Small Town Boss

by Cheryl Michaels

  In his eyes, she wasn’t just special, she was incredible. And if he could help her be the best version of herself, someone she’d always wanted to be, that was his mission.

  “I want to know you…” The way no one has ever known you. He couldn’t say that because her late husband probably knew her better than anyone on the planet. He just wanted to be allowed into the select group of people who knew her best. “I want to know everything there is to know,” he said, slipping his hand into her hair. “Nothing is too trivial, okay?”

  She nodded before curling her hand into his soft t-shirt. “Is it wrong to be happy… to be excited and grateful that I met you?”

  “No,” he whispered, dropping a tender kiss on her lips. He didn’t want a ghost between them, though he expected her to struggle with her memories, especially the intimate ones, for a long time to come. “Your husband loved you, Claudia. I have no doubt about that. He’d want you to be happy, right?”

  “Yeah.” She bit her lip. “I know he would. He told me so many times that if anything happened to him… “She shook her head as the tears fell. “That he’d want me to find love again.”

  Brady was certain her husband was a stand-up guy. Someone who probably would have loved her for the rest of her life, had he been spared.

  “I never thought I could feel this way again, Brady.”

  He only knew one way to respond to a statement that made his heart feel as if it was going to burst—with a kiss. He didn’t try to hold back a little piece of his heart, just in case. He was all in with this woman, for better or worse.

  He couldn’t believe he’d started the day wondering whether he would ever get to know Claudia the way he’d wanted to, but he was ending it believing he was in love with her. Could it really happen that fast? Or was he falling for a woman who just needed someone to lean on? He didn’t want to believe that was the case, but his mind was reeling, trying to make sense of what he was feeling.

  The sight of her, so small and sweet, made his heart clench as all of his protective instincts resurfaced. He hated that she’d had to endure so much, but he was glad she’d found her way to him, even if it was only to help her heal.

  He swept her long blond hair away from her face so he could see her eyes. “You tired, beautiful?”

  “A little.” She sighed as she slipped her arms around his waist and tipped her head back to look him in the eye. “I guess I should get going.”

  She didn’t sound like she wanted to. He wondered if late nights or early mornings were harder for her. “Stay. I’ve got an extra bedroom.” He couldn’t explain it, he just didn’t want her to feel alone anymore.

  “Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, looking pensive. She bit her top lip, forcing the bottom one to jut out in an adorable pout that made him want to kiss her again. “What would your employees think?”

  “Who cares?” He’d never been one to let other people’s opinions dictate his actions and he wasn’t about to start now. “I’m a big boy. If I want to have an overnight guest, I don’t have to explain myself to them or anyone else.”

  “But what about Ray and Helen? Or Dana? I don’t want them to think…” She shrugged. “You know.”

  Brady suppressed a smile as he reached for and kissed her hand. “No one is going to think anything, sweetheart.”

  She seemed to consider it before she asked, “Are you sure you want me to stay? You’re not just extending the offer to be nice?”

  “Since I’ve never extended that offer before, you can safely assume that’s not the reason.”

  She gaped at him. “You’ve never had a woman spend the night before?”

  “I didn’t say that. Women have spent the night, but not because I asked them to. They may have fallen asleep after—”

  “It’s okay,” she said, covering his mouth with her fingertips. “I don’t need to hear all the details.”

  “Jealous?” He kissed her wrist before pulling her hand away.

  “Maybe I am.” Her gaze dropped to his chest. “You haven’t said much about the women, or woman, you were dating before I came to town, just that your relationships have all been pretty casual. Is there anyone you’ve been seeing, you know, on a regular basis?”

  She had every right to ask, but the last thing he wanted to talk about was other women. “I don’t know that I’d call it all that regular. Maybe once a month.”

  “That’s pretty regular,” she said, frowning. “Um, are you going to keep seeing her?” Before he could respond, she rushed on. “It’s not that I’m saying you can’t. I know I don’t have any right to tell you who you can or can’t see. It’s not like we’re… well, I don’t know what we are.” She furrowed her brow, looking confused. “What are we?”

  He laughed before kissing her. “We’re good, that’s what we are.”

  “Hmm.” A smile teased her lips. “Then you want to see me again?”

  “Given that I see you every day at work, I’d say that’s a pretty safe assumption.”

  She slapped his chest. “You know what I mean.” With a frustrated sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. “I’m not very good at this, obviously. I’m not asking you for a commitment or anything. I know it’s way too soon for that, for both of us. I guess I just want to know if you think we might… date?”

  “Uh, yeah, as often as possible.”

  Chapter Eight

  Claudia sneaked into the dining room before her shift the next morning, hoping to grab a quick bite to eat and a coffee. Brady had been gone by the time she woke up, but he’d left a note telling her to help herself to anything in the fridge.

  Her stomach had been too tied up in knots for her to take him up on his offer though. When she saw he wasn’t there, her mind started racing, wondering if he’d woken up reeling from her confession last night.

  “There she is,” Ray said, his eyes lighting up when he saw Claudia. “We saved you a seat. Come, join us. Dana told us you don’t start ‘til ten this morning.”

  Since it was Monday, she was working the brunch/lunch shift. “I don’t want to intrude,” she said, gesturing to their half-empty plates. “I was just going to grab a coffee and head back to my room for a bit before my shift starts.”

  “Nonsense,” Helen said, patting the seat next to her. “We want to hear all about your talk with Brady last night. How did it go?”

  Claudia had vivid flashbacks of her night with Brady, not that she’d be willing to share all the details with this nice old couple. “It went fine. I told him everything, and just like you predicted, he was very understanding. I feel much better.”

  She only wished that were true. While she felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders after telling him about the accident, another weight had been added as she tried to navigate what the new norm was for them now that they were… involved? Seeing each other? She didn’t know how to define it, and that was part of the problem.

  “I’m glad.” Helen winked at her. “I was taking our dog Muffin out this morning, and I couldn’t help but notice you leaving Brady’s house.”

  “I, uh… I didn’t know you had a dog,” she said, trying desperately to deflect. “Where was she yesterday?”

  “She just had a little surgery,” Ray explained. “Nothing too serious, but they’re making her wear one of those awful cones on her head. It makes her pretty miserable, so all she wants to do is lay around feeling sorry for herself. Poor old gal, I can’t say I blame her.”

  “Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind if I crash your breakfast, I’ll just go grab something from the buffet and be right back.”

  Claudia was rehearsing what she might say to Ray and Helen when they asked about her overnight with Brady when she felt a warm breath tickle the back of her neck. A pair of large hands landed on her hips, making her jump back. Right into a hard chest.

  “Did I scare you?” he asked, sounding amused.

  “Oh hey, Brady,” she said, tipping her head back. “Sorry. I guess you c
aught me daydreaming.”

  “About me, I hope,” he whispered in her ear, sending delicious chills down her spine.

  “We, uh, probably shouldn’t be doing this here,” she said quietly, stepping away as she reached for a coffee cup.

  He frowned as he turned his back to the table laden with every breakfast food imaginable. “I meant what I said last night. I don’t care what anyone thinks about us being together. This is my place, and I won’t let anyone tell me how I should run it or my personal life.”

  She glanced up at his sharp tone. She’d suspected Brady had a temper, though she’d never seen any evidence of it. “Please, I don’t want to talk about this here.”

  “Fine, we can go to my office and talk.”

  “Um, Helen and Ray invited me to join them for breakfast.”

  He frowned. “Didn’t you get my note? You could have grabbed something at my place.”

  “It’s okay. I keep some oatmeal packets in my room. I didn’t feel comfortable…” She closed her eyes at the flash of annoyance on his face. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this. I don’t have much experience with it.” Though she was pretty sure, he was an expert.

  “It doesn’t have to be awkward,” he said, his tone softening. “I feel good about our talk last night. Don’t you?”

  “Of course,” she said, feeling her cheeks growing warm. “It was wonderful, being able to open up to you like that.”

  He grinned. “Good. Then we’re in agreement. Problem solved.”

  Claudia didn’t feel as though they’d solved anything, but since she didn’t want to get into it there, she gestured to the table where Helen and Ray were watching them with open curiosity. “Would you like to join us?”

  “Sure, I have time for a quick coffee before I get back at it.” He smiled at Mandy when she passed them with a tray of beverages. “Hon, could you set us up with some coffees when you have a minute?”

  She winked. “Sure thing, boss.”

  Claudia snapped her mouth shut when she realized she’d been gaping at their exchange. Mandy was young, early twenties by Claudia’s estimation, but she would have bet her last dollar there was or had been something between the waitress and her employer.

  “Have you been with her?” Claudia blurted out as her eyes narrowed at Brady.

  “What?” He chuckled, raising both hands. “No way. You’ve got it all wrong. Mandy’s just a sweet girl—”

  “Who has a crush you?” Claudia hated how jealous and possessive she sounded. Trying to lay claim to a man she wasn’t even exclusive with was so unlike her. “I’m sorry. Please tell Helen and Ray I had to go back to my room. I suddenly lost my appetite.”

  “Hey,” he said, grabbing her wrist before she could make her getaway. “What’s wrong? You’re mad ‘cause I was being friendly to one of my employees? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “You’re right,” she said, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “None of this makes any sense. You. Me. Me being here. Maybe this isn’t the best place for me right now.” Claudia shook free of his grip when an older couple approached the buffet, plates in hand.

  Brady was still staring after her in shock when Ray approached. “You okay, son?”

  “No, not really. I don’t know what just happened with Claudia, but I know it wasn’t good.” Last night they had been so close. He’d seen the possibility of a real future with her. Now she was questioning whether she belonged at the inn with him? How and when had that happened?

  “Why don’t you come and sit down?” Ray suggested. “It might help to talk about it.”

  Brady had plenty of friends he could talk to, not to mention his family, but no one would understand what Claudia had been through better than Helen and Ray.

  He thought briefly about all of the tasks demanding his attention. “Sure, I’ve got some time.”

  “Is everything okay?” Helen asked when he sat down. “Claudia left in quite a hurry.”

  “I know,” he said, sinking back in the solid wood chair. “And I don’t even know why.”

  “Sounds like you two had a good talk last night,” Helen said, raising her coffee mug to her lips. “She told you a bit about her past?”

  “She told me everything.” Since he wasn’t sure how much Claudia had told them, or wanted them to know, he decided to leave it at that. The last thing he wanted to do was betray her confidence. “I thought we were making real progress, but this morning she seems to be questioning a lot of things, including whether she belongs here at all.”

  Helen and Ray exchanged a smile before she covered Brady’s hand with hers. “Honey, I don’t know if you remember how lost we were after Jake died, but our poor staff could barely talk to us. They didn’t know how we’d respond. If we weren’t crying, we were yelling or holed up in our office, trying to shut everyone out.”

  Brady did remember that, but no one had blamed them. They’d all agreed Helen and Ray were acting the way anyone would have, given the loss they’d endured. “I remember.”

  “I hope you won’t think we’re terrible, but we did a little digging after Claudia told us part of her story last night,” Helen said. “Dana gave us her last name, which is her maiden name incidentally, and we Googled her. Found out all about the accident in Brockville.”

  Brady knew Ray and Helen weren’t nosy, so their digging had clearly come from a place of concern. He couldn’t pretend he hadn’t considered doing a little digging himself, but in the end, he’d wanted to hear Claudia’s story from her.

  “I can’t even imagine how she got through that.”

  “Neither can I,” Ray said, sighing. “Losing our son was terrible, but at least we had each other to lean on.”

  Brady sensed Claudia was close to her family and had a large circle of friends in Brockville, but it wasn’t the same as having someone to hold her at night while she cried over the loss of her babies.

  “I want to be there for her. I’m just not sure I know how.”

  Mandy set two cups of coffee on their table before glancing at the door. “Uh, I brought one for Claudia too. Is she coming back?”

  “Probably not until her shift starts,” Brady said, still wrestling with the urge to go after her. “But thanks. That’ll be all for now, Mandy.”

  Helen waited until Mandy had left before she said, “You have to understand something if you’re going to get involved with this girl, Brady. Her emotions will be all over the map for a good long while. She’s hurt and angry and confused. She’s probably lost her faith, wondering how God could be so cruel to take the three people she loved most in one fell swoop.”

  “I’m sure that’s how she feels,” Brady said, thinking that’s exactly how he would feel in her position.

  “She’s probably also feeling guilty for having feelings for you,” Helen said. “It may not make sense, but she might feel as though she’s being unfaithful to her husband or dishonoring his memory somehow.”

  Brady had laid awake for a long time last night, wondering whether Claudia would ever be able to love him the way she’d loved her husband. And if she couldn’t, could he live with that?

  “I get that.”

  “Do you?” Ray asked, giving him a stern look. “It’s one thing to say you understand, but it’s another thing to be understanding.”

  “What would you suggest I do?” Brady asked before taking a sip of the strong black coffee.

  “I suggest you let her work it all out in her own mind without putting any pressure on her,” Ray said, reaching for his orange juice. “Help her build a new life here, if that’s what she wants. Help her make friends, become a part of the community. You know there’s a great church with a wonderful support group for people struggling with grief. When you think she’s ready, suggest she join.”

  Everything his friends said made sense, but patience had never been Brady’s strong suit. Especially when he was afraid of losing something that mattered to him.

  “I hear you.” When Helen shot him a skeptic
al look, he gave her a ghost of a smile. “I do. I’ll try to back off, but it won’t be easy. I want to help her get through this. I don’t know if I can just stand by and do nothing when I see her struggling.”

  “You can’t fix this for her,” Helen warned. “No one can. This is something she has to learn how to live with. Her life will never, ever be the same. Every day she has to learn how to cope with all those recurring memories. I’m sure she thought leaving Brockville would help. We thought the same thing when we left Landon. But I can tell you it doesn’t matter where you go, the memories travel with you.”

  “No doubt.” Brady still thought of his dad every day and knew he probably would for as long as he lived.

  “You just have to ask yourself if she’s worth it because I can promise you it won’t be easy.” Ray smiled at his wife. “Relationships are never easy. But when one person comes into them with a mountain of heartbreak weighing them down, it’s even harder. Are you sure you’re up to the challenge?”

  Brady thought about the girls he’d dated. He could sum all of those relationships up in two words: stress-free and easy. Claudia promised anything but, yet he’d never wanted anyone more.

  “I’m up for it.”

  Claudia was sitting on her patio, wiping away tears as she stared at the screen of her phone. It showed the last family picture they had taken. Her son had just lost another tooth, leaving a huge gap in his smile, and the memory of slipping a five-dollar bill under his pillow while he slept made her heart twist painfully.

  She closed her eyes when the phone by her bed rang. She assumed it was Brady. She debated whether to answer and finally decided she couldn’t avoid him forever. If he wanted to talk to her, he’d corner her somewhere. Rushing through the patio door, she bit back a curse as she stubbed her baby toe on the metal lip of the doorframe.

  “Hello,” she said through clenched teeth, barely repressing the urge to scream.

  “Claudia? It’s Shay. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Claudia said, relieved she didn’t have to deal with Brady’s questions about her outburst. Yet. “I’m fine, Shay. How are you?”