I glanced over at Ken as we waited for the fish to bite. “Where are your grandparents these days?”
“They moved back to Brighten. The place where we lived before we moved here. They had a house that was theirs and when they saw it back on the market … well, gram couldn’t let it go.” Ken chuckled.
“Really?”
“They’re really happy to be there. They aren’t able to come out very often, but they do love visiting when they get the chance.” Ken sighed as he stared out into the water. He shook his head. “Are you staying with your family right now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like it, or are you already trying to find a new place?”
Was that disappointment I heard in his voice? “I don’t like being back here, honestly. It’s … too much like it was when I was younger. I don’t think my mom remembers I’m a grownup and she can’t boss me around. And the people … well, I don’t know. They all want to know the dirty details of my life. I like the small town, though. It’s been nice. It’s been more relaxed than it was where I was living before. I like being out in the country and being able to see the moon during broad daylight.”
He laughed. “The scenery is nice out here. I’m guessing it beats any city.”
“For me, oh yes. Of course a lot of people don’t agree. A lot of them seemed to think it was crazy I was moving back, like the city was the only place they could be. Otherwise they wouldn’t survive.”
Ken and I sat there for a long time in silence, like my granddad and his friends used to do when they were fishing. I hadn’t thought much of it back then, but now I totally understood how peaceful it was. I closed my eyes as I got comfy in the boat and let the sound of the water fill the silence Ken and I created.
~~~~
“Thank you for this. It was what I needed.” I was being honest when I said it.
I needed a day out like this. It had really put me at ease. And on the plus side, I had fish to fry up when I got home. My mom would be thrilled. She loved fried fish, but she didn’t fish herself. So when I wasn’t around, she didn’t get it.
“I’d like to do it again some time.”
“I would love that.”
My heart did a backflip as I tried to make it seem like I wasn’t totally nervous and excited and a billion other things. I caught Ken’s eye and gave him a grin. He closed the distance between us.
“Maybe next time it could be a little closer to a date? If you’re ready to get back into the dating game.” He added the last part quickly.
“I …” I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew I shouldn’t get into the dating scene yet; I knew I should spend at least a year or two alone. But I want to say yes. In reality, it had been two years since my husband and I had been in love. It was just now that he had found someone else and he wanted to go through everything formally.
“Maybe a little closer to a date,” I conceded. Even if it wasn’t a date, it could be closer right? It could be a little more than just friends fishing together.
Ken grinned. “Okay. Just a little closer.”
He didn’t sound mad, and he didn’t seem like he was making fun of me. He actually seemed okay with it, and for that I was thankful. I smiled widely.
“Thank you, Ken. I guess I’d better get home, though.” I glanced up at the sky. It would be dinner time soon and I wanted to get this fish home before my mom started on everything.
“Did you walk?”
“Yes.”
“I’d be happy to give you a ride home.” I opened my mouth to protest. I don’t want to be a bother. “Please,” he added, his smile getting bigger.
“Are you sure I won’t be getting in the way?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, then.” I nodded and let him lead the way toward the garage.
It was one of those huge ones, almost like a barn but much newer looking. It was so big that there was a regular one man door and another door you had to open with a button. There was no alternative option to open it from the outside using your hands. Ken pressed a large grey button and the door slowly started to fold up.
I shouldn’t have been so shocked to see the inside of it, but I was. Honestly, it wasn’t the four rows of cars. I guessed there were a lot of guys here who kept their cars in the garage. It was the farm equipment. Wow. It all looked so new and there was so much of it. My granddad was a farmer; I knew how much that could cost. It wasn’t cheap to own farm equipment.
I followed Ken into the garage. “All right, which one?” he asked.
“What?”
Ken pointed to six cars. “Which one do you want to take?”
My jaw dropped. All six of those were his? Damn. I wonder if he’s the only one with that many or if there are a lot less guys working here than I thought. I shook my head. “Whatever one you want.” It didn’t really matter, although the bright blue one was nice. It looked like it was from the 1940’s or 1950’s. I stared at its shiny paint job.
“Let’s take the hot rod,” he said, crossing over to the car I had just been staring at. “I don’t get a chance to take her out as much as I’d like to.”
I followed him over to the car. He looked excited as we climbed into it. “I’m pretty anal about her. She’s the only car I care about. The Jag and the Audi, even the BMW’s I don’t care about damaging too much, but this one took me years to put together.” He gunned the engine.
“You put it together yourself?”
“I did all the work except the paint job. I almost considered it when I saw the quote they gave me, but after so many years of putting so much work into it, I figured it was worth it to splurge and get a paint job I really wanted instead of cheaping out. Anyway, I could afford it without any issue, I just didn’t want to. I’m glad I did, though.”
I could hear how excited he was when he talked about it. He pulled out of the garage and headed down the dirt driveway.
“I think it’s really nice.” Then again, I currently was driving my mother’s car, so I wasn’t one to be very judgmental about vehicles. I stared out the window as we made our way back into town.
“Is your mom still at the same place?”
“Yes.” My brow creased. “I didn’t realize you’d been there.”
“My brothers and I went over to help when we first bought the ranch. There had been some stuff left there she was interested in. So we delivered it and helped her with a couple things we thought she might have a hard time with. Like moving a couch up from the basement.”
I noticed that had been moved. I barked out a laugh. “I wondered how she did that and she never would tell me.” A wide grin stayed plastered to my face the rest of the way back to my mother’s place, which was all that long to begin with.
As Ken shifted into park in my driveway, he turned to look at me. “Thanks for today,” he said.
“No. Thank you. It was just what I needed and I can’t wait to do it again.”
“Well, how about tomorrow?”
“Don’t you have work?” I didn’t want to get in the way of it.
“I can get it done in the morning and then we can meet up in the afternoon. Say, two o’clock? Does that work for you?”
“Yes.” That would be perfect. I should get some of my own work done. “I’ll see you around two, then.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but decided against it. I didn’t want to be rude. “Thank you, Ken.”
He shrugged, his cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. I smiled but didn’t say anything else as I popped the door open, stepped out with my fish, and closed the door behind me. I waved over my shoulder as I headed toward my house.
Glancing toward the kitchen window, I saw the curtain shift as my mother quickly tried to make it look like she hadn’t been watching. Well, I guess there goes not telling anyone, I thought.
Although I didn’t mind my mother knowing, I liked the idea no one knew what was going on quite yet. I made my way up the s
tairs onto the porch and then into the house.
“I brought home fish for dinner!” I called, kicking off my shoes and then walking into the kitchen. My mother smiled, but it wasn’t her happy smile.
“I wish we could have them tonight, but we … er, got invited over to Stephanie’s.”
I cringed. “Really? And we have to go?”
“I’ve been making up excuses for you since you got home. Do you really want to keep putting it off? They all think you just sit at home and cry every night.”
My cheeks flushed. I wish I could say I didn’t give a shit what they thought. But in a small way, I did.
“Anyway, if I keep putting it off, they will just keep trying.”
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “Fine, we can go. But I’m not making this a regular thing. I don’t want to start having weekly dinners with them.” I turned, heading for the staircase so I could go put some different clothes on.
“And weekly meetups with that Ken boy? Is that a different matter?”
I froze, my back to my mother. I inhaled a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. “Actually,” it took everything I had to make the words come out, “it’s a daily thing.”
There was silence for a couple of seconds. My heart raced trying to figure out what she would say. I didn’t dare turn to look at her. I didn’t want to see the look on her face.
“Good.”
“G – good?”
“He and his brothers seem like nice boys. They helped me a lot when they moved back here, and they were nothing but polite. Although, they wouldn’t take any money for all the work they did.” The last part was the only thing she sounded angry about.
I should ask her.
No. It wasn’t worth asking. It wouldn’t be fair to Ken. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I really want to know what the deal is, I thought, forcing myself to head up the stairs and to my room. I was nosey; I wasn’t going to deny that. But was it my business to know? Not really. But I wanted it to be. I’m not going to be like everyone else. I wasn’t going to try and find out stuff that wasn’t my right to know. I let out a breath and headed for my closet. It didn’t take long for me to find an outfit to wear tonight that wasn’t dirty and stained with fish blood.
“We’re leaving soon!” my mother called as I ran a brush through my hair.
I dropped the brush on what used to be my desk and grabbed my lipstick, applying a small amount and then finally touching up my eyeliner. I grabbed a pair of black flats, slipped them on, and rushed out of my bedroom, jogging down the stairs to stand at the door, my arms crossed over my chest. “I’m ready!” I called back to my mother, leaning against the door.
I waited for her to hurry up, tapping my foot like I used to as a teenager, but as soon as she came into view, I couldn’t help the wide grin that appeared on my face. She grinned back.
“You’re as much of a pain in the ass as you were when you were younger,” she teased.
I snorted as I turned and grabbed the door, pulling it open and stepping out onto the porch. “You know all about it. Who do you think I got it from?”
My mother and I made our way to her car. “So, you said this was going to be a daily thing?” she asked as I circled around to the passenger side.
“Yes. I’m going fishing again tomorrow.”
I reached for the door and pulled it open, sliding into the car. Really, we could have walked to Stephanie’s if we wanted to, but my mother always opted to take the car. Knowing the dinners, there would probably be leftovers, and I was pretty sure the boxes in the back seat were for people who were going to be there tonight.
“With Ken?”
“Yes,” I said tentatively as my mother started the car. I glanced over to try and get a feel for her reaction, but couldn’t figure it out.
She nodded, not saying anything. I swallowed dryly, trying not to feel nervous. It would be so much easier if she’d just tell me what she thought.
“I will have lots of fish to cook up, then.”
“You can always freeze some for when I’m not …” I drifted off. I knew she was happy to have me home and she was going to hate when I left, but I didn’t want to stay here. She would rather I did. Hell, she even talked about getting the house transferred over to me so it could be my place and she could just “rent” out a room from me.
“I’ll have to clean out the deep freeze,” she finally said. She didn’t sound upset. Actually, she sounded kind of happy about it. When I leave, I’ll have to ask Ken to bring her over some fish.
And that’s when it hit me. I’d be leaving. And Ken would still be here.
I tried to clear my thoughts as the car slowed down and we came to a stop in front of a large, newly built house. My head tilted as I looked at it. I knew it hadn’t been around when I was here, that was for sure.
“Steph and her husband did well after the boys bought the ranch and the town boomed,” my mom said, feeling the need to fill me in.
“Oh.” I nodded, making a mental note in case Steph said anything against the ranch. I’d be sure to bring up her house. I didn’t like being bitchy, but if someone was going to be rude to someone I cared about, I was going to bring out my claws.
I opened the car door and stepped out, waiting for my mother. I wasn’t in the mood to walk up to the door alone. My mother and I fell into step together.
“Are you going to be nice?” she asked me.
“Probably.” I wasn’t going to make any promises. I wasn’t going to pretend I could be nice no matter what. If someone was a jerk, I was going to put someone in their place. It’s been a long time since I got into a fist fight. I smirked, thinking about it. Of course, I’d been a teenager then. I had actually managed to win the scrap, too.
Something I’d always been a little bit proud of.
My mother and I stood on the doorstep as the doorbell chimed. I watched through the curtains as someone came to the door. I heard it unlock and watched the handle turn.
“Ohmygod, Sarah. It really is you.”
I cringed as the girl in the doorway jumped out of the house and pulled me into a hug. She squeezed me tightly. “I was beginning to think your mom was making it up when she said you were back home.”
I sucked in a deep breath. Well, I tried to. It’s not home, I thought. This wasn’t my fucking home. Not anymore. Not since I left when I was a teenager. And I’d never call it home again. Still, as she pulled away from me, I forced a smile.
“Hi, Stephanie.”
I forced myself to remain nice. I told Mom I would try. Stephanie looked me up and down a little too long for my liking.
“Come on in, let’s sit down. I know the girls are so excited to see you again. You should come to coffee row with your mother more. It would be so nice to catch up and actually chat about everything.”
She stepped out of the way, and my mother and I entered the warm house.
“So it’s true!”
I turned to see the man who said it. My jaw almost dropped. John. My first boyfriend.
Oh, nasty. I suppressed the shudder I felt at the thought of my middle school best friend and my first boyfriend now being married. Without another word, he closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug that lasted longer than his wife’s had.
He backed away and looked me over, again longer than his wife did. I stepped out of his sight and slipped my shoes off.
“You look great, S.”
His old nickname for me almost brought on flashbacks.
Stephanie cleared her throat. “John, will you get some wine for our guests? Mom is just dying to see you two.”
She did a good job at sounding normal, but I could still tell she was annoyed. For a fraction of a second, I felt bad for her. I wonder what issues they have. But again, it wasn’t my business. I followed her into the room where her mother and three other girls were sitting.
Cindy: The popular girl in high school. Last I heard, she’d left here to b
ecome an actress.
Jenna: The girl everyone hated in high school. Mostly because she was pretty, smart, and all the boys had a crush on her, even though she was a ‘one of the guys’ kind of girl.
Kelly: She was the smart one. But not only the book smart one, the really smart one.
They all stared at me, their eyes wide. Then, as if they timed it, all three of them jumped to their feet and rushed over to me.
“Ohmygod!” they squealed, pulling me into a hug. I felt a little smothered surrounded by them, but they eventually let me go. I took a deep breath and refilled my lungs.
“Drink?”
I didn’t think I would ever be thankful to see John, but I was as I took the wine glass from him and made my way to one of the chairs in the room so no one could try to sit beside me.
Once everyone sat down and my mom had her own glass of wine, all eyes were turned on me.
“So …” Stephanie paused. “Tell us how you’ve been.”
“I’ve been fine, thank you.” I took a sip, trying to figure out what I was supposed to tell them. I didn’t want to give them too many details, and I didn’t want them to feel like I actually thought they were my friends.
~~~~
“You know,” Stephanie said, “we’re having dinner tomorrow with the girls. Just a few of us, but we’re going into town and taking advantage of a spa day. You should come with us.”
We all sat around the living room after a damn good dinner. I smiled. “That would be really nice, but I won’t be able to make it.”
“Oh? Do you have a date?”
I could tell Jenna was trying to get details. “It’s not a date. Just two friends going fishing.”
“With who?” Kelly piped up.
“Ken.” I said it like it didn’t matter, even though I knew it would. I knew these girls well enough; at least I had when I was younger. Based on the look they currently had on their faces, I was still right about them.
“K – Ken?”
“Yes. Do you remember him? He used to go to school with us. Him and his two brothers. They bought the ranch just a few miles outside of town.”
I watched everyone take a collective gasp and almost couldn’t keep my laugh in.
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 35
