Small Town Boss

by Cheryl Michaels

  Just as his body had been starting to relax, his arms coiled tightly around her again. “Confused? Does that mean you regret it?”

  “No. Do you?”

  “No way.”

  They both relaxed slightly as Claudia tipped her head back to look at him. “I think you’re an amazing guy.”

  He smiled. “Go on.”

  Brady wasn’t the kind of man who needed an ego-stroking, but she didn’t mind giving it just the same. “I see you walk into a room, and I can barely breathe.”

  “Is that so?” he asked as his hands moved down her back. “Tell me more.”

  She was well aware of the couples surrounding them, probably people who’d known Brady all of his life. But she suddenly didn’t care what they thought, what anyone thought. She linked her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “Need I say more?”

  He chuckled before caressing her temple with his lips. “How about we get out of here?”

  “What about Shay and Ainsley?” she asked. When he took her hand, kissing the back of it as he weaved her through the crowd and made sure no one bumped into her, her heart melted.

  “I’m sure Chase will take Ainsley home,” Brady said. “Her house is on the way to theirs, but let’s check in with them, let them know we’re leaving.”

  Claudia leaned into Brady when he slipped his arm around her waist. She didn’t miss the looks from all of the envious women who would no doubt like to be the object of his attention. But tonight, she didn’t care about catty exes or people speculating about them. She only cared about how good being with this man made her feel.

  “You guys heading out?” Chase asked. He was sitting in a booth, his arm around his fiancée as she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Yeah.” Brady looked around. “Where’s Ainsley?”

  “Dancing,” Chase said, pointing at the dance floor where Ainsley was dancing with Dave.

  “Good,” Brady said, looking amused. “She’s perfect for him.”

  “Bryce might disagree with you on that one,” Chase said, shaking his head.

  Brady rolled his eyes. “Then tell your friend to man up before someone else gives her reason to forget all about him.”

  “You think I haven’t tried talking some sense into him?” Chase asked, scowling. “Believe me, I have. But he’s going to wait ‘til it’s too late. Then I’ll get the distinct pleasure of watching him be miserable for the rest of his life because he let the only girl he’s ever loved get away. Again.”

  “Don’t give up hope,” Claudia heard herself say. “He may come around.” She didn’t know Ainsley well, but something told her it would be a long time before she got Bryce out of her system.

  “I agree with you,” Shay said, concealing a yawn behind her hand. “I think they’ll find a way to work it out.”

  Claudia reached into her purse for a few bills to toss on the table to cover her drinks, but Chase stilled her hand. “Not necessary. I paid the bill already.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Claudia said.

  “I know I didn’t have to.” Chase smiled. “I wanted to. Any woman who can put a smile like that on my brother’s face has earned my gratitude.”

  “Shut up.” Brady leaned over Chase to kiss Shay on the cheek. “Good night, beautiful.”

  “Night, Brady,” Shay said, grabbing Brady by the jaw before he could pull away. “Take good care of her, okay?”

  Claudia was touched that this woman, who’d been a stranger to her only days before, seemed to genuinely care about her well-being.

  “I promise,” Brady said, glancing over his shoulder at the dance floor. “Say good-bye to Ainsley for us?”

  “Sure,” Chase said then kissed Shay’s forehead when she leaned into him.

  “Good night guys,” Claudia said, smiling at the happy couple. “Thanks for inviting me, Shay. I had a great time.”

  “We like to do this a couple of times a month,” she said, hooking her arm around Chase’s shoulder as she sat up straighter. “I’ll be sure to call you the next time.”

  “Sounds good. And thanks for the drinks, Chase.”

  “My pleasure.” Chase took Claudia’s hand. “I hope to see a lot more of you.”

  “You will,” Brady said, grabbing Claudia’s hand before steering toward the door. When they were safely in the cab of his truck, he said, “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A while back, my brother gave me a truck. He bought a new one from Shay and thought I could use an extra one for the inn. I haven’t even bothered to put insurance on it, since I had this one,” he said, tapping his dashboard. “But I talked to Chase about it tonight, and we agreed I should give it to you.”

  Claudia’s jaw dropped as she looked up from fastening her seat belt. “You can’t give me a truck!”

  “Why not? I just told you I have no use for it.”

  She watched him pull out of the parking lot and do a quick check before turning right at the stop sign onto the town’s main road. “Then sell it.”

  “Why, when I could give it to you?”

  Claudia had never been on the receiving end of a big gift, and she didn’t know quite how to respond to his offer. “That’s incredibly generous of you, but I can’t let you do that. It’s too much.”

  “It’s a risk for me, you know.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Giving you that truck.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re working for me to save up money for a new set of wheels, right?” When she nodded, he said, “I give you the truck, and you don’t have to go on working for me. You could leave town anytime you want to.”

  She realized he was giving her more than just a truck. He was giving her an option. He wanted her to stay because she wanted to be with him, not because she didn’t have a choice.

  “So let me get this straight,” she said, shaking her head. “You want me to take the truck so I can leave you anytime I want?”

  He reached across the leather bench seat and took her hand. “I want you to stay. If I didn’t make that clear last night, I should have. I know you can’t promise me you’ll stay forever. That’s too much to ask this early in our relationship. But I want you to stay as long as you still enjoy being here… with me.”

  “I love...” She looked out the window, taking in the now familiar sights: the church, the town square, the fountain, Ainsley’s flower shop, and the bookstore next to it on Main Street. “The people here have been wonderful to me. I can’t imagine a better place for me to have landed.”

  “Landed, huh? Is that how you see it?”

  She considered her choice of words. “I was free-falling when I left Brockville, no doubt about it. So I guess this is where I landed. I’m just grateful you were here to catch me.” She tried to imagine Landon without Brady and couldn’t. It would just be another pretty little Midwestern town with nice people who were still kind enough to welcome a stranger.

  “I am too.” He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. “You know how many times I’ve imagined what could have happened to you if your truck had broken down on the side of some deserted road late at night instead of in front of my inn?”

  “I guess we wouldn’t be here now.” She shuddered to think she may not be here now.

  “And are you glad you’re… here?”

  “Yeah.” Her smile grew wider as she nodded slowly. “I’m really glad I’m here.”

  Chapter Ten

  Brady talked Claudia into breakfast at his place the next morning and he was ready and waiting for her when she arrived.

  “Morning, gorgeous,” he said, brushing a strand of hair off her face after answering the door. “Guess who’s playing hooky today?”

  “You?” she asked, smiling at him when he leaned in for a kiss.

  “Us.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I should. Who’ll take my shift?”

  “Mandy. I already talked to her, and she sa
id she’d love the extra hours. So what do you say? Want to play hooky with me?”

  “Can you take off for the day?” she asked, frowning. “You probably have a ton of work to do.”

  “Always, but with all the hours I put in during the summer season, I can afford to take a day now and then.” He hadn’t told her the only two days he’d taken off in the last two months had been since she arrived. The first because he needed time to sort out his feelings for her and the second because he wanted to show her how he felt about her.

  “Okay then,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. “I’d love to. What are we going to do?”

  “You said last night you love being here in Landon. I thought today I’d give you more reasons to love it.” He was trying to show her the place he loved could also be her home, if she was open to the possibility.

  “Okay,” she said, giggling when he rubbed his whiskers against her neck while kissing her.

  “That’s it?” he asked, lifting his head. “You’re not going to ask for details?”

  “Nope. I like surprises.”

  “Hmm, I’ll have to remember that.” He tugged on her hand, pulling her inside.

  Her tummy rumbled, and she giggled. “Sorry, I’m used to eating at six o’clock sharp. The kids used to—”

  She froze, and his heart broke for her.

  He knew it would be painful for her to talk about her children, but trying to repress her memories couldn’t be healthy. “The kids used to what? Tell me about them.”

  Claudia turned her head, glancing out the window as a tear glided down her cheek into her hair. “They, um, used to wake up early so they could watch cartoons before they had to get ready for school. Even on weekends, their internal alarm clocks would go off, so I was used to waking up early with them.”

  “Can I see a picture of them?” He didn’t know if it was wise to ask or wait until she offered to show him, so he held his breath, waiting to find out if he’d made a huge mistake.

  She reached into the purse slung over her shoulder and pulled out her phone. After punching in a code, she pulled up her photos and began swiping the screen. “This one is my favorite,” she said in a small voice.

  He swallowed at the sight of two little blonde-haired, blue-eyed angels, one boy and one girl. He didn’t have to wonder whether they’d looked like their mama anymore. They looked just like her.

  “Beautiful,” he said, swiping at another of her tears.

  “Kirsten was four in this picture,” she said, touching the screen reverently. “Stephen was two. We had it taken the Christmas before… the accident.”

  “Can you show me some more pictures? Or would that be too painful?” he asked, watching her carefully for any sign that he may be crossing the line.

  “It’s okay.” She bit her trembling lip. “I don’t mind.” She pulled up another photo that made her sob. “Here’s one of Stephen sitting on the tractor with his daddy. He loved to help him plow the fields.”

  Brady didn’t expect to have such a strong reaction to seeing the man who’d once been Claudia’s world, but the fact that he did proved he couldn’t go on lying to himself about how much she meant to him.

  She continued filtering through the pictures, pulling up one of her and her husband smiling at the infant in their arms. He was standing behind Claudia, his arms wrapped around his wife, while she held their daughter swaddled in a pink blanket. The love he felt for both of them was painfully obvious, and Brady wondered how anyone or anything could ever fill the hole that must be in her heart.

  He took a step back, running a shaky hand over his head. “Thank you for sharing those with me. You had a beautiful family. I can’t even imagine…” He cleared his throat, overcome with emotion.

  “Hey,” she said, reaching for his hand as she tucked her phone back in her purse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you wanted to see the pictures?”

  “I did.” He felt like a jerk for making her feel as though she’d done something wrong. He wanted her to feel that she could talk to him about her husband and children, even if the reminder that she would always love another man might be difficult for him. “I’m just so sorry for what you’ve been through. It’s obvious how much you loved them.”

  “I did.” She brushed her thumb back and forth over his hand. “I loved them all so much, and I miss them every day. But being here with you has given me something I never expected to find again, Brady. Hope.”

  He closed his eyes, appreciating that word more than he ever had. That was what he wanted to give her. Hope. That things could get better. That she could learn to love again, be happy again, in spite of the pain.

  “I’m scared though,” she whispered.

  “Scared of what, sweetheart?”

  “Leaning on someone too much. I have to admit, I built my world around my family. My husband and kids were everything to me.”

  He admired that. He never wanted her to think it had been a mistake, because if she did, she could never learn to count on him the way she had her husband. And he could never have the kind of relationship he wanted with her.

  “Are you afraid of being left alone again?” In her position, he probably would have been.

  “I know what happened was a freak accident. But the possibility of losing the people I love is so real to me now. I hold my breath every time I see my parents’ number flash across the screen. I’m terrified they’re calling with more bad news.”

  “I imagine it’ll take a while for that fear to dissipate. I know after my dad died, I kept a close eye on my mom. I worried about how she was handling it. I thought it might take a toll on her health, and we’d lose her too.”

  “Hey, speaking of your mom,” Claudia said, gripping his wrist, “I forgot to tell you that I met her at church the other day. She’s wonderful.”

  Brady smiled. If he had to choose one word to describe his mother, that would be it. “Yeah, she’s pretty great. We got lucky in the parents department for sure.”

  “She was telling me a bit about your sister. It’s obvious how much she misses her. You think she’ll come back here when she finishes school?”

  “I don’t know.” His kid sister was getting a master’s in education in San Francisco and seemed to love city life. “It would be easier for her to get a teaching job there, for sure. But when we talk, she tells me how much she misses us.”

  “What grade does she want to teach?” Claudia asked.

  “I don’t know. Elementary school for sure.” He chuckled. “She says she remembers what me and Chase were like in high school, and there’s no way she could handle that.”

  “I thought about teaching high school too, but there was just something about getting to work with kids during those early years when they’re so curious about everything, that appealed to me.”

  He heard the longing in her voice, and as he brushed her long hair over her shoulder, he asked, “Ever think about getting back into teaching? When you’ve had a little more time?”

  “I’m not sure.” She licked her lips. “I didn’t think that was even possible when I handed in my resignation, but I have to admit, I really miss it. Of course, I’d go through that every summer. I couldn’t wait to get back in the fall. I imagine that’s when it’ll really hit me—when September rolls around and I don’t have a job to go back to.”

  “What did you do during the summers when you weren’t teaching? Did you get another job?”

  “No, I mostly helped out on the farm and took care of the kids.” She closed her eyes for a brief second, as though thinking about those summer vacations caused a fresh wave of pain.

  Brady wanted to tell her it was okay, that she didn’t have to talk about it, but he suspected talking about it was the first step in healing. Not that he was an expert. He vowed to talk to his mother about it. She’d lost her husband not too long ago. Maybe she could help him make sense of what Claudia was feeling. Perhaps between his mom, Ray, and Helen, h
e could devise a plan to help her move through her grief.

  “We had sort of a family homestead,” she explained, walking into the kitchen with him. “My grandparents own about three hundred acres. They inherited the old farmhouse from his parents, and when my parents got married, they built a place on the land so they could help them. When it was time for me and Trevor to start our lives together, we did the same.”

  “So you gave up a lot when you left there,” he said, thinking how hard that must have been for her. “Not only did you leave behind the memories you’d made with your husband and kids, but you must have had a lot of great childhood memories.”

  “I did.” She smiled. “I love that land. There’s no doubt I’m a farm girl, through and through.”

  Brady understood what it meant to love a piece of land. He felt the same way about the inn, but there was a lot of farmland in their county. If their relationship progressed, he’d gladly buy a piece of it and build her a little house so she could get back to the lifestyle she loved.

  He couldn’t believe the track his thoughts were on. He had never thought about a future with a woman. He’d rarely thought past the next date. Now he was thinking about making a home with someone he’d known a couple of weeks? What was wrong with him?

  He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to clear his mind. “Uh, let’s have some breakfast, then hit the road.”

  Claudia could tell something during their talk had triggered Brady’s flight response, though she couldn’t figure out what it was. Talking about her family home, husband, and kids had felt a little strange at first, but for the first time in a long time, she’d been able to think about them and smile without feeling as if her heart was breaking in two. She thought that was progress.

  “Hmm, that smells amazing,” she said, peeking over his shoulder.

  “Thanks.” He flipped the bacon before splitting the cheddar cheese he’d shredded between the two omelets. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled at her. “So do you.”

  She stepped into his line of sight, leaning against the counter as he slid four slices of bread into the toaster.