by Holly Jacobs
She looked determined and proud.
“No relatives,” he said, “but one of my college roommates is still in Erie and we see each other a lot. We work together, but we’d see each other even if we didn’t. He’s married and they have three kids, who are all hell-raisers.”
“How old?”
Sawyer got a warm feeling just thinking of the kids. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe Mart’s already got a family. Seems like just yesterday we were the hell-raisers. His boys are five, four and three.”
“Oh, my. I can’t imagine having three kids that close in age, and all boys. I mean, Clinton’s easy, but I know he’s an anomaly. He’s always seemed like a thirty-year-old in a teenager’s body.”
“I said the same thing to Willow the other day. She seems older than her actual age.”
Audrey looked pensive a moment, then added, “I’ve tried hard to give them more kid-type experiences, but some things are so deeply ingrained there’s no changing them.” She stared out over the bay, seemingly lost in thought.
Sawyer didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Your friends sound nice,” she eventually said. “I didn’t make a lot of friends in college. I was too busy, but I had close friends in high school. Two of them.”
He wanted to ask about those high school friends, but something in Audrey’s expression told him not to, so he said, “Mart’s wife, Jan, says that this fall, when the youngest finally starts preschool, she’s going to do something wild.”
Audrey peered at him. “Like what?”
“She said she’s forgotten what wild feels like, but she’ll figure something out.”
Audrey smiled, which had been his intent.
“I can relate,” she said.
He wanted to see Audrey again, but he knew she was concerned about the kids finding out and reading too much into it.
Still, he couldn’t help himself from asking, “Why don’t I throw together an impromptu swimming party at my house this weekend? You know I bought this house with the intentions of entertaining, but I rarely do much of it. You’d be helping me out. I’ll invite my friends and a few neighbors, you can ask Abe and Maggie May. We’ll go swimming, do some grilling. It’ll be a big, casual gathering, so your kids won’t be suspicious that it’s anything more than a guy with a pool asking friends and acquaintances to come over for a swim.”
“You don’t think two swimming parties is a bit much?”
“It’s summer in Erie. And the season goes by in the blink of an eye. I want to get in as many parties as I can while it’s still warm.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” she said. “Besides, we’ll see each other on Mondays when Willow mows.”
“I want to spend time with you without making your kids think anything of it. And I’ll get to know your friends while you’ll get to know mine. It’ll be laidback and...”
“Impromptu?” she filled in, throwing the word back at him.
“Yes.”
“What are we doing, Sawyer?” She sounded hesitant.
“Dating. And before you ask why, the answer is because I like you and I think you like me. We’re moving slowly, being mindful of your kids, but we’re dating. Fireworks, coffee...now there’s been a lunch. Maybe next week, we can try for a dinner.”
Audrey smiled. “So Saturday, then?”
He thought she was going to say no, but instead she nodded. “Okay. Sounds good. Let me know what time we should be there.” She checked the time. “We should head back,” she said.
He picked up the mess and put it in the cooler. “There’s one part of the date you’re forgetting.”
She went right over to him and kissed him. It was more than a quick peck on the cheek, more than an introduction. It was a long, lingering kiss that spoke of mutual need. A kiss that spoke of potential.
When they reached her office, he said, “Bring the kids by any time after lunch on Saturday. And spread the word to your friends. I’ll do the same.”
“What can I bring?” she asked.
He glanced at her. “Surprise me,” he said.
She did just that when she kissed his cheek again, then bolted inside.
* * *
“SO HOW DID it go?” Mr. Lebowitz hollered from his office.
“Really, you need to be more professional!” she scolded just as loudly as she walked back to where her boss was situated.
She stood in his open doorway and he grinned at her. “I’ve been in this business for more than forty years. I’m as professional now as I imagine I’m ever going to get.”
She entered the room and flopped into a chair across from him. “It went well. Lunch was nice.”
“Just nice?” he asked with a hint of slyness. “You’ve got the glow of a woman who was on a more than nice date.”
“Just nice,” she said, though she had to admit it had been very nice. “He’s invited all of us over for another picnic and swim at his place on Saturday.”
Mr. Lebowitz grinned as he nodded. “I’m sure that will be nice, too.”
She rolled her eyes at her boss. “You’re invited, as well.”
That seemed to surprise him. “Me?”
“We talked about our families. His parents live out of town and his surrogate family is a college friend who’s married with kids. I thought about it, and you and Maggie May...you’re my family.”
Once, she’d had Ava and Merrill, but after that night so long ago, they’d fallen apart. Still, there would always be a connection between them. But it was different now. She’d built a life for herself, and for the kids. She’d found a new family.
She hoped Ava and Merrill had built good lives for themselves, too.
She studied Mr. Lebowitz, who was so much more to her than a boss. “Can you come?” she asked.
“I will not be swimming. At a certain point in life a man has to admit that swimsuits are not his friend. But I’m a bachelor, so food I don’t have to cook is something I never say no to.”
“Good.”
“And you’ll be asking Maggie?”
There was something in his tone that caught her attention. “Yes,” she said slowly, studying him again.
“Tell her I think she should make cinnamon rolls.”
Maybe she’d imagined there was something more to his question. He simply was hoping for his favorite treat. “It’s a picnic, not breakfast,” she said.
“There is no such thing as the wrong time for cinnamon rolls.”
Audrey laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She went back to work with what felt like a permanent smile on her face.
One image kept playing over and over in her mind though.
She’d be with Sawyer on Saturday.
She’d never felt this sort of elation at the thought of seeing any of the other guys she’d dated.
She’d never had thoughts of them intrude on her work.
And all of them had disappeared when she told them she had two kids.
But Sawyer knew about her now—plus her three kids—and he didn’t seem to mind.
He was even trying to make sure they didn’t get hurt.
He was special.
That smile was definitely stuck in place and she didn’t mind at all.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ON FRIDAY, SAWYER found himself staring out his office window again.
Daydreaming.
He was not a man who was prone to daydreaming, but he couldn’t get thoughts of Audrey out of his mind. He’d made plans for tomorrow. Mart and his family, plus a few of the neighbors, were coming over. He’d stopped at Urbaniak’s Market yesterday and bought five pounds of ox roast and gravy. He’d fill the Crock-Pot with that, and then grill some Smith’s hot dogs. Both were unique to Erie and st
aples of any local picnic.
Mart said Jan was making her chocolate pudding dessert and asked how many were coming.
Sawyer acknowledged, if only to himself, that he might have overestimated a bit, knowing that Jan would leave him any leftovers.
He tried to focus on the tasks at hand, but his thoughts kept drifting to the picnic and Audrey.
At lunch, rather than ordering in something or grabbing one of the power bars he kept in his desk drawer, he walked out of the bank, and toward the stretch of State Street where the old railroad tracks used to run through the center of the city.
He found a vacant lot that had to be the one Audrey was developing.
There were still patches of hip-high weeds and piles of old concrete blocks. The way this place looked, it was going to take the rest of the summer to clear it.
He wondered what Audrey’s Greenhouse was going to look like. He wondered about the whole project. But mainly he wondered about Audrey.
What made her tick?
After Millie left, he hadn’t thought about getting serious about anyone. He’d dated, but casually. There was nothing casual about his feelings for Audrey.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
Sawyer turned and found Audrey. It took him a moment to realize it was really her. She was wearing steel-toed boots, jeans and a light plaid shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail and there was a slight smudge of dirt on her cheek.
He didn’t want to earn that penny and tell her that she was what he’d been thinking of—that she was all he’d been thinking of since their picnic—so he said, “I wanted to see the site of your famous Greenhouse. Willow said you all had been cleaning it up, but...” He left the sentence hanging because he was afraid anything he said would come out wrong.
Audrey didn’t seem insulted. As a matter of fact, she laughed. “We did make a dent, but there’s a lot of work to do. I’m hoping to get the garbage cleared sometime soon, and I’m going to start a small garden.”
He looked at the garbage-strewn lot. “I’m not a gardener, but isn’t it late in the season for planting?”
“Maybe. But I did some research and there are some varieties that you can plant in mid-July to late July for fall harvest. Or maybe I’ll just put in some kind of filler plant, something we can just mulch under next spring to help improve the soil. I thought if I could start a small raised bed, it would be something to talk to the students about and give them an idea what we’re hoping to do here. I met with some of the school district people and we’re going to plan a series of field trips to the site.”
He felt the urge to reach out and wipe the dirt off her cheek. Just a small brush of his finger would do the trick. He stuffed his hand in his pocket, determined not to let it have its way.
Audrey didn’t seem to notice. “...because we’re downtown we’ll...”
Sawyer battled his urge to reach out and touch her as he listened to Audrey talk about the building and its educational values. She fell into the description as if she were weaving a picture of the future and putting herself into it.
She practically radiated excitement.
Sawyer knew this was part of why he was attracted to Audrey. Not just her enthusiasm for the project, but her whole approach to life.
“We’ll get the schoolkids involved...”
He finally gave in to temptation, reached out and brushed his finger across that smudge. She froze.
“Dirt,” he said by way of an explanation.
She wiped at her cheek.
He wasn’t sure if she was wiping away the dirt or his touch. “Sorry,” he said, though he wasn’t. “It was distracting.”
That was a good excuse, but it was a lie. It wasn’t the smudge but Audrey herself that distracted him.
“Beautiful,” he said, looking at her.
“I think it will be. I can’t wait to get the classes involved and...”
He leaned forward and kissed her. They stood on a downtown street corner, him in a business suit, her with her steel-toed boots, and kissed. Well, mainly he kissed, but she didn’t turn away or slap him, so he was okay with that.
When he pulled back, she said, “Well, that was unexpected.”
“It shouldn’t be. Every time I’m around you, it’s pretty much all I can think about.” He paused and added, “I should probably confess that even when I’m not with you, you’re all I seem to think about.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. “I don’t have time for you, you know. But that doesn’t seem to matter. I think about you, too. I need to be clear, though. No kissing tomorrow with the kids around.”
“I won’t. But every time you look at me, you’ll know I’m thinking about it.”
She laughed. “Me, too.”
He felt he’d made progress, though he wasn’t exactly sure. Still, he changed the subject. “So how is the Greenhouse being funded?”
“We’ve got a state grant, and there are a few corporate donors here in town. I talked to Emily—she’s a local television reporter. We did an addition for her house last year. Anyway, she said to call her when the classes start. She’ll do a feature for the news on the project. And she knows someone at the Times she’ll call on our behalf, as well.”
“How much do you anticipate needing?” he asked. He was a moneyman.
“In addition to what we already have? We could scrape by now, but I’m hoping that once the word gets out, more donations will come in. Erie is a great city for supporting projects like this.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the clock. “I really have to go.”
“I’ll walk you back to work,” he offered.
“That would be nice,” she said, “but I drove. I was on my way back from a house and stopped in. I can’t seem to drive by this site without stopping. Anyway, thank you.”
He hated to say goodbye. “Anytime.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Maggie May’s going to drive in with us, and Mr. Lebowitz said he’ll be there, but he won’t wear a swimming suit. He says that’s for the best and I can thank him for it later.”
Sawyer laughed. “Mart and his family and a few of the neighbors are coming, too. It should be a fun day. Low-key. Something a casual friend might bring her kids to without them suspecting anything.”
“Well, that’s good.” She hesitated, as if she didn’t want to leave him, either. “I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah. See you then.” Sawyer watched as she got in her car and drove toward the lake. He went back to the bank and managed to actually accomplish some work. Then he headed home, hoping to get tables set up for tomorrow.
There was an RV in his driveway.
He pulled in behind it, and as he got out, his mother came down the steps. “Surprise,” she called out.
She was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and had her hair pulled into a ponytail. She did not look old enough to be his mom.
He hurried over to her and kissed her cheek. “It is a surprise.”
“I hope it’s a pleasant one,” she said. “We’re not staying too long, I promise.”
“There’s no such thing as too long when you come visit. But how long is not too long?” he asked. Not that he wasn’t thrilled to see his mom. It was harder before the RV when they’d stay in his house and his mom insisted on rearranging his things and cleaning.
He really hated people messing with his stuff. Even when the people in question were his parents. And he didn’t let things go well. Maybe that’s why he still had the car in the garage. He hadn’t driven it in forever, but it was his.
Suddenly he wondered if the reason he’d been so upset that Millie left him was because of his feelings for her, or if it was because he considered her his.
He’d never really thought his heart would break.
And if he’d really lo
ved her, wouldn’t he have been thrilled that her dreams had come true? And wouldn’t he have dropped everything to follow her?
If he was upset and trying to hold on to her because he was a spoiled, only child, he didn’t like what that said about him.
His mom didn’t seem to notice his momentary self-examination. “We’re just in for the weekend. We’re heading up to the Finger Lakes. Then we’re going down south and visiting Chincoteague. You know I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“I’m glad you stopped,” he said, and he meant it. “I wish you would have called, though. I have a pool party here tomorrow and I’d have postponed it until after your visit.”
“Maybe that’s why we didn’t give you any warning. We’d love an opportunity to meet your friends.” His mom grinned. “I’ll even help you cook.”
Before Sawyer could respond, his dad came out of the RV looking sleep rumpled. “Sorry, I took a catnap. We were on the road for eight hours today. Your mom was determined to get here before you.”
“Hi, Dad.” They hugged. It was a manly, backslapping hug.
“What’s this about a party?” his dad asked.
“Just some friends and neighbors coming over to swim. You know how short Erie’s pool season is. I have this great pool and I don’t use it half enough myself. So if people come over to swim, I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.”
“What people?” his mom asked. She gave him a look he hadn’t seen since he was young.
“Well, Mart and his family. The boys are getting so big you’ll hardly recognize them. And Mrs. Wilson across the street.”
“And?” she pressed.
She was giving him her look. It was a look that sparked numerous confessions when he was younger. He had nothing to confess this time, plus he was an adult. The realization didn’t stop him from adding in a rush, “The Tellers from down the street said they’d stop in. And Abe Lebowitz, Audrey Smith, local architects. And...”
“Go back.” His mom’s eyes narrowed. “This architect?”