by J. H. Croix
Trey bit his lip to keep from laughing, but a laugh burst forth. “Sorry. Not your fault, just one of those things.” He looked around, apples and oranges surrounding them in a messy circle.
Emma shook her head and smiled ruefully. “Guess it’s better to laugh. Not much else to do.”
“Dad!”
Emma followed the sound of Stuart’s voice to see him on the other side of the produce display.
“I found the grapefruit!” Stuart exclaimed, holding a grapefruit high above his head, a proud smile on his face.
“Good job,” Trey replied.
Stuart noticed Emma and turned his wide smile on her. “You’re the lady who caught my hat!” He paused, wrinkling his forehead. “I can’t ‘member your name.”
“That’s okay. I have a hard time with names too. Remind me what yours is.”
“Stuart,” he said with a firm nod. He started to walk around to where they were, still holding the grapefruit aloft.
“My name’s Emma. Maybe we’ll remember the next time we see each other.”
“Hey Stu, careful with the grapefruit,” Trey said just as Stuart came around and saw the fruit scattered on the ground. He came to a quick stop, his arm finally dropping to his side. He kept a good hold on the grapefruit, cradling it in both hands now. Eyes wide, he looked around, his eyes questioning when he looked up to Trey.
Trey smiled. “Minor accident here. How about you stay put while Emma and I clean these up?”
Stuart nodded with alacrity, politely remaining in place. “What happened?”
“My purse ran into the apples. Once they started falling, the oranges came along for the ride,” Emma said. She set her purse on the ground and carefully began collecting the fruit. Trey waved a store employee over and worked quickly and methodically, placing the fruit in his grocery basket. He gestured for Emma to do the same. Once the employee arrived, Trey succinctly explained he wasn’t sure if they wanted the fruit back on the display until it was cleaned. The appreciative employee relieved them of the basket piled with fruit, and the mess Emma had made was gone.
She couldn’t help but admire how practical Trey was. Oddly enough, that only made him more attractive to her. Just thinking about how much she enjoyed watching him clean up her mess made her hot inside. She fought her blush, but could feel her face flaming. Stuart conveniently distracted her.
Stepping to her side, he smiled up at her, one side of his brown bangs sticking up. His missing front tooth brought a twinge to her heart. Knowing the mother of this sweet boy died just wasn’t fair.
“All cleaned up,” Stuart said. He started to gesture with his hands, and Trey deftly grabbed the grapefruit from Stuart.
“I wasn’t gonna drop it,” Stuart said.
“Just being safe,” Trey replied.
Stuart looked up at Emma, his brown eyes so bright. “My dad’s good at cleaning up,” he said proudly.
“He sure is,” Emma said. She turned to Trey. “Thank you for helping me with that.”
Trey nodded firmly. Emma noticed Stuart’s nods were a semblance of his father’s. With Stuart, they were endearing as he appeared to be trying to look decisive. On Trey, they were sexy. That level of clarity just layered onto everything else drew Emma to him. It was absolutely ridiculous she was so gaga over Trey she got turned on by him cleaning up fruit and nodding.
Just as Emma was wondering what to say next because what did one say in this situation, Stuart spoke.
“Dad, can we have Emma over tonight? I can show her Tootsie and Neon. ”
Emma was startled at Stuart’s question, although Trey looked unperturbed. He tilted his head, a small smile gracing his face when he looked at Stuart. Shifting his gaze to Emma, his smile faded.
“Stuart would like more people to meet Tootsie and Neon,” Trey paused and smiled wryly. “Tootsie is our cat, and Neon is his fish.”
Emma wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to please Stuart and say she’d come over, while she also desperately wanted Trey to want her to come over for reasons that had nothing to do with Tootsie and Neon. She was simultaneously mortified because she knew she could not contemplate her feelings for Trey. Even if, and it was a big if, Trey was interested in a relationship, if he knew her history, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her.
She focused on her last thought when she responded. “Stuart, that’s very nice of you to want me to come over. But I can’t come today. Thank you for asking me though.” Emma hoped keeping her response polite and vague would allow her to bow out gracefully and avoid an awkward moment with Trey.
Stuart looked disappointed, but he nodded politely. “Maybe another time?” he asked hopefully.
“Maybe,” Emma said with a smile.
She glanced toward Trey and for a split second, his eyes darkened. Almost as quickly, Trey’s expression shifted into a polite, serious façade.
“Maybe we’ll find a time Emma can meet Tootsie and Neon. For now, we need to finish shopping,” Trey said, placing his hand on Stuart shoulder. He nodded to Emma, his smile bland, his eyes shuttered. “Nice to see you again.”
Emma’s heart hammered, but she merely nodded, pasting a polite smile on her face. “You too. Have a good evening.” She turned away quickly and finished her shopping, her mind only half paying attention.
When she pulled up in her driveway a little later, her whimsical cabin was bathed in soft pink light. The sun was just beginning its slide down the horizon. The mountains were dusted with gold and pink, the dark green of the spruce trees covering the mountainside haloed in the shafts of light.
Once she put away the groceries, she curled up on the couch and absentmindedly flipped through television channels. Sula curled up beside her. Emma couldn’t keep her thoughts away from all the reasons someone like Trey would never even consider her. Her marriage to Greg felt like an anchor that she couldn’t shake loose. For a while after she’d gotten the courage to leave and moved to Diamond Creek, she’d felt so free, the world wide-open again. She’d even managed to successfully divorce Greg, which had been terrifying for her. After finally leaving, she feared the court process would offer him an avenue to find her, or worse, an avenue to shame her. With her parents help, she used her father’s business address for all court filings. As far as Greg knew, she resided at a post office box in North Carolina. The fight she expected from him hadn’t happened. The relief she felt when she received the finalized divorce papers was immense. She immediately had her maiden name restored and savored every time she signed Emma Davis rather than Emma Neals.
Trey was the first man Emma had even the slightest attraction to since her marriage ended. She thought it would never happen again, and frankly, that had been just fine with her. But why oh why did this attraction have to be so potent? And why did it have to be to a man she could never consider? He was just way too together. Single father, pilot and lawyer…and sexy as hell. Definitely not in her league. If Trey knew her history and how she should have known better, he’d question her sanity.
Chapter 4
Trey stood on the beach, watching Stuart valiantly hold a kite in the brisk wind. The kite in question was bright orange, in honor of Neon, Stuart’s beloved goldfish. Flying kites was Stuart’s favorite activity. They spent many a weekend afternoon down on the shore. Trey had moved to Diamond Creek because he loved this part of the coastline, and he thought it was a perfect spot for flight tours. The wind skidded across Kachemak Bay today, stirring up white caps. Clouds hovered around Mount Augustine, but otherwise the sky was clear. The bright orange kite stood out against the blue sky.
When it became obvious Stuart’s small arms were getting worn out despite his protests, Trey helped him bring the kite down. Stuart was about as well behaved as a six-year old could be. Even when he protested, it was never tinged with defiance, just hope. Trey held Stuart’s hand as they walked along the beach back to the parking lot. Thoughts of Helen ran through his mind.
Trey credited Helen with everything
good about Stuart. While he’d been an okay dad before Helen died, he hadn’t been around too much. He’d worked grueling hours as a prosecutor in Anchorage. Helen had cut her legal practice in half once they had Stuart. She had been an amazing mother. The afternoon two years ago when she collapsed was seared into his memory. He’d been working at the kitchen table. She’d been in the laundry room. Trey heard a loud thump. Stuart had mercifully been napping upstairs in his bedroom. The moment Trey saw her, he knew with certainty that she was gone. But he’d pushed the thought away and held her in his arms while calling 911, pleading with them to hurry.
Helen had died from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. Since her death, Trey tried to become a father that might be half as good as Helen had been as a mother. Stuart made it easy. He’d grieved his mother’s death, still did. But he was such a good-hearted boy. Stuart seemed to realize Trey was trying and frequently bragged about him to others—such as his comment to Emma that his dad was good at cleaning up. Trey smiled to himself recalling that moment.
“Dad, can we go fishing again soon?” Stuart asked, his question breaking into Trey’s thoughts.
Trey glanced down, absently smoothing his hand across Stuart’s hair, which was prone to have tufts sticking up. “Of course we can. How about we go next weekend?”
Stuart nodded enthusiastically. “Can we invite Emma to go with us?”
Trey was thrown off guard by Stuart’s question. Stuart seemed unusually interested in her. Trey couldn’t help but wonder if Stuart picked up on his own attraction to Emma. Trey found himself thinking of her again and again ever since they’d first met her at the Homer Fishing Hole. Their encounter at the grocery store only heightened his interest. He wasn’t sure what to do about his interest and experienced twinges of guilt—over how trying to bring someone into his life might affect Stuart and that it represented he’d truly moved on from Helen.
“Dad, can we ask her to go?” Stuart asked again.
Trey forced his thoughts to the moment at hand. “Uh…I don’t know about that Stuart.”
Stuart wasn’t dissuaded. “She’s nice! I like her. And that’s how you make friends. ‘Member? That’s what you said. To make friends, I ask them to do things so I can get to know them. You need lady friends, like Dave said.”
Trey chuckled and wished Stuart didn’t have such good hearing. Dave, one of Trey’s friends from Anchorage, had been on him recently to move on from his self-imposed isolation from women since Helen had died. Stuart must have overheard Dave when he was over the other day.
“So you’ve decided Emma should be a lady friend?” Trey asked.
Stuart looked up at him, eyes wide and innocent as they approached Trey’s car, a dark green Subaru hatchback. Stuart nodded.
“I’ll think about asking her to go fishing with us. How’s that?”
Stuart’s return smile was so hopeful it almost broke Trey’s heart. He knew Stuart needed a mother figure. Trey just didn’t know if he was ready to try dating anyone. Before meeting Helen, he’d dated his share of women, but work had always been his focus. He’d kept relationships casual. If he hadn’t met Helen through work, he wasn’t so sure they’d have ended up together. They’d been thrown together by their shared commitment to work, which had allowed love to bloom. When Trey tried to imagine letting someone into his life and heart that way now, it seemed too complicated. He had to consider Stuart first.
Trey shook those thoughts away and helped Stuart carefully stow the kite in the back of the car. A few minutes later, he saw a faded red Toyota truck pulled over along the highway, a form kneeling beside the truck, checking the tire. He immediately slowed, pulling over to park behind the truck.
“Stuart, I need you to stay put, okay? The road’s pretty busy. I just want to see if they need any help.” Trey reached into his pocket and handed Stuart his iPhone. “You can play Angry Birds if you want.” Stuart rarely got to play games like that, so it was a guarantee that he would stay right where he was. He immediately grabbed the phone, tapping it open to start playing.
Trey quickly stepped out of the car and walked around to the passenger side of the truck parked in front of them. A pair of long feminine legs in jeans and cowboy boots greeted him. Whoever had been kneeling by the tire was now on the ground, looking under the truck.
“Need any help?” he asked.
Trey heard a thump and then a muffled “Ow!” before the person started shifting to slide out from under the truck.
“You okay?” Didn’t meant to startle you,” he said.
Emma’s face came into view just by his feet. He automatically reached down to offer his hand. She shook her hair out of her eyes and placed her hand in his, immediately sending a jolt through him. With a steady tug, he helped her up. As she came to standing beside him, he took in the sight of her. She was almost as tall as he was, somehow curvy and willowy at once. She had dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders, straight with just a touch of curl at the ends, long bangs framing her face. Her eyes were bright blue, her cheeks flushed. Her lips were lush and full. At the moment, her hair was in disarray. Paired with the faded jeans and cowboy boots, she wore an open red blouse over a fitted white tank top. He had to force himself not to stare at her breasts, taut against the thin cotton of her tank top.
Trey stood frozen for a moment until he realized he hadn’t released her hand. He was a man that was always in control. With Emma, he seemed to forget how. For God’s sake, he’d met her twice. The mere act of holding her hand to help her up kick started his pulse. He slowly released her hand, immediately missing the warmth of it in his.
Emma looked back at him, her blue eyes wide with a hint of something he couldn’t quite read. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and straightened her shirt.
“Flat tire,” she said matter-of-factly. “When I checked around the tire, I thought I felt a nail sticking out on the inside. I crawled under to see.”
Trey realized too late that he was staring. Emma’s already flushed cheeks became another shade darker. She twisted a ring on her hand and fiddled with a simple silver chain around her neck.
Trey silently swore and forced himself to focus. “So was there a nail?”
Emma nodded. “I was going to change to my spare, but it’s flat too. I haven’t checked it in a while.” She paused and sighed.
Before Trey could think, he spoke. “We can give you a ride if you need it.”
Emma looked as taken aback as he was by his offer.
“Oh. Um…are you sure?”
Trey nodded. “Of course. I can drop you off somewhere if you need me to.” His mind spun, as he realized the moment Emma got in the car, Stuart would ask him again if they could invite her over. Trey decided to go with the flow. So what if he was so attracted to this woman that he couldn’t think straight? It wouldn’t hurt to be decent.
Emma appeared to be thinking, her eyes distant. “Okay. You can drop me off at my friend’s office. That way, I can call someone about the tire and wait nearby.”
“Sure. Need anything from your truck before we go?”
Emma quickly got her purse out, following Trey to his car. Stuart’s head was down, focused on the game. Trey opened the backseat passenger door for Emma, his eyes automatically tracing her motions as she seated herself in the car. Stuart lifted his head at the sound of the door opening. “Hey Emma!” Stuart exclaimed, his smile so filled with joy, Trey couldn’t help but smile in return.
He glanced to Emma. “Stuart thinks you’re a nice lady. Be prepared for him to ask you over again.” Trey silently added that he wished she would say yes and then wondered what the hell he was thinking.
Emma nodded, a small smile gracing her face, and turned to Stuart.
“Hey Stuart, how’s it going? Your dad is giving me a ride to my friend’s office because I got a flat tire.”
Stuart immediately jumped to asking Emma if she’d ever played Angry Birds.
Trey shut the car door. As he walked around the car,
he swore under his breath, “Get a grip.”
***
Late that night, well after Stuart’s bedtime, Trey sat at the kitchen table and ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. His laptop sat idle on the table in front of him. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d promised Stuart they’d take Emma fishing with them next weekend. He’d even let Stuart ask her, and she’d said yes. He told himself to stay logical, to think clearly. Instead, his thoughts kept summoning the sight of her full mouth and her wide blue eyes. Much as he had loved Helen, he’d never felt anything close to the sparks that flew between him and Emma.
With a shake of his head, he focused his eyes on the computer in front of him. He was prepping some documents for a client who needed to update their will. After Helen died, he’d decided a career shift was in order. Though he’d enjoyed his work as a prosecutor, the hours were long and the work high stress. He wanted flexibility, so he could be more available for Stuart. He also missed flying. He’d enlisted in the Air Force straight out of high school and loved every minute of flying. He’d gotten his law degree and moved on from the Air Force, flying recreationally whenever he could. Looking for a career change, he decided to do what he wanted and started Seat of Your Pants, flightseeing tours for the hordes of tourists that descended in Alaska every summer. Diamond Creek was a great spot for his business, and he kept a small law practice. His flightseeing business kept him busy spring through fall, and his law practice supplemented his income on the side and through winters. Though his schedule was much more flexible, he usually brought paperwork home with him, working after Stuart went to bed. Trey’s thoughts wandered to Emma again. He swore and logged off his computer. His thoughts were too scattered for him to usefully formulate anything else tonight.
Chapter 5
Emma sidestepped puddles on the way into the office. Rain had fallen steadily since last night, softening to a cool drizzle this morning. Diamond Creek was cocooned in a misty cloud, nothing but gray to be seen in all directions, the outline of the mountains across the bay barely visible. Emma flipped her hood back and gave her coat a shake once inside. The waiting room for the office was already full this morning. She quickly checked her calendar, noting that two emergency assessments were booked in open appointment slots. That was part of the drill at community mental health programs. She had been surprised when she first started working as a mental health clinician here—her caseload had been full within the first week, and she carried a wait list at all times. Unbeknownst to her before she moved here, Alaska had some of the highest rates of mental health and substance abuse issues per capita in the country.
