by Natalie Ann
“Not the same thing,” Riley said. “I wish I’d known; we could have all gone. A girl’s day.”
“Maybe next time,” Quinn said. “I’ll see if I can get someone to watch Jocelyn for an hour or so and we can make an afternoon of it.”
“I’d like that a lot,” Riley said.
She loved Quinn, who was only a year older than her, but more mature in so many ways. She didn’t know much about Quinn’s background other than bits and pieces she’d heard from family. Quinn hadn’t had an easy life in the past, but she had no problem fitting in with Max.
Quinn and Max came from two different worlds, yet to see them together let her know that anything was possible. It gave her hope for the future. Hope for her and Trevor. Anyone looking at the two of them would think they came from two different worlds, too, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was how he made her feel.
She’d seen the way he hesitated when she brought up his time in the army. There was a wariness in his eyes, mixed in with some hope.
She didn’t judge him. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t do that. Knowing what she did now didn’t change anything about how she felt toward him. Or about how he made her feel complete for once in her life.
It was his job. That was how she rationalized it in her brain. He wasn’t a killer to her. He was a person who was making the world a better place by keeping many safe. Keeping her safe. Didn’t her father ask him to do that? If only her father knew the truth to what he was asking.
But no one did. And if she had her way, no one would.
She was fine on her own.
She was good.
She could handle it.
Last time she’d talked to someone about it, they thought she was nuts. This time, she’d keep it to herself. No worries and no accusations.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked Lara, then looked down at the sneakers her niece was wearing. “Sandals would be better.”
Quinn laughed. “I told her that, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Her flip flops are in rough shape.”
“Why are sandals better?” Lara asked.
“Because our feet are going to look pretty when we’re done and we want everyone to know.”
Lara looked down at Riley’s sandals. “Your shoes are pretty.”
“Perfect,” Riley said. “We have enough time to run and get you a pair before our appointment. Then when we go to lunch, everyone can see our pretty feet.”
Thirty minutes later, Riley pulled into the parking lot of Kennedy’s. She was hoping to get a glimpse of Trevor’s sister, but hadn’t asked for her specifically. Just made an appointment for two pedicures and left her name.
Lara was skipping alongside of her wearing the new leather thongs they’d picked up. Riley opened the door, then gave their names to the young girl at the front desk. “Here’s a few forms. Just fill out the information and return them and we’ll bring you out back. We’ve got a room set up with two stations in it since we’ve found women like to come in pairs at times.”
Riley took the clipboard and pen and went to sit down. “What’s that for?” Lara asked.
“Most spas want some medical information on you before you have anything done.”
“On my feet?” Lara asked, wrinkling her nose. “There’s nothing wrong with my feet.”
“Of course there isn’t. But adults can have medical issues,” Riley said. Then stopped. No use explaining this to an eleven-year-old. Lara could care less. “Don’t worry about it.”
They didn’t have long to wait before they were ushered back and into the chairs. “Would you like the massager on?” the girl asked.
“Sure,” Riley said. “Just show me how to shut it off if Lara doesn’t like it.”
When Lara started to giggle as the mechanical chair pressed into her back and shoulders, Riley put the remote down. She felt like giggling herself right now.
Until two seconds later, when two women walked in.
One was definitely Trevor’s sister. If not by the resemblance, then by the look she was sending Riley. Time to start fielding questions.
“Hi, I’m Kennedy, and this is Sally. We’ll be working on you two lovely ladies today. Girl’s day out?”
“It is,” Riley said. “And since you’re going to be making me pretty for your brother, we might as well get this all out of the way.”
Kennedy laughed. “I like you already.”
“That’s good. I’m glad. I’m Riley Hamilton. And just so you know, my brother recommended you. I wasn’t trying to get a sneak peek at you, or figuring out a way to get any information on Trevor.” Though she was glad it worked out the way it had.
“Max sends Quinn here often,” Sally said. “And you must be Lara. My sister works for your father.”
Lara looked at her. “Who?”
“Amber,” Sally said.
“I love Amber. She’s so funny. She just got married to Zach. And Zach is funny, too. Zach’s brother Seth is moving in with them too, and he’s going to go to the same school as my brother Davy. But Seth is older than Davy by two years.”
Riley was used to Lara’s little rambles, and it seemed Sally might have heard some of it from Amber before. “I know all about that. Have you met Seth yet? I have,” Sally said, the two of them settling into their own little conversation while the water started to fill the mini tubs at the end of their chairs.
“So,” Kennedy said to her. “How’s my brother doing? I haven’t seen much of him lately. He’s been busy every time I’ve tried to get ahold of him.”
“He’s a busy guy,” Riley said. She hadn’t spent as much time as she’d hoped with Trevor in the past week, either. Though he did spend two nights at her house this week, so she couldn’t complain. Actually, it was working out well. She really didn’t want to be with someone nonstop.
At least she never used to. So why was she counting the days until she saw Trevor again?
“He seems pretty happy right now,” Kennedy said.
“He always seems happy to me,” Riley said back, enjoying this conversation. “He’s a laid-back type of guy.”
“It’s hard not to be in a town like this. It’s a laid back place.”
“I don’t know about that. Lots of tourists right now, but it’s kind of fast paced in this area.” Riley had a hard-enough time getting through traffic and people to get here.
“Tourists are always good for business. Thankfully, we’ve got something for everyone year round.”
“You’ve got a good location here,” Riley said. She liked that it was off the main drag but not out of the way, and had a nice view of the lake.
“I was lucky enough to get this house and convert it. I’ve got a little studio apartment over the garage.”
“Best way to utilize the space,” Riley said.
“You own your own business, so you get it.”
“I do. I’m already looking at expanding it.” Riley figured she might as well start talking about it now. If she’d learned one thing, news of that would be running around town soon enough. Get the ball rolling, at least.
“Expansion is good for everyone. Keeps the town growing and thriving. Brings more people in, hopefully those that want to stay.”
There was a warning there, Riley knew. She’d been expecting it. It was fun bantering with idle little chitchat, but now they were getting serious.
“Putting down roots is a hard thing to do. But when you find the right place, you realize it’s easier than you thought it’d be.”
“And is this the right place?” Kennedy asked.
“It is now,” Riley said, smiling.
Kennedy nodded her head.
Understanding was clear.
Never Admit
“So you met Riley yesterday,” Trevor said to his sister Saturday morning.
“I did,” Kennedy said, smirking at him.
He didn’t like that look now any more than he did when they were kids. “And?” he asked. He knew she’d give her opinion,
she always did. And she wouldn’t sugarcoat a damn thing, either.
“She’s very upfront. Nice. It was sweet of her to spend the day with her niece. She seems very easy to read.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure we’re talking about the same person here.”
“You don’t think she’s nice and sweet?” Kennedy asked.
“Of course I do. And yes, she’s upfront, which is a good trait to have, but I don’t think she’s easy to read at all.”
“So you think she’s hiding something?” Kennedy asked, frowning.
Sometimes it wasn’t good that his family knew him so well. “Not like you think. At least I’ve got no reason to think it.”
“But your gut is telling you there is something. Have you looked into her?”
He wanted to, but didn’t. He’d guessed there was no legal reason she was hiding. No trouble she was in with the law. “No. I’m pretty sure she’s a law-abiding citizen.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Kennedy asked.
“I can’t put my finger on it. She moved here fast. She’s skittish at the oddest times.”
“I think you’re seeing something that isn’t there, Trevor. I think you’ve been burned too many times and set yourself up for failure too much. Women aren’t as easy to read as you think in general. Or as you want. She comes across as confident and strong, but she probably has some insecurities like the rest of us.”
He wanted to argue with her about the burned and failure comments, but knew it wasn’t worth it. Deep down, he knew she was right.
“You don’t have any insecurities,” he said, walking over and lightly punching her arm.
“Everyone has them. Even you, but we know you’d never admit it.”
Nope, he wouldn’t. Not even with a gun to his head.
“Whatever you say. So you didn’t give Riley a hard time?” His sisters could be just as nosy as everyone else in town. More so when it came to family.
“She was a paying customer. Of course I didn’t. What do you take me for?”
“You wanted to though, didn’t you?”
She shrugged. “That’s beside the point. I didn’t. I’m glad I didn’t. I like her. She’ll keep you on your toes.”
“And you’d like nothing more than your big brother being kept on his toes?” Trevor asked, smiling.
“Of course.”
Trevor left a few minutes later and made his way to Riley’s house. They had plans to go to the High Falls Gorge and just have some fun for the day. He didn’t know the last time he just had fun for a full day. Probably before he went into the army.
She had errands to run first, so he was killing time before he picked her up.
“All ready to go?” he asked after she opened the door. She was wearing a pair of tiny jean shorts, a purple T-shirt, and hiking sneakers. He was surprised by the sneakers, but when he looked closer, they were extremely worn in.
“I am,” she said, “but I’d like a kiss first. Don’t you know the dating rules?”
“I’m happy to give you a kiss first. I’m happy to give you a kiss anytime you want it. What I didn’t know was that you had dating rules. Do I get punished if I break those rules that I know nothing about?”
“Just the rules that make me feel good. Don’t be breaking them. You see, I like getting kisses, so anytime you want to hand them out, I’ll gladly take one. But when you first see me or pick me up, I’d really like one. You’re not a rule breaker, are you?” She was fluttering her eyes at him, like a beacon to grab her hand and take her to her room rather than on a hiking adventure.
He liked this side of her a whole lot. When he saw her like this, he forgot about the side of her he was unsure of. The one he thought was in hiding or hiding something.
Maybe Kennedy was right. Maybe it was just insecurities. They’d had some discussions about that recently. How she was trying to make changes and how it was hard to have faults pointed out.
She grabbed her keys off the counter and handed them over to him, then put a backpack on. “What’s that for?” he asked.
“Water, some snacks. I thought we were hiking.”
“We are, but not enough to get so lost that you need a survival kit.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Oh. I like hiking. I like getting out in the wild. We’ll just throw it in the car and grab the water out. It’s a warm day.”
He handed her keys back to her. “Are we taking separate cars?” he asked.
“No. I thought you could drive my SUV. I don’t know where I’m going. Or can you drive the police SUV around wherever you want?”
He could, but didn’t often like to and took her keys back out of her hand. “I can. But when I leave town or take a day off, I don’t.”
“Do you have another car?” she asked him.
“Motorcycle.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve never been on one before.”
“I figured, which is why I didn’t bring it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a Harley my father rebuilt years ago. Nothing flashy and new, but a nice solid bike that I enjoy riding.”
“What about in the winter if you need to go somewhere?”
“I don’t go to many places, but if I do, I just take Kennedy’s car.”
She nodded. “Is there a reason you never go anywhere? Or is it you’re always on duty?”
He was hoping it was just plain old curiosity and nothing more. “A little bit of both, I guess you can say. I like where I am.”
“You’ve said that before,” she said as she closed her door.
“It’s the truth.”
“I believe it. But don’t you ever go on a vacation? Don’t you ever just want to get out of town and not see people you know? Be a stranger somewhere?”
“I’ve been to a lot of places where I was the stranger. It’s nice being known.”
Nice being in a place where he didn’t have to look over his shoulder or risk his life not knowing the strangers in front of him or the disguised dangers wherever he looked or tried to find. Familiarity was a small price for security and peace of mind to him. Nosy and disputing neighbors were better than war any day.
“Not always,” she mumbled, but he heard her.
***
“What a perfect day to see the waterfalls. It’d be nice if there were more trails, or they were longer.”
“There are other trails we can check out if you want,” he said.
“If you don’t mind. I didn’t get to see nature like this much before I moved here.”
“Yet your hiking shoes look pretty broken in to me.”
“In the nicer months, I tried to get out of the city on the weekends and hike for a few hours,” she said.
“Alone?” he asked.
“I wish. But no, I usually went with friends.”
“What about your boyfriend?”
She frowned, but why not talk about it? “My ex—my last ex—he didn’t mind it. He liked doing things in the city, though. Flashy things, clubs and parties, but he’d indulge me in some hiking adventures.”
“Indulge?”
“Not his thing, but we compromised.”
She liked to think they’d compromised. It seemed to her she did a lot of what Jason liked back then just to avoid drama. Then it dawned on her she didn’t always get her way like she always thought.
“What did he like to do?” Trevor asked as they made their way off the metal overhang for others to check out the falls.
“Not a lot. Just hanging out at clubs and parties. Shopping and fancy restaurants. He liked to be seen more than actually experience things. Which was funny, considering he was a teacher. Not too many teachers were frequenting the places we went.”
“Meaning he didn’t have the money to do those things?”
“Partially. But he was a Phys Ed teacher on top of it. Not a lot of sophistication with that.” Nor did his name get him into all the places he wanted. Being used never felt good, a
nd felt worse when you realized it after the fact.
Trevor laughed. “I’d think a Phys Ed teacher would enjoy the outdoor activities more.”
So did she, but she had been wrong on that front, too. “Like I said, we compromised.”
“What happened with you and this gym teacher?”
She laughed. “I called him that once and he got annoyed with me. Physical Education Specialist is what he often told people when we were out. I can’t tell you how many times I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Anyway, we did a lot of things. Went on vacations, went out on the weekends with friends.” No need to say most of it was on her dime. That would just make her look like the fool. “We didn’t stay home and relax much at all. He always wanted to be on the run. Never could sit still.”
“Doesn’t sound like my type of guy,” Trevor said.
“It can get tiring. I worked a lot more than he did. Longer hours, full years. I didn’t get summers off and he wanted to just ram around when he did. I guess blowing whistles at kids all day long wasn’t enough for him.” She slapped a hand in front of her mouth and giggled. “I can’t believe I actually said that. I always wanted to, but never did.”
“Is that why you split?” he asked, laughing.
She was following him down a path now, talking to his back. She wished she could see his face. “I’m sure that was part of it. There is always more than one thing to a breakup. Unless there is cheating, and that’s enough on its own.”
He stopped and turned. “Did he cheat on you?”
“No,” she said. “We just didn’t have a lot in common. Or not as much as I had hoped. He wanted things out of life I didn’t. I wanted things he wasn’t ready for or wanted no part of.”
He waited until she could walk next to him, side by side, when the trail widened, and she liked that. She liked that he was considerate enough to put them on the same level. Equals.
“Like what?” he asked.
“What did he want that I didn’t? Or what did I want that he didn’t?”
