by Cindy Kirk
Anita and Steve Bloom had dated for several years. Lindsay knew her mother had been convinced she was in love with the high school teacher. When Steve had broken it off, Anita was devastated.
She’d gone through several men since then, but hadn’t been dating anyone in the last month. A fact that had Lindsay wondering about Len. She hoped he and her mother were dating. When I-Need-a-Man, a nickname Anita had been given by Steve’s daughters long ago, had a man in her life, she left Lindsay alone.
When Anita was between men, she focused on Lindsay’s love life. Lindsay didn’t need that additional stressor on her plate.
The band began to play, and Ethan turned politely to her. “Would you care to dance?”
Although Lindsay didn’t really feel like dancing, she didn’t feel like eating, either. And she really didn’t feel like making conversation with her mother.
Something told Lindsay she and Ethan shared that goal.
“If you’ll excuse us.” Ethan smiled and placed his palm against the small of Lindsay’s back.
The word us and a simple, innocuous touch had Anita beaming.
As she turned away, Lindsay decided it was going to be a long evening.
Three
Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief when she and Ethan stepped onto the shiny wooden floor. Since many in the crowd were older, the band, brought in from Chicago, appeared to be sticking to romantic ballads. Or maybe Steve and Lynn wanted their guests to listen to soothing music while perusing the many food options.
Ethan took her hand and placed his other against the small of her back. In seconds, they were gliding across the floor with ease.
It didn’t surprise Lindsay that Eliza’s brother was an excellent dancer. As a little boy, he’d excelled at everything he attempted.
“You look beautiful tonight.” Ethan’s voice in her ear was as smooth as his dance steps.
When she turned her head, he was right there.
His dark hair, expertly cut, was long enough to be trendy but short enough for a Fortune 500 business meeting. His face was clean-shaven, and his cologne subtle enough not to make her touchy stomach churn.
But it was those deep-gray eyes and sculpted cheekbones that made women swoon. Though Lindsay recognized his appeal, when she looked at him she saw only Eliza’s little brother. The one who’d sprayed her full-blast with a Super Soaker on his eighth birthday.
Lindsay forced a bright smile. “I—”
She didn’t have a chance to say more when they were bumped from the side.
A frown furrowed Ethan’s brow as he turned toward the culprit.
Ruby Rakes smiled brightly at them. “I was hoping we’d have a chance to chat.”
Jeremy, Ruby’s dance partner, cast a puzzled glance at his grandmother before returning his attention to Lindsay and her partner. “We didn’t mean to crash into you like that. We—”
“Oh, Jeremy, it’s fine.” Ruby, whose champagne-colored hair had been styled in soft curls around her wrinkled face, gave a dismissive wave. “It was more of a tap.”
Coming from anyone other than the eccentric matriarch of the Rakes clan, the cavalier comment would have been annoying. But it was impossible to be irritated at the charming older woman with a big heart.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Rakes.” Ethan offered the woman a warm smile, showing his manners hadn’t been damaged by the collision.
“You, too.” Ruby patted his arm, then focused on Lindsay.
Something in the woman’s intense blue eyes sent a shiver of unease up Lindsay’s spine. The overpowering scent of Chanel No. 5, Ruby’s signature scent, had Lindsay’s stomach flip-flopping. To keep control, she tried to breathe through her mouth.
“Owen is here.”
Lindsay wondered if it was a coincidence that Ethan’s hand dropped from her back a second after Ruby’s pronouncement. Her smile froze as she struggled with how to respond.
Ruby knew she and Owen hadn’t been a couple for weeks. Nothing happened in Good Hope without Ruby and her two friends, Katherine Spencer and Gladys Bertholf, knowing about it.
Jeremy shot Lindsay an apologetic look, then turned to Ethan. “I was going to ask—”
“This is a wedding reception, Jeremy. You and Ethan can talk business another time.” Ruby’s tone brooked no argument, and she got none from her grandson. Once again, her gaze returned to Lindsay. “You should track Owen down and say hello. He hasn’t been to many parties since he lost—”
For a few seconds, Ruby’s composure faltered. Then the determined look was back.
“Ethan will understand.” Ruby’s lips lifted when he nodded. “In fact, there are several young women here who would love to have a handsome young man ask them to dance.”
Obviously used to his grandmother’s imperialistic manner, the mayor of Good Hope’s lips quirked up in an impish gleam. “In case you aren’t getting the message, Ethan, that’s an order, not a suggestion.”
Ethan glanced at Lindsay. Once he received her nod of agreement, he set out across the dance floor.
“What are the three of you doing standing in the middle of the dance floor?” Looking beautiful in a moss-green dress with a lace overlay, Fin took her husband’s arm.
Lindsay’s heart swelled when Jeremy leaned over to kiss his wife. Another love match.
“I was merely pointing out Lindsay needs to rescue Owen.” Ruby’s voice softened at the sight of her granddaughter-in-law. It was common knowledge in Good Hope that the two adored each other.
“Owen doesn’t need rescuing.” Fin’s tone made the statement a fact. “He’s busy.”
“Busy?” Ruby’s head swiveled at the same time as Lindsay’s.
The older woman’s eyes widened. “Oh my.”
Lindsay’s heart sank at the sight of Owen stepping onto the dance floor with Katie Ruth Crewes’s hand on his arm.
The former cheerleader was a vision in pink, the shade complementing her blond prettiness. The three-inch heels in black eel skin flattered her long, toned legs. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Owen. While they watched, she tossed her head and laughed.
Lindsay couldn’t stand it any longer. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab something to eat.”
The last thing Lindsay wanted was food, but she refused to stand there and watch Katie Ruth flirt with the man she loved. If she waited even a second longer to leave, Fin, or God forbid, Ruby, would offer to come with her.
Lindsay needed to get herself under control before engaging in any more polite chitchat. With a fake smile plastered on her lips, she began weaving her way through the dancers.
Once she stepped off the hardwood, Lindsay smiled and responded whenever someone called out a greeting, but she didn’t pause to talk. She hoped anyone looking at her would think she was a woman on some kind of mission. Which was true. She needed to find someplace private to regroup.
When she opened the door to the restroom, the laughter and happy conversation in front of the long mirror told her that place wasn’t here.
She let the door fall shut and turned, not sure which way to go. It all seemed too much. The happy couples on the dance floor. The romantic music in the air. The joy.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes.
Darn it. She wanted the joy.
Knowing she needed to get away, Lindsay left the barn and stepped into the crisp air of early fall. Though her dress was long-sleeved, the jersey fabric provided little protection against the cool air.
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting away. The bite in the breeze instantly dried the tears threatening to fall as she wrapped her arms around herself. When she saw a couple of the teachers who taught with Steve at Good Hope High headed toward the entrance, Lindsay slipped around the side of the building and picked up her pace.
At the back of the barn, Lindsay discovered a smaller building. She was pleased to find the door unlocked. Stepping inside, she flipped on the lights.
The well-organiz
ed interior held a shiny green tractor with a large mowing deck, a couple of self-propelled lawn mowers and several sizes of snow blowers. The floor beneath her heels was concrete. While the area wasn’t fancy, it provided protection against the wind. More important, it afforded her some well-needed privacy.
A faint scent of motor oil hung in the air. Because of the smell, Lindsay cracked the door, allowing the sweet scent of evergreen to enter the building.
Lindsay wasn’t sure how long she stood there. She decided that when she got home, she’d sit down and come up with a strategy for telling Owen about the baby. She also needed to take a hard look at her finances and see where she could make cuts until her new business took off.
The sound of the door creaking open had her realizing her brief respite had come to an end.
It was time she went back inside, anyway. She would find Ethan, tell him she had a headache and wanted to go home. It wasn’t fair to make him leave the party, but he could return to the festivities once he dropped her off.
Feeling good about her plan, Lindsay took a step, then skidded to a stop. Her breath catching had nothing to do with the blast of cold air and everything to do with the man standing in front of her, a scowl on his face.
“Owen. What are you doing here?”
Even before Katie Ruth Crewes asked him to dance, Owen had decided coming to the reception had been a mistake.
The wedding had been difficult enough. He had no doubt Lynn and Steve would be happy together. Anyone watching the two could see they were deeply in love. Then again, that’s probably how he and Tessa had looked on their wedding day.
The difference was, they’d been young. Tessa had just turned nineteen. He’d been twenty. They’d been away from home for the first time, and the fact they were both from Good Hope had been the glue binding them together.
His parents had adored Tessa, and he’d basked in their approval. He sure hadn’t felt much of it growing up.
While it would be easy to blame his melancholy on the fact his marriage had failed spectacularly, he knew that wasn’t all of it. Weddings brought back memories of his daughter, his beloved Mindy, walking down the aisle in Fin and Jeremy’s wedding, tossing pink rose petals willy-nilly.
Mindy had been so happy, the brain tumor that would take her life pushed to the back of their consciousness for that one day. Emotions, always lurking just below the surface, now gripped his throat in a choke hold.
Still, Owen kept dancing until the song ended, letting Katie Ruth carry the bulk of the conversation. He managed to thank her, then fled outside for much-needed fresh air.
He’d lost track of Lindsay, which was for the best. The sight of Ethan Shaw with his hands on her had brought forward a primitive emotion he didn’t want to dissect.
Whatever he and Lindsay had once shared was over, and how he felt when he saw her now didn’t matter. The door offered an escape hatch, and he took it.
He’d never been a party guy, but going home to an empty house filled with memories held little appeal. He could change his clothes and head to the Greasy Wrench, but his head wasn’t in the right place.
No, he would grab some fresh air, then head back into the reception for a few hours and pretend to have fun.
The breeze had picked up, so he headed around the side of the barn so he’d be out of the wind. The door to a maintenance shed was open.
Owen frowned. Someone had obviously forgotten to secure the latch. Though there was little crime in Good Hope, it was still smart to lock up pricy equipment. Not only that, whoever it was had left the light on. Owen had stepped inside, intending to remedy the oversights, when he saw her.
He inhaled sharply.
“What are you doing out here?” Owen wasn’t sure why he sounded so cross. Maybe it was because the thin dress she wore was no match for the temperature outside.
Her arms wrapped around her body as if she tried to hug whatever warmth her body generated. He saw her shiver under his watchful gaze.
Without stopping to think, he pulled the door shut behind him, blocking the breeze. Whipping off his suit jacket, he held it out to her. “Put this on.”
His tone brooked no argument.
She slipped on the coat without protest, which told him she was even colder than he’d thought.
At one time, not so long ago, Owen would have wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to add his warmth to that of the suit jacket. He’d given up that right when he walked away from her nearly two months ago.
For the best, he reminded himself. He wasn’t the one to give her what she needed. What she deserved.
She didn’t speak, just stared at him with startled blue eyes. Eyes devoid of even the slightest hint of happiness. It reminded him of what was reflected back at him every morning when he looked in the mirror.
What reason did Lindsay have to feel that way? Had Ethan…?
The thought of the wealthy scion of one of the most prominent Good Hope families hurting Lindsay had Owen clenching his hands into fists. “What did he do?”
The question came out as a low growl and appeared to nudge Lindsay from her stupor.
A look of startled surprise crossed Lindsay’s face. Her eyes widened. “Who?”
“Ethan Shaw.” Owen spat the name.
“He-he didn’t do anything,” Lindsay stammered.
“Then why are you out here in a machine shed all alone, instead of in there?” Owen jerked a thumb in the direction of the barn.
She started to speak, then lifted her chin, her expression carefully composed. “I could ask you the same thing.”
One heartbeat passed. Then two.
Owen sighed heavily. “You’re right. It’s not my business.”
Lindsay turned then, her hair falling forward to obscure her face from view. She trailed a finger along the shiny surface of the Kubota lawn tractor.
Owen’s mouth went dry. He remembered how it felt when she’d slid that finger up the inside of his—
“We need to talk.” She whirled back, and something in her eyes had a sick feeling taking up residence in the pit of his stomach.
“Okay.” He watched warily as she began to pace. Not far, just a few steps away and then a few steps back. It was an odd kind of dance.
Come close.
Walk away.
It was a game he and Lindsay had played for years. Until his defenses had been down and they’d gotten together for those few months after Mindy’s death.
“I went to the doctor yesterday.”
Owen’s blood turned to ice. Was she sick? Was that why she looked so pale lately? Was that what she’d been telling her friends yesterday?
There had been little laughter in the booth. All three women had looked so serious.
Owen thought of that time when the doctor had told him and Tessa why their daughter had been waking with severe headaches.
With his heart beating wildly, Owen took a step toward her and asked in a gentler tone, “Are you okay?”
Lindsay chewed on her lower lip, as if trying to decide how much to confide.
He moved closer, so near he could see the specks of gold in the blue depths of her eyes and smell the subtle scent of her perfume. “Tell me.”
Though he’d vowed to never touch her again after the night they parted ways, he took her hand in his and found it ice-cold. When she didn’t pull back, he began to warm the soft, delicate flesh between his hands. “You can tell me anything.”
Without warning, she shivered. A full-body shake that had the alarm bells in his head clanging even more loudly.
Owen enfolded her in his arms, pulling her tight against him in a gesture intended to comfort. She was his friend, he reminded himself. The fact that they were no longer dating didn’t change the fact that he cared for her, would always care for her.
Holding her this way felt so right. For a second, her head rested against his chest, just under his chin. He remembered how it had once been with them. Owen stroked her back, murmuring soothi
ng words. After several long seconds, her trembling eased.
Though he told himself it was for the best, he felt bereft when she pulled back.
“Sorry.” Lindsay offered a wan smile. “I’ve been a little emotional lately.”
“Will you tell me what’s going on?”
Still, she hesitated.
“I’ll tell you.” Her gaze took on a distant look. “Just not tonight.”
The alarm bells that had stilled began to clang again.
“I’d say now is as good a time as any.” Owen gestured with one hand. “We’re alone and unlikely to be disturbed.”
“I don’t know.” Indecision blanketed her face as she turned away from him.
Owen reached out and grasped her arm. “Please.”
He wanted to help her. To be there for her. As her friend, he told himself, but the intense worry that gripped him told Owen what he felt for this woman went beyond simple friendship.
“Tell me,” he urged.
With a resigned sigh, she turned and met his gaze. “I’m pregnant.”
Four
Lindsay wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised by the admission.
This wasn’t the way she’d planned to tell him, but when he’d pointed out they were alone and would be undisturbed, she’d seized the opportunity.
Squaring her shoulders, Lindsay waited for him to say something.
A second passed.
Then two.
Owen raked a hand through his hair, leaving his sandy-brown strands disheveled. She’d always liked the way he looked at the end of the day, with his hair tousled and a slight scruff on his chin.
In the months they’d been a couple, she’d loved seeing his hazel eyes, rimmed with thick lashes any woman would envy, warm with a smile whenever he saw her.
There was no sign of a smile now. Not in his eyes. Not on his lips.
“Are you sure?” His voice came out as rusty as an ungreased hinge. He cleared his throat. “Or do you just suspect?”