Addie’s face heated. Definitely not the kind of pickup line a girl wanted to hear. “Oh, well, thank you.” She flipped on her lights.
Biker Boy nodded his head in approval and winked. “No problem.” Maybe now he would ask for her number.
The light turned green and he shot off without giving her a second glance. Addie closed the window and slowly pressed on the accelerator.
She didn’t really like guys with motorcycles anyway.
Feeling discouraged and tired, she finally pulled into her driveway. The small bungalow styled house looked cozy and secure. She longed to sneak inside her house, grab a bite of food and go directly to bed, but her dad would be anxious to hear about her day.
She parked in the garage and entered the house through the kitchen. The faint smell of onions and beef lingered from her dad’s dinner and she knew he would have a plate for her warming in the oven. She hung her keys on the hook by the door, not sure if she could eat anything heavy right now. A bowl of cold cereal sounded just right. But first she wanted to change into her favorite yoga pants and a T-shirt.
After she placed her purse on the counter, Addie followed the muffled sounds from the television to look for her dad. She found him asleep in his recliner, his head tipped down on his chest. She paused by the door and studied him. His gray hair, or what was left of it, had fallen over his forehead. The flickering light from the television illuminated the deep crevices of his face.
As she watched him, she realized how old he appeared. He looked every bit his eighty years. How much longer would she get to have him around? Tenderness and love for her dad washed over her. The upside of being jilted was at least now she’d have more time with him.
Careful not to awaken her father, she slipped off her shoes and tiptoed toward her bedroom. The floor creaked beneath her feet and startled her dad awake.
“Hi, honey,” he said on a yawn. “When did you get home?” She loved the deep, gravelly sound of his voice.
“Just now. Sorry if I woke you.”
He smiled and waved his hand. “I needed to get up, anyway.” He braced his hands on the arm of the chair and attempted to rise. “I think I’m getting old.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up. In spite of his advanced age, his mind was still sharp and his attitude as upbeat as ever. She moved next to the chair and held out her hand. “You’re not old, Dad.”
He gripped her hand firmly and stood without much assistance. His eyes—the same light brown color as hers—twinkled as he playfully tugged on a lock of her hair. “Not too old with my little girl around.” His lips stretched into a smile and he winked. “I’m glad you’re home. How was your day?”
Her day had been long, and it hadn’t helped that one of the secretaries had gotten engaged the night before. All day, Addie listened to the play by play of the engagement retold multiple times. She also knew the wedding colors, the type of flowers the bride liked and the price range of the dress she planned on purchasing. Plus, there was Brandon’s wedding announcement burning a hole in her purse. She should have just tossed it.
“It was okay.” She avoided looking in his eyes. “It’s tax season so that should say it all.” Technically, since she was the lowest ranking accountant, Addie didn’t have much to do with the crazy tax season but it was a solid excuse for having a bad day at work.
When her dad didn’t make a comment, Addie met his concerned gaze. “Chellie called,” he said softly. “She told me about the wedding announcement.”
To her horror, the sting of tears pricked her eyes. “Oh.” She blinked rapidly. “I’m okay.” A tear spilled over her bottom lash and she wiped at it with the back of her hand. She couldn’t fall apart now.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he said with just a hint of a southern accent.
Even though her dad had been raised in Georgia, he’d lost most of his accent long ago. Every now and then it came out, especially when he was offering words of comfort. He held out his arms and it only took Addie a second before she leaned in to embrace her father. With her face pressed against his chest, she cried, feeling like a little girl all over again.
Life wasn’t fair. But she already knew that. When you’re eleven and your mother gets so sick she can’t even hug you good-night, the reality of pain and suffering becomes very apparent. As much as she hurt right now, nothing could compare to seeing her mother fade away to nothingness and then leave her for good.
After a few minutes Addie stepped back, embarrassed by her emotions. Her daddy always used to tell her “If you hurt, cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it.” Apparently seeing Brandon’s wedding announcement had hit her like a rogue wave and knocked out the bridge she had built to get over him.
“Sorry.” She sniffed and gave her dad a shaky laugh. “I really don’t know why I’m crying.”
He studied her for a few seconds, love evident in his eyes. “Honey, you’ve been holding that in for quite some time now.” He took her hand and led her to the couch where they both sat down. “I know the past few months have been hard on you, so that cry was long overdue.”
Her dad was obviously not aware of the many nights Addie had cried herself to sleep. Lately, things had been better and she thought she was done shedding tears over Brandon. Honestly, part of her had been relieved when he had called off the wedding. The two of them hadn’t acted like most engaged couples—like the ones who can’t keep their hands off each other and are constantly stealing kisses, making everyone around them uncomfortable.
The reminder of their strained relationship made her want to forget everything about Brandon. “I feel better now.” She glanced up. “I think I’m just tired and hungry.”
She started to get off the couch, but her dad grabbed her hand and held her back. “I’m glad you feel better, but I’m worried about you.”
“Because you talked to Chellie?”
“No. Because for the past couple of months I’ve waited to see that spark of life come back into your eyes.” He rubbed his rough thumb over the top of her hand. “It hasn’t. And now you’ve cut yourself off from socializing with young people your age.”
That’s because the young people her age were looking for a relationship. Addie wasn’t prepared to go there again. “I’m just not ready to date right now, Dad.”
“Okay. But I think you need a change of scenery. Your aunt Janie has been asking you to come to Georgia and stay with her for a while now. I think you should go.”
It’d been so long since Addie had visited Georgia, and Aunt Janie would spoil her with all kinds of good southern food. Still, she was reluctant to make the trip because every time she talked with her aunt, she kept mentioning all the nice boys Addie should meet, especially her closest neighbor Chase Nichols.
Addie remembered meeting Chase not long after her mother had passed away. He had been arrogant, teased her about having red hair and had hated that she was two inches taller than him. Sure, he’d been cute, and, according to her aunt, he was even better looking now, but if he was that annoying at fourteen, she could only imagine how much worse he’d gotten.
“That would be fun. Maybe sometime in the fall I can save enough money to buy a ticket.”
“Why not now?” One of her father’s bushy brows lifted. “I thought you still had two weeks off and a voucher you can use anytime?”
Yes. Theoretically, Addie had two weeks of unpaid vacation starting next Friday, due to the aforementioned belated honeymoon. Since her boss had already arranged to have a free college intern step in for Addie, he had made it clear she wasn’t needed at the office. She hadn’t been eager to fight his decision since the whole situation was humiliating enough. And the roundtrip voucher was one of the only things she didn’t lose money on when Brandon dumped her.
“I do, but I thought I’d just hang around here and organize the basement or something.” By the look on her father’s face, she knew that had been the wrong thing to say. She sounded completely pathetic. Correction, she was completely
pathetic.
Letting out a defeated breath, she said, “I’ll give Aunt Janie a call to see if she’s up for a house guest.”
A spark lit her father’s eyes. “I talked to her this morning and she already has your favorite room ready for you.”
“I’m still calling her so she doesn’t get any ideas of setting me up with her neighbor.” Addie fished her phone out of her pocket. “I’m not interested in meeting any men.”
Her father let out a deep chuckle. “You’ll ruin her fun, but go ahead and tell her.”
Addie leaned her head on her dad’s shoulder. The familiar scent of his aftershave gave her a sense of reassurance that things might be okay. “Thanks for understanding.”
“You’re welcome.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You know, sweetie, it’ll all workout. And when you meet the man you really are meant to be with, this’ll all seem like nothing.”
She closed her eyes briefly. The last thing she wanted was another man in her life. There was nothing wrong with staying single. “Yeah, I guess. But I’m in no hurry.”
She stood and held out her hand to help her father off of the couch. “I’m going to go change my clothes before I get something to eat.”
“Sure, honey. I’ll get your food out of the oven.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Addie let go of his hand and padded down the hall to her bedroom. The minute she opened the door, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her wedding dress, still hanging on the closet door. Oh yeah, she forgot she’d pulled it out last night, determined to take pictures of it and sell it on eBay.
That was before she had opened Brandon’s wedding announcement.
Her eyes started to sting again, but she blinked, swallowed down her emotions, and moved the dress inside her closet. Selling her dress could wait another day.
Closing the closet door, Addie grabbed her laptop and sank down on her bed. She was going to book her flight before she chickened out and stayed home to organize the basement.
She logged on and quickly scanned over her email. There was the usual amount of spam, notifying her of specials at her favorite stores. A few of the messages were from church, probably inviting her to the next activity. Feeling more guilty than embarrassed at the moment, she opened one of the messages and then wished she hadn’t. The next activity was going to be a surprise wedding shower for a couple Addie remembered always being together, holding hands, whispering and stealing kisses. Ugh. She was so not going.
Skipping the other church related mail, she scrolled to the most recent message. It was from the company she’d purchased her new camera lens from. The subject announced in bold letters a photography contest with a grand prize totaling ten thousand dollars.
Excitement shot through Addie as she clicked open the message and read the details. The recipient of the winning photograph would take home a professional camera with all the accessories, including memory cards, and two additional lenses.
If she could win the contest, this could be her chance to finally go for her dream. While Addie’s current camera was great, it wasn’t ideal for the kind of quality of work she’d like to have with her own studio. With the right equipment, she could work out of her home until she built a clientele, which hopefully wouldn’t take too long. Daisy Springs didn’t have a professional photographer. Yet.
Feeling more hope than she had in a long time, she dropped her gaze to the bottom of the message and found the rules as well as the deadline. She had three weeks to get the perfect picture. Her mind whirled as fast as the high-speed shutter setting on her camera as she thought of possible locations and subjects. She loved doing landscape but it was still pretty brown outside. Spring rarely came early in Idaho, but the South would be a different story.
Mitchel Creek, Georgia was a picturesque town about thirty minutes outside of Macon. With large plantation type homes dotting the rolling hills and a quaint little main street lined with antique shops and boutiques, Addie should be able to capture the perfect image.
Opening a new tab in her browser, Addie typed in the airline name and clicked on the link to their website. After logging into her account, she booked her flight for the following Friday.
Next, she found her cell phone and texted her travel plans to her aunt. Unlike Addie’s father, Aunt Janie—his younger sister by eight years—had embraced the latest technology, including smart phones and texting.
A few minutes later her phone dinged and she read the excited message from her aunt. Before Janie could mention anything about setting Addie up with her good-looking neighbor, Addie quickly sent her stipulation that she wasn’t interested in dating anyone. Period.
The reply she got back was very short, and not as reassuring as she’d wanted.
Sweetie, you don’t need to date anyone you don’t want to. I can’t wait to see you. Hugs!
Addie decided not to clarify her stance because she was sure about one thing: she did not want to date. At least not for a very, very long time.
Chapter Two
Chase Nichols, dressed for work in a button-down shirt, tie and khaki colored slacks, leaned against the door jamb of Janie Caldwell’s kitchen. His mouth watered as the tantalizing smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns drifted his way. With great anticipation, he watched Miss Janie drizzle icing over the warm bread.
“Chase, are you sure you don’t mind picking up Addie?” she questioned without glancing up at him.
Chase would do just about anything for one of her cinnamon buns. “Miss Janie, I told ya I don’t mind, and I’m gonna be in Atlanta, anyway.” His neighbor baked the best breads and pastries in the entire South, making Chase a frequent visitor.
“That’s right, you and the boys have a…” Janie looked up and furrowed her brow. “What’d ya call it?”
“A gig.”
“Right. A gig.” Janie finished with the icing and reached for a spatula. “Well, Addie’s plane comes in early afternoon on Friday. Is that gonna be a problem?”
Chase pushed away from the door jamb. “That’ll be perfect. We’re only playin’ one night and it happens to be Thursday.” Chase grinned. “We’re still not good enough for the weekend crowd at this club.”
Janie swatted her hand in the air. “What? That’s crazy. You boys sound wonderful to me. Y’all will get your big break. Just wait and see.”
Every time somebody brought up the failed attempt of Chasing Dreams to break into the country music scene, Chase felt an almost desperate feeling inside to stop time. He was twenty-eight, and now that he had a college degree, and a good career in graphic arts, the next step should be marriage. But while the other members of their country music band were content playing a couple of weekends a month, Chase couldn’t let go of his dream. He wanted one more chance to make it big—even if it meant going solo.
“Miss Janie.” Chase walked toward the counter. “The guys are happy doin’ a few gigs a month.” He took the plate from Miss Janie’s outstretched hand. “Thank you.” He tore off a corner of the roll. “Besides, Drew and his wife are expectin’ another baby, and he complains about being away from his family as it is. Same with Jackson, now that he’s married.”
Jackson McCall, his best friend since the fourth grade, had gotten married six months earlier. His goals had been the same as Chase’s until he met his wife Sydney. That realization still stung.
Janie gave him a calculated look before her lips stretched into a big smile. “And do you have any marriage prospects?”
Chase smiled, trying his best not to show his irritation. He would get married. Eventually. As soon as the right girl came along.
“No, ma’am. No one yet.”
Janie’s grin widened. “Well, maybe my Addie will turn your head. She’s a pretty little thing and needs to have her heart mended.”
Chase was in the process of taking his first bite, but paused midway. Addie? As in the Addie he was supposed to pick up?
“Your niece? What happened t
o break her heart?”
Janie crossed her arms over her ample chest and narrowed her eyes. “Her fool fiancé broke off their engagement two weeks before the wedding. Although it’s a good thing it happened before she married the scoundrel.”
Chase was mildly curious about what caused the break up, but didn’t ask for clarification. He knew there were always two sides to every story, and he remembered Janie’s red-headed niece. She’d been hot-tempered, even at the age of eleven. “Yes, ma’am. That is a good thing.”
“He didn’t deserve her anyway, so I’m glad it didn’t work out.” She eyed Chase again, a speculative gleam glinting in her dark brown eyes. A look he knew all too well when someone was trying to set him up.
Chase wasn’t interested in Janie’s fiery niece, and he seriously doubted she would be interested in him. Shoot, the last time he saw her, she’d been a couple of inches taller than him. Man, he’d hated that. And the girl rubbed it in whenever she got the chance. His growth spurt came the following year, but the redhead never returned for a visit. He was tempted to ask Janie how tall her niece was now. While Chase’s height was above average, he was still just six feet with his boots on.
“Well,” he said, needing to change the subject. “I need to get to work. Why don’t you give me her cell so I’ll have a way of callin’ her.”
Janie wiggled both eyebrows. “You want her number?”
Not for what you’re thinking. “Well, yeah. I just figured that would be the best way to contact her at the airport.” He shrugged. “Or, I can just hold up a sign with her name on it.”
“Perfect idea. I’ll make the sign tonight and you can take it before you leave for your gig thing.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be by to pick it up the mornin’ before we leave.” He took the rest of the roll and handed Janie his plate. “Thanks for feeding me.”
“You’re welcome.” She grinned as she followed Chase out the door. “Oh, I’ll still text you Addie’s number.”
Under a Georgia Moon: Georgia Moon Romance Book 1 Page 2
