by Rachel Hanna
“No. Thank you.” She didn’t look his way, opting instead to stare down at her phone which wasn’t even on.
“Okay… How about tomorrow night? There’s a great steakhouse off Baker Avenue…”
“No.”
“Paige, I’m sensing a shift here. Are you mad at me for something?” he asked as he turned onto the main road. He could hear her breathing deeply, and he was pretty sure some kind of rage was boiling just below the surface.
“I’m not mad at you, Brett. You’re my boss, and that’s all we can be.”
“What? I don’t understand…” he said as he pulled into her driveway. Paige opened her door almost before he could stop the truck and got out. She tried to reach into the back to get her bag, but she was far too short to do it.
Brett got out and walked around. He stood in front of her and crossed his arms.
“Give me my bag. Please.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“No. I’m not giving you your bag until you tell me what’s going on. One minute we’re kissing, then you’re mad, then you apologize and agree to try getting to know each other better… and now you’re acting like I killed your puppy or something.”
He could’ve sworn she almost smiled, but then the look of anger planted itself on her face and set up camp. He didn’t like that look on her. He missed her smile already, and confusion clouded his thoughts.
“I don’t date liars,” she said before she stepped up onto the running board she’d apparently just noticed, grabbed her bag and turned toward her house.
“Liar? What did I lie about?” he asked, following her to the door. She keyed the lock quickly and opened it.
“Ask Amira,” she said as she slammed the door shut in his face. Oh, he definitely planned to ask Amira.
Paige leaned back against the arm of the sofa and stretched her back against it. She’d been sitting there for hours now, trying to read a book but re-reading the same line over and over again.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Brett and the way he’d looked at her when she accused him of lying. Had she been wrong about him? He looked shell-shocked, especially when she said Amira’s name.
Probably because he got busted.
It was close to midnight, and she knew she should get to bed. Work was going to come early the next morning, and she could only hope that Brett didn’t show up at the bookstore.
As she was turning off the lights in the living room, she heard noises outside. She grabbed her taser and crept toward the front door, ready to shock anyone who tried to get in. The sounds stopped, but a few moments later someone knocked - actually banged - on her door. She could hear what sounded like a struggle and a woman’s voice too.
Worried about the woman, she cracked the door open, but the person pushed into it enough for the door to open all the way. She couldn’t see who it was or how many of them there were, so she reached out with her stun gun and pressed the button.
“Ouch! Stop it! Oh my God, you lunatic!” the woman screamed. Oh, crap, she got the woman who was being attacked instead of the man.
She flipped on the foyer light in an effort to see the pair so she could get a better shot at the man, but it was Brett. And Amira.
“What in the hell?” Paige said, dropping the taser on the table and stepping back from them both. She could hardly catch her breath she was so scared.
“This is how you say hello? You electrocute me?” Amira screeched. She was holding her upper arm, and seeing the look of pain on her face actually made Paige want to smile.
“Brett, do you want to explain what’s going on here? I heard voices outside. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you both!”
“You have a gun too?” Amira asked, still rubbing her arm and furrowing her eyebrows at Paige.
“No comment.”
“Can we come in? I’d hate for the neighbors to call the cops,” Brett said. Paige nodded and walked back to the living room.
“It’s almost midnight. Why are you here?” She sat down on the sofa and crossed her arms.
“Go ahead, Amira. Tell her,” Brett said in a firm voice. Amira jutted out her chin and blinked her eyes slowly. “Now.”
“Fine!” she said, blowing out a sharp breath. “We’re not lovers.”
Paige felt butterflies in her stomach once again. “What?”
“And?” Brett said to Amira.
“And we never were.” She said it so softly that Paige could barely hear her.
“I don’t understand. Why would you tell me that?”
“Because he should be with me.” Amira wasn’t looking at her or Brett. “I mean, look at me.” Nothing was wrong with her self-confidence, that was for sure.
“That was a cruel, selfish thing to do. And the things you said about Daniel and me…”
“Wait. She talked about Daniel?” Brett asked, anger apparent on his face.
“I just mentioned him. Relax,” Amira said, rolling her eyes.
“You need to go,” Brett said. “You’ve done enough damage here. I texted for a cab on the way here. They should be outside waiting to take you home. And notice I said home, not Clover Lake. Our business is done. Don’t come back there or I’ll have you arrested. Do you understand me?”
This side of Brett was new. The fighter. The defender. The no-nonsense ass kicking cowboy. Paige liked it a little more than she cared to admit.
Amira skulked out of the house like a wet cat and slammed the door behind her. Brett watched her go, peeked out the window to see if she got in the cab and then turned to Paige.
“I’m so incredibly sorry for what she said. None of it was true. I told you she was obsessed, and I guess I should’ve remedied this problem years ago.” He sat down on the coffee table across from Paige.
“I should’ve asked you, Brett. I didn’t handle that very well.”
He smiled. “I bought her out tonight.”
Paige’s eyes went wide. “I can’t believe she agreed.”
“I made it very clear to her that I would have nothing else to do with her and that she’d have to deal with Lou on all financial matters, and she hates Lou. I said she’d have no access to me at all, and she caved. My attorney brought over the paperwork, I scratched out a painful check and we were done.”
“I’m happy for you. That will certainly make things easier on you.” She rubbed her hands together anxiously, unsure of where this was going.
“Paige, will you please go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” he asked softly.
“You still want to see me? Even after all of this?”
“This wasn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t trust you.”
“You don’t really know me well enough to trust me like that. I don’t blame you.”
Paige stood up and walked across the room to her bookshelf, lifting a first-edition copy of Gone With The Wind from her line of books. She brought it to her chest and hugged it close.
“You know, Daniel bought this for me. He knew my favorite book of all time is Gone With The Wind. This is a first-edition copy of it.”
Brett remained seated on the table and said nothing.
“I remember being so excited when he gave it to me,” she said softly, still not turning around. “I had never had anyone actually ask me about any of my favorite things. Not my favorite color or my favorite song. No one ever seemed to care much about what I wanted or needed.”
She walked back to the sofa, still holding the book, and sat down. She opened it and ran her fingers across several of the pages.
“He had it wrapped in this beautiful gold foil paper with a bright red bow. I had never opened such a gorgeous gift before; I had only seen them at weddings I was helping at or on TV. But this was just for me, and it was all about me. I remember being so overwhelmed that I cried like a baby, and poor Daniel didn’t know what was wrong with me.”
She didn’t know why she was suddenly spewing all of this information out at Brett, a guy she hardly
knew. But for some reason it seemed necessary to get it all out, to have Brett know something about Daniel.
“It wasn’t about what he spent or how it was wrapped. It was about someone finally caring enough to ask me what my favorite book was, and then caring enough to find a rare copy, and even caring enough to have it wrapped like it was being given to a queen or something.” She finally looked up and smiled. Brett smiled back and reached out to hold the book. She slowly handed it to him and he looked down to study it for a moment before handing it back.
“Daniel sounds like a very nice guy, and I’m so glad he treated you well, Paige. You deserve that.”
She bit both of her lips and then placed the book on the side table. “Daniel will always be a part of me, Brett, and I don’t know if you’re ready to have him included in a relationship. It’s so soon, but I also have feelings… for you… and that makes me feel awfully guilty.”
“Paige, we can go as slow as you need to go. And I will welcome Daniel because he helped make you into the woman sitting here across from me right now. I would never expect you to give up your memories of him.”
She stared at him for a moment, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill out at any moment, and reached for his hands.
“Then yes, I will go to dinner with you tomorrow night, Brett Larson.”
Chapter 10
Paige hadn’t slept much at all last night. After Brett left, she tried everything from meditation to a hot bath to melatonin, but nothing was sending her off to dream land.
So she did the only logical thing - she found her way to Jolt before work and downed a double espresso.
“Wow, you’re here bright and early this morning,” Rebecca said as she took Paige’s order. “And you look exhausted. Are you okay, honey?”
“I am exhausted,” Paige said, the bags under her eyes apparent. “Need a serious pick-me-up.”
Rebecca took the order and Paige found a seat in the empty coffee shop. Even for the regulars, it was still very early.
Paige stared out across the street, over the ocean. Living in January Cove was like living on vacation, and sometimes she found it hard to believe that she had the good fortune to find a place like this to call home.
“Okay, so you want to tell me what’s going on?” Rebecca asked with a smile as she set the coffee on the table. She slid into the chair across from Paige.
Paige knew that it was time to tell Rebecca her story. The whole story. So she started spilling it out, bit by bit, from being abandoned as a baby to losing Daniel to the new situation with Brett.
To her surprise, Rebecca just listened, nodding along and occasionally making a noise to let Paige know she was listening.
“I met him the other day,” Rebecca said.
“Brett?”
“Yep. He came in for a latte. Nice guy. Loves his aunt.”
“He’s a wonderful guy…” Paige said softly.
“So what’s the problem?”
“Guilt.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Paige said, taking a sip of her coffee.
“If Daniel appeared here right now, would you be able to walk away from January Cove without any feelings for Brett?”
Paige thought for a moment. No one had ever quite put it to her that way. A few weeks ago, she would’ve left January Cove behind in a heartbeat if her beloved Daniel had shown up at her door. But now, after making a life for herself and meeting Brett, it wouldn’t be so easy.
“No. I wouldn’t,” Paige said softly. Rebecca nodded and smiled.
“Then I think you have your answer. Give Brett a chance. Be vulnerable and cut yourself some slack when you have those moments of grief. If Brett is worthy of you, he’ll understand and welcome memories of Daniel into your relationship.”
“Is that what Jackson did?”
Rebecca smiled broadly, her eyes full of dreaminess at the mention of Jackson’s name. From what little she had told Paige, Jackson Parker was a godsend after raising her son alone for so many years.
“That and more. Jackson accepted me for who I was and where I was in my life at the time. He accepted my son, Leo. And he accepted my late husband too because he will always be a part of our family.”
“Thanks, Rebecca. I really appreciate you listening to me this morning. It helps more than you know. I’d better get to work.”
Paige stood up and took a final gulp of her coffee before grabbing her purse.
“Good luck!” Rebecca called as she waved at Paige.
She was going to need it.
Paige arrived at the bookstore full of renewed enthusiasm. She hoped to see Brett today, although for all she knew he was at the ranch for the day.
She was excited for their dinner date tonight, although she had no idea what to wear or where they were going. The excitement was something she hadn’t experienced since her first date with Daniel many months ago.
As she started to straighten up the bookshelves, the store phone rang.
“Thanks for calling The Cove. This is Paige. How can I…”
“Paige! Thank God I found you. I need your help.”
“Brett? Is everything okay?” He sounded completely frantic and overwrought which was not at all like his regular personality.
“No. No, I’m not okay. Can you come to Elda’s house? Just close the store and come, okay?” He hung up before she could ask questions. Paige turned off the lights, flipped the closed sign and locked the door before taking off toward Elda’s house on foot.
By the time she reached Elda’s front door, she was out of breath. She leaned over to catch her breath and then knocked on the door, but it was cracked open.
“Brett?” she called from the entryway. He came from around the corner, his face pale and drained of energy.
“Paige,” he whispered, walking to her and holding onto her for dear life. He held her there as if his life depended on it. She pulled him closer and stood there, determined to be quiet and let him have whatever he needed in that moment. In reality, she already knew what this was about.
Elda was gone.
When he finally let her go, he looked down at her with tears in his eyes. “I’m supposed to be strong.”
“You’re supposed to be human,” she said, reaching up and putting her hand on his cheek. “She’s gone?”
He nodded quickly and then sank down into a chair nearby. Paige started to sit on the arm of the chair, but he pulled her onto his knee and held her waist.
“I know she was old, but she’s meant so much to me in my life. Treated me like a grandson instead of a great nephew. Hell, she’s been my best friend many times in my life.”
Paige pulled his head against her shoulder and pressed her lips into his hair. “It doesn’t matter how old she was, Brett. You loved her and you always will.”
“Did someone call for help?” a paramedic said, poking his head through the open front door.
Paige and Brett stood. “Yes. My great aunt… she passed in her sleep.”
“Down the hall,” Paige said, pointing beside them. The two EMTs rolled a stretcher into the house and toward Elda’s room. Brett turned the other direction and walked outside, taking a deep breath.
Paige walked up behind him and slid her arms around his waist. It felt so natural to comfort him, to be his rock during a trying time. In fact, she felt like she’d known him forever in this moment.
“Thanks for coming when I called,” he said softly.
She let go and walked in front of him. “Of course I came. Why wouldn’t I?”
“You don’t know me all that well yet, and we’ve had a bumpy road these last couple of days. Just… thank you.”
“Brett, I loved Elda too.”
He nodded and pulled her closer, and the two of them stood there for what seemed like hours while the medics rolled Elda out of the house and into the ambulance.
The memorial service for Elda was small, as expected, given that most of her family had pa
ssed away before her. There were some distant cousins, a few old friends and many January Cove residents who knew her from the bookstore. Her passing was so sudden that a lot of people who lived out of town weren’t able to make it.
Rebecca and Jackson came, along with Addison and Clay, most of them having known her their whole lives.
“Do you think she would’ve liked the service?” Brett asked as they left the tiny, country church on the outskirts of January Cove. It was white with a real steeple and stained glass windows.
“I do. It was no-frills, and we both know Miss Elda was a no-frills kind of woman,” Paige said with a laugh.
“True. Since Elda wished to be cremated, I would like to spread her ashes on our family property. I thought it might be nice to spend another weekend there, just remembering her and honoring the legacy she left.”
“That sounds like a great idea, Brett. And I can handle the store alone, no problem…”
“No. Paige, I meant that I wanted you to come.”
Paige’s heart started to pound. Spend the weekend on the ranch with Brett alone? The thought both excited and terrified her at the same time.
“Okay,” she heard herself saying without thinking.
“Okay? I’m so glad you said yes,” Brett said. “And we can finally have our date too.”
“What?”
“Our dinner date. I didn’t forget,” he said. She smiled for the first time in days. Her date with Brett had been something to look forward to after months of feeling like there would never be any light at the end of the tunnel.
“I can’t wait,” she said, struggling not to blush for some reason.
Paige walked slowly down the sidewalks of January Cove, taking in the smell of the salty air and the quaint shops on Main Street. She loved this place like she had lived here all of her life.
Everyone was nice and friendly. They waved when she walked by. It was as if her past didn’t matter to anyone here since they all had stories of their own.
“Hey, Paige!” Addison Parker called from the garden in front of her B&B as she walked by. Addy’s Inn was the place she had stay temporarily when she first arrived in January Cove a few months ago. It had felt like a real home to her, complete with home-cooked meals and rocking chair talks on the front porch.
