your daughter?” she asked.
“Yes, she’s seven going on twenty-three. S
he’s spunky, smart, and the light of my life,” I said with a smile.
She was smiling as I talked. “She sounds like a typical kid.”
“I suppose. The other day, at the school, the teacher was bothered by a picture Sadie drew. When she was asked to draw a picture of her family, she drew myself, her, and a picture of a tombstone,” I told her.
She let out a long sigh. “That has to be tough.”
“After Tara died, it was hard, but eventually Sadie kind of accepted it. We went to the cemetery weekly. She would chat away, telling her mom all about her week. She never cried on the visits. It was just her visiting,” I said.
Jamie nodded. “I think that sounds very healthy.”
I slapped my hand on the table. “That’s exactly what I thought.”
“I take it you told the teacher as much,” she said.
“I did.”
“Teachers are trained and taught to keep their eyes open for all kinds of little signs. I’m sure the teacher was overreacting to what she saw was a problem,” she said with a smile.
I nodded. “Yes, that’s what I assumed as well. I think it’s been handled, but I’m sure I’ll get a call if there are any more spooky pictures.”
Our meals were delivered, and we happily dug in.
“Good?” she asked after I had taken a few bites.
I nodded. “Very.”
“See, our small town has some good cooks.”
My phone started vibrating in my pants pocket. I quickly pulled it out and saw it was Clay. My initial response was fear.
“Hello?” I answered in a low voice without leaving the table.
“Hi, Daddy.” Sadie’s voice came over the phone.
“Hey, you, what are you doing calling me?” I asked.
“I’m calling to tell you good night and that I hope you have a nice dinner,” she said, sounding more like a teen than my little girl.
“I’m having a very nice dinner. I’ll see you in a little bit,” I told her.
“I’m going to sleep. Uncle Clay says you can pick me up in the morning.”