Reclaiming Love

by Shirleen Davies

  “I know I can be an idiot sometimes, but I do remember how much he meant to you. If you want, I’ll find some guys to rough him up, see if he’s worthy of being our police chief.”

  Julia couldn’t help laughing at the picture Caly painted. At over six feet tall, broad, and well-built, it would take a few men to drag Adam down. She wrapped an arm around her sister. “Thanks. I needed the laugh.”

  ~~~~~

  Chapter Three

  “Thanks. I’ll have the paperwork to you within the hour.” She hung up and smiled. “He accepted your offer, pending loan approval. He wants to close in thirty days instead of forty-five, if it’s all right with you.”

  Adam blew out a breath. “That’s great. Wonderful, in fact.”

  “You’ll want an inspection. Do you have someone in mind?”

  “No one.”

  “Then I’ll arrange it for you as well as the appraisal. It will take two to three weeks to get it all done. How about meeting me at the house for the inspection? You can take notes of what you want to do, measure, and start ordering supplies. It will give you a jump-start on the project. I’ll set it up for next week, before you start your new job.”

  “Yeah, about that. Mayor Timmons called and wants me to start this Monday instead. I’m certain I can make time to make the appointment. Just let me know when.”

  “Sounds good. Oh, and I guess I’ll see you at the reception on Sunday.”

  Adam’s brows knit together as he tilted his head. “What reception?”

  “Didn’t Mayor Timmons tell you about the reception to introduce you to the town?”

  He groaned at the news. “No. Guess he forgot.”

  “Here.” She handed him the invitation which had been delivered the day before. “Yours may be waiting for you at your address in Spokane,” she joked. “Government efficiency and all that.”

  “It says it’s at the Lake Bountiful restaurant—never heard of it.”

  “That’s because father just opened it a year ago at the Landing. It’s his new center on the lake. Follow Lake Drive around the lake to the east until you see the old bait shop. It’s right past the new light signal.”

  “Lots of changes since I left.” He made a mental note to drive around the area Friday and Saturday to get a better feel for all the changes. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

  The bright afternoon sun hit him in the face as he stepped outside, almost running into two women.

  “Adam Monroe. That is you, right?” Calypso asked as Adam moved aside.

  “Yes.” He stared at the woman standing next to Julia, trying to place her.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?”

  His eyes narrowed on her before everything clicked. “Caly?”

  “That’s right. It’s good to see you. And congratulations on the new job.”

  He glanced at Julia, seeing her move away as if trying to create some space between them. “Thanks. I just got this from Selena.” He held out the invitation. “Appears Mayor Timmons forgot to let me know.”

  Caly laughed. “Sounds like him. I’ll be there and of course Julia will be.” She looked toward her sister. “You know she’s the president of the chamber this year.”

  “No. I guess I didn’t get that memo either.” Adam slid the invitation into his pocket and checked his watch. “I’d better get going. I’m supposed to pick up my uniform, gear, and sign some more paperwork. Timmons asked me to start a week early so I’m scrambling. I’ll see both of you Sunday.” He touched a finger to the brim of his hat then turned toward his truck.

  Caly waited until he was a good distance away before letting out a breath accompanied by a low whistle. “Wow.”

  “Yeah. It’s a real bitch.” Julia continued to stare as he climbed into the truck.

  “You mean about him becoming a real hunk?”

  “Too bad he hasn’t turned to flab with a pot belly. Not that I care one way or the other,” she sighed. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with the work at the apartments. I plan to take off by six this evening, but can stick around if you need me.”

  “Nope. I have it all covered.” Caly pursed her lips then put a hand on Julia’s arm. “How about I stop by tonight, bring food, and we get snockered on wine?”

  It had been a while since she’d spent an evening with her younger sister. “Sounds great. Chinese?”

  “Works for me. I’ll let Selena know. See you about seven.” Caly took off down the hall, disappearing into her office.

  Julia took one more look toward the street, trying not to wonder what Adam did with his evenings now that he was back in town. It wouldn’t be long before all the eligible women were throwing themselves at him. He’d have his pick. She shifted her attention back to work, reminding herself what he did with his time didn’t concern her.

  “Julia. Jamison Denning is holding on line two,” Tricia said, breaking her from her mental ramblings. “He needs to reschedule your meeting on Friday.”

  Julia groaned. That would leave her free to go with Mark to his parents’ house. Well, she just wouldn’t tell him about the change. A Friday night alone sounded pretty good right now.

  “Fine. Fit him in whenever he’s available.” She glanced at her watch. Four o’clock and nothing on her desk which couldn’t wait until tomorrow. “I’m heading home early, Tricia. Unless something urgent comes up, I’ll see you in the morning.” She didn’t even check her office before leaving.

  She slipped into her almost new sports car she’d agonized over purchasing a few weeks before, glad both Selena and Calypso had pushed her to buy it. Every time she sat at the wheel a smile broke out across her face. She’d just turned the key when she heard a tap on her window and saw Tricia standing next to the car.

  “I almost forgot. These came for you.” She handed Julia a bouquet of roses. “Here’s the note. Sorry, I didn’t have time to put them in water.”

  “No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Julia set the bouquet and note on the passenger seat, certain Mark had sent them to her. She drove toward home, passing a new women’s boutique she’d been wanting to check out and pulled into a parking place. She really did need something new for the reception on Sunday. Forgetting all about the flowers and note, she walked inside, introduced herself to the new owner and started poking through the dresses, pulling out a few before disappearing into a dressing room.

  An hour later she dropped her purchases into the trunk, pleased with what she’d found. She still had an hour before Calypso arrived. She set the bouquet and note on the kitchen counter before changing into something comfortable, and pouring a glass of wine. Might as well get a head start, she thought, putting on a CD and collapsing into her favorite chair.

  A loud pounding shocked her upright. She pushed out of the chair, still dazed from her unplanned nap.

  “You started without us?” Caly asked when she spotted the glass of wine.

  “Not really, although I gave it a try. I must have dozed off as soon as I hit the chair.” She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Come on. We’ll get plates.”

  “Who sent flowers?” Selena asked, picking up the bouquet.

  “Must’ve been Mark. I didn’t check.” Her voice sounded raspy from sleep.

  “I’ll put them in water—” Selena started.

  “And I’ll read the note,” Caly said. “Hmmm, no name. It just says, To a beautiful lady.” She handed it to Julia.

  “Well, it has to be from him. No one else would send flowers.” She set it aside and grabbed two more wine glasses, noticing the look which passed between her sisters. “What?”

  “Nothing,” Selena replied, nudging Caly and picking up her glass. “Here’s to the three of us,” she toasted and took a small sip.

  “You’re not going to nurse one drink all evening are you?” Caly asked Selena.

  “Hey, one glass is a lot for me, remember? I’m not the party girl you are.”

  “Neither is Juli
a, but she manages to get down two or three glasses during girl’s night.”

  Julia ignored both as she poked through the carryout boxes of Chinese. “Sesame chicken, broccoli beef, fried rice, and…uh, mystery vegetables.” She scrunched up her face and lifted her gaze to Caly.

  “Buddha’s Delight.”

  “Ah.”

  They filled their plates and dug in, enjoying the food before Caly broke the silence.

  “What are you going to do about him?” she asked Julia.

  Julia gave her a blank stare. “Who?”

  “Adam, of course. I mean, we all know Mark isn’t for you—not long term anyway. You ought to cut the poor man loose.”

  “Which, by the way, is none of your business.” Julia watched Caly over the rim of her glass before picking up her fork.

  “Of course it is. Do you think the family wants to be stuck with someone with the personality of a turnip? Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy. But really, what do you see in him?”

  Caly’s direct manner had always been her strength and greatest weakness. However, she’d never let her thoughts out about Mark until tonight.

  Julia’s unwavering gaze shot to Selena. “Do you feel the same?”

  Selena shifted in her seat. She’d never been as frank as Caly, keeping most opinions to herself. This time she cleared her throat and squared her gaze on Julia. “Well…yes, I do.”

  Julia set down her fork and sat back, rolling the stem of her wine glass between her fingers before glancing up at the two of them.

  “He can be pretty dull,” she snickered before breaking into a laugh.

  “There are dead people out there with more personality,” Caly joked between her laughter.

  “He’s not that bad.” Julia’s mild protest accompanied more giggles.

  “Yes, he is.” Selena picked up her glass and took another sip, smiling.

  “But he’s—”

  “Safe. Yes we know. You might as well admit to the world you’ve decided to stop living if you keep seeing him.”

  “Isn’t that a little harsh?” Julia asked, filling her glass once more.

  “Nope,” Caly answered. “It’s accurate.”

  Julia sobered at the sincerity in Caly’s voice.

  “If either of you is thinking I’ll dump Mark because Adam is back, forget it. First, he walked away from me. Other than a few attempts to explain, he’s never given any indication he regretted his decision. Second, I don’t love him anymore. Third, the man is going to have hordes of single women after him and I refuse to be part of the stampeding herd. And fourth, if I do stop seeing Mark, it will have everything to do with him being tedious, unspontaneous, and a fun sponge, not because I’ve found someone else.” She emptied her glass and glared at them.

  “Fun sponge?” Caly blurted out, holding her stomach as laughter once again consumed her.

  “Well, you know…boring…monotonous…” Julia flicked her hand a couple of times in the air before standing to grab the phone on the second ring. “Hello.” She heard nothing. “Hello. Is someone there?” She waited a moment than hung up. “Must’ve been a wrong number. Anyway, where were we?”

  “You were pouring another glass of wine and describing Mark as a fun sponge,” Selena responded, enjoying the banter. “By the way, someone who is definitely not a fun sponge found a house today and the owner has made a verbal acceptance.”

  “Already? That didn’t take long.” A part of Julia hoped Adam wouldn’t find anything, become disillusioned with his job, give up, and leave. She did realize it was a delusional thought as he never gave up on anything—except them. “Which home?”

  “It’s the new listing on the lake. He loved it.”

  “Doesn’t it require a lot of work?” Julia sat back down, crossing her arms.

  “It does, but I believe that added to its appeal. Adam can make it his own. He’s pretty excited about it.”

  “Good for him. He can turn it into a full-blown bachelor pad and have at it.” This time a hint of bitterness laced her words.

  “I don’t get the sense he’s into the party scene.” Selena knew how much Julia hated hearing about Adam. As a client, and the new police chief, she thought her sister had to find a way to deal with the unpleasant memories and move past them.

  “He wanted a place closer to his mom and dad in Pine Cove, but I believe owning property on the lake sealed the sale. Adam mentioned he tries to swim several times a week for exercise and to relax. I know he has plans to expand the deck for a fishing boat and the extra storage shed got his attention. I guess he has a lot of camping and hiking gear. He started rock climbing the last few years and already purchased a membership to Kelly’s Gym.”

  “It seems the two of you caught up quite a bit in just a couple of days.” Julia’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on her sisters as she uncorked another bottle of wine and filled her glass, quirking an eyebrow at Selena.

  “Don’t even go there.” Selena held up her hand, indicating she’d have none of what Julia insinuated. “We both know it’s my job to learn about a client so I can recommend the best choices. Besides, I thought you might find the information useful.”

  “For what?” She directed an incredulous look at Selena.

  Selena leaned forward in her chair, her eyes shining with purpose. “When you see him Sunday at the reception. It’ll give you something to talk about.”

  “Thanks for the assistance, but I’m pretty certain I can handle it.”

  “Right,” Caly said. “By running in the opposite direction. In fact, I’ll bet you dinner you can’t handle a conversation with him for more than ten minutes—just the two of you.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Of course I can talk with him for ten minutes.”

  “The two of you with no one else around?” Selena asked.

  “Absolutely.

  Caly rolled her eyes.

  “I saw that.” Julia pointed the wine glass at her. “And, I’ll take that bet.”

  ~~~~~

  Chapter Four

  Julia hit the snooze button once more, pulled the pillow on top of her head and groaned. They’d finished two bottles of wine last night, which meant she and Calypso had done most of the drinking, leaving Selena to be Caly’s designated driver—again.

  Julia hadn’t taken a day off in months. Today it sounded pretty good. Her appointment with the developer had been cancelled and any other work could be completed from home. She picked up her phone, sent a text message to Tricia, then padded to the bathroom to down a couple aspirins. All she needed was another hour of sleep to calm her pounding headache then she might be able to handle food in her queasy stomach. She laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to find the sleep her body craved. Instead, her mind drifted over all that had happened the last week.

  She had two days before the reception for Adam when she’d have to make good on her bet with Calypso. Ever since he’d shown up at her office, she’d been plagued with images of the two of them—talking, laughing, loving—images she’d been successful at pushing to the far recesses of her mind for years. Now they flooded back to haunt her, interfering with not just her sleep, but her ability to focus at work. And, due to wine and pride, she’d committed to placing herself in front of him for at least ten minutes, alone, with no way to ignore him short of being rude.

  Of course, she could simply concede, pay Calypso the bet, and be done with it. Taking her sister to dinner wasn’t the worst bet to lose. Unfortunately, her sisters would interpret forfeiting the wager as an admission she still held feelings for Adam, and she wasn’t ready for anyone else to know the truth of it. Julia massaged her eyes with the heels of her palms, then stared at the ceiling, acknowledging she’d get no more sleep.

  She felt a good measure better by the time she showered and slipped into a pair of well-worn jeans, white cotton top, and sandals. Two cups of coffee later, she’d finished responding to emails and cleared her voice mail at work. From a drawer, she retrieved the list of
errands she wanted to run if she ever had a day off, scanning it and deciding which items to tackle today.

  Her first stop would be to deliver donations to the local thrift store. She grabbed her purse, lifted the box filled with clothes out of the front closet, deposited it in the trunk of her car, then backed out of the garage. She glanced at her front porch and stopped. A blue box with a white ribbon sat on one of the Adirondack chairs. It was tempting to ignore it. Instead, Julia walked up the steps, noting no message accompanied the box, already knowing it had to be from Mark. Lifting the lid, her eyes widened at what appeared to be a dozen yellow roses with a white envelope perched on top. She tore it open and read the message.

  A woman can never have too many roses.

  She turned it over, but like the one from the day before, there was no signature or indication of the shop who delivered it. Tucking the note in her jeans, she carried the roses inside, put them in a vase with water and took off. Her first stop would now be one of the two flower shops in town.

  ******

  “Good morning, Chief Monroe. Can I help you?” Tricia asked. Thanks to Calypso, she now knew some of the history between Monroe and her boss, Julia. She liked to think of herself as non-judgmental, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit of disapproval for the man.

  “Is Julia in?” He pulled the hat from his head and fingered the brim, glancing down the hall toward her office.

  “She’s taking the day off, but Selena is due in any minute. Would you like to wait for her?”

  “Actually, it’s Julia I need to speak with. Will she be in tomorrow?”

  Tricia made a show of looking at the calendar, already knowing her boss hadn’t missed a Saturday since before Christmas. “She doesn’t have any appointments, but I expect she’ll be by at some point.” She glanced up, noticing the slightest amount of turmoil cross his face, and decided to go easy on him. “Her habit is to stop for bagels and coffee around nine. Why don’t you come by about nine-thirty?”

  “Thanks. I’ll do that.”