Close to Home

by Raney, Deborah;

  She nodded, holding her breath.

  He slid an iPad from under his thigh and opened it. Without prelude, he touched the screen to reveal a Facebook page. Aaron’s page. With that photo of them as his profile image.

  “That stinker!” She said under her breath. “I swear to you, Drew, we are not together and haven’t been for more than a week.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m positive. Knowing Aaron, I doubt he did this maliciously. He probably just forgot he’d even posted that photo.”

  “Well, it does say he’s currently in a relationship with you.”

  “What!”

  He tapped the screen.

  “Oh my gosh. Oh, Drew!” She felt queasy. “I totally forgot we’d made it . . . Facebook official. I hardly ever get on there, so I completely forgot that was still on there.” Why hadn’t Aaron changed it? She knew he frequented Facebook more than she did. And after he’d told her he was thinking about asking Wendy out? She’d better warn him before Wendy saw it. She stared at the page, then looked up at Drew. “Is that why it took you so long to call?”

  “It’s only Thursday. Give a man a chance to catch his breath.”

  She rolled her eyes. “The time it takes a man to catch his breath is the time it takes a woman to think said man can’t stand the sight of her and that she will never hear from said man again as long as they both shall live.”

  He laughed. “Well, I did want to get this”—he held up the iPad—“settled before we had any other discussions.”

  “Here, give me that.” She took the iPad from him and signed into her Facebook account. It took all of three seconds to make it “Facebook official” that she and Aaron were not together. She felt a twinge of guilt when she thought about the notification Aaron would probably get that she’d made the change. They’d made it official in person, together. But Aaron knew Bree hardly ever got on Facebook and should have taken the status down before now.

  She handed the iPad back to Drew. “I can’t do anything about the photo on his profile. He’ll have to change that, but cross my heart,”—she drew an X over her chest—“we are not an item. Honestly, Drew, we were never really even that serious. Like I told you, I think Aaron was just my way of putting my toes back in the water. If you’re wanting details, he kissed me one time. The night that picture was taken. And if it helps, I didn’t like it.” She giggled.

  He leaned over and gave her a very quick, very chaste—but on-the-lips—kiss.

  She touched her lips, remembering a much better kiss. “What was that for?”

  “Because I don’t want that ‘stinker’ to have kissed you more times than I have.”

  “Well, in that case, he might have kissed me a couple of times.” Smiling, she took his face in her hands and kissed him—not nearly as tame as his kiss.

  When they came up for air, he gave her a thumbs up, grinning. “Alrighty then. I think that settles the score.”

  They sat, looking out at the street. But she could feel him grinning beside her. Rather smugly, she thought. After a minute, she scooted to lean against the porch column, hugging her knees. “You said, ‘before any other discussions’? Was there something else you wanted to talk about.”

  He rested his forearms on his thighs, looking thoughtful. “I have bad news, and I have really bad news.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “Which do you want first?”

  She groaned. “I hate that question.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you the really bad news first.” He chuckled. “Actually, you may think the really bad news is good news and then I won’t have to tell you the merely bad news.”

  “Then maybe you should tell me the really bad news first?” She tilted her head, memorizing the contours of his face, already loving him more than she did just two days ago.

  “I can’t tell you the really bad news first because the merely bad news won’t make sense until I tell you the really bad news.”

  She gave a little growl. “Just please tell me some news before I have to smack you one.”

  He laughed, but quickly turned serious, taking in a deep breath. “I accepted a job in St. Louis.”

  Her heart deflated like a sad balloon. “Ohhh. That’s . . . terrible news. I mean, I’m happy you found a job, but . . . St. Louis?”

  “I start Monday.”

  “This Monday? Oh, Drew . . .” She was afraid she might cry.

  But he’d said it was really bad news. That meant he wasn’t happy about going so far away. Or maybe he just wasn’t happy about the job he’d taken. She’d have to let the jury be out until she’d heard his other news.

  As if reading her mind, he held up a hand. “Here’s the thing. As my wise big brother reminded me, St. Louis is not the moon. It’s a two and a half hour drive each way.”

  Her heart lifted. He was planning on making the trip back and forth.

  “Grant still wants me to help him with the cottage on the weekends. And Dallas and Danae have graciously offered to let me come back and stay with them weekends for a while. I feel I owe it to Grant to finish what I started.”

  “Oh, Drew. That’s wonderful. I’m so glad. I was already worrying about how Grant would feel to lose you.”

  “Yeah. He gave me a chance when I didn’t know anything. But . . . I’m sorry.” Drew took her hand. “It means there will be precious little time left over.”

  She nodded, her spirits plummeting again. “Are you . . . breaking up with me? Before we ever even—” She stopped, knowing her voice would give her away.

  He squeezed her hand. “I’m not breaking up. But I can’t ask you to wait for me, Bree. That wouldn’t be fair to you. I don’t know what the future looks like. But even just to finish the cottage, it’s going to be several months.”

  She didn’t know what to say. “Can we still talk?”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. Can I call you?”

  She frowned and gave him a playful shove. “Will you really call this time? I don’t think I can take another four-day silent treatment from you.”

  “It wasn’t four days.”

  She glared at him and counted on her fingers. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednes—”

  “You can’t count Monday. That’s when we last talked.”

  “You call that talking? Huh-uh.”

  He laughed. “You’re funny.”

  “Ha ha.” Still, she couldn’t help but smile. They’d found the easy way between them again, and she felt like she’d gotten her best friend back.

  “I start Monday so this might be it for a while, but I really will call you. And . . . I’ll miss you.” He reached for her, threading his fingers through her hair, and gently pulling her close. “Like crazy.”

  “I’ll miss you too.”

  “I’ll call. I promise. But this is good-bye for a while. Obviously I won’t be at the inn Tuesday night.”

  “Oh—” She felt like she was riding a rollercoaster of highs and lows.

  But the kiss he left her with was a high she wouldn’t soon come down from.

  33

  Could you pass the chicken, Bree?”

  Grant’s voice brought her out of her gloomy reverie. “Sorry. Here . . .” She reached for the platter of Audrey’s old-fashioned fried chicken and sent it Grant’s way.

  “He’ll be back,” Danae said, grinning.

  She didn’t dare pretend she didn’t know what Danae was talking about. Bree sighed and forced a sheepish smile. “I know. I just—”

  “It’s not the same without him, is it?” Audrey reached to give her a sympathetic pat on the knee.

  “Without who?” Dallas and Danae’s four-year-old Austin looked from his mom to Audrey.

  “Without Uncle Drew,” Danae said.

  “When’s he comin’ back? I don’t like St. Louis.”

  Dallas and Danae exchanged looks. St. Louis was where little Austin had lived—with his birthmother and abusive stepfather—before coming to live with the Brooks family.

/>   But Austin’s brow smoothed. “St. Louis took Uncle Drew far, far away.”

  “It’s not that far, buddy.” Dallas tousled the boy’s unruly dark hair. “And he’ll be back for a visit before you know it.” Dallas gave Bree a pointed look that said his comment was for her sake as much as Austin’s.

  “Uncle Drew is funny.”

  Dallas laughed. “Yes, he is. But looks aren’t everything.”

  The adults laughed, but Austin and the three oldest Pennington girls crinkled their noses and exchanged confused looks.

  Bree laughed too, thinking about how Drew would have given his brother a hard time for that comment. The inn wasn’t the same without Drew there. And without CeeCee too. Tim’s grandmother was making progress at the rehab center, but it was going to be longer than they’d first thought before she would be released. And even then CeeCee wouldn’t likely be able to go back to her house in Langhorne. Bree sighed involuntarily. Why did life always have to go and change on her? She wasn’t a fan of change.

  And yet, ever since she and Drew had talked on Thursday evening, though she’d been pensive and a little melancholy, she’d also felt a quiet assurance that everything was unfolding just as it should.

  But she couldn’t just sit around and pine for Drew the rest of her life. She’d spent too much time doing that with Tim. And life had almost passed her by as a result. Even so, she had this wonderful family of Tim’s, and she wouldn’t trade that for the world.

  But she’d also felt a strange new tug on her heart that grew stronger every day, and she somehow knew it wouldn’t leave until she obeyed its urgency: She needed to go see her parents.

  She wasn’t sure what exactly had precipitated the notion, except that something about the way Drew Brooks talked about his parents filled her with a longing to have the same thing with her own parents—before it was too late.

  Yes, it was time to mend things with Mom and Dad. She didn’t even know if they would acknowledge that fences needed mending between them. But she didn’t want things to remain the way they were forever. If she was honest, part of her motivation was imagining her someday wedding. If she ever married again, she didn’t want to begin that new life with things the way they were now between her and her parents.

  The idea had niggled at the back of her mind for days now, and she’d about fainted Sunday at church when the pastor read from the book of Romans: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

  Not that she and her parents were at war, but certainly no one could mistake what they had between them for peace. More and more, she realized that it was more her doing than she’d been willing to take blame for.

  It was time to right some wrongs. She had to keep reminding herself that the scripture said “as far as it depends on you.” She couldn’t go to her parents with any expectations. This was on her, and her alone. If they responded, she would be pleased—and touched. But if not, at least she’d obeyed God’s word.

  She took a bite of Audrey’s mashed potatoes and gravy, her stomach nervous at the very thought of going back to Boonville. But she knew she wouldn’t rest until she’d done just that.

  It helped to think how happy Drew would be to know she’d taken that step. But mostly to think how relieved she would be to have it over with.

  * * *

  Bree’s cell phone started ringing as she pulled into her driveway. She stopped the car in front of her garage and rummaged in her purse for the phone.

  A picture of Drew’s smiling face appeared on the screen. Bree couldn’t help returning the smile as she pressed Accept. “You called!”

  “Well, of course. I said I would. Are you home from the inn yet?”

  “Just now pulling into my driveway.”

  “Oh, good. I didn’t want to interrupt things at the inn.”

  “Too late. You already did.”

  “Huh?”

  “You were the main subject of conversation tonight. You and CeeCee.”

  “Really?” He sounded pleased. “Do you want me to call back in a few minutes? Let you get inside?”

  “No, it’s okay. It’s a pretty night. There’s a full moon. A harvest moon, my dad used to call it.” She’d forgotten the memory until this moment. Her dad had taken her out onto their back porch after supper to point out the huge orange orb rising over the rooftops in their neighborhood. It was a tender memory, and it warmed her heart almost as much as Drew’s voice did.

  “Yeah, I see it here, too,” Drew said. “It’s perched on top of the arch.”

  “Really?”

  He laughed. “Well, not really, but it sure looks like it from my window.”

  “The hotel? Or did you find an apartment?”

  “Hotel. Still looking for an apartment. Not having much luck.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. Maybe you should just move back to Cape and commute.”

  “Nice try.”

  She could almost see his cocked eyebrow and loved hearing the grin in his voice. “So, how’s work going?”

  “It’s going. There’s a pretty steep learning curve, but I’m getting there. Slowly . . .” He cleared his throat. “So why was I the topic of conversation tonight?”

  “Because it’s not the same there without you.”

  “Well, that kind of makes a guy feel good. If it makes you feel any better, my Tuesday night wasn’t the same without you either.”

  “Well, that kind of makes a girl feel good.”

  “It should. I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too.” But she was smiling. Sometimes it was good to miss someone. And even better to be missed. “Thank you for calling.”

  “You might not be saying that a few weeks from now when I become a regular pest, calling you all the time.”

  “That will never happen. You becoming a pest, I mean.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “You’ll just have to trust me on that.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  When they hung up almost an hour later, the veil of melancholy had lifted to be replaced by a warm blanket of peace.

  34

  The trees lining both sides of the interstate were glorious in the waning October sunlight and Bree took that as a hopeful sign—God’s way of encouraging her to keep driving. To get this done.

  Too long, she’d put off making the trip home. Drew had given her the motivation she needed by inviting her to stop for lunch with him in St. Louis on her way to Boonville. She wasn’t sure which event she was more nervous about.

  She let her phone’s GPS direct her to Caleco’s restaurant, where they’d arranged to meet near Drew’s office downtown. It was hard to picture him living here in the city instead of back in Cape. But she would be happy to have an image of him in his new setting to take home with her.

  She found a parking garage and walked the few blocks to the restaurant, excitement rising in her at the thought of seeing him again, face to face. It hadn’t quite been a month since the night they’d said a very tentative good-bye. But that night felt like a lifetime ago.

  True to his word, Drew had been calling her every few days, and they’d spent many precious hours getting to know each other long-distance. He liked his new job, though he’d struggled with the challenges of working for a much larger company than before. Bree loved hearing his deep voice, memorizing the nuances of his tone, but she hated that she’d already forgotten the contours of his face, the feel of his hand in hers. She intended to make a point of memorizing those too—at least enough to hold her until the next time they might get to see each other.

  She spotted the gaily striped red, white, and green awnings on two sides of the restaurant and quickened her pace. A man exiting the restaurant held the door for her and she stepped inside, waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior.

  “Bree?” Drew stepped forward, smiling, and pulled her into a hug.

  And just like that, they found their easy way with each other again.

  �
�I’ve already got us a table.” He pointed, and with a hand at the small of her back, he guided her to a raised seating area in one corner of the restaurant.

  “I like this,” she said, once they were seated. “Cozy.”

  “Wait till you taste the food.” He pushed a menu her way. “Hope you came hungry.”

  She was too excited and nervous to be hungry, but she wouldn’t tell him that.

  The server came to take their order, then brought the sodas they ordered, but as soon as she was gone, Drew reached across the table for her hand. “Man, are you a sight for sore eyes.”

  She beamed. “You too. It feels like you’ve been gone forever.”

  “Thank God for cell phones.”

  “I know. What did they do a hundred years ago?”

  “Wrote letters, I guess.”

  “By hand. I can’t even imagine.”

  “Are you excited about seeing your parents?”

  “Nervous. And a little scared.”

  He squeezed her hand hard. “Don’t be scared. I’ve been praying. It’ll be fine. It’s a first step.”

  “I know. I keep telling myself that. Thank you for the prayers. Don’t stop.”

  “Don’t worry. I couldn’t if I tried. I’ve been—”

  The server appeared with their platters of lasagna and ravioli. Once the server had left, Drew bowed his head and said a blessing over their meal. For the next half hour, they ate, catching up on little things that had happened since their last phone conversation.

  “How’s CeeCee?” he asked over a bite of bread.

  “She’s good.” Bree laughed. “Vintage CeeCee. Did I tell you that Grant is convinced she’s faking a slow recovery?”

  “What?”

  She nodded, laughing harder. “Apparently she’s made some good friends at the rehab—bridge-playing friends—and she’s not quite as motivated to get out of there as she was at first.”

  “Aha.” He chuckled. “It’s all clear now. That’s hilarious.”

  “There’s an assisted living facility on the campus, and they’re thinking she’ll move there when she’s finished rehab, until the cottage is finished. Is the construction still on target?”