The Last Man She Expected

by Michelle Major

  “So much that she entered into a relationship with him while he was still married to you.”

  “It’s difficult to explain, but I don’t blame her.” Mara climbed off the ladder. “I can see now that I married Paul for the wrong reasons. He was secure and successful, and I thought I needed that because I didn’t believe in myself. I tried to fit into a life that was wrong for me. We were wrong for each other. If it hadn’t been Aimee, it would have been someone else. Someone who would be a stepmother to my daughter whether I like it or not.”

  “So she’s potentially the best of the worst?” Brynn chuckled. “What a ringing endorsement.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “What are you going to do about Parker?” Brynn asked, glancing toward the open door at the far end of the building as the sound of a truck pulling into the parking lot drifted toward them.

  “I didn’t expect to feel this way,” Mara admitted.

  “But you do.”

  Mara nodded. “Aimee seemed to think Parker was the one encouraging Paul to give up on their marriage.”

  “He’s a divorce attorney.” Brynn shrugged. “Happy marriages aren’t exactly good for his business.”

  “I know, but this is different. It’s personal. I thought he understood what the divorce did to me. He knows Paul lied and I can’t believe he’d support him in hurting another woman the way he hurt me. I won’t have someone like that in my life. Never again.”

  Brynn came over and gave her a quick hug. It felt strange because Mara wasn’t used to that kind of easy affection with friends. But she thought she’d like to become accustomed to it.

  “Enough about me,” she said when Brynn pulled away. “How’s the dating app situation?” She and Kaitlin had finally convinced Brynn to put up an online profile. They’d spent an evening laughing as they reviewed dating websites to find the one they believed would be the right fit for the sweet and sassy single mom.

  Brynn lifted her shoulders then let them drop again. “I haven’t had the nerve to log on,” she admitted. “In fact, I’m probably going to delete my information. I have no business dating with a son who needs my full attention.”

  “Then you think I shouldn’t date because of Evie?”

  “It’s not the same thing. You got divorced. My husband died, and the trauma of that is too much.”

  “At least Tyler knows his father loved him. Evie has to deal with the fact that her dad lives an hour away but chooses not to see her.” She sighed. “Here we go again, comparing crappy situations. I need to call Paul and figure out how to fix this for her.”

  “But first you need to talk to Parker.”

  Mara forced herself to nod. “Adulting is hard.”

  “Which is why we have chocolate,” Brynn told her.

  “And friends.” She gave Brynn another hug. “Friends and chocolate will see us through.”

  * * *

  Mara opened the door to her aunt’s house the following evening, her heart screaming in protest at the sexy half smile Parker flashed.

  “I missed you,” he said without preamble.

  “You have a funny way of showing it.” She shifted so she filled the doorway, not ready to invite him back into her home. Her brain hadn’t found a way to reconcile the knowledge of his meeting with her ex-husband. She’d spent the past three nights tossing and turning as she scrutinized their time together from the lens of what she could only consider a betrayal on his part.

  It would be easier if she’d found a way to dull her reaction to him in the few short days he’d been gone. Tonight he wore a faded blue-checked flannel shirt, jeans and rugged boots. His hair looked windblown and a dusting of stubble covered his strong jaw. He leaned in as if to kiss her and she caught the subtle scent of sandalwood mixed with laundry soap. She gave a slight shake of her head even as her body wanted to plaster itself against him.

  He frowned and straightened. “Did I miss something?” The words were spoken softly but his deep tone made her skin tingle.

  Stupid skin.

  “Not one call or text,” she answered.

  “I didn’t think... I was only gone for a few days.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. Things were crazy in Seattle and then at the mill when I got back. Finishing touches before next week.”

  “I’m aware of what’s going on with the mill.”

  “Parker?”

  Mara turned to find Evie making her way down the steps, the favorite stuffed bear tucked under one arm.

  “Hey, girl,” he said. “How was practice earlier?”

  “You missed it,” Evie told him. Mara took a step toward her daughter.

  “Honey, I thought you were asleep.”

  “I wokie up.” Evie rubbed at her eyes. “Then I heard you talking.”

  “Parker just stopped by for a second, but now he’s leaving.”

  “Not quite yet,” he said from directly behind her.

  She gritted her teeth as he closed the front door.

  “I dribbled real good,” Evie reported shyly. “All the way down the field. Past Caroline even.”

  “‘Atta girl.” He reached out and smoothed a strand of damp hair away from Evie’s face. The girl must have been out cold. His presence felt far too right in the quiet foyer. Mara thought she might break a molar with how tightly her jaw was clenched.

  “Little girls need sleep.” Mara pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “I’ll take you back upstairs.”

  “And Parker?” Evie asked with a yawn. She stretched out her arms, and he immediately lifted her into his before Mara could protest.

  She tamped down a swell of emotion as she led the way to Evie’s bedroom. She tried not to think of the last time Parker had followed her up these stairs. Her raw throat was why she shouldn’t have gotten involved with Parker in the first place. Not to mention the dull ache in her heart.

  He was counseling her ex-husband on another divorce. Although Mara had no reason to offer sympathy to the woman who’d been her husband’s mistress before she became his wife. But something told Mara that Paul was the love of Aimee’s life in a way he’d never been for Mara.

  Because he wasn’t Parker.

  Would she ever learn to stop being such a fool for love?

  Evie’s eyes drifted closed as soon as Mara tucked the covers around her.

  “She’s precious,” Parker said, so close she felt his breath on her ear.

  Without responding, Mara turned and headed back downstairs.

  “It’s late,” she said as her feet touched the colorful rug that covered the entry floor. “We can do this tomorrow.”

  “What is it we’re doing, Mara?” Parker placed a hand on her arm and spun her until she faced him. “I’m really sorry I messed up on the communication thing. My schedule was packed in Seattle and there were some things I had to work out. But now—”

  “Did you meet with Paul?” she asked, proud her voice didn’t waiver.

  Parker’s expression didn’t change but by the pale pink tinging his cheeks, she knew he understood the gravity of her question.

  “Paul is my client,” he said as an answer. “That isn’t new information.”

  Her thoughts tumbled around upon themselves as if they were a piece of fluff being blown by a strong wind. “Aimee Reed came to see me. She’s afraid he’s going to divorce her.”

  His eyes darkened. “You know I can’t discuss this with you. If I’d known...”

  “Don’t lie to me,” she said through clenched teeth. “At least have a little respect.”

  “I respect you. That was never a question.”

  “It was to me,” she told him, swiping at her cheeks. Darn it. She didn’t want to cry. “I shared so much.” The vulnerability she’d shown him swelled inside her, but instead of the sweet sense of security she’d had before,
now it was all sour and pathetic. Once again, Mara felt pathetic. “I told you everything, and now you can use my weakness against a woman who truly loves him.”

  His mouth tightened into a thin line. “Do you believe I’d do that?”

  She wanted to deny it but the sliver of doubt that had niggled at the back of her mind since the conversation with Aimee suddenly consumed her. “This was never meant to last,” she answered instead, needing to believe if she cut ties before he had a chance to that she’d recover more easily from the heartbreak.

  “Mara.”

  “We both know it.” She drew in a shuddery breath. “My life is here.” She turned toward the small table that sat to one side of the foyer and picked up a stack of papers. “I’m looking for apartments to rent. It’s time for Evie and me to make our own way. Starlight is our home and I need to put her first. What I might want and what she needs are two different things.”

  He gave a hard laugh. “Meaning me?”

  “I don’t want you,” she said without hesitation. “I couldn’t want a man who would...” Despite her certainty that this was the right path, she couldn’t force her mouth to speak out loud what duplicity had cost her. “I had an itch.” She shrugged. “You scratched it and I appreciate that. We had our bit of fun, Parker. It’s over. I don’t know what you told Paul about me, and it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  They stared at each other for several long moments. She wanted him to argue. Expected him to refute the accusation. The stupid, in-love part of her hoped he’d tell her this had all been a misunderstanding—like waking from a bad dream—and things could go back to normal.

  But until a few weeks ago, alone had been her normal. Of course she’d return there.

  She searched his eyes for some sign he felt the same pain she did. Misery loved company and all that. It felt as though she was looking at a stranger. His blue gaze gave away nothing. He looked at her as if she were nothing.

  “Say something,” she demanded when she could take the gaping silence no longer.

  “You’ve said enough for both us,” he answered. “I’m the bad guy. This is how it was always meant to be.”

  His breath hitched and for one brief second, the raw pain so reflected in his eyes stole her breath. Was it possible she’d made a terrible mistake? Could she have succumbed to her own doubts and fears on impulse without knowing his side of the story? Because there were always two sides. She knew that.

  “Parker?” She breathed his name on a tentative burst of air.

  He waved her away. “You did me a favor,” he said, his voice like polished marble. “Saved me the trouble of letting you down easy.”

  “This isn’t easy.”

  “It is for me,” he countered. “Goodbye, Mara.”

  And without another word, he walked out of the house, the door softly shutting behind him.

  * * *

  “You can’t leave now.”

  Parker didn’t bother to look up at his brother as he zipped the duffel bag in the guest room of Josh’s house.

  “You’ll be fine, Josh,” he said, opening the nightstand drawer to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. His heart stuttered as he noticed a crayon drawing Evie had given him. It showed the two of them on a grassy field with a soccer ball between them.

  He started to push closed the drawer again but then grabbed the picture and stuffed it into his bag. He’d throw it away back in Seattle.

  “We’re in this together,” Josh argued, taking a step closer.

  Parker finally met his brother’s frustrated gaze and shook his head. “I’ve done my part. Construction is almost finished. You have retailers moving in next week, and with the additional revenue from the craft fair, there will be no problem making your loan payment this month.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “It was always the point.” Parker forced a smile. “You knew this was a temporary arrangement.”

  “I also know you’ve been happier in Starlight than at any time I’ve seen you in the past. This is your home.”

  “Nope.” He looped the duffel bag strap over his shoulder. The rest of his luggage had already been loaded in the Audi. “I’m happy I was able to help.” He swallowed. “I’m glad I got to spend time with you and Anna.”

  “What about Mara?” Josh’s eyes narrowed. “You have feelings for her.”

  “I have feelings about sleeping with her.” Parker made sure to put just the right amount of “entitled jerk” into his tone. “But like everything else around here, she’s a little too small-town for my taste. I mean, you’re welcome to her if you don’t mind sloppy—”

  Josh shoved him hard. “Are you looking for a fight, Parker? Will that make you feel better? You want to work off some of your temper the same way Dad used to?”

  “Don’t ever compare me to him.” Parker’s fists clenched at his sides. He’d certainly likened himself to his father enough through the years, but hearing it from Josh cut him to the core.

  “I’m sorry,” Josh offered immediately. “I didn’t mean it. You know that.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “Anna’s going to miss you. The whole soccer team will miss you.”

  Parker couldn’t help his smile. “You can handle cat-herding duty without me. But I want to see you and Anna more often. Come into the city or I’ll meet you.”

  “But not in Starlight?”

  Mara’s face flashed across Parker’s mind and he rubbed a hand against his chest, trying to relieve the corresponding ache. “I need a break from Starlight.”

  Josh studied him then nodded. They walked to the front door in silence.

  “Are you sure you won’t come back for the opening?” Josh asked when Parker had stepped onto the front porch. “The success of Dennison Lumber is as much yours as it is mine.”

  “I don’t need any credit.” Parker did his best to flash a smile. “It really was good to be involved. As crazy as it sounds, I think Dad would have been proud.”

  Josh muttered a curse. “What does it say about me that he’s been gone over a decade and I’m still chasing his approval?”

  “It says you’re human.” Parker thought about Paul Reed and the demons that plagued him. He hoped his former client would man up and take an active role in his daughter’s life. Evie deserved the best. Mara did too and he felt like the biggest fool on the planet for thinking he was worthy of a future with her. He should have known it was too good to be true. He’d done too much damage to be able to repair it.

  Of course she didn’t understand the truth of his meeting with Paul, but she believed the worst of him. Sooner or later he’d prove her right. He might not have his father’s penchant for violence, but Parker wasn’t going to take a chance on hurting a woman he loved.

  He’d rather absorb the pain on his own.

  He said goodbye to Josh with a promise to meet for dinner so he could hear how things went at the Founder’s Day celebration.

  As his headlights illuminated the two-lane highway leading out of town, Parker ignored the emptiness that lingered on the edges of the dark road. He had to keep his eyes straight ahead. Moving forward was his only choice.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Saturday morning brought gray skies and the threat of rain. Mara secretly hoped the weather might warrant canceling Evie’s soccer game. She’d spent yesterday camouflaging her emotions, first at Main Street Perk and then at the mill. She’d fooled everyone at the coffee shop easily enough. A benefit of not being great at small talk on a good day was that the bad days didn’t look much different.

  Josh, on the other hand, had taken one look at her and pulled her in for a big bear hug. “Go home,” he’d told her. “Watch TV and eat ice cream out of the carton or whatever it is women do when they look as awful as you.”

  “You need to work on your words of comfort,” she said wi
th a sad laugh. But the fact that he’d been able to make her smile meant the world. She’d convinced him that staying busy was better than wallowing in her heartbreak, and he’d actually put her to work staining the reclaimed wood that covered one wall of the building’s renovated bathroom.

  Most of her contributions had been in the area of design or decor, so she’d actually enjoyed the opportunity to pitch in that way. The entire site was taking shape the way she planned, and she felt gratified at how well her vision worked for the project.

  A day immersing herself in work had been just what she’d needed, and she’d fallen asleep in Evie’s bed, waking only when the first light of dawn slipped between the gaps in the curtains covering the windows.

  Which meant she’d been awake for hours with nothing to do but think. Even baking a batch of chocolate-chip cookies for the team hadn’t taken her mind off Parker. The quiet kitchen only intensified the voices in her head, the ones that accused her of giving up on him without a fight.

  Mara had fought for her doomed marriage, but she’d still been left alone in the end. She had to believe she’d done the right thing in breaking up with Parker. The thought of him counseling her ex-husband made her stomach churn with both anger and disbelief.

  She wished the anger could stifle the stabbing ache in her heart but knew only time would heal that wound.

  She hoped.

  “Now I remember why I never liked soccer,” Brynn said with a sigh.

  Mara gave her a gentle nudge. “What’s wrong with soccer?”

  “The weather,” Brynn answered, resting her head against Mara’s shoulder. “Outdoor sports should be allowed only in the loveliest weather.”

  “Good luck with that in Washington.”

  “Exactly,” Brynn agreed with a shiver. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine.”

  “Liar.”

  “Evie misses Coach Parker.” Mara pointed toward her daughter, who stood on the far side of the field, arms folded tightly across her chest. The girl looked miserable.

  “Is she cold?” Brynn asked.