Worth The Risk

by Carly Marie

  As I walked past the town square, I couldn’t help but smile at the Christmas decorations. This town really did look like a Hallmark Christmas movie. The gazebo had been decorated with lights and a tree sat in the center. Cute lawn ornaments were spread across the ground, and each pine tree had been decorated with lights and bulbs. At night, even I had to admit it was a pretty sight to see.

  In the grocery store, I was stopped every few aisles by someone welcoming me to the town. More than one woman had, not so subtly, swept their eyes over me while they introduced themselves. I made sure to smile politely and use their names, but there had been no way I would remember everyone by meeting them at the grocery store. I couldn’t buy much since I’d walked, but I made sure I picked up some cereal and milk as well as another bag of coffee. I grabbed enough food to get me through until the next day and added a reminder on my phone to get to the store before I picked the boys up.

  The walk home took longer with my hands weighted down with groceries, but at least it wasn’t as cold in central Tennessee as it had been in central Kentucky a few weeks earlier. And the giant cold-cut sandwich, chips, and cherry Pepsi I enjoyed for lunch made the trek worth it.

  Looking around the house, I decided I needed to tackle the living room first, and for nearly three hours, I worked at unpacking boxes. When I tripped over a large cardboard box, I almost didn’t know what it was, then I remembered asking the moving company to deposit the Christmas tree in our living room.

  It only took a few minutes to set up, but the decorations for it were nowhere to be found. Instead of spending hours looking through boxes, I decided it would be easier to purchase some, but the nearest place I could think to do that was almost half an hour away. The odds were the drive into the city, the trip to the store, and the drive back would still take less time than searching for our normal decorations.

  With a sigh I bundled up and headed to my car. I pulled onto the main road but somehow took a wrong turn and ended up on a back road, pretty sure it had me going away from where I needed to be.

  Before I could pull up directions to the store, my phone rang.

  “Incoming call from Carl,” my car announced.

  He could tell me where to turn as well as the GPS could. I pressed the accept button on my steering wheel. “Hey, little brother.”

  “Hey, yourself. I haven’t heard jack shit from you since you moved to town. What’s up?”

  “You just got back in town, asshole. Did you forget you’ve been in DC for the last month? I just moved here a few weeks ago. It’s taking time to get settled and find a routine. The boys are at Mom and Dad’s tonight so I can unpack.” I turned right, hoping I’d find the main road again. “But now I’m lost.”

  “You got lost unpacking boxes? Have you been drinking?”

  His confusion had me laughing into my car. “Oh my god, no. I put up our Christmas tree, but I can’t find the boxes of Christmas ornaments. I really wanted to get the tree set up for the kids to give them something festive. Even if we’re going to be at Mom and Dad’s later in the day on Christmas, they still need something for their presents to go under. I decided to head to the home store, but I took a wrong turn and I don’t know where I am.”

  Carl chuckled and I knew it was at my expense. “Okay, where are you at? What’s around you?”

  “I’m heading east, and there’s a bunch of fields that haven’t been plowed down yet. Why the hell haven’t they been plowed down yet?”

  Carl huffed into the phone. “Okay, you have to give me more to go on than that. That doesn’t narrow anything down. Are you on Highway 96?”

  I looked around for a sign, anything to tell me where I was. “I don’t know… there’re fields and fields, and an old blue car on the side of the road…” I trailed off as I slowed down.

  Carl groaned. “Mark, is it an old Caddy? Like real old, 1960s era? Robin’s-egg blue?”

  “Yeah. That would be the one.”

  “Do me a favor—stop and see if the guy needs help. That’s Jeff’s car, Louie.”

  The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out where I’d heard it before. I eased to a stop behind the car and killed the engine. I could just make out the silhouette of a man in front of it. “The car is named?”

  “Yes. Jeff owns the garage in town, and he’s a good friend. But Louie’s a finicky old bastard. He leaves him stranded all over town.” The statement reminded me where I’d heard the name before. He was the guy who had told Carl about the job opening at the clinic.

  “Well, apparently, Louie has struck again.” I climbed out of the car, still holding the phone, and headed up to the front of the Cadillac.

  The hood had been up when I pulled up but the man had dropped it and was propped against it, his hands buried deep in his front pockets, shaking his head. “Louie, you gotta cut me a break. Why do you insist on doing this to me? And I left my phone in the office at the shop. This was supposed to be a quick drive.” He continued to complain to his car like it was going to make it start for him.

  Taking a good look at him for the first time, I could see the man was stunning. With dark hair with golden highlights that sparkled from the rapidly setting sun, it was hard to notice anything but him. He wasn’t wearing a coat and his faded jeans and well-worn denim shirt might have looked more like they belonged in the mid-nineties, but below the ill-fitting clothes I could tell was a trim body. The stubble that graced his face hadn’t been shaved in a day or two, but it gave him a ruggedly handsome look that I hadn’t noticed on a man in decades.

  I probably didn’t look much more twenty-first century in my own clothes. I was wearing dark-wash jeans and a charcoal gray sweater, but you couldn’t see them under my tweed peacoat and cream cashmere scarf that were protecting me from the wind. He had to have been freezing without a coat on.

  “I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think talking to the car is going to get it to start.” The man—Jeff, I presumed—startled, and his head shot over to me so fast I was afraid he’d given himself whiplash.

  CHAPTER 3

  Jeff

  The yelp of surprise I let out was far from masculine. I hadn’t heard a car pull up, so it was like this mysterious man had materialized out of thin air. I guessed he was about my age, with dark brown hair sprinkled with wisps of gray. He looked somewhere between apologetic, slightly concerned, and amused at my reaction. I’d never seen him before, but he was holding a phone to his ear while he took me in.

  Was he checking me out?

  It wasn’t often I ran into a complete stranger, and the man wearing a pair of dark jeans, an expensive-looking wool coat, and a cream scarf was just that, a stranger.

  Who the hell was he?

  Even though I was cold, I couldn’t imagine being comfortable in his coat. It looked itchy and so fitted to his body—not tight, but tailored—I didn’t know how he was able to move. It might have been chilly, but I didn’t think the weather warranted his bundled-up attire. However, his surprise appearance had made my heart pound too hard to think of much else but the clothes that made him not seem to fit in around here.

  Mystery Man smiled softly and his voice was smooth, definitely not an accent from around here. “Didn’t mean to scare you. My brother, Carl, said to stop and help you and your car, Louie, out?” Was that a statement or a question?

  My eyebrows rose and fell quickly as I tried to process what he’d said. Carl? Which Carl? And how did he know my car’s name? “I’m sorry, who are you?”

  The man flushed and shook his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m Mark Murray. I’m the—”

  “New doctor in town,” I finished for him.

  He smiled, then seemed to remember he was talking on his phone. “Hey, uh, Carl, I’m going to let you go. It does appear as though I’ve found your friend.”

  I could hear Carl’s booming voice come across the line, and it did help to settle some of the lingering doubts I had about the stranger. “Tell Jeff I said hi.”

>   “Hey,” I called loudly enough that I knew Carl would hear me.

  They disconnected and Mark studied me again. “Can I give you a ride back to town?”

  I ran my hand over the back of my neck while I thought about his offer. I didn’t want to put him out, but as it stood, I had no cell phone to call anyone. Mark had been the only person to drive by in the twenty or so minutes I’d likely been stranded here. So, unless I wanted to walk back to town, I didn’t have much of a choice but to accept. “Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”

  “Awesome. You can help me get back to town then. I took a wrong turn coming out, then my brother called before I could get the GPS up. He was trying to help me find my way when I came across you.” He clamped his mouth shut and a blush spread across his cheeks. “Sorry, I’m rambling. Come on, I’ll get you back to town.”

  I followed him around the back of Louie and saw his white electric car. That explained why I hadn’t heard him pull up or cut the engine. He motioned for me to climb in, and once I was seated, I noticed the telltale signs that kids were often in the car. Coloring books, a booster seat, a soccer ball on the floorboard. It hadn’t been many years before that my truck looked the same way. Now Seth had focused his energy on basketball, and with Jenna driving, things were rarely left in my truck.

  “Thank you,” I made sure to say before he could pull away. “I’m grateful for the ride.”

  “It’s not a problem. You’re helping me too. So, do you know what’s wrong with your car?” he asked after we were both buckled and I’d given him directions to head back into town.

  “I’m pretty sure Louie has a fuel leak. His gas gauge is on the fritz, and I didn’t realize he was losing gas so fast. Oh, and my phone’s on the counter at the shop. I couldn’t have called for help if I wanted to. I guess it’s lucky you drove by.”

  Mark shot me a smile. “Do you want me to take you to the gas station to get some gas for your car so you can get it home tonight?”

  “You don’t have to do that, really. I’ll either call my sister or wait for my daughter to get home from her date. You’ve been kind enough to drive me back into town.”

  Mark brushed off my concerns with a wave of his hand. “I may be new in town, but I’m pretty sure that I have to pass your garage and the gas station before I can get onto the road that leads me out of town. And I can’t be that far from the main road.”

  “Only about a half mile to both my shop and the gas station.”

  “Perfect, then we’ll get you gas and I’ll take you back to your car.”

  I directed him toward town. After a quick stop at the shop for a spare gas tank and a drive across the street to the gas station, we were back to Louie. My only goal was to get Louie back to the garage before he ran out of gas again. I hoped it was a leak in a hose and not the tank, but I wouldn’t know until I could get under him and check it out.

  “It’s been over two years since I’ve had to get gas,” Mark mused as I put the gas tank in his trunk. “I almost forgot what it’s like to run out of gas.”

  “Almost. Once you’ve run out, you never forget.”

  His head fell back briefly as he laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? Last time I ran out of gas, my youngest was potty training and refused to pee on the side of the road and my oldest had the flu. Thank goodness for some random good Samaritan who had a gallon of gas in the back of their truck.”

  “Well, you’ve paid it forward now. Can I buy you dinner tonight?”

  Mark went to protest, but his stomach growled loudly. It was almost six and completely dark. “I’d normally say no, but I don’t think I’m going to make it to the home store now anyway. Dinner sounds great.”

  “Oh, shit. Sorry about ruining your plans for the night.”

  He waved off my worries. “No big deal. I’ll go tomorrow, with GPS, before I pick up my kids from my parents’ house.”

  “Carl said you’re a single father?” It was a nosy question to ask a virtual stranger, but it sounded like he was juggling a lot.

  He nodded as he pulled behind my car. “For about six years now, yeah. It’s strange to be some place with help that doesn’t cost almost as much as my mortgage. It’s a good strange, but it’s taking some time to get used to.”

  I’d always had Annie just a phone call away. She’d been like a mother to the kids when they were younger. She’d even set up a playroom in the garage so I didn’t have to find childcare when they were too young to go to school. “Single parenting is not for the faint of heart. But it’s worth it. I’ve got a seventeen-year-old and a fifteen-year-old. It really does get easier. I give you a lot of credit for living so far from your family for so long and doing it all on your own. It’s hard. I’d never have survived without my sister helping out.”

  Mark cut the ignition and turned to me in surprise. “You’re a single father?”

  “Long story, I’ll tell you at dinner. I think we’d both rather get some food in us. But believe me, I understand.”

  “Yeah, it can be a wild ride. Go fill up Louie, then I’ll follow you back.”

  Ten minutes later, we were leaving the garage. Louie was tucked into the bay with a tray under him to catch any leaking gasoline.

  I looked over at my truck, then used my hands to gesture to my clothes. “I look a bit rough.” No, my outfit didn’t have grease and stains on it like most of my work clothes, but it wasn’t dinner appropriate either. They definitely weren’t clothes suitably matched to the man wearing a wool dress coat and a fancy scarf.

  Mark didn’t appear fazed by my appearance, but I felt the need to clean up at the very least. “There’s a bar with really good food just down the street from my house. Would you mind following me home so I can change? We can walk to the bar from my place, then neither of us has to drive.”

  “That sounds good. I didn’t realize there was anywhere to eat around here but Marie’s. Love the food there, but I could really go for a juicy burger.”

  “You won’t be disappointed at the bar then.”

  Mark followed me to my house and parked next to my truck just as my phone buzzed in the cup holder. Jenna’s picture appeared on the screen followed by a short text.

  Is it okay if Brandon drops me off at Mandi’s house for a sleep over tonight instead of me coming home?

  I sent a text back telling her that was fine before pocketing my phone. I led us both up the steps of the porch and into the house. “Give me ten and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Mark took a seat on the couch and pulled his phone out. “Take your time. I’m going to text my brother and let him know we got Louie to the garage.”

  My closet was a treasure trove of denim, thermal shirts, flannel shirts, and T-shirts. The back corner had dress clothes I brushed off for weddings and funerals, but that was about it. A trip to the bar did not warrant me dusting off the dress clothes, so I found a pair of jeans that fit nicely, a navy blue T-shirt, and a green and blue flannel shirt that would keep me warm. I needed to remember my coat before we left or I’d likely freeze on the way home.

  It wasn’t even ten minutes later and we were on our way to the bar. While not one of the most popular bars in the area, it was clean and well maintained. I always felt comfortable there when I walked up and saw the rainbow flag decal on the door. Finding a small town bar that was LGBT friendly wasn’t easy.

  Mark noticed the rainbow flag right away. “Not something I was expecting here. It’s great to see. I was afraid to raise my kids in a place where diversity wasn’t tolerated.”

  We grabbed beers at the bar and found a table away from the hustle and bustle of the front door and the bar area. “Small towns get a bad rap,” I mentioned casually. “Fairview really isn’t bad. They’ve accepted me—single gay dad raising two kids and all.” If he didn’t know already, Mark would find out soon enough, so I just came out and told him. It wasn’t like my sexuality was a secret. If he was going to have a problem with it, I’d rather know before we became friends. With his previ
ous comment, I didn’t think it would be an issue.

  Mark raised an eyebrow my way, the overhead lights catching his eyes just right, and I caught flecks of gold in them. “That’s awesome that people have been accepting. I’m a firm believer that love is love, in whatever form it takes. It’s always been important to me that I raise my boys in an accepting area. It was one of the reasons I was hesitant to come here. I know Louisville isn’t the mecca of acceptance or anything, but we’d lived in a very diverse and progressive area. My kids were surrounded by people from all walks of life there.”

  His gaze went far off for a minute before he spoke. “Truthfully, I’m bisexual myself. It isn’t something I talk about much, and I’ve only had one boyfriend years ago.” An adorable flush spread across his face, and he ducked his head for a brief moment. “Sorry, I don’t actually know why I admitted that just now. It just sort of came out. I don’t know that my sexuality matters, even for me.” He let out a humorless laugh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone. Love may be out of the cards for me. It feels like, after my wife left me, so did the ability to find someone sexually attractive.”

  His eyes widened comically. “I seem to have come down with a case of verbal diarrhea. I apologize.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Mark

  Had I really just admitted to this almost stranger that I hadn’t been sexually attracted to anyone in six years? Christ, I hadn’t talked about my love life with anyone since Nicole up and left, and here I was telling Jeff everything. Not just that I hadn’t been attracted to someone in so long, but that I’d had a boyfriend in college. There was something about him that made it easy to open up with him, even if I hadn’t meant to.

  “I can’t imagine what that must have been like. I know Carl said you’re a single father, but I couldn’t imagine being with someone and having them leave.”