by CeeCee James
Miranda nodded, humiliated over her slip of the tongue. She took a sip of her wine. “It’s been brutal.”
“I know how lonely it feels.” Dylan looked into his glass. “It’s been nice rekindling our friendship over these last six weeks.” Stretching back, he studied her reaction.
“You definitely shocked me when you showed up. You still never told me what happened on your boat trip?”
“Oh I had a great time. I sailed down to San Diego and docked there for a few months. It was amazing.” From his smile, Miranda could tell he was remembering the salty ocean air and freedom.
“Why on earth did you come back? I don’t think I ever would.”
“Well,” his dark, mischievous eyes caught hers. “That can be arranged.”
She looked down at her napkin and twisted one end. “Life is very different for you than it is for other people. Not everyone has the freedom to just pack up and go.”
“I have a good life. I’m not going to apologize about having money.” Dylan shrugged and ran his hand down the side of his blond hair. “And I’d like to share it with someone.” He studied her again. His gaze seemed to penetrate into her own secret thoughts, causing Miranda to squirm.
“Well, we’re probably all looking for that special person.”
He took another drink, his gaze shooting across the room. When he looked back, he lifted the glass in a cheers motion. “Here’s to good food and reuniting with old friends. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to see those cute bare feet of yours again.”
Miranda rolled her eyes but touched her glass to his. Whatever the toast, she could sure use the wine right about now.
* * *
Night had fallen and the temperature had dropped by the time they finally finished dinner. Dylan held the exit door for Miranda and placed his jacket around her shoulders. “Nice to have friends who are gentlemen,” she said, hoping to remind him of their status. Slowly, they walked across the parking lot.
“Full moon tonight,” he remarked, staring at it.
The moon was large and amber as it sat on the skyline. Miranda softly sighed. “It’s gorgeous. I wonder what makes it that color?”
“When the moon is near the horizon, the moonlight passes through more atmosphere, and changes the color. You know what sailors say about the moon?”
“No, what?” The breeze swept her hair across her lips. He reached over and slowly tucked it behind her ear.
“Full red moon in the morning, sailors take warning.”
“Oh?” Her heart beat a little faster. Why was his touch affecting her so? She shouldn’t have had that glass of wine at dinner.
“It warns of a brewing storm.”
“Are you afraid of a little stormy weather?” She grinned, before catching herself and looking away.
“I can handle anything that comes my way.” His voice was deep and serious. His hand slid down from her ear and rested on the crook of her neck, gently teasing a strand of her hair.
Her skin tingled under his touch and her mouth felt dry. Avoiding his eyes, she removed his jacket and handed it back to him. “Thanks for letting me borrow this. It’s amazing how the weather changes so quickly.”
He gave a disappointed exhale and unlocked the car door. Once inside Miranda pressed her cold hands against her cheeks. What was wrong with her? Was she missing male companionship that much? She needed to get away from him and home before she made any bad decisions.
“Would you mind if we just check to see if the Auto Parts store is open?” Miranda asked after he climbed into the car. “You don’t have to handle the battery. I can do it.”
Dylan’s face was expressionless as he drove. Miranda wondered if she should make her case again. He shifted the car into third and nodded. “Yeah, of course. We have to pass it anyway. Can’t hurt to check.”
They pulled into the Auto Parts store parking lot and Miranda ran in. Her feet still throbbed but she was on a mission: get home where it was safe. Dylan trailed slowly behind her. The technician helped her locate the battery she needed and carried it to the register.
“You have to bring your old one back to be refunded the core charge,” the technician advised her. “You know how to put this in?”
“I can figure it out,” Miranda said. After all, what were smart phones for?
“Just remember, the red is positive. Hook it up first.”
“Got it.” Miranda lifted it, when she felt a large hand push her arm away.
“I’ve got this,” Dylan said, picking it up. “Don’t want a girl carrying more than me.”
Miranda waited until they were outside to respond. “Hey there, buddy. I appreciate you carrying it for me, but I’m not a girl. I’m an adult. And I really can carry my own battery.”
Dylan popped his trunk and set it in the back with a thud. “Well, humor me then.” He smiled at her, and his dimple crinkled.
“Thanks. But no more ‘girl’ stuff.”
He put his hands in the air. “Whoa! Message received loud and clear.”
Back at the dental office, Dylan carried the battery over to her car and quickly installed it for her.
Five minutes later Miranda was in the driver’s seat. “Finger’s crossed!” she said. She turned the key and chuckled with relief when the Jeep started.
“Oh baby, how I’ve missed you!” she said, petting the dash.
“Wow, what am I? Chopped liver?”
“Sheesh. You men are so sensitive.” Climbing out of the car, she hugged him with one arm. “You’re a life saver.”
“What’s this?” Dylan’s brow wrinkled unhappily. “One-armed hugs are what you give someone when you’re at church or for people you don’t really like.”
Miranda rolled her eyes and squeezed him tightly with both arms. He hugged her back, whispering in her hair, “Mmmm, that’s better.” She closed her eyes for a second, unwilling to leave the strength and warmth of his embrace.
Sighing, she finally pulled away. “You truly made my night. I had a good time.”
His dark eyes mirrored the same sentiment back as he smiled at her. “Hate to say that I’m glad I found you stranded, but I am. Now I just need to find myself a white steed.”
She laughed. “Aw. How could I forget? My knight in shining armor. Seriously though, you were a big help. Although I did miss out on seeing Claudia in her stilettos trying to jumpstart my car.”
“Wow, I barely come in a close second to that visual.” He smiled again. “You have an awesome laugh. I think I’d change a hundred batteries just to hear it.”
“Coming from you, that’s saying a lot.”
“What can I say? I am who I am.”
His words hit at her core. Dylan knew who he was, and he wasn’t apologetic about it.
“So, what do you think about the new Mission: Impossible?” Dylan jammed his hands in his overcoat pocket and rocked back on his heels.
“Another one? That series just keeps going.”
“Yeah but they keep getting better.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Like someone else I know.”
“You always were such a jokester.”
He shut the car’s trunk before responding. “It’s the truth. Anyway, it’s premiering next week. Want to go?”
Miranda’s heart froze in her chest. Her life seemed littered with bad decisions. How could she know which one was the right choice? But then again, why not? She felt lonely to her core, and she enjoyed his friendship. “I’d love to. But this time I pay my own way.”
Dylan chuckled. “Okay, if it’s that important to you. And you can spring for the popcorn too.”
“Whatever! That popcorn always makes me sick, I have no idea why.”
“No popcorn then. So, Friday at seven?”
Miranda grinned. “Okay, sounds good.”
He slapped the roof of her car with a rat-a-tat-tat beat. “Awesome. I’ll see you then. Or tomorrow. I’ll actually see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll bring you coffee. Still like it
black?”
“Just dip your finger in it. That’ll make it sweet enough.”
She groaned, and he laughed again. Then he climbed inside his car and slammed the door. Dylan waited for her to leave the parking lot before speeding in the opposite direction with a deep rumble and quickly disappearing around the corner.
“Show off,” she whispered to herself, shaking her head. Just like he’d been in Seattle.
Chapter Fourteen
Autumn
After weeks of camping in the middle of nowhere, Jason desperately needed a hot shower and some clean clothes. He’d booked into a hotel the night before and, by morning, he already started to feel human again.
Jason slathered on shaving cream and studied his face in the mirror. He looked tired…older. Suddenly it seemed vitally important to get back to his roots, back to his past reality. He dragged the razor up the length of his cheek and made his decision. He was going to track down the house he’d grown up in, the same house he had been forced to leave all those years ago.
It had been his grandparents’ house. Jason had moved in with them at seven years old, driven there late one night by a police officer after his mom died. He still remembered the policeman, bald and heaving for breath as his too-tight belt cut into his middle. He’d given Jason a stuffed bear and told him he was a man, and men didn’t cry.
His grandma had been waiting in her yellow bathrobe for them on the front lawn. She’d come running towards the police car before Jason had the chance to undo his seatbelt. She’d grabbed him in her arms and held him so close he could hear her old heart fluttering against the shell of his ear. Grandma had rocked him, repeating over and over, “This home is yours, for as long as you have breath.”
Just nine years later he’d lost both of his grandparents. And somehow, along the way, he’d lost himself too.
Jason turned his beater truck down the familiar road, eased off the gas and idled along the street. Above him, the big maple trees spread their branches like a long green tunnel. He noticed the one he’d hidden in as a kid all those years ago. A lump formed in his throat. That kid had been lonely and afraid about the future. It was a bitter pill that he still felt the same way.
He passed the neighbor’s house on the corner where his grandma used to play pinochle every Wednesday night. Next was Mr. Lawrence’s place, a cranky old man who’d accused Jason of running through his yard and ruining his gladiolas. After getting blamed for the damaged flower stalks more than a few times, Jason decided to give the old man something to gripe about. He’d snuck over there one night after sunset, running home with a bouquet for his grandma. She’d scolded him right proper and sent him to his room without dinner. Still, later that night he’d caught her with a small smile on her face as she arranged the flowers in her favorite crystal vase.
With a squeak of the truck’s brakes, he stopped outside his grandparents’ house. He blinked hard at the sudden sting of tears. The house was no longer white, but painted a dark grey with a cherry red door. There was still a chain link fence around the front of the property, and the same large rhododendron stood guarding the front corner. A half-filled kiddie pool sat in the sun next to a kick ball. On the other side of the driveway, a sprinkler waved back and forth, watering a flowerbed.
He leaned back, peering up at the second story. The upstairs window was open, Grandma’s old room. Blue-striped curtains fluttered into view with the flow of air.
Jason smiled to himself. The house seemed happy, as if life and love lived there.
Next door, he saw the familiar face of his grandma’s best friend, Aunt Delores, partly hidden behind the rose bushes she was busy pruning. He grinned to see she was still wearing the same type of green seersucker pants and loose pastel shirts that he remembered from childhood. Her hands were gloved and a wide-brimmed straw hat shielded her face from the sun.
On impulse, he edged the truck along and stopped across from her. Shifting into park, he leaned across the seat to unroll the passenger window.
“Hey, Aunt Delores.” he called.
She froze and looked around, her movements scared and unsteady.
“Over here, Aunt Delores.” He waved his arm.
She did a clumsy pirouette and finally spied him in the truck. Her face contorted from fear into confusion as she peered into the dark cab.
“It’s me, Jason. Long time, no see.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she took a few tottering steps backward. “Jason? Oh my word.…” She dropped the shears and scuttled over to the passenger door. Her hand rested on the door’s frame and she bent forward for a closer look. “Oh my goodness, it really is you!” Her washed-out brown eyes blinked and stared, her mouth puckering as though she might cry.
“Hi, Aunt Delores.” Jason smiled. “Yep, it’s really me.”
“Oh, young man! You just pull in right here. Park in the driveway. Let me make you some hot cocoa.” Her thin arm directed him towards the driveway like a trembling windsock.
Jason shifted the Chevy into first and drove up to her garage. She followed him as fast as she could, her slip-on sneakers gripping the lawn with thick rubber tread.
“I just can’t believe it!” she gasped, bobbing outside the truck door as he climbed out. “Look how tall you are.”
He reached down to wrap his arm around her bony shoulders and gave her a gentle hug. She’d lost weight since he’d last seen her. Aunt Delores had always been a sturdy woman, with a mean swat if she thought she’d been disrespected. “I guess that happens with age, huh?”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” Her wrinkled cheeks pinkened. “Seems to me like age has made me shorter.”
“But still gorgeous as ever.” Jason smiled.
“Oh, you’re a charmer. Come in, come in. Tell me everything that’s happened.” She hurried ahead of him up the concrete stoop to her front door. The screen door squeaked as she pulled it open. He followed, his head swiveling to take in the view of his grandparents’ house from her yard.
The interior of her house was just as he remembered. Jason stopped for moment, almost confused, as the musty scent of her home overwhelmed him with memories. He couldn’t put his finger on the smell, somewhere between an old garage and the Goodwill store. Still, it yanked him immediately back to his childhood when Grandma would send him to mow Delores’s yard, and she would always have a plate of cookies waiting.
“My goodness,” Delores chattered to herself in the kitchen. There was noise of cupboards opening and dishes rattling. “After all these years, Jason is finally home.” She came out with a steaming mug and a plate of vanilla sandwich cookies. “I couldn’t find any cocoa, but here’s some Earl Grey tea.”
Jason took the offered cup with a nod and glanced down at the water. Bits of tea leaves floated as the string snaked out of the cup and down the side. “Thank you, Aunt Delores. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, no trouble.” Despite the vigorous nod of her head, her short steely grey hair remained frozen in place like a bike helmet. “Let's go sit. My goodness! We’ll use the good living room.” She whispered this conspiratorially as she led the way through the cluttered hallway to her formal living room.
Jason glanced around as he entered through the doorway. He’d never been in the room before.
“Sit. Sit.” She indicated the far couch.
Jason stepped carefully along the plastic carpet protector running the length of the carpet, before sitting on the velour couch.
“So.” Delores sat across from him, primly holding her teacup with a tiny hand outlined with a roadmap of raised veins. “Tell me everything that’s happened. The last time I saw you was right after the real estate agent put the For Sale sign in the front yard. Oh, she was a nasty lady.” She blew on her tea, and continued. “You said you were leaving for your uncle’s home. I’d expected to meet him. Then ‘Poof!’ you just disappeared. Whatever happened to you?”
He took a sip of his tea, then set the cup down with a grimace, picking
a leaf off of his tongue. “Nothing much. Went and stayed with Uncle John for a few years, and now I’m back.” The lie fell out of his mouth easily, almost like the truth. There’d never been an uncle, but there was no way he was going to rehash what actually happened.
“Oh, well, my dear boy. You’ve missed a lot. The neighborhood has really changed.” She sighed and looked away morosely. “The Stasinski’s family moved nearly two years ago. You should see the new family that took over that house. Completely ruined the yard!”
Jason made an appropriate sympathetic noise.
“I know. It’s just terrible,” she continued. “And then Sandy got married.”
His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “Sandy?”
“You remember her. The big girl that used to manage the pet store.”
“Big girl?”
“Yes. Well, she’s right skinny now from running up and down that there mountain.” She jabbed a finger out the window to indicate the sole mountain in the area, the pride and joy of the town.
Jason nodded, hoping he seemed suitably impressed. “Wow, well that’s great. Maybe I’ll bump into her now that I’m back.”
“I hope you do. She has six kids—two sets of twins, if you can believe. Her husband’s a nice young man, but if you’d stayed they could have all been yours.”
Jason choked on his tea and immediately coughed.
“Are you okay?” Concerned, she shifted forward to the edge of her seat.
He waved her off with a thumbs-up sign.
“Well,” she said, settling back in the wing chair. “I’m sure I can find you some nice young lady. I think Violet’s granddaughter.… No? Oh, that’s too bad. I’m just so glad you’re here now. Although it would have been nice if you had come back sooner.”
He frowned. “Why’s that, Aunt Delores?”
“People were looking for you! Trying to track you down for years. They’ve all but given up now.” She shrugged her bony shoulders and readjusted the striped afghan over her knees.
Jason felt a chill run down his back. “Who was looking for me?”