Just a Kiss in the Moonlight: Georgia Moon Romance Book 2

by Cindy Roland Anderson

  Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she rounded the corner and saw her favorite house—the house similar to the one she was supposed to be sharing with her husband. Her throat constricted and she blinked hard when she felt the sting of tears. She hadn’t cried once today, not even when she’d opened up Brandon’s wedding announcement.

  Swallowing, she forced her eyes back on the road and told herself how lucky she was not to have such a huge mortgage payment. She and Brandon hadn’t seen eye to eye about where they should live after they married. Addie had wanted an older home near her dad in town. Brandon wanted to move to a bigger city like Boise.

  The compromise was Brandon would set up his law practice in Daisy Springs and they would build near Brandon’s parents’ house, which was only a couple of miles away from Chellie. Now three months later, it kind of sucked she wouldn’t be living close to her sister and that Addie still lived with her father, but, hey, at least she wasn’t stuck doing yard work every weekend.

  As she emerged from the neighborhood, she caught the beginnings of a stunning sunset. The fiery orange and red colors bled into wispy clouds that hovered over the snow peaked mountains. It was beautiful, and Addie wanted to capture the image with her camera.

  She eased off the side of the road and grabbed her camera bag from the passenger floor. Carefully, she attached the new lens she’d gotten herself for Christmas. It had taken what little she had left of her savings, but was well worth it. Besides, it was more like an investment into the photography business she dreamed of starting one day. It would also work with the professional camera she had her eye on as soon as she could come up with six thousand dollars.

  After taking several shots, she put her camera away and climbed back inside her car. Not for the first time, Addie wished she’d followed her dreams and majored in photography. Instead, she’d taken Brandon’s advice and gone into accounting. Number crunching was mindless work, and probably the reason for her sugar addiction.

  It wasn’t her fault she liked eating bad carbs—it was Brandon’s. The big jerk.

  Thinking of bad carbs made her wish she’d taken a slice of her sister’s cake with her. Maybe when she got home she’d make a chocolate cake of her own.

  Glancing over her shoulder to check for cars, Addie pulled back onto the road. A mile later, she came to a stop at the intersection, surprised at the heavy traffic on the newly constructed two-lane highway. The processing plant, along with the new hospital, had created the need for the expanded road.

  Addie hoped to avoid Daisy Spring’s version of a rush hour by stopping at her sister’s house before going home. Since the road should be cleared out by now, there had to be an accident or wandering cows. Either way, this was the only route back to town so she merged into the flow of cars as soon as there was an opening.

  The sky darkened as she slowly moved forward. Not wanting her dad to worry any more than he already was, she tried to call home. It rang several times before rolling over to voicemail. She ended the call without leaving a message. Her eighty year old father rarely answered the phone unless the handset was right next to him. Listening to voicemail was out of the question.

  The congestion started to let up and she increased her speed. The right lane appeared to be going a little faster and Addie turned on her blinker, preparing to merge over. But a motorcycle filled the gap before she could make the lane change. Instead of flowing with traffic, the motorcycle stayed at Addie’s side, keeping her pinned between two oversized pickup trucks. She had to tap on her brakes to slow her Honda back to a slow crawl.

  Annoyed, she glanced over at the motorcycle. The driver wasn’t some punk like she suspected, but a really good-looking guy wearing a black beanie, a black leather jacket and gloves. A five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw and he seemed a little intimidating—until he smiled. Flashing her a set of straight white teeth, he lifted a hand and pointed to the front of his bike. Did he want her to notice his motorcycle?

  A grin tugged at her mouth as she averted her eyes back to the road. It was sort of nice to have someone flirt with her, even if biker boys weren’t really her thing. She felt particularly vulnerable right now, so having a guy pay a little attention to her felt good.

  The motorcycle kept pace with her as they entered the city limits. Addie looked at him sidelong and he shot her another grin. Again, he gestured with his hand to the front of his bike. Yes, Mr. Biker Boy, you have a very nice motorcycle. Addie giggled and lifted her hand to give him a flirtatious wave.

  The motorcycle continued alongside her as she approached a stop light. Feeling quite flattered, she crossed her fingers, and hoped for a red light. If they stopped she might have a chance to talk to the guy. Biker Boy was looking better and better to her.

  The light turned yellow and she and the motorcycle both slowed down rather than trying to beat the red light. Nervously, Addie glanced over at Biker Boy. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he motioned for her to roll down her window.

  Her heart fluttered inside her chest as Addie pushed the button and leaned toward the passenger side of the window. “Hi,” she said, hoping the guy hadn’t heard the tiny squeak in her voice.

  The man had incredible blue eyes. They twinkled as he revved the engine a little. “Hey, I just wanted to tell you your lights were off. Your car is dark and someone like me might not see you until it’s too late.”

  Addie’s face heated. Definitely not the kind of pickup line a girl wanted to hear. “Oh, well, thank you.” She flipped on her lights.

  Biker Boy nodded his head in approval and winked. “No problem.” Maybe now he would ask for her number.

  The light turned green and he shot off without giving her a second glance. Addie closed the window and slowly pressed on the accelerator.

  She didn’t really like guys with motorcycles anyway.

  Feeling discouraged and tired, she finally pulled into her driveway. The small bungalow styled house looked cozy and secure. She longed to sneak inside her house, grab a bite of food and go directly to bed, but her dad would be anxious to hear about her day.

  She parked in the garage and entered the house through the kitchen. The faint smell of onions and beef lingered from her dad’s dinner and she knew he would have a plate for her warming in the oven. She hung her keys on the hook by the door, not sure if she could eat anything heavy right now. A bowl of cold cereal sounded just right. But first she wanted to change into her favorite yoga pants and a T-shirt.

  After she placed her purse on the counter, Addie followed the muffled sounds from the television to look for her dad. She found him asleep in his recliner, his head tipped down on his chest. She paused by the door and studied him. His gray hair, or what was left of it, had fallen over his forehead. The flickering light from the television illuminated the deep crevices of his face.

  As she watched him, she realized how old he appeared. He looked every bit his eighty years. How much longer would she get to have him around? Tenderness and love for her dad washed over her. The upside of being jilted was at least now she’d have more time with him.

  Careful not to awaken her father, she slipped off her shoes and tiptoed toward her bedroom. The floor creaked beneath her feet and startled her dad awake.

  “Hi, honey,” he said on a yawn. “When did you get home?” She loved the deep, gravelly sound of his voice.

  “Just now. Sorry if I woke you.”

  He smiled and waved his hand. “I needed to get up, anyway.” He braced his hands on the arm of the chair and attempted to rise. “I think I’m getting old.”

  The corners of her mouth tipped up. In spite of his advanced age, his mind was still sharp and his attitude as upbeat as ever. She moved next to the chair and held out her hand. “You’re not old, Dad.”

  He gripped her hand firmly and stood without much assistance. His eyes—the same light brown color as hers—twinkled as he playfully tugged on a lock of her hair. “Not too old with my little girl around.” His lips stretched into a
smile and he winked. “I’m glad you’re home. How was your day?”

  Her day had been long, and it hadn’t helped that one of the secretaries had gotten engaged the night before. All day, Addie listened to the play by play of the engagement retold multiple times. She also knew the wedding colors, the type of flowers the bride liked and the price range of the dress she planned on purchasing. Plus, there was Brandon’s wedding announcement burning a hole in her purse. She should have just tossed it.

  “It was okay.” She avoided looking in his eyes. “It’s tax season so that should say it all.” Technically, since she was the lowest ranking accountant, Addie didn’t have much to do with the crazy tax season but it was a solid excuse for having a bad day at work.

  When her dad didn’t make a comment, Addie met his concerned gaze. “Chellie called,” he said softly. “She told me about the wedding announcement.”

  To her horror, the sting of tears pricked her eyes. “Oh.” She blinked rapidly. “I’m okay.” A tear spilled over her bottom lash and she wiped at it with the back of her hand. She couldn’t fall apart now.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he said with just a hint of a southern accent.

  Even though her dad had been raised in Georgia, he’d lost most of his accent long ago. Every now and then it came out, especially when he was offering words of comfort. He held out his arms and it only took Addie a second before she leaned in to embrace her father. With her face pressed against his chest, she cried, feeling like a little girl all over again.

  Life wasn’t fair. But she already knew that. When you’re eleven and your mother gets so sick she can’t even hug you good-night, the reality of pain and suffering becomes very apparent. As much as she hurt right now, nothing could compare to seeing her mother fade away to nothingness and then leave her for good.

  After a few minutes Addie stepped back, embarrassed by her emotions. Her daddy always used to tell her “If you hurt, cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it.” Apparently seeing Brandon’s wedding announcement had hit her like a rogue wave and knocked out the bridge she had built to get over him.

  “Sorry.” She sniffed and gave her dad a shaky laugh. “I really don’t know why I’m crying.”

  He studied her for a few seconds, love evident in his eyes. “Honey, you’ve been holding that in for quite some time now.” He took her hand and led her to the couch where they both sat down. “I know the past few months have been hard on you, so that cry was long overdue.”

  Her dad was obviously not aware of the many nights Addie had cried herself to sleep. Lately, things had been better and she thought she was done shedding tears over Brandon. Honestly, part of her had been relieved when he had called off the wedding. The two of them hadn’t acted like most engaged couples—like the ones who can’t keep their hands off each other and are constantly stealing kisses, making everyone around them uncomfortable.

  The reminder of their strained relationship made her want to forget everything about Brandon. “I feel better now.” She glanced up. “I think I’m just tired and hungry.”

  She started to get off the couch, but her dad grabbed her hand and held her back. “I’m glad you feel better, but I’m worried about you.”

  “Because you talked to Chellie?”

  “No. Because for the past couple of months I’ve waited to see that spark of life come back into your eyes.” He rubbed his rough thumb over the top of her hand. “It hasn’t. And now you’ve cut yourself off from socializing with young people your age.”

  That’s because the young people her age were looking for a relationship. Addie wasn’t prepared to go there again. “I’m just not ready to date right now, Dad.”

  “Okay. But I think you need a change of scenery. Your aunt Janie has been asking you to come to Georgia and stay with her for a while now. I think you should go.”

  It’d been so long since Addie had visited Georgia, and Aunt Janie would spoil her with all kinds of good southern food. Still, she was reluctant to make the trip because every time she talked with her aunt, she kept mentioning all the nice boys Addie should meet, especially her closest neighbor Chase Nichols.

  Addie remembered meeting Chase not long after her mother had passed away. He had been arrogant, teased her about having red hair and had hated that she was two inches taller than him. Sure, he’d been cute, and, according to her aunt, he was even better looking now, but if he was that annoying at fourteen, she could only imagine how much worse he’d gotten.

  “That would be fun. Maybe sometime in the fall I can save enough money to buy a ticket.”

  “Why not now?” One of her father’s bushy brows lifted. “I thought you still had two weeks off and a voucher you can use anytime?”

  Yes. Theoretically, Addie had two weeks of unpaid vacation starting next Friday, due to the aforementioned belated honeymoon. Since her boss had already arranged to have a free college intern step in for Addie, he had made it clear she wasn’t needed at the office. She hadn’t been eager to fight his decision since the whole situation was humiliating enough. And the roundtrip voucher was one of the only things she didn’t lose money on when Brandon dumped her.

  “I do, but I thought I’d just hang around here and organize the basement or something.” By the look on her father’s face, she knew that had been the wrong thing to say. She sounded completely pathetic. Correction, she was completely pathetic.

  Letting out a defeated breath, she said, “I’ll give Aunt Janie a call to see if she’s up for a house guest.”

  A spark lit her father’s eyes. “I talked to her this morning and she already has your favorite room ready for you.”

  “I’m still calling her so she doesn’t get any ideas of setting me up with her neighbor.” Addie fished her phone out of her pocket. “I’m not interested in meeting any men.”

  Her father let out a deep chuckle. “You’ll ruin her fun, but go ahead and tell her.”

  Addie leaned her head on her dad’s shoulder. The familiar scent of his aftershave gave her a sense of reassurance that things might be okay. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “You’re welcome.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You know, sweetie, it’ll all workout. And when you meet the man you really are meant to be with, this’ll all seem like nothing.”

  She closed her eyes briefly. The last thing she wanted was another man in her life. There was nothing wrong with staying single. “Yeah, I guess. But I’m in no hurry.”

  She stood and held out her hand to help her father off of the couch. “I’m going to go change my clothes before I get something to eat.”

  “Sure, honey. I’ll get your food out of the oven.”

  “Thank you, Daddy.” Addie let go of his hand and padded down the hall to her bedroom. The minute she opened the door, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her wedding dress, still hanging on the closet door. Oh yeah, she forgot she’d pulled it out last night, determined to take pictures of it and sell it on eBay.

  That was before she had opened Brandon’s wedding announcement.

  Her eyes started to sting again, but she blinked, swallowed down her emotions, and moved the dress inside her closet. Selling her dress could wait another day.

  Closing the closet door, Addie grabbed her laptop and sank down on her bed. She was going to book her flight before she chickened out and stayed home to organize the basement.

  She logged on and quickly scanned over her email. There was the usual amount of spam, notifying her of specials at her favorite stores. A few of the messages were from church, probably inviting her to the next activity. Feeling more guilty than embarrassed at the moment, she opened one of the messages and then wished she hadn’t. The next activity was going to be a surprise wedding shower for a couple Addie remembered always being together, holding hands, whispering and stealing kisses. Ugh. She was so not going.

  Skipping the other church related mail, she scrolled to the most recent message. It was from the comp
any she’d purchased her new camera lens from. The subject announced in bold letters a photography contest with a grand prize totaling ten thousand dollars.

  Excitement shot through Addie as she clicked open the message and read the details. The recipient of the winning photograph would take home a professional camera with all the accessories, including memory cards, and two additional lenses.

  If she could win the contest, this could be her chance to finally go for her dream. While Addie’s current camera was great, it wasn’t ideal for the kind of quality of work she’d like to have with her own studio. With the right equipment, she could work out of her home until she built a clientele, which hopefully wouldn’t take too long. Daisy Springs didn’t have a professional photographer. Yet.

  Feeling more hope than she had in a long time, she dropped her gaze to the bottom of the message and found the rules as well as the deadline. She had three weeks to get the perfect picture. Her mind whirled as fast as the high-speed shutter setting on her camera as she thought of possible locations and subjects. She loved doing landscape but it was still pretty brown outside. Spring rarely came early in Idaho, but the South would be a different story.

  Mitchel Creek, Georgia was a picturesque town about thirty minutes outside of Macon. With large plantation type homes dotting the rolling hills and a quaint little main street lined with antique shops and boutiques, Addie should be able to capture the perfect image.

  Opening a new tab in her browser, Addie typed in the airline name and clicked on the link to their website. After logging into her account, she booked her flight for the following Friday.

  Next, she found her cell phone and texted her travel plans to her aunt. Unlike Addie’s father, Aunt Janie—his younger sister by eight years—had embraced the latest technology, including smart phones and texting.