Where I Belong

by Charlene Bright

  The porch was twelve feet long and about four feet wide. Drake had completed all but about a two-by-four-foot spot in one corner … and it was beautiful. The wood wasn’t finished yet, but it was solid knotty pine, and Sophie could imagine just how beautiful it would be when it was. She suddenly felt like a terrible person. She went back inside and looked at her mother. “What’s wrong with me, Mom? I don’t treat people this way.”

  Her mother smiled. “Nothing is wrong with you. You’re feeling stressed and pressured, but the simple fact that you feel remorseful means you are a good, decent person.”

  “Well, maybe you know that and maybe I can convince myself of that because of how bad I feel, but I’d be willing to bet that Drake is thinking I’m a pretty terrible person right about now.”

  “Then call him and apologize.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight if I don’t. Thanks Mom.”

  Her mother kissed her cheek and said, “I think I’m going to head up to the house. There’s a program on television tonight I wanted to watch.”

  “No, it’s too far for you to walk. I’ll drive you.”

  Her mom laughed. “I’m not an invalid.”

  “I just don’t want you to permanently damage that ankle.”

  With a sigh and a smile, her mother agreed to the ride. As soon as Sophie got back to the main house, she found her phone and called Drake. The phone rang four times and went to voicemail, so she hung up. She didn’t want to apologize in a message. She called her mother instead. “I sent you home without dinner.”

  Her mom laughed again. “What is this, role reversal? I have some leftover chicken from last night. I was going to have that.”

  “Oh, I was going to run into town for something. Are you sure I can’t pick up something for you?”

  “I’m sure, honey. I’m going to eat the chicken and turn in early.”

  “Okay. Mom, thank you so much for all of your help.”

  “You’re very welcome. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Sophie headed for town feeling a lot calmer than she had during the day. She would apologize to Drake first thing in the morning, and she’d make sure to keep a lid on the irrational anger the stress had been causing her to feel all day.

  The little town was only about ten minutes from the B&B. When she drove up in front of Huckleberry’s, the first thing she noticed was Drake’s pickup out front. She felt a wave of annoyance that he’d rushed out in what he’d presented as pretty much an “emergency” when he was out to dinner. She reminded herself that she was going to stop all that as she walked in the front door. She was greeted by a young lady in a blueberry-colored dress and a mile-wide smile.

  “Well, hello there. I’m Rebecca. Can I get you a table?” Sophie’s eyes had already landed on the back of Drake’s head. He was facing away from her, but she could see his dinner companion. She was an attractive woman of about thirty, and she was laughing at something Drake had just said. “Miss … did you want a table?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, no. Just a take-out menu please.”

  “Sure, I’ll be right back.” The girl went behind the counter and Sophie’s attention returned to Drake and his dinner companion. The woman had long blonde hair, and from where Sophie was standing, she looked tall and slim. Sophie was suddenly feeling another irrational emotion—jealousy. Why on earth would she be jealous over whom her handyman chose to have dinner with? She was suddenly embarrassed by her own private thoughts.

  “Here you go, miss.” The girl was back with her menu. Sophie thanked her and sat down on the little bench seat to look it over.

  She was trying to decide between the Tri-tip sandwich and the grilled shrimp when she heard, “Miss Michelson?” Her stomach had already clenched before she looked up into those chocolate pools. She forced a smile and hoped it didn’t look as nervous as she felt.

  “It’s Sophie,” she said. “Hi, Drake.”

  The young girl at the counter handed him a take-out container and said, “Drake, are you gonna be at the market on Sunday?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  “Oh good. I saw Wendy out in front of the market the other day and I told her to go out there on Sunday. She’s been having a hard time since Mitchell passed on.”

  “You tell her to come see me,” he said. The young girl beamed at him. Sophie wondered what it was he was giving out at the market that made people so happy.

  The blonde woman he was with appeared at his elbow. “Drake, I have to run. I’ll call you in the morning.” She was definitely tall … and slim … willowy even. She was beautiful.

  “Okay, Brooke, thank you so much,” Drake said. She leaned in and kissed him on his stubble-covered cheek, and once again Sophie’s belly clenched.

  “You’re very welcome. Thank you for dinner.” The blonde smiled at Sophie, and Sophie forced another smile she didn’t feel like wearing. Drake watched her leave and then turned his attention back to Sophie.

  “I’m really sorry again about leaving so soon earlier. You see, those visitors I told you about—”

  “It’s fine,” she said, cutting him off. This was her chance to apologize and tell him what great work he’d done—so why wasn’t she doing it?

  “Okay … well … I guess I’ll see you in the morning?” It sounded like he was asking a question. Was he worried she was going to fire him? If he was so worried about it, why was he so quick to show up late and take off early?

  “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He started for the door, and that rush of self-loathing Sophie had felt earlier for her bad behavior returned with a vengeance. “Drake?”

  He turned back toward her. She wished that her breath didn’t catch in her throat every time she looked at him. “Yes?”

  “You did great work on the porch today. Thank you.”

  He smiled then and—just like that—her insides turned into hot liquid. “You’re welcome. I’ll finish it tomorrow.” Sophie nodded at him and watched him go. She had no idea why this guy caused her emotions to go from one end of the spectrum to the other in no time flat.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Drake stepped into his uncle’s small but obsessively neat house. Mac was unable to use his legs, but he was very good with his arms and hands, and he kept his house immaculate. He also had a little shop out back where he made hand-carved statues to sell at the market. The shop was as neat as the rest of the house.

  “Hey, Uncle Mac, here’s your club.”

  Mac rolled out of the kitchen and smiled at his nephew. “Thank you. You’re a good boy.”

  “Well, I owed it to you after what my adopted children put you through today.” Drake sat down and Mac began unwrapping his sandwich.

  Mac grinned. “It was a little touch and go there for a while. Did you talk to Brooke?”

  “Yeah, she had dinner with me. I thanked her. I’m sorry I didn’t hear the phone the first few times you called. I must have had the sander on.”

  Mac was chewing and just waved his palm at his nephew. He swallowed and said, “You were at work. I wouldn’t have even called, but I couldn’t stand the idea of you coming home to find two dead little kits. I’m glad Brooke was available. She came right out.”

  “She said they didn’t know how to … go to the bathroom?”

  Mac laughed. “Yes, apparently it’s something they have to be taught—who knew? The poor little things were swollen and just miserable. Brooke massaged their little bellies until they finally did their business and they looked so relieved. They curled up and went to sleep right afterwards.”

  “Where are they?”

  “In the kitchen,” he said.

  “The kitchen?”

  “Yeah, the heating pad was a good idea, but Brooke also wanted them underneath a light. The one in the kitchen is the brightest I have.”

  “Okay … maybe we can go into the vet business with Sam after this.”

  Mac laughed again. “No
thank you. I’ll leave the animal business to you.”

  “Brooke said you did a great job with them.”

  “Not a problem,” Mac said. “I hope I didn’t cause you any problems with your new client.”

  “I think it’ll be okay … but it’s not your fault anyhow.”

  “You think? Was she angry? Damn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called—”

  “Yes, you should have. I don’t think she was angry … she’s a hard one to figure out. She looks like a porcelain doll. Everything about her is intriguing. She was so excited and positive the first couple of times I talked to her, but today she was just … maybe stressed out or something. I’m not sure …” Mac was grinning at him. “What?”

  “You like her.”

  Drake laughed. “I’m not in fifth grade, Uncle Mac.”

  Laughing too, Mac said, “You know what I mean. You should have seen your face when you just talked about how pretty she is. You have a little crush on the lady boss.”

  Drake rolled his eyes, but the truth was that Mac was right. In spite of the fact that he couldn’t figure out if the lady liked him or not, she set his insides on fire.

  ****

  For the rest of that week and the entire week that followed, excluding Sunday when he went to the market, Drake worked from sunup to sundown at the Harvest Moon Inn. He finished the front porch, repaired the steps on the stairs, and started replacing some of the fixtures throughout the house that were broken or not working. He was exhausted when he got home at night and he still had his own chores to do around the little farm. Hooter missed him a lot, and so did Mac.

  Mac understood that it wasn’t forever—Hooter didn’t. He’d taken to chewing things up and bringing his “hunting trophies,” like the heads of field mice or the tails of garden snakes, up on the front porch and leaving them there for Drake to find when he got home. He hoped that once his schedule returned to normal, his relationship with his dog would as well.

  He was thankful that Mac seemed to be really enjoying taking care of the kits. He’d named them Todd and Copper from the movie The Fox and the Hound. Thankfully since Drake had been so busy, Brooke had been around to help them out with the babies and keep them healthy.

  Brooke was Drake’s childhood sweetheart. They’d long since decided the love they had for each other was more like siblings or friends than lovers, but since she’d come home from medical school and opened up a clinic in town, they’d remained good friends.

  His only worry about the kits was that Mac was so attached to them now. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal with it when Sam came home later that week and found a rescue habitat to take them in. Mac was fond of talking about how his sister and his nephew loved taking in strays, but Drake had begun to wonder lately if maybe Mac needed a pet of his own to chase away some of his loneliness.

  Sophie had been working so hard herself that Drake hadn’t had much of a chance to see her. She spent a lot of time on the decorations for the guest rooms and running back and forth into town to pick up deliveries at the post office. The Harvest Festival was only four weeks away now and there was still a lot to do. He felt for her, but she seemed wound up so tightly that he found himself wishing she would just take an afternoon off and relax. On the Friday of the second week, after Sophie had left for town, her mother called to him from the kitchen.

  “Drake, I made some lunch. Why don’t you take a break and come have some with me?”

  “You don’t have to feed me, Mrs. Michelson.”

  She smiled. “I know I don’t have to, but I’ve got fried chicken and mashed potatoes and biscuits—all my Southern specialties. I hate to eat alone. Join me, please.”

  “Well, ma’am, when you put it that way …” he said with a grin. He went inside and washed his hands at the sink. The new appliances had been delivered a few days ago, and it seemed like Mrs. Michelson had spent the morning breaking them in. The air in the kitchen smelled almost good enough to eat, and Drake was suddenly starving. He sat down at the table and said, “This all looks so delicious, Mrs. Michelson. Thank you for the invitation.”

  “It’s Brenda, and you’re welcome. Dig in.”

  He fixed his plate and Brenda fixed one for herself. As they started eating, she said, “You’ve lived in Brook Haven all of your life, Drake?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Does your family still live in the area?”

  “My parents are gone,” he said. “My father passed away about seven years ago and my mother a couple years after that.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. I miss them a lot. I’m an only child, but I do have an uncle who lives on the family property with me. He’s the only real family I have left. The good thing about Brook Haven is that we pretty much all know each other and it’s like a big, sometimes slightly dysfunctional family.”

  She laughed. “I’m finding that out, the family part. Every time I go into town I make another new friend, and everyone has been so warm and welcoming. I have to tell you too, Drake, I haven’t met anyone yet that didn’t have a kind word to say about you.”

  “Well, that’s nice of you to say.”

  “I’m not just saying it. It’s true. Your parents must have been incredible people because it seems they did a great job with you.”

  He felt his face flush slightly at her praise. “Thank you, ma’am. They were pretty amazing people.”

  “Sophie’s an only child too. I regret that sometimes. She does have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins down south because her father and I both had large families. But I still feel like when I pass on, I’ll be leaving her all alone.”

  “I’m sure that will be far in the future,” he said. He hated talking about people passing away. Uncle Mac tried to rope him into that conversation sometimes too, and he always passed. To be polite, he said, “Maybe she’ll be married by then and have her own family.”

  Brenda got a faraway look in her eyes for a second, and then she smiled and said, “Maybe … but Sophie’s always been so independent and focused on her goals that I wonder if she’ll ever decide to start her own family. What about you, Drake? Have you ever been married?”

  “No ma’am.”

  “Do you mind if I ask you why? I mean, you’re a handsome young man, a hard worker, polite from what I’ve seen …” She handed him the plate of biscuits, and he took another as he felt his face go hot again.

  “Thank you. Well, when I was nineteen, I actually thought that I was in love for a while. It turned out that the girl and I were more cut out to be friends, and so eight years later, we still are. I spend a lot of time keeping my little farm running and working. It’s kind of hard to meet anyone you don’t know in Brook Haven unless it’s a tourist in the fall. I don’t think I’d be happy doing the long-distance relationship thing.”

  She smiled. “And the girls you already know feel like family?”

  He grinned. “Exactly.”

  “Maybe you and Sophie could spend some time together outside of all of this work. She’s a really nice girl.”

  Drake suppressed a smile. Brenda was trying to set him up with her daughter. Little did she know he’d like nothing more—but in the two weeks he’d known her, Sophie hadn’t done anything to indicate to him that she’d even be remotely interested. As a matter of fact, most of the time she seemed to go out of her way to do the opposite. At first she just acted annoyed with him all the time; lately it seemed like she was avoiding him altogether.

  “I’m not so sure that would interest your daughter,” he said honestly.

  “You never know …” Brenda got a mischievous smile on her face and Drake couldn’t hold his back any longer. She was really trying to set him up with her daughter—and he actually found himself hoping that it worked.

  After lunch, he insisted on helping Brenda clean up. They were washing dishes together and laughing at some of his stories about the town and the locals when Sophie returned. Judging by the raised eyebrow she gave them both bef
ore retreating up the stairs without saying a word, she wasn’t happy about catching him bonding with her mother. He had to wonder again if he and Brenda were just kidding themselves that Sophie would ever be interested in him in more than a professional sense.

  They finished cleaning up in silence, and when they were done, Drake said, “I should get back to work. Thank you again for lunch … and the conversation.”

  “Drake, about Sophie … she doesn’t mean anything toward you personally. She’s such a nice girl, and she just needs to realize that life is about more than work. She’s always been way too serious. When she was younger I thought it was a good thing because she was so mature and focused, but I’m beginning to see it taking a toll on her, and that worries me.”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking it personally. I’m just pretty sure if I asked her out, she’d shoot me down.”

  “I don’t want to put any pressure on you. I’m sorry if it sounded that way.”

  “It didn’t. I can tell she’s a good person. Maybe once this place is up and running, she’ll be able to relax a little bit.”

  “I hope so,” Brenda said.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sophie was standing in front of the mirror in her bathroom looking at herself, wondering when she had become the girl who rarely smiled, when her mother knocked on her bedroom door. “Come on in, Mom.” She stepped back into the room as her mother opened the door and stepped inside.

  Brenda put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow. Sophie felt like she was back in high school and her mother had caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to do. “What was that all about?”

  “What was what about?” Sophie asked her. She knew full well what her mother was talking about, but she didn’t have a good explanation.

  “You were bordering on rude just now when you walked right past Drake and me without even saying hello. This is all so unlike you.”