Short Stop to Love

by A. M. Williams

  SHORT STOP TO LOVE

  by

  A.M. Williams

  Copyright © 2018 A.M. Williams

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher,

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This novel’s story and characters are fictitious.

  Certain long-standing institutions, agencies,

  and public offices are mentioned, but the

  characters involved are wholly imaginary.

  ISBN: 9781983302374

  Cover Design: Ran at Designrans

  Editor: Sara at Pretty Little Book Promotion and PA Service

  To all the people who said I couldn’t. I did.

  PROLOGUE

  Keri

  Keri jumped at the loud crash from behind her in the kitchen at the homeless shelter. She turned to see the new volunteer grumbling as he picked up the pans that tumbled to the floor. She watched him several moments before returning to her work. She turned the heat down to low on the stove and worked her way around the room, checking on everyone before stopping beside the new guy.

  He was attempting to chop vegetables. He was really maiming them. Carrots were in chunks and peppers were thin slivers with seeds still clinging to them.

  “Do you need help?” she asked tentatively.

  “No,” was his terse reply.

  Her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

  “Are you sure? If you continue chopping them like that, there won’t be any veggies to speak of.”

  He paused and stood stiffly, white-knuckling the handle of the knife. Her eyes raked over him quickly and she noticed the hard set of his shoulders and she realized he was most likely uncomfortable. Keri grabbed a second knife and cutting board, setting up beside him. She grabbed a carrot and slowly chopped. Once she finished that one, she did several more before grabbing a pepper, coring it before slicing. When she was done, she glanced at the man and saw him watching her intently.

  Their eyes met briefly and her breath hitched at their light gray color. They were expressive and she could read his discomfort in them.

  He grabbed a carrot and mimicked her earlier movements, slowly chopping it. Keri smiled. “Great job.”

  She helped him finish up chopping vegetables before checking the pot she left simmering on the stove. She hummed quietly to herself and let her mind wander to the new man. He was attractive, no doubt about that. He was well built and had brown hair that was almost auburn.

  Shaking herself, she focused on the pot. She shouldn’t be daydreaming about the new guy like he was a piece of meat. That wouldn’t help anything.

  With efficient movements, she and the other volunteers started the dinner service and she found herself sitting at a table with patrons of the shelter. She chatted with each person, asking how they were. Her eyes roved around the room, taking in the long tables filled with patrons and their families. A deep sense of contentment spread throughout her body as she saw everyone enjoying the meal in the small dining room.

  Movement across from her caught her attention. The new guy pulled a chair out across the table. She smiled and turned back to her plate. Eventually, they were the only two sitting there.

  “I’m Keri,” she said, holding her hand out over the table.

  “Jeremy,” he told her as he shook her hand.

  She squinted at him, trying to figure out why he looked familiar. Now that she saw him full on, there was something about him that niggled in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Shaking it off, she smiled.

  “How are you liking it so far?” she asked as she took a sip of her water.

  “I enjoy it. It’s the first time I’ve volunteered in a while.”

  “You used to volunteer?”

  “Yeah, growing up. My mom required that we volunteer on school breaks and holidays.”

  “What made you decide to come back?”

  Jeremy shrugged and looked at his plate, picking at the food. “I wanted to give back to the community more.”

  She waited to see if he said anything else, but he didn’t.

  “What about you?” he asked, looking back at her.

  “I have some experience with shelters and I always think they need all the volunteers they can get.”

  “That makes sense.”

  They lapsed into silence.

  The rest of the evening passed in a blur and soon she was pushing out the door into the brisk fall air. Clouds hovered in the night air and it felt like it might rain later. She wound her scarf around her neck and pulled her jacket a little bit closer as the cold started to seep through her layers. She held the door open to let Jeremy out behind her.

  “See you next week?” she asked, huddling further into her pea coat.

  “Yeah, see you then.”

  With a wave over his shoulder, he walked away, shoulders hunched. She watched him for several seconds before turning to walk home. The new guy intrigued her and she hoped to talk to him more the next week.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Keri

  Jeremy: You coming tonight?

  Keri: Yeah, I’m running late.

  Keri breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the warmth of the homeless shelter in downtown Seattle. It was mid-January, cold, and trying to rain. Even though she wore a heavy jacket, scarf, and hat, she still felt the sting of the wind as it whistled through the streets.

  She shivered as she pulled her outerwear off, shook her dark hair to get the clinging water droplets off it. Her cheeks tingled from the sudden warmth of the building. She shook herself as she walked through the facility, smiling at people as she went.

  “Hey, Keri.”

  “Hey, Roy. How’s your leg today?”

  Keri smiled when she saw the elderly gentleman that greeted her. He was a regular and always had a nice word for everyone. He used a cane because he blew his knee out on the job several decades before.

  “A little stiff.”

  “Make sure you’re careful. Don’t overdo it.”

  With a mock salute, Roy walked away.

  She shook her head and stepped into the kitchen. She stashed her outerwear and grabbed an apron.

  “Hey everyone,” Keri greeted.

  “Hey Keri!”

  “Keri! You’re here!”

  With a smile, she glanced over the dinner prep. It looked good. Movement at the stove caught her eye. She chuckled. Jeremy stood there stirring a pot. Her eyes drank him in. Well-built with auburn hair and gray eyes, he was one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen and he had an ass that looked like you could bounce a quarter off it in those jeans.

  “How’d you pull stove duty?” she asked.

  She gently pushed him out of the way and took over. Jeremy was notorious for ruining food.

  “I guess I drew the short straw?” he said, sheepishly shrugging his shoulders.

  Keri arched a brow at him. “I’m sure that’s exactly what it was. Is everything ready for serving?”

  Jeremy walked off to check on the status of the meal and Keri appreciated the view. He couldn’t cook worth a damn, but he was nice to look at and be around.

  She turned back to the pot, lowering the temperature. The next bit was a blur of finishing up all of the preparations. The volunteers worked in silent efficiency to get everything ready for the serving tables. Jeremy joined her at the large pots and gently moved her to the side so he could serve.

  By ones and twos, the guests slowly arrived, smiling as they passed through the line. Keri spoke with each person, wholeheartedly believing one kind word went a long way. She made sure the vol
unteers had everything they needed and that the drinks were replenished frequently.

  Meal service complete, she made a plate for herself and sat with a mother and her young son. Jeremy soon joined her.

  She smiled at the little boy who blushed and looked down as he slowly picked at his food. Keri spoke briefly with the mother, asking how she was doing, before the mother also turned to finish her meal, helping her son clean up his plate. As they finished their meal, people left the table until it was just her and Jeremy. So they talked. This was their pattern. They would chat with the people around them and once they were alone, they would talk more about themselves. Over the course of the year she’d known Jeremy, she’d come to admire him a great deal.

  “How was your week?” Jeremy asked her.

  “So long. My boss is slowly giving me more responsibility, which is great. But, I’ve had to work longer hours.”

  “But you’re still enjoying it?” he asked, pausing with his fork halfway to his mouth.

  “I am. More than I thought I would. I’ve always dreamed of being in publishing and I’m hoping I might be up for a promotion soon.”

  Keri was twenty-five and the youngest senior editorial assistant at Next Page Publishing, a local independent publishing house in Seattle. She loved every minute of her job. Reading for a living was a dream come true.

  “That’s great! I’m sure it’s deserved,” Jeremy said, shooting her a smile.

  Keri blinked, blinded by Jeremy’s grin. He was fairly serious and didn’t smile a lot as a result. But, when he did, it was glorious. She shook herself to regain focus.

  “I hope so,” Keri said. “What about you? Take over any other corporate entities?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “Not really. Right now, I’m happy with my portfolio.”

  Keri nodded like she understood, but she didn’t. She knew that Jeremy owned various businesses throughout Seattle, but that was it. Everything else about him was a mystery.

  “Will we see you next weekend?” Keri asked as they helped clean up.

  “I think so. I can’t think of anything on my schedule.”

  Once all the tables were folded and placed on the rolling carts, the two of them slowly moved towards the storage room off the sleeping room. Ten minutes later, all the tables and chairs were stored, and they joined the rest of the volunteers in the kitchen to finish the clean-up. In no time at all, they were finished and buttoning their coats.

  “Next weekend?” Jeremy asked.

  Keri nodded, already excited about seeing him the following weekend, and waved as she started the short walk to her apartment. Upon reaching her building, she breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped inside. It had grown colder in the hours she’d been at the shelter. She looked forward to snuggling under a blanket for the rest of the night. Unlocking the door, she wasn’t surprised to see her roommate sitting on the couch drinking wine.

  “Hey Joann.”

  “Hey!”

  Keri stripped her outer layers off and hung them on hooks by the door. She walked into the living room and plopped onto the loveseat.

  “Did you see your hottie?” Joann asked, wiggling her eyebrows comically.

  Keri laughed. “I did, but he’s not my hottie.”

  “Keri, please. He is so your hottie. You spend all your volunteer hours with him. The two of you are practically attached at the hip.”

  “We just like to coordinate our hours. We don’t do all our volunteering together. He also volunteers at other places and he can’t make it some weekends.”

  “Yeah, and you mope those weekends.”

  “I do not mope!” she said indignantly.

  “Please. You look so sad that you didn’t get your fix. Why don’t you just ask him out already?”

  Keri looked at her lap. Her fingers knitted together. “I don’t think he feels the same way.”

  “Keri, come on. No guy matches his volunteer hours to someone he isn’t interested in.”

  “He hasn’t said anything to me that leads me to think he’s interested.”

  “Maybe he’s just scared you’ll say no. Again, no guy matches his hours to someone that’s simply a platonic friend.”

  Keri didn’t respond and Joann continued, “Keri, come on. You have to get out there, live a little. You haven’t dated anyone seriously since, what, junior year of college? That was, what, five years ago?”

  “I’ve been on dates.”

  “Going out with work people for drinks or joining me for drinks with a group isn’t a date.”

  “I went on that blind date!”

  “You mean the one where ten minutes in, you feigned illness and left?”

  Keri cringed at the reminder. That wasn’t one of her finer moments. “I can’t help that I have standards.”

  “Impossible ones,” Joann muttered.

  “Hey!”

  “It’s true. No one lives up to whatever expectation you have. But, Jeremy seems to. Ask him out!”

  Keri glared at Joann. She knew she needed to try dating again, but that didn’t mean she was going to jump at the first opportunity.

  Joann softened her words, “Ker, I want you to put yourself out there. You can’t spend your life shut up inside this apartment. Live a little!”

  “I don’t know,” Keri hedged.

  “Just think about it. The worst that can happen is he says no.”

  Joann stood and grabbed her wine glass and went into her bedroom, leaving Keri alone with her thoughts. Joann was right, he could say no. But that wasn’t the worst that could happen. She worried more about losing his friendship.

  By the time Saturday rolled around, she still didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t until she saw Jeremy walk in wearing a gorgeous chunky gray sweater that matched his eyes perfectly that Keri fully admitted she wanted to see Jeremy outside of their time at the shelter. She vowed to ask him out before the end of their shift.

  However, it seemed like the universe had other ideas. Every time they were alone, something would pull them apart. A pot boiling over on the stove, a spilled container of vegetables, not enough drinks. They couldn’t seem to catch a break.

  When they were leaving, they finally had a few moments together and Keri found her heart racing as she worked up the courage to ask him out.

  “Keri, are you okay?” Jeremy asked as they stood inside the shelter’s door.

  Keri smiled, but she was sure it looked like a grimace. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure? You look a little pale and like you might be coming down with something.”

  Keri’s heart leapt into her throat. It would be just her luck if she did throw up at this very moment. “I’m fine. I’m just nervous.”

  “Nervous?”

  “Yeah. I’m trying to work up the courage to do something outside my comfort zone and it’s freaking me out.”

  “Oh? What are you trying to work up the nerve to do? Maybe I can help.”

  Keri barked out a laugh which released the ball of emotion clogging her throat. “Well, I’m trying to ask this guy I like out, but I’ve never done something like this before and I’m worried what his reaction will be.”

  “Really? Well, anyone that goes out with you should consider themselves lucky.” He shifted his feet and cleared his throat. “Just put it out there.”

  Keri glanced at him to gauge his emotions. Outside of his shuffling, he looked calm and she couldn’t tell if he was interested.

  “Alright, well, I’ll take your advice then.” She paused, her stomach fluttering madly as she stared up at him. “Jeremy, would you like to go out with me? On a date? Dinner or something? Or, we can do lunch or even coffee one day if you don’t have a lot of time. We can just go for a… a taco from a food truck.”

  Jeremy laughed and Keri blushed. She wished the floor would just open up to swallow her whole. Asking Jeremy out was obviously the wrong thing to do. Her face heated and she turned to the door, keen to get away and forget this entire ordeal.

  “
I wasn’t laughing at you,” he said, grabbing her hand. “You were rambling, and it was cute. I promise I wasn’t laughing at you.”

  Keri looked into his eyes and saw sincerity reflected there. The tension in her gut eased and her shoulders sagged.

  Jeremy continued, “But to answer your question, I would love to go out with you. Do you have a specific day in mind?”

  Keri shook her head no.

  “What about tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow?” Her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Yeah. No time like the present. You’re not volunteering, right?”

  “Um, sure. I mean, no, I’m not volunteering. Yes, I’m free.”

  “Perfect. What do you say we go out on my boat? I had plans to take her out tomorrow and you can join me. We can eat lunch while anchored in the bay.”

  Going out on a boat sounded nice, even if it was cold. Wouldn’t it be colder on the water though? And what type of boat was Jeremy referring to?

  “What type of boat are we talking here?” she asked through narrowed eyes.

  “Don’t you trust me?” he asked, smirking.

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but a boat could be anything. I’d like to know what I’ve agreed to beforehand.”

  “Fair point. It’s a catamaran with an outdoor living space, but I have all-weather flaps and a small heater. I’ll use both so we don’t freeze like popsicles while on the water. That suit you?”

  “Yes, it does. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t talking about a rowboat.”

  Jeremy laughed. “A rowboat?”

  “Yeah, wouldn’t that be a story to tell?”

  “You’ve got that right. Can I pick you up at eleven tomorrow morning?”

  “That works for me.”

  “Great. Now, I’d like to walk you home tonight. I know you live only a few blocks away, but I want to make sure you get home safe since we have plans tomorrow.”

  Keri colored with pleasure and agreed. They walked silently, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. This was the first time the two of them were alone without the sounds of the shelter around them. It was thrilling to be so close to Jeremy without all the added distractions. She stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye and studied his profile. Like her, he was bundled up against the cold. He seemed so confident as he walked, moving through the crowds of people with ease. She wished she could exude that same confidence.