Longing for Forever (Sunset Bay Romance Book 1)

by Debra Clopton

  “You’re right. It’s just us,” Leo said. “Jonah will show up if he can. So, let’s get to it. I’ve been smelling that pot roast cooking all day and I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”

  “Fine, I get the hint. Let’s eat.” Maryetta turned and crossed to the stove.

  The moment she turned her back on them, they all mouthed a thank-you to their dad. He winked at them, then headed around the counter to help pull the roast from the oven.

  “Whew, that was close,” Brad whispered before he ate another chip.

  “I heard that.”

  “Sorry, Mom.” He rolled his eyes at them. “I meant, that smells fantastic. What can we do to help?”

  She turned and smiled sweetly at them. “Fall in love with someone and start growing this family.”

  Thankfully, she laid off them for the rest of the evening, but by then it was too late for Adam because he had a cute baker on his mind who refused to go away. He was relieved Brad hadn’t talked more about the festival and brought her up.

  Jonah showed up right before they got up from the table.

  “Sorry I’m late. Had an emergency. A boater lied about knowing how to drive a boat and got himself into a bind. I had to go out and rescue them.”

  Adam’s brother loved his work. Owning his boat business allowed him to be on the water or near it every day. Jonah had never planned to live anywhere but Sunset Bay. Why he hadn’t married yet was a mystery to him because he had been settled for the last few years and seemed like one of the town’s most eligible bachelors. It hit Adam that he was so disconnected from his family that he should know more about their lives. It just showed how self-absorbed he’d been in his own career.

  It left him with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. One more downfall to add to his list of regrets.

  “You look tired,” his mother pointed out. “Did you have another emergency last night that kept you up?”

  He did look tired. Weary, in fact. “Yes, one of my customers returned our largest boat late and most of my cleanup crew had a mutual friend’s wedding to attend, so that left me to work overtime cleaning it up and getting it ready to be picked up this morning by another client. When fishermen come to town to fish, they want their boats on time. It was a late night and an early morning.”

  “Why have all my children chosen careers with such stressful hours? It’s no wonder I’m having trouble getting any of you to get married.”

  At Maryetta’s words, Jonah shot them all a questioning look.

  “Mama is a little stressed out about the subject of grandchildren,” Erin warned.

  Jonah grimaced. “Well, wow, I hate that I missed out on this dinner conversation. Matter of fact, I might have another emergency in the wings that I need to get back to.” He laughed when he got a warning swat on the arm from their mother as she moved to get Jonah a glass of tea.

  “I’m not going to run you off, since I could tell I almost ran off your brothers and sister. But, just so you are aware, I am ready for this family to grow. Don’t you have any customers who are eligible or have daughters looking for a handsome, successful businessman who’d make an amazing husband and father?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d rather not have this conversation.”

  His mother glanced over at him from the open door of the refrigerator. “I do not know what I am going to do with all of you. And Adam, don’t think I’m forgetting about this new neighbor of yours who owns the bakery. She sounds perfect and you need to pay attention.”

  His dad chuckled, and Adam and the rest of them just had to hope their mother didn’t get any crazy notions to take up matchmaking. As it stood, after learning about Rosie, Adam realized he was now at the top of the list. And he was having a hard enough time trying to figure out the next phase of his life without that added complication.

  Besides, he had his pretty neighbor on his mind enough; he didn’t need anyone pointing her out to him. He knew exactly where to find her.

  Erin sat up straighter and plopped her elbows on the table. “What? You met Rosie the baker? I was too busy with my guests to make it to the festival myself.”

  “He met her,” Maryetta called.

  “Yes, he did,” Brad whispered, leaning in and winking at Erin.

  Her mouth fell open and her blue eyes twinkled. “She’s nice.”

  “How do you know her?” Adam asked Erin. Small towns were notorious; how could he have forgotten?

  “I don’t know her well. She hasn’t been here long, but I bought a bunch of her muffins and pastries and some quiche for my guests recently. She is a delight, and so helpful.”

  “She’s his neighbor,” his mother added, setting tea in front of Jonah and smiling. “And I had already heard she was lovely, and now you say she’s a delight. I’m thinking she sounds amazing. I’m going to get a muffin—”

  “Mom.” Adam narrowed his eyes at Erin, but she just smiled and continued to dig a hole for him.

  “Your neighbor?” Erin said. “How perfect. You should ask her out. Really, Adam, you should.”

  Brad looked sympathetic but held his hands up, bowing out of the conversation.

  Adam didn’t hesitate. “You, my sister, need to worry about who you’re going to date and not get caught up worrying about me.”

  “Or me,” Brad added, obviously deciding he needed to reestablish his stance. “Just in case you get any ideas.”

  Jonah laughed, watching them, and took a bite of roast beef. “Same here. I don’t need my mother or my sister meddling in my love life. I’m doing just fine.”

  Adam was glad to have his brothers on his side. And they managed to make it out of there soon after with promises from both mother and sister not to meddle.

  But they’d stirred things up for him, and as he left his parents’ home he had Rosie on his mind. Everything that had been said about her tonight was true. She was lovely, and delightful, and she was perfect marriage material as far as he could tell.

  And she lived next door to him. He had a great opportunity to get to know her better.

  But he wasn’t ready to pursue anything serious right now. He was infatuated with her; that was all this was. He enjoyed her company. She was a good distraction from the dark emotions and questions he couldn’t shake.

  When he was around her, everything seemed better.

  He just didn’t need anyone getting any ideas. This wasn’t good timing. His career was on hold and his life seemed to have stalled. He was a big picture guy. He’d known since he was in his teens that he wanted to be a trauma doctor and he’d worked hard to make that happen. He’d known what he wanted and where he was going. Now, for the first time in his life, he didn’t know what he wanted, nor did he have a big picture plan. He’d come home to figure things out. To get some distance and gain perspective.

  And then he planned to make the next step in his life.

  He hadn’t planned on moving next door to Rosie. He hadn’t even known someone like her existed.

  She was just a walking ray of sunshine, and every time he was around her the gloom of his existence seemed less dark.

  He felt pretty out of control where she was concerned. As if he were riding in a runaway rollercoaster and he had absolutely no control over where he was headed.

  It had him pretty freaked out, now that he thought about it. What was he going to do?

  Chapter Nine

  Rosie was potting a geranium on Wednesday after the festival. The sun had gone down and she was doing it by the light of her porch. It had to be done, though, because the poor thing had been sitting there in its temporary pot since Saturday when she’d bought it as she was leaving the festival. The vendor had been closing up and as she and Adam had finished loading up their supplies to carry back to the bakery. She’d told him to wait, that she’d wanted to buy a flower. To her surprise, he’d followed her to the booth and insisted on buying the flower for her.

  She had never had a man buy her flowers—not
that these were to be misinterpreted as flowers in a romantic way; it was just a pot plant that she’d wanted. She should have insisted on buying it herself, but he’d already taken out his wallet and handed the money over to the man. If she’d insisted, it would have seemed rude and, well, to be honest, she liked that he’d bought her the plant.

  But she’d been busy the last few days and hadn’t had time to repot it, until tonight. It would be in bad form to let the poor thing wilt because it was root bound.

  “You, my pretty, are going to brighten up the entrance to my home.” She patted the dirt, smiled and took in her handiwork. The pot she’d placed it in was an old clay pot she’d rescued from a trash pile on the way home from work a few weeks before, and she’d set it at the back of the house, out of sight, until now. After a bright coat of white paint to match her shutters, it was like having a big smile greeting anyone who came to the door. The bright-white pot and the brilliant red flower contrasted well with her periwinkle blue house and yellow door. She was smiling as she stepped to the sand and studied it in the porch light. It went very well with her window boxes of flowers and completed the look she had been hoping for.

  “Hey there, neighbor, imagine meeting you here at this hour.”

  She spun to find Adam standing between their houses. He looked good in his jeans and a white polo shirt that exposed his toned, tanned arms. His light-brown hair was getting lighter with every day he spent in the sun. In the light from the glow of her porch, it seemed almost sandy-blond now.

  “Hi,” she said, when she realized she’d been gawking at him. “Sorry, you startled me and I was lost in thought.”

  “I know. I was standing here for a couple of seconds before I said anything. What are you staring at?”

  She smiled and waved him over. “This masterpiece. The one you helped with when you bought that pretty plant.”

  He came to stand beside her, close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body and smell the light scent of his cologne. “Wow, that’s really pretty. You have a knack for making everything pretty.”

  “Thanks.” She crossed her arms and turned toward him. “So, how are you?” He looked so good. She’d thought of him a lot since the festival. Caught him sitting on his porch and longed to go out there and sit with him. But she hadn’t. What had come over her? He’d been so helpful and she’d been thinking about his words that night he’d taken her home after baking muffins. He’d opened up to her. Told her that his work had been part of what was keeping him up at night. Putting those shadows in his eyes.

  She was finding that she wanted to eliminate the shadows. She told herself it wasn’t any different than the desire she felt to help everyone have a better day. Nothing different at all.

  But deep in her heart, if she were honest with herself, she knew he was different.

  “I’ve been good. I went to my parents’ house for dinner with the family.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that was fun.”

  He looked comically wary. “You might not say that if you’d been there.”

  She laughed, just from his expression. “Well, you can’t just throw that out there and then leave me hanging. What are you talking about?”

  He shifted and jammed his hands in his pockets, then leaned back on his heels momentarily. “Let’s just say that my mom has declared that she is tired of waiting on her children and told us it’s time to get married. Not word for word but close.”

  Rosie caught the tension in his words. “That’s intense. Did you all run from the room, screaming?”

  He laughed but she sensed he was more stressed about it than he let on.

  “No, but close,” he admitted with a shrug of one shoulder. “It’s a little bit sad for her, I guess. With six of us and not one of us married, I guess a mother longing for grandchildren has a right to get impatient. It is hard to believe none of us are even in a serious relationship at the moment. At least, not that I’m aware of. It was pretty intense.” He chuckled.

  Despite his chuckle, she got the feeling again that he might not have been completely teasing. “You are stressed.” She met his gaze and saw the flicker of surprise.

  “Yeah, I think I could use a destressing walk on the beach. Would you want to take a walk with me?”

  His question was so appealing on so many levels and yet she hesitated. Her thoughts told her this could be a major step in her future because she felt more for Adam than she could understand. Was she ready to let her defenses down a bit? She halted her thoughts. She was thinking too seriously.

  Thinking too much when she needed to act.

  “I would love to,” she said, and his smile caused a flutter to spread through her like a thousand feathers falling from the sky. On fire.

  “Good.” His eyes lit up and he held his elbow out to her. “My day just got a whole lot better.”

  Hers too, she thought as he looked at her with deeply serious eyes that seemed to penetrate straight to her suddenly stumbling heart.

  Yes, hers was better, she admitted, just from the moment she’d looked over and saw him standing there. But she didn’t tell him.

  As they walked out onto the sand, her mind kept going to the moment when they’d been standing in her walk-in freezer and she’d thought he’d almost kissed her or wanted to. She’d woken up in the middle of the night a couple of times with that moment on her mind. It had left her feeling both giddy and disturbed. It was an odd combination that she just didn’t know what to do about.

  Moments later he’d told her to stop riding her bike and had caused her normally-hard-to-rile-up temper to flare. Then the man had spent the entire evening and the next day helping her. He’d been amazing.

  Yes, the man confused her in all kinds of ways, with conflicting emotions battling it out inside her. But enough about herself; Adam needed to relax and she would help him do that. It was, after all, what she was good at.

  “Don’t you love the moment when the last light of day meets the dark waters on the horizon?” she asked, lightly gazing out toward the horizon that was already past the last of the brilliant sunset that had happened moments before he’d shown up. Now there was that faint glow just before the light extinguished and the stars began to spring out on the blackened sky.

  “I hadn’t really thought of that. I like the sunsets and sunrises and I like looking at the stars. But, I guess this moment…” He stared at the horizon as the light dropped away and darkness enveloped them. He looked at her and smiled. “This moment is good too, now that you point it out. Rosie, is there nothing you see that doesn’t make you happy?”

  She hesitated, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moon would lift in a few minutes and there would be plenty of light. But even if she couldn’t see him as well as she’d like, she could feel that penetrating gaze locked on her. She felt that strong pull to tell him her secret and she pushed it down. She hadn’t planned to share that with anyone.

  “I just look at every moment with fresh eyes. I try to enjoy each moment and that light disappearing like that is more of a signal that another day is done and I got to enjoy it. Midnight comes and goes each night, with no significant moment to announce that the day is done and a new day is officially starting. I guess my grateful clock goes by that light disappearing on the horizon.”

  His white smile widened in the moonlight. “Your grateful clock. I like that. Maybe I need to get one of those.”

  She laughed and squeezed his arm that she still had her arm linked with. “I think everyone needs one.”

  “Well, thanks for reminding me. Where did you get yours? I’ll run right over tomorrow and pick one up.”

  She let the breeze calm her as she thought of all she’d been through to find her grateful clock. “Oh, I found mine at the end of a pretty rough day. Kind of like yours today.” She was minimizing just how horrible a day it had been, but he didn’t need to know that. This was about him, not her. “All you have to do is snap your fingers or close your eyes and say, I will be grateful in a
ll things. Now, I must warn you that that is many times easier said than done.”

  He stopped their slow walk and she looked up to see that he had closed his eyes. Dear goodness, even in shadow he was so handsome. He opened his eyes and found hers with his.

  “I now have my grateful clock. And thanks for the warning because I have a feeling my downward spiraling negativity is going to put up a really good fight.”

  She held his gaze. “You’re a warrior now. You will succeed.”

  They stood there, staring through the soft light of the moon at each other, and Rosie knew that she was very grateful to be there with him.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “About the bad experience you had surfing. Come surfing with me on Saturday. Can you get your helpers to cover for you?”

  Surf. Panic clawed up her windpipe like a mad cat on a scratching post.

  “Um, ah, I really don’t think I want to do that.”

  “Come on. You are fearless. Let me help you get over that fear of the water and a surfboard. They go really well together but someone took you out too deep and too rough for your first lesson. These waters are perfect to learn in. All you have to do is trust me, Rosie. I would never hurt you.”

  She hated this aspect of her life and the idea of overcoming it appealed to her. But the feeling of all that water clogging her air passages, pulling her down…it was just so powerful. And despite all her bravado about being a warrior on this subject, she let herself down every time.

  Adam took her by the shoulders. His hands sent warmth and an overwhelming sense of security through her. And a need to feel those arms wrapped tightly around her. It was an all-powerful need that made her knees go weak and her lips to say the most unlikely things. “Oh, sure. If you promise—”

  He cupped her chin with gentle fingers and tilted her face up so that he was looking at her with unwavering assurance. “I promise to keep you safe.”

  “Okay. Then let’s do this.”

  His expression faltered and his gaze dropped to her lips and she suddenly thought he was going to kiss her like he’d almost done standing in the freezer.