“Remind me why again?”
“Not everyone can be trusted like you, honey.”
It bothered her that neither Mike nor Todd seemed to have any faith in the world and, most especially, its female inhabitants. They liked women all right, but they were not entirely sure that they weren’t all after something.
“You know you could take a chance.”
“Could, but not going to. Now you better take your pancake and go, we’re holding up the line.” He turned to indicate to Lucy’s nephew Oliver who was trying to reach past him to nab a pancake. “Can’t keep the kids waiting.”
If Marissa could get their mother Beth alone, she’d give the woman a serious talking to. Choosing one despicable stepfather for those boys had been one thing, but to go again? Maybe it wasn’t just women they didn’t trust, maybe it was everyone. Either way, that woman had a lot to answer for.
She gave her head a shake. She could worry about that later. Right now, Moose was patting the seat next to his, beckoning her back. So be it.
She squeezed in between him and Lucy, who gave her a big smile.
Yep, time to worry about all the negative stuff another day.
Mike was taking a turn driving, Marissa was next to him fiddling with the radio, and Todd was snoring in the backseat.
“He sure can snore,” she said, almost shouting to be heard.
“I’m glad I have a witness; he swears he doesn’t,” Mike said.
“Delusional much?”
“Exactly. He was unbelievable last night. I should have recorded it on my phone.”
“So, did you enjoy the party, Mike?”
“It was nice. Amazing really. I’m glad to see Lucy happy, and I like Chase, obviously. Being in business with him, I’ve gotten to know him quite a bit.”
“Yeah, he’s a good guy, I think.” She settled on a radio station. “You were pretty low-key.”
“I’m a low-key guy,” he said. He left out that he didn’t think he could compete with the millionaire set.
“Since when?”
“Since always.”
“That’s not right.” Her head shook in the seat beside him and her curls danced around her shoulders. “You were in the drama club, you were a DJ, you ran the school paper. I’ve even seen you dress up as the school mascot back in the day. You didn’t used to be low-key.”
“I don’t know, then. People change, I guess I grew up.”
“Oh. That’s a shame,” she said. “Being a grown-up is overrated.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve been old before my time these last few years. It’s boring. There’s plenty of time to be boring when you’re seventy, not in your twenties. Although even then, you don’t have to be boring.”
“You’re saying I’m boring?” Is that what she saw in him?
“I was talking about myself, actually. Sometimes I think we got too serious too young. I mean, as long as we show up, do our jobs, pay our rent or whatever, why can’t we cut loose a little in between?”
“You mean like dance with every guy in the room?” He knew he sounded judgmental.
“Sure, why not? Anyway, I didn’t dance with every guy in the room because you didn’t ask.”
She noticed that, huh? “I wasn’t in a dancing mood.”
“Your loss.” She shrugged. He had a feeling they were talking about a lot more than dancing.
“Anyway, I’m glad you had fun.”
“Yeah, well, it’s about time I did.”
“Not missing your folks then?”
She stared at him and the look on her face was a mix of anger and something he couldn’t place.
“Don’t be a jerk.” She practically growled at him. “Of course I miss them, but they’re gone. Should I be sitting around the house crying, do you think? Or knitting? I know everyone in our hometown thinks of me as poor sweet Marissa, but I’m a woman in the prime of her life. I’m not even thirty. I should be going dancing. I should be meeting new people. That’s exactly what I should be doing, Mike.”
“Sheesh, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yeah, you did,” she said. And then she looked out the window and ignored him all the way to New Hampshire.
Mike stared at the road ahead. What was he doing? He didn’t want her mad at him, or even mad in general, and here he was being a total jerk. He certainly wasn’t making it hard for her to move on.
That was what he wanted, right? He wanted her to move on because he was never going to commit. Except, maybe it wasn’t what he wanted at all. If they were just friends, he was a crappy friend, and if they were ever going to be more than this, he sure as hell was going about it all the wrong way.
Chapter 9
Marissa usually loved Monday morning story time at the library. There were always lots of happy little kids and their mothers there to read stories and do crafts. In fact, it was one her favorite parts of the job, introducing young children to books and igniting their interest in reading.
Today, however, she was tired from her exciting weekend and all too aware of Patty’s eyes boring into her as she read. Patty may have stolen Lucy’s high school boyfriend away, believing that having Jacob made her the queen bee of their hometown, but she was not at all happy that Lucy was now marrying a rather wealthy man. No, little Lucy was supposed to stay in her place and Marissa knew the same was expected of her. She didn’t want to put Patty offside, life in a small town went better without enemies, but she knew that as soon as she rekindled her friendship with Lucy she had a target on her back.
While the children were busy making paper plate tigers, Patty approached.
“I hear you were down in Marblehead this weekend.”
“I was. Connor, do you need more glue?”
“Was it a big party?” Patty quizzed her.
“Pretty big, I guess. It was really lovely. Emmy, here is some glitter.”
“Did you take photos?”
“A couple, not many. I was dancing, mainly.” It was hard to have a conversation and not give away any details. “Sit down, Lyle, honey. Good boy.”
“Dancing?”
“Yeah, there was a DJ.”
“Who did you dance with?” Patty’s implication was clear: who would dance with her?
“Oh, lots of people, no one you know, I guess.”
Patty gave her a cold stare. Apparently Marissa’s answers were deeply unsatisfying for her.
“Okay, kids, when you’re all finished, make sure you give your tigers to your mom to keep safe while you choose your books. I’ll be over at the desk ready to check your books out.”
She wanted to make her escape from Patty.
She headed to the front desk in time to meet Merv from the flower shop who had arrived with an embarrassing display of pink roses.
“Who are those for?” Patty, who had followed her, asked.
“Marissa, of course. She’s the only person who works here,” Merv replied as if Patty was a dolt.
“Wow, thanks, Merv, they’re beautiful.” The florist grinned at her. Marissa knew he put a lot of time into arranging his bouquets just so.
“Thanks, honey, you enjoy now,” he said cheerily before turning on his heel and heading out.
“Who are they from?” Patty asked in clipped tones. A couple of the other women were oohing and ahing.
“Open the card,” said one. “So?”
To Marissa, looking forward to our next dance. Moose
“So?”
“They’re from a guy I met on the weekend.”
Patty leaned in to look at the card. “Are they from Tom Myers, or rather Moose Myers, who owns the Myers ski resort in Maine?”
“Yeah.”
“He sent you flowers?” She almost spat the question.
“It looks like it,” Sarah Jones said. “Good for you, Marissa. Now I can live vicariously through you. Dan hasn’t sent me flowers in . . . well, ever.”
She leaned in to smell the roses.
“I did
n’t know you knew him,” said Patty.
“Well, I didn’t. And now I do. I met him on the weekend. He’s a fun guy.”
Then there were children to check out, and she put all thoughts of resort owners and flowers out of her head. Or at least she tried to.
Mike went to the diner for his regular lunch and overheard a table of women talking about Marissa getting flowers. Small-town life meant that sort of thing was hot gossip. He wouldn’t be surprised if the paper called asking him to do a story.
He took a seat at the counter and ordered a coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. He felt like comfort food.
Jacob slid onto the chair next to him. Mike liked Jacob, which was lucky as he was a bit of a bigwig in town. He was a fairly gutless fellow, easily manipulated by the women in his life, but he was personable.
“So, you went to Lucy’s engagement party?”
“Yeah, big shindig in Marblehead. Lots of fun.”
“So she’s happy then?” he asked.
“Very,” he said without looking at the guy next to him.
“That’s good. She deserves to be happy. I kind of blew it there.”
Ah, remorse. Well, it was too late now. “Let it go, man. You’re happy. She’s happy.”
“Well, you’re half right.” His tone was flat, and while he went for humor, it was bitterness Mike heard.
The waitress came and took Jacob’s order. See, this is why marriage is a bad idea, Mike thought. Most people just didn’t end up happy.
“So, I hear Marissa met a guy.”
“Well, she met lots of guys, but the rumor mill does seem to be spinning double time because she received flowers,” Mike said.
“I kind of always thought you two might end up together.”
Really? That was news to him. He wondered how many other people thought that. “No, she deserves better, man.”
Mike took a bite of his grilled cheese. Yep, that was the business.
“And is this other guy better?” Jacob asked as his own bowl of chili was placed before him.
“Don’t really know. I guess she’ll have to work that out for herself.”
And then Jacob turned the conversation to the need for a better schedule for the plowing of the town’s roads and how he intended to raise that at the town council meeting the following night. Mike never expected to be so happy to discuss snow plows in all his life.
Still, on his way back to the paper after lunch, Mike couldn’t help but feel compelled to stop by the library to see Marissa and the much-admired flowers.
She was sitting behind the desk in a pink sweater, her dark hair back to the usual cascade of curls, and he couldn’t help but breathe in just a little. Every time he saw her, she took his breath away. She was the most beautiful woman he knew, inside and out.
She looked up and gave him a smile.
“Hey, you.”
“Hi, I came to check out your flowers. You’re the talk of the diner.”
A pink blush developed on her cheeks, the same color as the huge display of roses beside her. “Good heavens, you’d think people would have better things to talk about.”
“You would think that, but you and I both know better.” He leaned in and sniffed the roses. “They’re very pretty.”
“They are. It was an unexpected surprise. I was just thinking my return to reality from the princess castle on the weekend was a bit harsh and then boom, flowers.”
“Life here isn’t so bad, is it?” he asked. He didn’t want her to be unhappy.
“Oh no, but you know that was a crazy, fun weekend, and it’s been a while since I had one. I like my life, but it isn’t anything like that.”
“I don’t think Chase and Lucy live like that all the time either. I mean, yes, they’re in that mansion, but I don’t think there’s a DJ every weekend.”
“I know. I’m not really jealous; I’m really happy for Lucy. It was nice to see how the other half live.”
“You think you’ll see this Moose guy again?” He held his breath, waiting for the answer.
“I think so. Might be nice to see how he is one-on-one, in a more realistic setting.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “Well, I better get back.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
She turned her attention back to her computer. And Mike felt a pang of something. Jealousy? Longing? Regret? He couldn’t quite say.
“Hey, Marissa?”
She blinked up at him. “I wanted to say I’m sorry I was a bit of a jerk yesterday in the car. Overtired or something.”
She looked very much like she wanted to say something but she stopped herself. “Thanks, Mike, I really appreciate you apologizing. Friends?”
“Yeah. Friends.”
Twice a week, Mike read the newspaper headlines and local community news on the local radio station. Even though she knew he wasn’t really talking just to her, Marissa imagined it that way. She thought of that as one-on-one time where he filled her in on the details he knew about life in the small town they both loved so much. She’d nearly missed an episode, the first one since he started doing it five years ago, at the request of an elderly reader who was losing her sight.
Sometimes Marissa had a feeling Mike forgot he was on the radio and that he was supposed to be a newspaper man, all grown-up and serious, and the real Mike, the one she knew so well, really seeped through. She loved those days when his rich voice was light with laughter and mischief. He didn’t let that side of him show that much anymore, and she missed it. She liked to know the old Mike was in there, lurking just below the surface.
“Good afternoon, listeners. Let’s start with the good stuff. I’ve had many people contact me for a quick overview of Lucy and Chase’s engagement party down in Marblehead. I’m not, as you know, one to gossip, so I’ve asked Lucy permission to share a few details with you. She agreed, but she suggests for the real news you speak to her mom or Kevin.
Oh really, why didn’t she know that?
The party was held at Chase’s home by the water. Our hometown was represented by Lucy’s family and by Marissa, our lovely local librarian, my brother Todd, and myself. Hopefully we didn’t disgrace you. It was a really beautiful evening with maybe a hundred guests, including the groom-to-be’s delightful mother, CeCe. She’ll be in town for Christmas so do make her feel welcome. The champagne flowed, the speeches were heartfelt, and the DJ kept the dance floor busy. Our own Marissa was the belle of the ball and caught the attention of every single man in the joint, and a few not-so-single men, I suspect. She danced the night away with some of New England’s most eligible bachelors, which leads nicely to the other question I’ve been asked today. Is that Moose Myers who sent her flowers a stand-up guy? Dear listeners, I only met him myself this past weekend, but Chase and Lucy hold him in high regard and clearly he has the most excellent taste in women imaginable, so let’s give the man the benefit of the doubt.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that last bit, but she certainly did appreciate him having her back.
Now onto other matters before I get to the headlines. Let me tell you about the appalling lack of shepherds we have in this town. Yes, indeed the Methodist, the Catholic, and the Episcopal churches all need extra shepherds for their Christmas plays. Where have all the shepherds gone this year? If you’ve ever thought you might like to try being a shepherd, or an actor for that matter, it’s time to call your local church. Mary Rogers from the Methodists is so frantic about this she’ll take you even if you’re not from her flock. Desperate times, people . . .”
A patron came into the library looking for some help in the genealogy section, so she turned down the radio, shepherds and all.
Chapter 10
Marissa pulled up in front of Todd’s place. It always made her smile. He had decided he wanted a three-story tree house in his yard but that wasn’t allowed by city zoning, so he’d bought a house on the outskirts of town. The opposite side of the street was in the city but his home, and his whims
y, were not.
It made the town think he was a little bit crazy, but he didn’t care. It was funny how he and Mike were so similar in so many ways, but while Mike was methodical and a rule follower, Todd was neither of those things. His tree house was a statement and it was fun.
As expected, Todd was across the road on the front porch of his neighbor Esme’s, or Professor Esmerelda White as she was known at the nearby university. Esme seemed to have no family, so she’d pulled Todd into her fold. They could often be found sharing a twilight game of Scrabble in the summer on the porch. It was cold out now; after all, it was December in New Hampshire. They were both nestled under thick blankets. They were an unlikely pair but somehow their friendship worked.
“Hey, you two,” she said as she crossed over to Esme’s.
The older woman poured her a drink from a thermos, she was nothing if not organized, and handed it to her. “Hi, honey, I hear you’re the talk of the town this week.”
She shook her head. “One bunch of flowers and I’m big news.”
“Always better to be talked about than not.” Esme laughed.
Marissa didn’t know about that. It was a long time since anyone had bothered to gossip about her. “If you say so.”
“Tell me about this Moose fellow and the party. I remember your friend Lucy from when I first came to town. She always chatted with me at the ice-cream parlor. I appreciated that.” Esme sighed. “I haven’t been to a great party in a while. I know it is hard to believe, but I was quite the party girl in my day.”
Marissa didn’t find it hard to believe that a woman who kept a thermos of warm alcohol in arm’s reach was a party girl.
Todd and Marissa filled her in on the weekend’s events, trying to spare no details.
“I think I met Chase’s father back in the day. Wicked flirt.”
“That sounds about right,” Todd said. “I expect anyone with that kind of wealth is very attractive to the ladies.”
“Which, we know, is why you like to keep your financial success a secret.” She patted his knee. “I worry, though, that you’ll miss out on love and life with that approach. You and your brother both.”
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