Serious about making sure his truck was clear of bees, he checked everything, including the engine, which not only bought him time to collect himself but also proved that they were finally free of the pesky insects. He walked back to the house and poked his head inside the front door.
“It’s safe now,” he said, then nearly laughed out loud at the irony. His emotions were definitely not safe, and the sooner he got her back to the range, the better.
He opened the truck door for her, barely thinking about the gesture because he’d always done it. He even opened the door for his sister, although she, being the independent woman she was, always pitched a fit. Which was why he never failed to open the door for her. He climbed in the driver’s seat, and a few minutes later they were headed back to the range.
The silence in the cab was overwhelming. Why weren’t they talking? Everything had been easy until . . . Until you almost kissed her. Had she sensed that he’d wanted to? He had no idea. If he’d learned one thing this evening, it was that he couldn’t trust his emotions.
Joe turned into the parking lot, which was now empty except for Sophie’s car and Claude’s classic Crown Victoria. The old man was holding a can in each hand and spraying them around the stall where the teenagers had been. When he saw Joe pull up next to Sophie’s car, he hurried over to them. Joe rolled down the truck window.
“What happened?” he asked when Claude reached them.
“Idiot kids.” Claude scowled, looking like he was ready to exterminate some teenagers. “They saw a hole in the roof and started throwing balls at it, trying to see if they could get one in. I was going over there to tell them to knock it off when bees started coming out of the hole. You know the rest.” He shook his head. “I guess I should thank them. At least we weren’t busy, and now I know I need to inspect for more nests. Anyways, I’m closed for the night, obviously. Did you two leave anything?”
“The club I used and the golf ball bucket,” Sophie said. “I can get them for you.”
“I’ll put them up.” Claude lifted the cans. “Back to work I go.”
Joe rolled the window back up as Claude took off. He frowned, wondering if he needed help. As soon as he said goodbye to Sophie, Joe decided to find out. He turned to her, prepared to see that she’d opened the door and was already halfway out.
But she remained in her seat, looking at him.
“Joe,” she said, her tone serious. “I need to ask you something.”
He was surprised. “Sure.”
“Why didn’t you want me to go out with Landon?”
* * *
Sophie had spent the ride back to the golf range trying to stem her disappointment.
She’d been so sure Joe was going to kiss her, then felt like a fool for being completely wrong. Then again, what did she know about men? When was the last time she’d actually kissed one? Never, since the last kiss she’d experienced was a perfunctory one from her date at the senior prom, and that didn’t count. How pathetic. Thirty-five years old and never been kissed. How humiliating. At least by the time Joe pulled into the parking lot, she had disabused herself of the kissing idea.
But there was one thing she wanted to know. She hadn’t planned to ask him, but now that their friendly evening was over and he’d made up for interfering in her life, she wasn’t sure if she’d have the opportunity again. She needed to know why he had been so against her going out with Landon.
He was quiet for a long moment, then he rubbed his palms on the legs of his pants before turning to her. “You knew I was married before, right?”
She nodded. “To Jenna.” She’d been surprised to hear that they had gotten married, because they were so young and the first couple in their graduating class to do so.
“And you know we divorced six months later.” When she nodded again, he let out a bitter chuckle. “The perils of small-town living. Right after the divorce, Jenna moved to Malvern. I wasn’t sure why, since one of the reasons she wanted a divorce was because she didn’t want to live in Maple Falls anymore, and she was afraid of getting stuck here.” He frowned. “I told her we could move to Hot Springs if she wanted. I just needed to be within commuting distance of Henderson State, where I was attending. But that wasn’t good enough. And it wasn’t like Malvern was a big city.” He blew out a breath. “I’m sure you’re not interested in all those details.”
Actually, she was. Not for the gossip factor, but because Joe was revealing a part of his past, one she suspected he rarely revisited. He was trusting her enough to explain things, and she appreciated that. “I don’t mind.”
“I’ll give you the short version anyway.” He looked directly at her. “Jenna was having an affair with Landon.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped. “What?”
A dark look crossed Joe’s handsome face. “Yeah. It started about a month after we got married. I never asked her how, and she didn’t tell me, other than she thought married life was boring. Or more accurately, I was boring.”
Sophie couldn’t think of anything further from the truth. Joe Johnson was anything but dull. He was kind, considerate, an excellent coach and teacher, and good-looking. Jenna had to be nuts to throw him away like that.
“I guess she thought Landon was boring, too, because a few weeks after she moved to Malvern, she left for Florida. I haven’t talked to her or Ferry since.” He lifted his gaze to her. “Then when I saw him asking you out, I . . . Never mind. You know what I did.”
He’d wanted to protect her. That was what he’d been doing, and in turn she kicked him out of the shop. Granted, she had no idea, but did it matter? Sophie shivered at the thought that she’d had dinner with someone so vile.
“Anyway, that’s the reason,” Joe continued. “But I promise I won’t do it again.”
“You won’t have to. I won’t be seeing him again.”
Joe’s face brightened, only to turn serious again a moment later. “Good.” A pause. “Well, I guess I’d better see if Claude needs help. I don’t think two cans of bug spray will protect him if there’s another nest around here.”
It was as if he couldn’t wait for her to leave. Of course, he probably couldn’t. They had nothing else to do or to say.
“All right.” She reached for the passenger door latch, expecting him to jump out and finish opening the door for her, like he had at the house. Instead, he remained in place.
“Goodbye,” she said, getting out.
“See ya.”
Heaviness settled over her heart as she shut the truck door and made her way to her car. There wasn’t a bee in sight, and the calamine lotion had done its job soothing the sting on her backside. She was tempted to look over her shoulder, to get one more look at Joe before she never saw him again. It might be overdramatic, but considering how infrequently their paths crossed, she was sure it was close to the truth.
Even so, she kept her focus on her car and her thoughts in perspective. There hadn’t been anything between her and Joe in the past, and there wouldn’t be in the future. It wasn’t like he was the only single guy in the world.
There’s always internet dating.
Defeated, Sophie groaned as she opened her car door.
Chapter 7
Feeling like a heel for not opening the door for her, Joe waited for Sophie to drive off. He hadn’t wanted to face her after telling her about Jenna and Landon. He might’ve tried to stop her and ask for another date.
Instead, he pushed all that away, reminding himself that he and Sophie didn’t exactly run into each other very often. And even if she had been interested in another date, he was sure he’d squashed her interest after revealing his past. The pain still haunted him, although it wasn’t because he missed Jenna. She had made a fool out of him, and that was what hurt. He’d been in love, or thought he was anyway, and she had said she loved him. Yeah, she loved him so much she was in another man’s bed a month after their honeymoon.
He banged his fist against the steering wheel as the memories he’d shov
ed deep down coursed through him. Then he sat back in his seat. That was the past, and he needed to keep it there. He had owed Sophie an explanation, and he was grateful to see sympathy instead of pity in her eyes. But that didn’t mean they were meant to go out again, much less be together. The fact that he was even thinking about that right now made a new, confusing ache appear in his heart.
Joe flung open the truck door and walked toward Claude. He needed to do something to get his mind off the past, and especially off Sophie. The last thing he wanted to do was go to an empty house and stew, so he approached Claude, who was shaking one of the cans of insecticide. It sounded empty.
“Do you have any more?”
Claude nodded. “In the storeroom.” Then he turned to Joe. “Where’s your girl?”
Joe almost chuckled that Claude would consider a woman in her thirties a girl, much less his girl. “She went home.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Hey, bring her back tomorrow. I’ll give you both two buckets. On me.”
Shaking his head, Joe said, “I won’t be seeing her anymore.”
“She’s that upset about the bees?”
“It’s not the bees. It’s me. She’s not interested in me like that.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
Joe frowned. “What?”
“I pay attention to things around here.” Claude smiled, revealing a gold bottom tooth. “My friend, she couldn’t keep her eyes off you.”
“She was probably looking at the bee stings.” He gestured to his arm.
“Trust me, she wasn’t lookin’ at that part of your arm.”
Joe stilled, remembering how he had caught her looking at him shortly after she arrived at the range. He’d kept in good shape since he’d stopped playing football, and he liked to lift. Still, the feeling he’d gotten when he saw she had noticed his biceps—
“Earth to Joe.” Claude clucked his tongue. “When was the last time you were on a date? Not counting tonight.”
“Tonight wasn’t a date—”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He looked at the nozzle on the can. “The time before that?”
Joe paused. “Jenna. My ex-wife.”
Claude’s head snapped up. “You were married?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” Man, his ego was taking some hits tonight.
“I don’t mean it like that. I just never pegged you for being divorced.”
It’s not like Joe had wanted to be. Over the years he’d realized that even though it hurt and he’d been humiliated, Jenna’s divorcing him had been for the best. The marriage would have been miserable because he never would have been able to please her. He knew that now, thanks to hindsight.
“Let’s get back to the date thing. So, you haven’t been on a date since your divorce, which was . . .”
“A long time ago,” Joe muttered.
“Okay. Makes sense.” Claude gestured toward the clubhouse with a nod. “Let’s get the rest of that spray. I think I got them all, but I want to be sure.”
“You didn’t call an exterminator?”
“Oh I did, and she’s coming out in the morning. But I want those things dead dead.”
Joe couldn’t argue with that. He followed him, unsure about Claude’s earlier point. “What do you mean it makes sense?”
“That you wouldn’t see that—what’s her name?”
“Sophie.”
“Ah, Sophie. Lovely name for a lovely girl.” He gave Joe a side-look. “There it is.”
“What?”
“A little jealous spark.”
Joe laughed as they walked into the storeroom behind the clubhouse. “Me, jealous? Of you, old man?”
“Hey, at least I can see what’s right in front of my nose.” He opened the door. “Now where’s that bug spray?”
“Here.” Joe grabbed a can off the shelf nearest to the door. As he handed it to Claude, he thought about the man’s words. Was he right, that Sophie was interested, and Joe couldn’t see it? Nah, that couldn’t be it. Could it?
Claude took the can, then found two more and handed them to Joe. They went back to the tees, and he helped spray them down and look for more holes. After emptying the cans, Claude declared they’d done everything they could do for the night.
“Thanks for your help,” he said as he threw the cans away.
“No problem.”
“Now, what are you going to do about Sophie?”
Joe thought the old man had dropped the subject. “Nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do.”
Shaking his head, Claude walked over to Joe and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re going to ask her out again.”
“But—”
“What have you got to lose?”
A pause. “She could turn me down.”
“True. And would that be the worst thing in the world?”
Joe shook his head. What Jenna had done to him was. So why did the thought of Sophie rejecting him make him feel almost as bad? Less than two days ago, he’d been fine with asking her out. Because I didn’t know I cared for her then.
“Look, son. You can spend the rest of your life protectin’ yourself because of what happened in the past, or you can let all that go and find out what you’ve been missin’. I can see you like this girl. You’re not any better at hiding your feelings than she is. Problem is, you’re both afraid.”
“And you figured that out after seeing us together for a couple hours?”
Claude laughed. “You forget, I’ve been married over fifty years. I have six kids, and they’re all married too. I’ve learned a few things.”
Joe considered his words. “I’ll think about it,” was all he managed to say.
Clapping him on the shoulder again, Claude said, “That’s all I’m asking you to do.”
After Joe left the range, he headed straight home. He saw the bottle of calamine lotion on the kitchen counter, then thought about Claude’s words again. They had been all he could think about on the drive home.
* * *
The next day, which was strangely slow for a Saturday, Sophie let Hayley and MacKenzie off for the afternoon. The day was bright, sunny, and warm, and she was sure everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather before summer bore down and made it too hot to do much of anything outside. She went to the back and straightened up the workroom. When she spied a daisy on the floor, she picked it up. The stem was bent but the petals were still in place. Even so, the flower couldn’t be used. She glanced around, as if worried someone might see her, then she started to pluck the petals.
He loves me . . .
He loves me not.
By the last petal, she not only felt stupid for playing such a dumb game, but she’d also landed on he loves me not. Frustrated, she tossed the empty stem into the trash. She hadn’t been able to get Joe off her mind all night or today. What he told her about Jenna and Landon had broken her heart. How could that woman be so callous to a kind man like Joe? She knew there were two sides to every story, but she couldn’t imagine Joe doing anything to cause Jenna to treat him so badly.
She didn’t doubt his version of what happened either. She could easily see Landon having an affair with a married woman and not caring about the consequences. She now despised him instead of merely thinking he was an egocentric bore. How many men out there were just like him, only concerned with themselves and not caring whether they hurt someone or not?
The idea of going out with anyone except Joe Johnson made her uneasy.
Meeting men she didn’t know beyond a picture and profile on the internet didn’t appeal to her either. She knew April would set her up with someone if she asked, or her mother would try to, but Sophie didn’t want that.
I want Joe. And she couldn’t have him. Maybe I’m not ready to date, after all.
The chime sounded over the entry door, and for once she didn’t rush to the front of the store. She sighed as she trudged out of the workroom, then gasped when she saw the man standing there.
“What are you doing here?”
Landon—looking like he’d just stepped out of a men’s style magazine with his perfect hair, perfect outfit, and perfectly fake smile—walked to the counter.
“Hello to you, too, Sophie.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “How can I help you?” she asked, fighting for a polite tone, but failing. All she could see was the man who had played a part in wrecking Joe’s marriage.
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. And if you’re not here to buy flowers, you can show yourself out.” On second thought, she wasn’t sure if she would sell him so much as an empty stem after finding out about him and Jenna.
The perfect expression slid from Landon’s face, changing to anger. “I’m not leaving until we have this conversation.”
A chill ran down Sophie’s spine. “I’m not going out with you again, Landon,” she said firmly.
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be asking.”
“Then we have nothing to talk about.”
“Except your business. I have a proposition for you.”
Against her will, Sophie listened as Landon launched into a lengthy explanation about how beneficial it would be for her to sell Petals and Posies.
“I have a buyer already lined up. He’s willing to pay you more than this place is worth.”
“Why?” Sophie crossed her arms again. “What’s so valuable about my property?”
“That’s not for me to disclose.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m not interested.”
“You haven’t heard the off—”
“I don’t care what the offer is. This is my shop, and I will never sell it.” When she saw him flinch, she added, “Did you really think you could wine and dine me a few times and I would fold and sell my business? Do you have any idea how long and hard I’ve worked to make it successful?”
“I’m sure I can convince you that selling is in your best interest,” he said, regaining his composure, clearly not caring that she had put her heart and soul into her shop. “Listen, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I know I can trust you. My client is very interested in revitalizing Maple Falls.”
This Time Around Page 21
