All He Ever Needed

by Shannon Stacey

  He’d been a good friend to Earle, even after she drove them apart. And that’s why he wouldn’t have told her what happened if Earle hadn’t—not to be disrespectful to her, but to help his friend keep his family. She’d punished Andy by robbing him of one of his best friends just for being a stand-up guy. “I’ll be cooking dinner tonight. You’re welcome to stay.”

  “Thank you, Rose.”

  She went back inside and finished filling the sink to wash the breakfast dishes. Her hands were shaking a little, so she did the silverware before the glasses to calm herself. Even though the conversation had been hard on her nerves, she had to admit she felt better after setting down the decades’ worth of bitterness she’d been carrying.

  Mitch walked into the kitchen, yanked open the refrigerator and pulled out the pitcher of lemonade. After slamming a glass on the counter so hard she was surprised it didn’t break, he filled it and then replaced the pitcher, slamming the fridge closed.

  He’d been like that for two days now and she’d had just about enough. “You pull the door off that fridge, all the food will go bad.”

  “What do you care? It’s not like you’re going to cook it, anyway.”

  There was a line, and the tone crossed it. “Just who the hell do you think you’re talking to, Mitchell Kowalski?”

  The fight went out of him and his shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry, Rosie. That was rude and really uncalled for.”

  “What happened with Paige?” When he shrugged, she pointed to a chair and he sat. “Tell me.”

  “She said it’s been fun and it’s time to move on. That’s all.”

  That wasn’t all. Any idiot could see that. “Isn’t that the way you like to do things?”

  “Yeah, it is. But…I guess I wasn’t expecting it quite yet.”

  “So if she’d broken it off next week, you wouldn’t be like this?” If he was willing to talk, she was willing to listen, but she was going to keep him honest.

  “She cried. She said it wasn’t just fun for her anymore and she wanted me to walk away before she got in any deeper, but I couldn’t. I just stood there, so she walked away from me.”

  “Why do either of you have to walk away?”

  He blew out a breath, shoving a hand through his hair. “We don’t want the same things in life, Rosie. Look what happened to Drew and Mallory.”

  “So you both compromise.”

  “Being here for six weeks, you all see the guy I am here. It’s like being on vacation, but I’m not this guy when I’m not here. I’m focused on my work and I travel constantly and I live out of suitcases. And I like it. One of us would have to give up too much and things would go downhill from here. The truth is, we have two totally different lives that just happened to intersect for a few weeks.”

  “If you want her enough, you’ll find a way to make it work.”

  Mitch stared at the table for a long time, then slowly shook his head in a way that broke Rosie’s heart. “Trying to make it work and failing would just hurt her more. It’s better if I do what she asked and walk away now before we get any deeper.”

  “Honey, love isn’t like rappelling into a cave, where you can control your descent and how deep you go. It’s just falling into the hole.”

  “Well, right now it’s probably a shallow hole, so we’ll both get out a little skinned up but with nothing broken.”

  Nothing but their hearts, Rosie thought as Mitch got up and went out the back door. She’d known him all but the first few years of his life and, whether he wanted to admit it or not, the hole he’d fallen into wasn’t as shallow as he thought.

  * * *

  It was the big day. Mitch tossed Josh’s crutches in the back of the truck and they headed to the clinic to get his cast off.

  “You’re still going to have to take it easy for a while,” Mitch said once they were checked in and hanging out in the waiting room.

  “Which I know because you’ve reminded me of that a dozen times. And I’m pretty sure Rosie’s cross-stitching it on a pillow for me right this very minute.”

  “Now that we have a plan for the lodge, I don’t want you to overdo it trying to get everything done. Ryan’s going to be coming up for a while next month, so leave the heavy lifting to him and most of the other stuff to Andy.”

  Josh gave him a lazy salute. “Yes, sir.”

  “Smart-ass.”

  A woman with a clipboard poked her head into the waiting room. “Josh? We’re ready for you now.”

  Once the nurse led Josh away, Mitch leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. If all went well back there, he’d be free to leave. He could go back to his apartment, pack his suitcases and head to wherever Northern Star Demolition took him.

  Chicago, probably. It was a big job and he’d feel better if he checked on Scott’s prep work, without looking as if he was checking up on him. Then he’d head to Philadelphia to finalize the contracts to drop some old tenement buildings and then head to Miami for a while. He had excellent people working for him, but his fingers itched to hold the reins again.

  He wasn’t worried about things having gone to hell while he was gone. He was worried about the possibility—no, the probability—that once he was back, his fingers would itch to hold Paige again. He’d never worried about that before. A kiss goodbye and a smile and that was that.

  He was going to miss Paige. He knew it already and he was trying like hell not to think about it. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw her tears. He heard her coming so close to telling him she loved him, and he lay awake at night wondering if she had said those words, whether he would have thrown everything else away for the chance to hear her say them every day for the rest of his life.

  In the harsh light of day, though, he remembered the responsibilities and the people who worked for him and the satisfaction of being damn good at what he did. And he could picture Paige in her diner or in her trailer, not only happy with her life, but proud of the fact she’d done it all herself. And he knew it was time to walk away.

  Everything went smoothly with the doctor, and Mitch spent the next couple of days getting ready to go. He boxed up everything but the necessities that fit in the bike’s saddlebags and shipped the boxes back to his apartment. He spent a lot of time talking to Josh, with Ryan on speakerphone, about how they’d proceed with the lodge. They’d decided Josh would talk to Sean and Liz about the possibility of selling and then they’d see how Rosie felt about it.

  Though he was still supposed to use the crutches as much as possible, Josh was back on his feet, emotionally and mentally as much as physically, and much too soon Mitch found himself sitting on the porch with his cell phone in his hand.

  He dialed Paige’s number, trying not to hold his breath as he waited to hear her voice for the first time in days. It was a good thing he didn’t, because all he got was the bland, stock voice telling him he could leave a message.

  Maybe he should go into town. Try to see her one more time before he left and tell her…nothing. There was nothing he could say to make this any better. The phone beeped, ready to take his message.

  “Hi, it’s Mitch. I’m leaving today and…I know I said I wouldn’t call or text, but it doesn’t feel right to not at least say goodbye, so…” He couldn’t find the words he wanted to say. That he could say, without making everything so much harder.

  I wish I could find a way to make this work.

  I’ll miss you.

  I think I might be in love with you.

  “So, anyway…goodbye, Paige.” He hit the end button and jerked his arm back to hurl the phone across the yard before common sense kicked in and he tucked it back in his pocket.

  It was over. Nothing left to do but say goodbye to Josh and Rosie, then hit the road. He’d already stopped in at the police station to say goodbye to Drew, who was burying himself in work to take his mind off the end of his marriage.

  “Stay off the ladders,” he told Josh when he and Rose came out to see him off.
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  “You worry about blowing shit up. Leave everything else to me.” They hugged, Mitch slapping Josh’s back and thankful to have his youngest brother back.

  Then it was Rosie’s turn. As expected, she was weepy and didn’t want to let him go. “Don’t be gone three years this time.”

  “I won’t.” Though he’d end up like Ryan, sticking close to the lodge and avoiding town because the memories sucked.

  He let her fuss over him for a few more minutes, then he straddled the bike and fired the engine. They stood and waved as he went down the drive and he beeped the horn before he left the Northern Star Lodge behind him and headed into the heart of Whitford.

  Mitch let the Harley roll to a stop at the intersection, then stood there, balancing the machine between his legs. Straight ahead lay the open road and New York City. Northern Star Demolition. Suitcases waiting to be packed for the next job.

  To the left was the municipal parking lot, which was small, but plenty big enough for him to turn the bike around and point it back in the direction of the diner.

  He could convince Paige to leave Whitford with him. She cared about him—maybe even loved him—and if he told her he wanted her to be a part of his life, she might leave the diner and her little trailer behind. But it would be his life they’d be living from then on.

  Just make sure you both want the same thing in life, because it hurts like hell when you find out years into it that you don’t. The words Drew had said to him his first morning back in town echoed through his mind.

  To Mitch, what Paige had was a job and a place to sleep. But to Paige, the diner and her trailer—and Whitford itself—were a dream she’d put her heart and soul into making come true.

  A car Mitch hadn’t heard pull up behind him honked and he got the motorcycle rolling. Straight through the intersection and out of town.

  Chapter Nineteen

  There were worse things than people speculating on whether or not you were sleeping with a much-beloved hometown boy. The pitying glances were worse. The whispering behind hands was worse. The occasional pat on the hand. The often repeated refrain of it’s his loss. In the week since he’d left, she’d had to put up with it everywhere she went, even—or especially—at work.

  Mitch Kowalski had broken Paige Sullivan’s heart and all of Whitford knew it.

  Or thought they knew it, she fumed as she walked down the street with her library tote. Her heart wasn’t broken. Badly dented maybe, but not broken. For goodness’ sake, they were all acting like he’d jilted her at the altar.

  Unfortunately, it was a hot and humid day and the tote was heavy since she’d gotten more books than usual—mostly thrillers and no romances—so she detoured into the park to rest for a few minutes. Of course, as soon as her butt met the bench she was hit by the memory of the day Mitch had sat down next to her and she’d thought he might kiss her.

  So maybe her heart had a few cracks to go with the dents. And it certainly hadn’t helped when Josh and Andy showed up for breakfast that morning. With the blue eyes and the voice that was so similar to his brother’s, she found it painful to wait on Josh and, to make it worse, she could tell he realized that possibility too late. She’d put on her best smile, though, because she didn’t want Josh to feel awkward about eating at the diner. Or Ryan, who’d be spending some time in Whitford in the near future.

  She’d been sitting there about five minutes, trying not to think about Mitch, when her cell phone rang. When she saw her mother’s name come up on the screen, she almost didn’t answer it. She really didn’t have the energy today. But it had been a while since they’d talked, so she answered it. “Hello.”

  “You’ll never guess where I’m calling you from!”

  Some kind of mental and/or emotional rehab center? “Where?”

  “Costa Rica! Steven and I arrived this morning and it was such a whirlwind trip I didn’t have time to call you until now.”

  “Who is Steven?”

  “Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Donna’s nervous laugh sounded tinny over the phone. “Corey was starting to be neglectful—I think I told you about that—and I met Steven at a benefit dinner—dance and he said I was the most stunning woman in the room. Two weeks later, he asked me to come to Costa Rica with him. Oh, Paige honey, I think he’s the one.”

  Of course he was. The one after the guy before him and the one before the guy who’d come after him. “That’s wonderful. I hope he is.”

  There was a long pause and she wondered if her mother had set the phone down and then forgotten she was talking to her daughter. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the first time. “You sound a little funny, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”

  The rare moment of awareness was almost Paige’s undoing. For a moment she imagined having a mother like everybody else seemed to—one who put her daughter’s feelings above everything else and would do anything to soothe away her hurts. “It turned out my guy wasn’t the one.”

  “Oh, good lord, I didn’t even know you had a guy! Well, it’s his loss, honey. You need to put on some makeup and a nice dress and go find yourself another one, and the sooner the better.”

  There was the Donna she knew and loved. “Yeah, I’ll keep an eye out for one.”

  The subject turned back to Steven, the accountant, and his gorgeous house in Costa Rica and Paige said a quick, silent prayer her mother’s newest relationship wouldn’t end with a subpoena. Donna sure knew how to pick them.

  A few minutes later she was able to end the call with a relieved sigh, and she picked up her tote and walked the rest of the way back to her trailer. Hailey was picking her up in an hour and they were going to drive down to the city and see a movie. As long as they could find something that didn’t end with a mushy, smooching couple living happily ever after, Paige didn’t care what they saw. She just needed the distraction.

  When Hailey finally showed up, she tilted her head and frowned at Paige. “It looks like you brushed your hair, but a little mascara and lip gloss wouldn’t hurt.”

  “I’ve already gotten the ‘Look pretty and everything will be okay’ advice today.”

  “Donna call?”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “She’s in a Costa Rica with a new guy. He’s the one.”

  “Yeah, for now. You ready?”

  “Let’s go.”

  Hailey waited until she was held hostage in the car, buzzing down the main road, before asking the big question Paige had known was coming but dreaded hearing. “Have you talked to Mitch?”

  “No, and I’m not going to.” That was the deal and Hailey knew it as well as she did. “What’s playing at the theater? I’m in the mood for an action movie. Or horror.”

  “No horror. The last time you dragged me to a horror movie, I woke up crying for my mommy in the middle of the night. Thank god I live alone.”

  Paige laughed, letting Hailey lighten her mood. She and Mitch had both laid it out there in the beginning. He wouldn’t call or text, and she wouldn’t mope. And she didn’t need to put on lipstick and a dancing dress and rush out to find another man. She didn’t need another man in her life.

  And there was no other man she wanted.

  * * *

  “You’ve done one hell of a job, Scott.” Mitch tapped the pile of papers he’d gone through to neaten the edges, then tucked them in the folder. “I appreciate you taking up the slack while I was in Maine.”

  “It’s what you pay me for.” Scott Burns sat back in the armchair and picked up the tumbler of scotch sitting on the end table next to him. “And to be honest, it was nice to have the challenge. We all got to step it up a notch for a while.”

  Mitch picked up his own scotch, then leaned back against the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table. The gesture reminded him of the night he’d sat on Paige’s couch and touched the bathroom wall with his toes, and he downed the drink in one gulp. His suite was midlevel and nothing too fancy, but it probably still had more square footage than that trailer.

  He forced his focus
back onto Scott. “Is that your way of telling me you guys don’t need me around anymore?”

  “It’s my way of saying…maybe you can take the time to resolve whatever it is you left unresolved back at home.”

  Mitch thought he’d done a good job of hiding the fact he’d returned from Whitford a changed man, but maybe not. Still, he could hedge a little. “My brother wants to sell the lodge.”

  “Really? How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I can’t imagine it not being our home but, on the flip side, I sure as hell don’t want to run the place.”

  “Ah. Youngest kid got stuck holding the bag?”

  “Yup.”

  Scott swirled the scotch in the bottom of the glass and then looked Mitch in the eye. “And the woman?”

  “What woman?”

  “Oh, come on. I’ve known you a long time.”

  “Her name is Paige.” It hurt just to say it out loud. “She reopened the old diner and she’s…amazing. But, you know, I have a business and she has a business and I travel and she loves Whitford. So it was pretty much doomed from the beginning.”

  “Wait. You left this woman because of the company?”

  “What was I supposed to do, Scott? Walk away from it and hang everything and everybody—including you—out to dry?”

  His right-hand man laughed at him. “You know I’m married, right? That I have two kids?”

  “What the hell does that matter?”

  “It’s not an either/or situation. I’m traveling right now because I need to be on-site for this phase of the job, but then I’ll go home. To them. And I’ll work from home until I need to be on-site somewhere again, and they’ll kiss me goodbye and then I’ll call every night to tell them I love them. It’s compromise.” Mitch started to say something, but Scott wasn’t done. “And don’t even tell me it’s different because you own the company. You and I share a pretty equal workload. As a matter of fact, if we split up the jobs on a more even basis now that we’ve all proven we won’t sink your company by running amok when you’re away, we could both have more time at home.”