Loving Again: The Broken Hearts Club

by Michele Barlow

  “Thanks, that won’t make me nervous at all.”

  “If anyone gives you any trouble, give me a call,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a card.

  Taking it, Evie glanced down and saw it was just a name and a phone number. No title, no business name, no email. Plain, simple, yet somehow very much like the man.

  “Thanks, I’ll keep this somewhere safe.”

  She saw him hesitate again before offering his hand. Evie reached for it and couldn’t help but suck in a breath when their hands touched. His hand was so warm and strong. It made her long to be wrapped in a strong pair of arms, her head resting against a broad chest. There was something about being enveloped that brings the deepest part of you satisfaction. From the moment you are born and someone holds you, you spend the rest of your life seeking that same connection.

  Evie looked up and saw his dark blue eyes staring at her. He had a look she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a look that meant only one thing, but it was not something she had expected from the hot handyman.

  He released her fingers and brought his hand up to her cheek. The moment he touched her they both froze. His thumb stroked over her cheekbone, a gentle caress that almost brought a tear to her eye.

  “You do that. It was very nice meeting you. I’ll have to thank Mabe for introducing us.”

  Evie didn’t know what to say to that. She was thinking she was going to give Mabe what for, for sending this hunk into her domain. Now he’d touched her like a man that knew a woman. Like really knew her, intimately, or at least wanted to.

  “So, so… tomorrow?” she didn’t know what else to do or say.

  “Count on it,” he said. His voice was so deep; she swore she could feel it through her skin.

  Evie couldn’t lie to herself, she would be looking forward to him stopping by tomorrow. Now her whole dynamic of who he was had shifted. It was a scary kind of anticipation that made her feel off center. He made her nervous, but not in such a way so that she didn’t want to be around him. She would have to contact her girls in the morning and get opinions from the peanut gallery before proceeding.

  Taking a hesitant step back she felt like she could breathe again. She saw a look pass over his face that she didn’t want to assume was disappointment. But she felt something release in her when she was holding his hand. A cold feeling that she had become so accustomed to over the last year washed away at his touch. Up until now it only eased when her baby girl was in her arms giving her that healing unconditional love. Knowing it was necessary, she broke the connection by letting go of his hand.

  Leo held his hand out for a moment too long, like he was waiting for her to reach for it again. He let it fall to his side and gave her a knowing smile.

  “Goodnight, Evie Ward.”

  Then, Leo Carr slipped into the darkness. Evie was embarrassed to admit that she stood in the doorway for probably just a few moments longer than she should have watching him get into his truck.

  Finally closing and locking the door, she pushed away and walked to the light switches along the back wall to turn them off. She knew in the darkness outside she was probably on display to anyone looking in now that the windows were uncovered.

  When she started up the stairs to check on Hailey, she couldn’t resist looking out the front window one last time. Across the street, she could see the outline of the man finally turning on his heel to head to his truck.

  “I’m not sure I’m not having a stroke,” Evie said into the phone. She had opened her store after dropping Hailey off at preschool and arranged with Tanya to drop Hailey off after lunch so she wouldn’t have to close the store. Figuring out her schedule was on her list of things to do, but accepting that her life didn’t have to be set by anyone else’s rules gave her a lot less stress than it would have previously.

  Freedom, although forced on her, had put a different perspective on almost every single activity she was involved in now.

  Getting up early, she’d made sure there were cute mugs to be used for tea as people browsed. Evie added a pot of fresh honey from a local farmer to the table decorated with a burlap and lace runner. Topping the water off in the vases of flowers, she took a long moment to soak in the fact that she was a business owner. Her store filled with art that she had made with her own two hands. Every piece had a little bit of Evie inside of it. Whether she was feeling sad, angry or hopeful when she made it, they represented a year’s worth of pain and recovery.

  Now she was ready to part with them so that she could continue her journey to being the best mom she could be and showing Hailey that life truly does move on.

  After unlocking the door, Evie wasn’t surprised there wasn’t a line waiting outside, she called Cambry. She quickly told Cambry all about Leo Carr and her late night mop session with him.

  “You are not having a stroke, but you really need to send me a picture. Can you take one with your phone when he shows up?”

  “I can’t take a picture of him! I’m not that sneaky, and I’d totally get caught.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, you are terrible at espionage. You couldn’t even get me the new syrup at the Broken Hearts Club when I ran out.”

  “Hey, that was on another table. What if someone needed it?”

  “Wimp,” Cambry laughed.

  Cambry was tough, hard as nails almost, but it was all an act. She had armor unlike any of the other members of their group and for a very good reason. Her husband had betrayed her and put it all on display.

  “I am. I’m a total wimp. He’s sooo big, Cam. Like tall dark and handsome. He has muscles, big ones. And his voice, I swear to god it gives me goosebumps. What am I supposed to do with that? I don’t want to be a dork around him. I want to be cool and casual. He just…he makes me feel all weird and tingly. Don’t laugh! And he touched me! It was terrifying and amazing and it totally freaked me out!”

  “Dude, you’re killing me! It’s good that your motor can still rev up, and if he’s as hunky as you say, I’m not surprised. I’ve found that some men know what they want when they see it. I think a small touch like that isn’t exactly over the line. Sure, a little forward, but that can be oh so good. I’m not saying you have to marry the man, but what’s wrong with grabbing a little coffee? And then maybe hopping on his baloney pony and going for a ride.”

  “That’s not even funny. I can’t do that!” Evie didn’t think any of her previous experiences could be a called ‘riding a baloney pony.’ Her sex life with her husband had always been great. They’d laughed a lot in bed and she never thought they had lacked anything.

  Now, maybe it was because it had been a while, but her lady bits were more than awake just thinking about Leo. He was the female equivalent of a wet dream. All sex and maleness that made you think things that you wouldn’t want to share for fear of embarrassment.

  “I think you have to look,” Cambry said. “I’m just saying that you might think about it. Didn’t Isaac say in his letter that he wanted you to be happy and to move on with your life? I’m pretty sure that’s what he meant when he wrote those words. Granted, he didn’t want to come right out and tell you to go ahead and shack up with some dude. But I think he be happy knowing that you’re at least finding new friends, if not friends with benefits.”

  “I’m just not sure I’m ready for any of that. This is the first day my store has been open, what if I’m a giant success and I have to hire staff and build a warehouse just to make pottery. I wouldn’t have time for dating,” she said sarcastically.

  “If that happens, I’ll come work for you so you’ll have time to go and date hot men that show up at your door in the middle of the night.”

  Cambry was all about making sure other people were happy. She didn’t think she deserved it herself, even though she truly did. When Evie had met Cambry, she couldn’t have thought of two people that had less in common than they did. But it didn’t take long to realize that Cambry was a voice of reason in a crazy world and she had the exp
erience to see things from a totally different perspective than most people.

  “You know I might just be imagining all of this. Maybe I was tired or stressed. Maybe he was just being friendly and I forgot what it’s like when people are just being friendly. Oh God, how embarrassing. What if I confuse him being friendly with him being flirty?”

  “Did you do anything embarrassing? Did you flash him or try to squeeze his muscles?”

  “Oh yes, because that’s exactly what I do. I squeeze random men’s muscles just to see how big they are.”

  “Did you do any exaggerated sniffing? Did he notice you smelling him?”

  “Really? I think I at least had the self-control not to do that.” She paused for a moment. “Okay fine. He did smell really, really good. But it wasn’t like I tried to sniff him, it just was there in the air. I would have had to hold my breath to ignore it.”

  “Ooh girl, you are in so much trouble. Make sure you comb your hair, slap on some lipstick, and please, for the love of God, make sure you’re not wearing clothes that are covered in clay, water, or weird stains. Show him what you have tooffer. What’s the worst that could happen? You go to dinner, you have some coffee, and you might get laid.”

  “I don’t see him as the ‘getting laid’ kind of guy.”

  “What you don’t think he has it in him? All brawn, no stamina?”

  “No… I think he’s the kind of guy that keeps you up all night long.” Evie was pretty sure that Leo Carr was exactly that kind of man. She wasn’t stupid; she could feel what was coming off of him last night. Sure, she could play it off as her being overenthusiastic. But it was there in the room with them. Leo didn’t seem like the teasing type, or did he?

  “All night long? I don’t believe the man exists that could do that. Sure, they all like to say they can do that. But let’s be honest, we all just need to be grateful for thirty minutes and getting something for ourselves.”

  “Wow, you make it sound so romantic. Why wouldn’t I pursue this with all I had? You know, I called you so you could tell me that I was being crazy and that I needed to focus on my store and Hailey and just being a normal human being for a while.”

  “Fine. Focus on your store, focus on Hailey, and focus on you. And I mean that. Don’t ignore what’s right in front of you just because you believe there’s some kind of rule against it. Nobody gets to make decisions on where you need to be at this point in your life but you. But what if you miss a chance at finding love again just because you think that it’s a week too early, or a month too early, or even a year too early? If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. You were married to a man who put you first; don’t you think he’d want you to be first even after he’s gone?”

  Damn, trust Cambry to say just what she needed to hear to flip her mindset right around. The first thought in any widow’s mind is ‘what will people think?’ What would her family think? What would his family think if she started dating? Would they say it was too soon? Or would they say it took her too long?

  The real answer was that it really didn’t matter. This was her life and her future. She could say that to herself, of course, but the reality was there was always going to be someone on the outside judging her choices. She had Hailey to think of, and if that wasn’t a good enough reason not to pursue Mr. Tall Dark and Handy, nothing was. Her daughter needed stability. Her daughter needed the time to grieve. What would she think if her mother started dating? No, this was a time for her to focus on her store, her daughter, and her future, which didn’t include handsome men that were handy with a wrench and smelled as good as he did.

  “All right, I’ll probably call you five more times today. Mostly because I’m bored and I have no customers. Maybe to pass the time I start keeping a tally of how much it’s costing me just to keep the lights on.”

  “From what you’ve told me about this town of yours, I think you’re gonna need some patience.” Cambry with her wise words again. “But seriously, call me anytime. If I don’t answer give me a minute and I’ll sneak to the restroom and call you back.”

  “Thanks, sweetie, I will.”

  Evie hung up and then spent a few minutes arranging the items on the counter that were already in order. She walked around the store moving items to the left a little then to the right trying to decide if she could just go into the back and start throwing clay to keep herself distracted. As she poured herself a new cup of tea, she heard the tiny bells that she added to the doorknob ring behind her and her heart stopped. There was a good chance it was Leo. There also was a good chance it wasn’t. Turning as casually as she dared, she saw two middle-aged women smiling brightly as they came into her store. Her first customers.

  Chapter 7

  “Good morning, welcome to The Simple Things. Take a look around and let me know if you have any questions.”

  Evie was a big believer in not being a pushy salesperson. She hated hovering staff when she went shopping so she took her cup of tea back to the counter and pretended to ignore the women as they walked around her store picking up items, turning them over and discussing the merits of each piece. There were a few times when the ladies set the pieces down a little too hard and it made her heart stop but then she reminded herself of the lesson that she had learned very well recently that nothing was permanent. Everything could be gone in the blink of an eye, whether it be pottery or lives. Accepting the impermanence of life was actually comforting in a way.

  So, she pretended to look busy by texting her girls.

  Evie: I have customers!

  Luna: Oh good make them buy the whole store.

  Cambry: Any of them male?

  Elena: I don’t think hot guys buy pottery.

  Cambry: Hot guys buy her pottery…

  Gianna: Did I miss something? What hot guy?

  Cambry: Oh a knight in a rusted pickup rescued her last night!

  Dawn: There was a man, in your shop? At night!

  Evie: I had a bit of a leak and needed an emergency repair.

  Waverly: Does that sound sexual to anyone else or just me?

  Paisley: Sounds hot, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that porno.

  Evie: Sickos. It was nice of him to come out on short notice and rescue my shop from utter ruin.

  Claire: Oh he sounds handsome, was he handsome?

  Dawn: What? Ugly guys can’t come to your rescue? You need to give the fuglies some love too.

  Cambry: He was hot. At least that’s what Evie said.

  Evie: Why do you always rat me out?

  Cambry: It’s for your own good. We all want a picture of him so you might as well just get it over with.

  Waverly: Have you thought of installing security cameras we can all watch remotely? Because that would be cool.

  Evie: Oh right, Evie’s Days of Our Lives. That would be fascinating. Me standing in an empty shop twiddling my thumbs.

  Waverly: Girl if there are hot guys we will help fund that project. You think I like sitting here at work all day looking at my computer. I need some entertainment!

  Evie could see the women in the shop moving towards her.

  Evie: BRB

  “Excuse me, miss,” one of the women started. “Do you know who makes these? Is it a local artist?”

  Evie felt a moment of embarrassment. She wasn’t the type to brag, but this was an opportunity for her to sell herself.

  “Actually, I’m the artist.” Although she never actually called herself an artist to anyone else certainly not to herself. Sure, she was just somebody that liked to make pottery and she couldn’t exactly admit she used the craft as self-medication. Her pitchers would never end up in a museum, but they were art – why not own it.

  “They are all just lovely. I love how the pieces match together in sets. I’m assuming that you can actually use these items and they’re all safe to eat and drink from?”

  “Oh yes, I ensure everything is safe. Although, I wouldn’t run it through the dishwasher, handwash only of course. Also, if there’s a pa
rticular pattern or style that you like I can always create more items based on your needs.”

  “Mary, what a great idea, custom dishware. Wouldn’t that just make Joan green with envy?” Both women started cackling and slapping at each other. Apparently, Joan was someone to one up.

  “We flew in and I don’t think this is going to fit in my luggage. You can ship items too can’t you?” The other woman asked.

  “Of course, and I guarantee that if for some reason your items don’t arrive in one piece, I’ll happily replace them.”

  The women spent a good forty-five minutes in the shop giggling and looking at items while slowly adding to a pile that they had started on the counter next to Evie. For her first customers she was making out like a bandit.

  After ringing the women up and arranging for shipping, Evie waved them off. It was her first sale in her very own shop. Evie was riding on a high. It was a high built by confidence, pride, and hope. Hope that she hadn’t made a horrible decision in starting her own shop with the money that Isaac had left her. Hope that she was actually going to be able to make it with Hailey in the small town away from family. Finally, hope that she would one day again be able to get through a day without having even a moment of sadness. Those feelings were lessening. She could often think back to the happy times and just appreciate them for what they were. They didn’t have to be sad anymore.

  Evie could almost feel a supporting presence in those moments, a reassurance that it was okay to remember and not feel bad about it.

  Smiling to herself, she finished boxing up the items after the women had left ensuring that they were packed like the finest crystal instead of sturdy pottery. Evie heard the jingle of the bells on her door again and being so caught up in the euphoria of her first sale it took her a moment to look up to see who had entered. Before she could look up the sunlight that had been streaming through the windows was blocked. There was only one thing or more specifically, one person that could block out the sun that way. Leo.