What It Takes: A Kowalski Reunion Novel

by Shannon Stacey

  She smiled, but her husband groaned. “I was rushing because we were late checking out. The tires slipped and it pissed me off, so I hit the throttle. But I didn’t take the time to put a strap on the ramps, so they kicked out and the damn thing came over backwards on me.”

  “You’re not the first person to do that,” Andy told him. “You got lucky, though. It could have been a lot worse.”

  “Sit tight,” Ben told Corey before standing up and walking over to Sam and Dave. “I probably should have called in and canceled your response, but you were already on the road by the time I knew I didn’t need help, anyway.”

  Sam shrugged. “I was watching a repeat of a repeat of a sports talk show, so it’s all good.”

  When they went over to introduce themselves to Corey and talk to the others, Ben stretched his back and watched as Laney said a few words to Rosie before walking toward him.

  “Thank you for keeping his head still until I could get a collar on him,” he said when she was close enough so he could speak to her without raising her voice.

  She stopped, giving him a little smile. “That’s more or less all I know how to do in an emergency. Don’t let them move their necks.”

  “Or spit on open wounds.” When she laughed, he saw everybody turn to look at them—except Corey, of course—but he didn’t care. She had a great laugh. “But seriously, you did great.”

  “Thanks. I really hope this doesn’t happen a lot. It was terrifying to be honest, and I was just going to my camper to get some water.”

  He looked over his shoulder at the small camper that sat slightly apart from the other sites. “The one with the flamingo?”

  When she looked at the wooden flamingo, she smiled and then looked at him. “Yes, that’s mine. I know it’s silly and I spent too much on it, but it was the first thing I bought for myself after my divorce.”

  “Do you always smile like that when you look at it?”

  Laney looked back at the flamingo and once again, her lips curved into a smile. “I guess I do.”

  “Then it was worth every penny you paid for it.”

  Her eyes softened and her lips parted, but whatever she’d been about to say was lost when they heard a siren wailing in the distance and getting closer.

  “I guess you should get back to Corey,” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  She walked by him and only the fact there was a group of people watching him kept Ben from turning and watching her as she walked away.

  Chapter Four

  The following evening, Laney sat cross-legged on the ground with pieces of Adirondack chairs in front of her, a very poorly drawn instruction sheet in her lap and brand-new tools on the grass next to her.

  A little after noontime, Rosie had asked her if she’d mind doing errands for her now and then, which of course she didn’t. Today she’d needed a few things from Whitford Hardware, so Laney had taken her almost-new Camaro—one of the few material possessions she’d fought for in the divorce—and headed into town.

  In addition to the odds and ends on Rosie’s list, she’d bought herself a small toolbox that seemed to have the basic necessities and would fit in the tiny cabinet under the sink in her camper. She’d also learned that Dozer, who owned the hardware store, was the father of Lauren Kowalski, who was married to Ryan—the brother who was a builder and lived in Brookline, Massachusetts.

  She was going to ask Rosie for one of her many notepads and literally start a list so she could keep track of who was who. Navigating Whitford was turning out to be a Six Degrees of the Kowalskis game.

  Then he asked how their guest had made out after his accident, and it helped cement in Laney’s mind just how small a town she was living in. She’d heard the jokes about small-town grapevines, of course. She just hadn’t realized how true they really were.

  “His scans were clear, so they gave him some pain meds and let him go. Josh let them stay in the lodge overnight at no charge, and then he and Josh finished loading up their stuff so they hit the road this morning. With his wife driving, of course,” she’d told him.

  Now she had some free time, so it was time to put together the two chair kits she’d found propped against the side of her camper with a note from Andy. Holler if you want help.

  It was sweet, but she was determined she’d put these chairs together all by herself. Maybe it was silly and stubborn of her, but she’d stayed in an unhappy marriage for far too long because she was afraid she couldn’t make it on her own. Now she was going to prove she could and if there was something she couldn’t do for herself, she’d do without it.

  Putting together two chairs the same bright pink as her flamingo couldn’t be that hard, she’d told herself. Of course, she’d underestimated the weight of the slats and how hard it would be to hold them in place while trying to tighten a nut on a bolt.

  Two hours later, one was done, she had the base of the second chair together and was working on the back when she heard a vehicle pull up to the lodge and stop. She couldn’t see it through the line of trees that separated the house from the camping area, but she knew they weren’t expecting any guests, so it was probably a friend or family member stopping by to visit.

  She was studying the instructions, wondering whether the person who’d done the sketches had been sober, when she heard a voice beside her. Looking up, she was surprised to see Ben standing there and her pulse quickened. He sure did spend a lot more time at the Northern Star than she’d expected.

  “Hi,” she said when she realized she’d been staring up at him for a few seconds too long.

  “Hi. So I stopped in at the town hall to drop off the monthly log because they track statistics to include in the annual town report and—okay, that’s all boring. The bottom line, I mentioned I was coming out here to look over some aerial maps because we think there are some places we could talk landowners to grant me emergency access even though they don’t want the actual trails to cross their land and... I guess that wasn’t the bottom line. I’m rambling.”

  “No, you’re not.” The tips of his ears were pink and she was fascinated by how adorable it was. “You’re talking to me and yes, I find it interesting.”

  “Oh, okay. We’re trying to find a few places I can use as shortcuts to cut down on my response time to some of the out-there spots on the trail system, and I mentioned that to Nola because she always asks how things are going, and when I said I was coming here, she asked me to bring you this.”

  He handed her a sealed envelope, and then walked around the back of the partial chair. “Quite a project you’ve got here.”

  “I probably should have taken a nap after the first one.” She peeled the flap off the envelope and pulled out a folded paper.

  Inside was a short, handwritten note. I think you should go for it.

  All of a sudden, her cheeks felt warm and she wanted to hide the words against her chest or crumple the paper so there was no chance Ben could read it, even though he’d probably have no idea what her cousin meant by it. Instead she refolded the paper and slid it back into the envelope. Then she pressed the flap down the best she could before lifting the toolbox and sliding it underneath.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” She looked up at him, her mind flailing for some reasonable explanation why Nola would ask him to deliver something to her. “Just some information I needed about getting a Maine driver’s license and plates for my car and...stuff.”

  Please don’t ask me why she didn’t just call or text the information, she thought as soon as the words left her mouth.

  “Cool. Do you need some help with this chair?”

  “No, thank you. I’ve got it.”

  “Want some company?”

  “Sure.” She wondered if he’d make it five minutes before he leaned in and tried to
tighten a bolt for her before just building the rest of it himself. “Want a drink?”

  He held up an insulated tumbler as he sat in her folding camp chair, shaking it so the ice rattled. “I have one, thanks. Do you need a fresh one?”

  Laney kept her face down, looking at the instruction sheet, so he wouldn’t see her smile. He was so polite, but she didn’t want to imagine him in her camper. He wasn’t as tall as Josh, but he had broad shoulders and she could picture him filling the space. If they were both in there, they’d brush against each other trying to get by...and her imagination needed to change the subject before she started blushing again.

  “No thanks,” she said. “I’m good.”

  “Okay. Yesterday’s accident aside, how are you liking the Northern Star? And Whitford in general, I guess.”

  “I haven’t seen too much of Whitford yet. The market and gas station, and the hardware store. And obviously I’ll be going to the town hall soon.”

  “You haven’t eaten at the Trailside Diner yet?”

  “No, but Nola brought me a sandwich from there yesterday. Right before the accident. It was really good.”

  “Their dinner menu is even better.”

  Was he working his way around to asking her out to dinner? It had been so long since she’d dated, she wasn’t sure if she was reading too much into a friendly conversation. But it seemed her next line would naturally be I’ll have to try it sometime and then he’d say “how about tomorrow night?” or something like that.

  And she had no idea how she felt about that.

  * * *

  Ben wasn’t sure what to make of Laney. There was something open and friendly about her that made him want to talk to her, which was why he was sitting in the shade of her awning right now. But at the same time she seemed to keep a part of herself walled off—the part that had her refusing help with the chair and tensing up at the mention of having dinner at the Trailside Diner.

  All he really knew about her was that she was Nola Kendrick’s cousin, she stayed calm in emergencies and she really liked flamingo pink.

  But he thought maybe she’d come to Whitford, Maine because she’d been unhappy where she was. And if it had been a guy who’d made her unhappy, that might explain why his talking about dinner at the diner made her lips press together and her grip on the papers in her lap tighten.

  She thought he was going to ask her out and that wasn’t a look of interest or anticipation. That was more of an oh, crap look, which was never the reaction he was looking for when he asked a woman to have dinner with him. If that’s even where the conversation had been heading, since he hadn’t come over here intending to ask her out. But when he’d replayed the conversation in his head, trying to identify the source of her tension, it had sounded like it. And he certainly wouldn’t mind spending an evening in her company, but she clearly wasn’t ready for that.

  “If you go there, make sure you check out the specials board,” he said, hoping to put her mind at ease. “You’d be surprised by some of the good stuff they come up with.”

  It worked, proving his theory. Her jaw relaxed and she looked up at him, making eye contact. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She picked up one of the slats that made up the back of the chair and put it in place. Then, after putting a bolt through it, she reached for the socket wrench. The board slipped and the bolt fell out. After wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, she lined them up again. Then, while holding the bolt with the socket wrench, she had to tighten the nut with a crescent wrench.

  It was killing him to watch, but he took a sip of his lemonade and pretended he was interested in watching the leaves on the distant trees swaying in the light breeze. It not only kept him from interfering, but it kept him from staring at her long, tanned legs in her cutoff denim shorts, too.

  “Okay, maybe I could use a little help.”

  Yes. He got out of the chair and sat in the grass across from her. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

  “I can’t hold the boards in place and tighten the bolts, so if you could just hold them for me, that would be great.”

  She was giving him the easier part of the job and it was on the tip of his tongue to point out it would be faster and smarter for him to run the socket wrench. But for whatever reason, putting these chairs together herself was important to her, so he kept his mouth shut and did what he was told.

  “I know it would be easier if you were doing this part,” she said when they’d put on a second slat. “You’re a pretty patient guy, and I appreciate it.”

  “They’re your chairs. We’ll build them however you want.” He was going to let it go at that, he wanted to know more about this woman. “It seems important to you. That you do it yourself, I mean.”

  “My divorce was finalized a few months ago and it was a long process after a long marriage, and I realized I’d spent so many years trying to make other people happy, I really didn’t know how to live my own life anymore. Or what I even want my life to look like. So now I’m here, doing things myself.” She took a deep breath, and it sounded shaky to him. “It sounds silly when I say it out loud.”

  “It’s not silly.”

  “When I was young, I was independent and confident and... I don’t know. I guess I spent so many years shushing her that she disappeared. I want to find her again.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to look very hard.” When she looked at him, he smiled. Then he held up his hand so the cut on his palm faced her. “I’ve already met her.”

  She blushed, but she didn’t drop her head and, after a few seconds, she laughed. “Later on I kicked myself for being so bossy, though.”

  “Don’t. And it wasn’t just the forced first aid, you know. Josh told me you weren’t shy about handling the situation when the guy flipped his ATV, either. You are a strong, confident woman and no amount of shushing will change that.”

  “My ex-husband never saw it.”

  “Probably because he wasn’t a strong, confident man.” Ben shrugged. “Also, he’s an idiot.”

  “I agree.” She grinned as she picked up the socket wrench. “Luckily, he’s also in my rearview mirror.”

  “So you guys didn’t have any children?”

  She looked down at her lap, fiddling with the socket. “No, which I guess is a blessing.”

  He tilted his head sideways so he could see her face. “I hope you’ll forgive me for being personal, but you don’t look like you think it’s a blessing.”

  “It is definitely a blessing,” she said, lifting her chin. “Having that connection to my ex and his family for the rest of my life would have been miserable. It’s just a painful topic because I spent ten years being criticized for not giving him children.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone there.”

  “No, it’s okay.” She smiled and he was relieved it didn’t look forced. “I saw all the doctors. Had all the tests. Nothing medical turned up.”

  “And his tests?”

  “He didn’t have any because there’s no way he had a problem.”

  “Ah. One of those guys.” Ben shook his head, fighting back an irrational anger on her behalf. “That must have sucked for you.”

  “It did, for a long time. But looking back, I’m glad we didn’t have children because I might never have left.” After lining up another slat so he could hold it, she put a bolt through and started the nut by hand. “So how come you don’t have any kids? Assuming you don’t. I guess I should have asked that first.”

  “I don’t have any and it’s my own fault, I guess. I focused on working hard and playing harder because there would be plenty of time later to have kids. Women moved on to guys who were ready to settle down, but that was okay. There would be plenty of time, right?” He shrugged, a wry smile twisting his mouth. “Now I’m thirty-eight y
ears old, alone and wondering where the hell the time went.”

  “And I’m thirty-five and starting all over so I’d like to think you’re right and there’s still plenty of time.”

  “At least you have great chairs,” he said as she tightened the last bolt.

  “We’re finally done?” She pushed herself to her feet, wiping grass off the back of her shorts.

  He nodded, even though he wanted to take the wrenches from her and give each of the nuts an extra twist to make sure they were tight. “They definitely brighten up the place. I like them.”

  She grinned, her hands on her hips as she looked at them. “Thank you. I’ll be able to sit and read and still keep an eye on the pool area.”

  His cell phone vibrated and he pulled it out of its holster to read the text. “Josh is wondering if I got lost between the driveway and the house.”

  “I totally forgot you were supposed to be looking at maps with him.”

  “So did I.” And he didn’t care in the least.

  “I...do you think, before you go, you could just tighten the bolts a little more for me?”

  Nothing would make him happier. “Sure.”

  He took the tools and made quick work of tightening the bolts. She’d done great, but it would make him feel better knowing they were snug. When he was done, he handed the tools back. “All set. Barely took any, really.”

  “Thank you for your help. It was nice to have company.”

  “Anytime. I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

  Ben practically had to force himself to walk back to the lodge. He’d lost interest in looking at aerial maps tonight. What he really wanted to do was sit in the pink chairs with Laney and continue their conversation while enjoying the night air.

  * * *

  On Wednesday evening, Laney tossed the empty plastic bowl from her microwaved dinner and got ready to walk to the lodge. It wasn’t the most satisfying meal she’d ever had, but she’d been too tired to cook something and, despite invitations from Rosie, Andy, Josh and Katie, she wasn’t comfortable joining them for their family dinners in the house.