The Last Man She Expected

by Michelle Major

  “I’m offering.” He understood Josh’s desire not to revisit the past or relive the details of the abuse that had almost broken them. Of course Josh had never really had it all together. Parker didn’t either, even though it might look that way to an outsider. How could either of them ever be truly stable and steady given the way they’d grown up? Too much had been broken to ever be fully fixed.

  “I won’t take no for an answer,” Parker continued. “We’re going to make your plan a reality.” He had no idea how but knew for certain he’d find a way. He had to, given what the mill had meant to them as children. If they didn’t make it work, it felt like somehow their father still controlled them. He wouldn’t give that hateful man the power to ruin his brother’s life from beyond the grave.

  “I won’t take your money,” Josh repeated.

  “Put me to work.”

  Josh laughed. “Not a lot of need for a divorce attorney on a construction site.”

  “You know what I mean. It will be like the old days. You and me side by side.” Parker and Josh had gotten summer jobs working for a local construction crew in high school. It had been one of the best summers Parker could remember, with a reason to leave the house early each morning and then working all day. The physical labor gave him an outlet for his pent-up frustration and the feeling of helplessness that pervaded their home.

  “What are you talking about? You can’t just put your life on hold.”

  “I’ll make it work.” Parker’s mind raced with the logistics. His calendar was full at the office. Divorce was good business. But if his secretary could switch client meetings and appointments around so they were clustered once a week, he could drive into Seattle for a marathon day at the office and then manage most everything else remotely. He was at the point where he had to turn away new clients because he hadn’t wanted to hire an associate. Parker liked being a one-man show. He’d spent much of his life having no control and wasn’t willing to share it with anyone.

  “I’ve been feeling kind of burned out lately,” he told his brother, which was both true and not. “This will give me a chance to reevaluate. Plus, there’s this new guy...he graduated from my alma mater in the spring. He submitted his résumé months ago and now pesters me every week about a job...maybe it’s time I give the kid a chance.”

  “If you’re serious...” Josh gave him a grateful smile, and the hope in his brother’s eyes made Parker’s throat tighten. It reminded him of all the late-night promises he’d made to Josh when they were kids—how Parker was going to take care of things and give them a better life than the one they were living. He couldn’t help feeling like he’d failed his brother back then.

  As heartless as it sounded, it had been a stroke of luck for their father to die. Parker hadn’t had anything to do with it. While he was grateful to be rid of the violent man, the heart attack had robbed Parker of his mission to save Josh. Now was his chance to atone.

  “When are you scheduled to open?”

  “Three weeks from yesterday.”

  “How far behind are you?”

  “Close to a month,” Josh admitted quietly. “A couple of the tenants have pulled out. I lost my flagship restaurant. Nanci Morgan from Main Street Perk has agreed to open a second location for the coffee shop in the space, but it’s not enough. I have a meeting at the bank tomorrow to talk about an extension.”

  Parker nodded, keeping his features neutral. He wasn’t sure if he could actually pull this off, but he’d never let his brother know that. “I’ll go with you. Finn will understand.” One of his best friends from high school, Finn Samuelson, had recently moved back to Starlight to take over running his family’s bank, First Trust. He trusted Finn to help.

  Josh blew out a long breath. “We can do this.”

  “You bought the Dennison Mill.” Parker remained unsure how to process the information.

  Neither of them spoke for several moments, and Parker couldn’t help but wonder if his brother was reliving all the ways they kept their father’s violence a secret from the community.

  “How do you stay here?” Parker asked suddenly.

  Josh blinked, as if not understanding the question. “It’s home.”

  “Don’t the memories get to you? Everywhere I go in town it feels like he’s a part of it.”

  “I’m making my own memories, ones that don’t involve him. Ones that aren’t tied up in my failed marriage or with Anna being sick. I have to keep trying.”

  Parker blew out a breath, leveled by his brother’s inherent optimism. “I admire you, Josh.”

  “Give me a break. I’m on the verge of losing everything. You’re the big success.”

  “You won’t lose,” Parker promised. He might not know much about adaptive reuse and he hadn’t built anything in years, but he’d figure it out.

  Josh gave him the goofy thumbs-up Parker remembered from their childhood. “Not with you on my side.”

  Parker opened his mouth to argue then snapped it shut again. He hoped he was worthy of his brother’s confidence. It was difficult to admit, even to himself, the guilt he still harbored over his failure to protect his younger brother when they were kids. Now he had a chance to finally make up for that, and he wouldn’t let either of them down again.

  * * *

  “It must have been worse than you described.”

  Mara looked up from the dough she’d been rolling in her aunt’s kitchen, Evie tucked in her bed upstairs. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “I couldn’t sleep,” she told Aunt Nanci, who stood yawning in the doorway, wearing her favorite red flannel pajamas. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

  “It’s almost two in the morning,” Nanci said, her voice gentle.

  Mara glanced from the clock hanging on the far wall to the six trays of sweet rolls lined up on the counter. “Yeah.”

  “Did you actually push Paul’s attorney or did he trip? You seemed upset so I didn’t want to ask earlier. You know I wouldn’t blame you if you’d helped him out of the bounce house. It must have been a shock to face him.”

  Mara bit down on her lower lip then sighed. “He tripped, but I wasn’t sorry he fell. What kind of parenting role model does that make me?” Guilt twisted her stomach, both from the example she’d given her daughter and for causing such a commotion at Anna’s birthday party. Yes, there were a lot of things she’d do differently in that moment. “People are going to talk and make it a bigger deal. If you want me to take off a couple of days until the gossip dies down, I understand.”

  Nanci let out a small laugh. “Are you kidding? I imagine people will be flocking into the shop to get a look at you. You know how this town loves fresh gossip. Although I doubt any of the regulars will be surprised. Most of them are half terrified of you on a good day.”

  An uncomfortable sensation flitted along the back of Mara’s neck, and she picked up the final tray of rolls, turning to place them in the preheated oven. She was aware of her reputation, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

  “I’m not scary.”

  “Right.” Nanci laughed again then drew closer to the wire racks the held rows of cooling pastries. “Lucky for both of us, you’re an artist with coffee and bake better than anyone I’ve ever met. The Sunday-morning crowd will be thrilled at the extra cinnamon rolls. Usually we run out by nine.”

  “I’m not scary,” Mara repeated with more force than was probably necessary. “I don’t want to scare people.”

  “Intimidate is a better word,” Nanci told her. “Although I suppose Parker now has reason to watch his back.”

  “I’m done with Parker Johnson,” Mara said. “According to Josh, he was only here for Anna’s party. I’ll be able to avoid him if he comes for another visit.”

  “You might be the only woman in the world who’d want to avoid that fine specimen of a man. His father was quite the looker back in the
day, and Parker is the spitting image of Mac with those piercing eyes and that chiseled jaw. Heck, he might be better looking than his dad was and that’s saying something.”

  Mara absolutely did not want to think about how handsome Parker was or the way it had felt to have his warm hand touching her back. “It’s difficult to imagine he grew up here.”

  “Why?”

  Mara shrugged, wiping her hands on a white dishtowel. “I can’t see him as a child. It would seem more fitting that he sprang fully formed as the ruthless shark I know him to be.”

  “I understand your divorce was awful, but we both know Parker was doing his job for your ex-husband.”

  “Don’t defend him,” Mara said through gritted teeth. “He helped Paul take everything that mattered from me. My ex-husband made me out to be...crazy and unstable. He ruined my professional reputation just to be spiteful.” She threw up her hands. “He got to move on with his mistress and I had to start over.”

  “I’m on your side,” Nanci said, coming forward to offer a quick hug.

  The gesture made Mara’s heart pinch, like it was suddenly too large to fit into her chest. Nanci had hired Mara at the coffee shop before she’d even moved to town and had been willing to work around Evie’s schedule, first at day care and now kindergarten. Mara still had no idea what made the aunt she’d barely known growing up take Mara and Evie under her wing, but she was eternally grateful for the chance.

  She hadn’t planned on staying in Starlight when she’d arrived for her cousin’s wedding, but the town had offered her a way to rebuild her life and leave the past behind in Seattle. Now that it was home, she’d do whatever she could to make a future here for her daughter.

  “I actually have something I want to talk to you about.” Nanci pinched off a corner of one roll and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes drifted shut, and she moaned in pleasure. “It’s so darn good,” she murmured. “How do you manage not to eat any of what you bake?”

  Mara felt a blush rise to her cheeks at how happy the compliment made her. “Sugar isn’t my thing. You know that.”

  “I still don’t understand it.”

  Mara simply shrugged, unable to explain it herself. She’d only started baking after her separation. When Paul had first moved out of the house they’d shared, she hadn’t been able to sleep. Every noise or creak had set her on edge. She’d spent way too many nights watching reruns of baking competitions on the food channel.

  The process had intrigued her—the mix of chemistry and magic involved with baking. She’d taken Evie to the grocery and bought all the ingredients she’d need to replicate what she saw on television, her mind whirring with inspiration. Having something to think about besides her imploding marriage had been a blessing. Her first couple of creations were inedible, rock-solid cupcakes, and cookies that resembled Frisbees.

  Somehow those failures spurred her on to work harder. She made her first successful batch of cookies the day Paul fired her from the luxury hotel management company he owned, where she’d worked as an interior designer since graduating from college. She brought the treats to Evie’s day care and the women there had gone crazy for the cookies. A trivial win, but at that moment it meant the world to Mara.

  Nanci hadn’t known about the baking when Mara moved to Starlight, and it still wasn’t part of her job description, but her aunt was happy to have her in the kitchen at home or at the shop whenever the mood hit. “What did you want to talk about?” Mara asked.

  “The reason I woke up is because Renee called.” Nanci wrapped the rest of the sweet roll in wax paper. “There have been some complications with the baby, and the doctor is putting her on bed rest for the final few weeks of her pregnancy.”

  “Why didn’t you say something right away?” Mara wrapped her arms around her aunt, sighing when the older woman sagged against her. Renee and her husband, Brett, had moved to Texas right after the wedding because Brett was in the army and stationed in the Lone Star State.

  “I’m trying not to overreact,” Nanci said, pulling back. “They’re going to need me to be calm. She phoned from the hospital. She’s okay but the doctors are keeping her for a few days to monitor the baby’s vitals. Brett leaves for a week of training tomorrow, so I’ve already booked my flight.”

  “Of course you have,” Mara agreed. “What can I do to help? I’ll watch the house and the cats. If you need me to pick up extra shifts at Perk, I’ll find a way to manage Evie’s schedule.”

  Nanci placed a hand on Mara’s arm. “You’re sweet. I’d appreciate your help at the shop, but I also need you to step in and take over plans for the second location. Josh needs more help than he’s letting on at this point. Not just with the coffee shop but in the overall design. He needs you.”

  “I can’t.” Mara swallowed back the nerves that surfaced at the mention of planning and design. “I walked away from that kind of work. I’m a barista now.”

  Nanci arched a brow and Mara was reminded that her sweet, maternal aunt had also been a single mom who ran a successful business. “Don’t pretend you aren’t overqualified for what you do around here. I understand your ex-husband screwed you over in the divorce and tried to annihilate your career in the process. You’ve taken more than your share of blows. But he didn’t wipe out your talent, Mara. I’ve owned Perk for ten years, and I love it. Starlight is my home and now it’s yours, as well. I’m starting to think I bit off more than I can chew agreeing to open a second location in Josh’s new space. He might be over his head, too. I was there on Friday, and I don’t know how that boy expects to open next month with all the work still to do.” She shook her head. “I guess I could back out at this point.”

  “No.” The word escaped Mara’s lips with more force than she expected. “Josh will be able to pull it off.”

  “I hope so,” Nanci said after a moment. “You can make sure he does.”

  Mara nodded despite her doubts. She didn’t understand the exact reasons he’d invested so much in repurposing the mill but knew it meant a lot to him. Josh was a friend and she wouldn’t let him down. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” she agreed.

  Chapter Three

  Mara dropped Evie at school on Monday morning then drove out to the old lumber mill Josh planned to convert into retail and restaurant space. He’d only shared bits and pieces of his overall strategy, but what she knew of the concept was strong.

  She’d studied adaptive reuse in college but hadn’t ever used the concepts in real life. Her ex-husband developed sleek and modern hotels, and she’d adjusted her preference for more traditional styles to his desire for a minimalist look in each of his new properties. From the start, she’d modified most everything to Paul’s wishes, she realized now. What a fool she’d been. She’d fallen hard and fast for the charming and twice-divorced executive who was almost two decades older than her, foolishly believing him when he told her he was attracted to her intelligence and drive and not because of his unrealistic obsession with youth.

  Things had been good at the start, and she’d truly loved the man she’d married after only two months of dating. In retrospect, Mara could see she’d become a textbook case of a woman trying to work out her emotional issues with a distant father by falling for the same type of man. Her father was a researcher, prominent in his field and far more dedicated to his job than he had been in being a husband or father. He and Paul had so much in common it was almost scary when she looked at it now. Her gut churned with shame over how gullible she’d been. The turning point was when she’d gotten pregnant with Evie a year into their marriage.

  The pregnancy might not have been planned, but as soon as Mara knew she was carrying a baby, she was thrilled. Her ex-husband, not so much. She shook her head, unwilling to let herself relive how Paul had eventually cut both Mara and their daughter out of his life.

  She climbed out of her Toyota SUV, one of the few possessions she’d taken with he
r after the divorce, and walked toward the building. It was suspiciously quiet for a construction site, and she wondered why there wasn’t a crew already at work. If the project was as behind as Nanci made it out to be, they needed to get things moving. Now she wished she’d asked more questions about Josh’s business instead of simply swapping parenting advice. Maybe she wasn’t as good of a friend as she thought.

  There were three main structures, the largest building two stories with a covered porch on the front side. Each building was painted a rusty crimson color and the signage identifying the Dennison Lumber Co. had been fashioned from old redwood boards and looked original to the site.

  Turning in a slow circle, she took in the property through the lens of design. Butterflies danced across her stomach at the unrealized potential. She could imagine a courtyard between the largest building and the other two, picnic tables and planters with colorful flowers situated around the space.

  Then she shook her head, remembering this didn’t belong to her. She’d left her job at Paul’s company—been fired actually—after being trashed in the press. It had been reported that her ineptitude in design delayed the opening of the most recent hotel they’d built. Her rational side knew she’d done nothing wrong. Her husband and his executive team had been looking for a scapegoat for a project that went over budget due to issues unrelated to her work. But her confidence had taken a hit, and she’d lost her professional network along with every one of her friends during the divorce.

  Mara had learned an important lesson about reaching too high for her dreams. Her mom seemed to relish reminding her of the old saying that she was no better than she should be, the bit of sugarcoated snark making Mara question whether the success she’d had working with Paul had been a result of their relationship as opposed to her talent.

  Her parents’ marriage was traditional, with her father as the breadwinner and leader of the household while her mom took care of his needs in between tennis dates and luncheons. She’d never understood Mara’s desire for a career. Mara was fairly certain her mom put the blame for Mara’s divorce squarely on her shoulders because she hadn’t been devoted enough to Paul. Now she was here as a favor to her aunt. She trusted Josh could figure out whatever issues he was having on his own and open the project on schedule.