by Tara Randel
“Yeah.” That prickly feeling came over him again. What was he missing? “Any chance you’ll be up near Tampa in the near future? I’d like to get together and see if I can piece together the events surrounding the accident.”
“Let me check my calendar.”
Mitch heard noises in the background, then Jack spoke again. “I’ll be in St. Pete in two weeks. Does that work?”
“Sure. Got a time that’s good for you?”
“Ah... How about three on that Thursday. I’ll come up to...Cypress Pointe, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, but I can meet you halfway.” It would be worth the drive to get answers. Maybe gain insight into the few memories he did have about the day of the accident.
“Sounds like you went through an ordeal, Mitch. I’ll come your way.”
“Thanks.” Mitch penciled in the appointment on his calendar. “There’s a coffee shop, Cuppa Joe, right on Main Street.”
“It’ll be good to see you.”
“I’ll see you at three.”
“Right. And Mitch?”
“Yeah.”
“Good to hear your voice, man.”
Saying goodbye, Mitch ended the call. A low-grade ache took up residence in his temples. A sign he was stressed. But why? And why had Miami set off an internal warning?
He closed his eyes, trying to remember the company Jack worked for. Allied? No. Something with the word associates? No. Brothers? It was there—so close he could almost see it in his mind.
The block was too strong. Instead of forcing a result, which he’d learned didn’t work and only made his head ache worse, he eased off. Something was there in his subconscious and it would come to him. In time.
A knock sounded on the door, yanking him from his thoughts.
“Mitch. Your eleven o’clock appointment is here.”
Right. Back to work. He opened the door. “I’m ready.”
Sandy shot him a grin filled with mischief. “You’re gonna love this one.”
He walked, his steps a bit halted as he mastered the pain, to the portrait area. One look at a young, frazzled mom holding a red-eyed toddler and he knew he was going to earn his money’s worth.
“Hey, little buddy,” he said, approaching the toddler. “Ready to have fun?”
“His name is Matty,” his mother said.
“Great name. Did you pick out the backdrop you wanted?”
“Yes. Sandy showed me the choices.”
“I’m changing it out now, Mitch,” Sandy called from the background display against the far wall.
“Props?”
“If we can get Matty to sit, I’d like some shots on that stool. Then, I don’t know, have him playing with toys?”
“Got it.” Mitch grabbed a stuffed animal and waved it before the child. “Why don’t you hold Mr. Dinosaur while I get ready?”
The boy took the animal, engrossed with it while Mitch adjusted the light stand and umbrella and made sure he had the right sized lens attached to his camera before setting it on the tripod until he was ready to shoot. He pulled the colorful low-to-the-ground stool closer to the backdrop. The mother placed Matty on top, straightened his shirt and backed away.
“Okay, Matty. Here we go.”
Mitch reached for the camera and started snapping, but Matty kept his head down.
“Buddy, look at me.”
The child looked up, saw the camera in Mitch’s hands and his face puckered up. Oh, no. This wasn’t good. He recognized the quivering lip, had seen it on Leo’s face enough times to know they were in trouble.
As if right on cue, Matty belted out a loud cry and reached for his mother.
“I’m sorry,” the mother said as she rushed to Matty.
Okay, the stool wasn’t going to work. Mitch looked around the area for inspiration and smiled when he found a toy that might do the trick.
“Matty, want to play with this train?”
The toddler stopped crying but looked leery.
“Why not have him sit right on the mat?” Mitch suggested to the mom while Sandy slipped the stool away. He hunkered down beside the child. “See how the train makes a noise?” He demonstrated by pressing the yellow button on the blue engine. The boy giggled and reached for the train. Mitch fist bumped Matty, who let out a delighted chuckle.
“Now we’ve got it,” Mitch said as he went back to the camera and started snapping shots.
“What noise does the train make?” Mitch asked.
Matty made sounds nothing like the toy, but everyone laughed and encouraged the toddler to pose. He went along, giving Mitch enough time to snap some good pictures, with Matty running the gamut from shy and unhappy to outgoing and the star of the show.
How did Mr. Haynes do this day in and day out?
After twenty minutes of trying new poses and bribing Matty to sit still, the session ended.
“Check with Sandy on when to expect the proofs,” Mitch told the harried mother.
The mom picked up her son. “Thanks again. Matty’s a handful.”
He thought about Leo and smiled. “He’s a boy.”
The bell over the front door chimed, announcing customers. Mitch glanced over his shoulder to see his parents standing in the doorway, tentative smiles on their faces.
He groaned.
Sandy leaned over and said in a low voice. “It’s going to be a long morning.”
“Hi.” Mitch hobbled toward his parents. “What’re you guys doing here?”
His mother hooked her hand into the crook of his father’s elbow. “We were going to lunch and thought we’d stop in and see the studio. Zoe told us your plans to take over.”
He bit the inside of his cheek.
“How about giving us the grand tour?” his father suggested.
“You’re sure?”
His father smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Then we can go have lunch together,” his mother interjected. “If you’re free, that is.”
He viewed the hopeful faces of his parents, stopping the immediate excuses he’d already come up with to get out of spending time with his father. They both seemed genuine and for once, he decided to give spending time with him a try. “Sounds great.”
And with their undivided attention, Mitch began to explain the workings of the portrait studio.
* * *
THE NEXT DAY, Zoe slipped in through the back door of the studio just after noon, carrying an oversized takeout bag from the Pointe Cafe, following the hallway leading to Mitch’s office.
They’d spent more time together since the kiss in her kitchen. Tim hadn’t liked her decision to stop seeing each other, but what could he do? She was still married and wanted to see if she and Mitch could recapture the goose-bump excitement of first love. Mitch had been living up to his declaration of making their relationship work. Seeing his enthusiasm, she’d decided to stop trying to control the outcome and just let things be. It helped that she didn’t show up at the studio to see if Mitch needed anything or that she left Mitch and Leo alone so they could continue to bond. So far, so good.
“Knock, knock,” she called out before entering.
Mitch was seated at his desk, surprise crossing his face when he looked up. “My memory is still a bit fuzzy. Did we have plans?”
She held up the to-go bag. “Nope. Just an impromptu lunch.” She glanced at the photos scattered across his desktop. “Where can I set this down?”
“Give me a sec to straighten up here.”
“New project?”
“Just finishing one for Mr. Haynes. He didn’t have a chance to put together a package from the last wedding he photographed so I volunteered for the job.”
“Is putting albums together in your job description?” she teased. Quite a change from global photojournalist.
Once
he’d collected all the photos, he placed them on top of a nearby filing cabinet. “Sandy does, after I make the final decisions. She likes putting the fussy finishing touches on the albums, and since the clients seem happy with the end result, I let her do her thing.”
“It’s coming together then, you having someone to work with?”
“No complaints. Sandy was with Mr. Haynes for so long she knows the ins and outs of running the studio. And since I never ran the business side of my own career, thanks to many others, including Maria holding the reins down here, I appreciate her knowledge in that area. She’s great at dealing with people and the day-to-day stuff. And she never tells me how to conduct a shoot, what lighting is best or which equipment to use. Ours is a symbiotic relationship.”
“I get it,” Zoe said as she placed the bag on the now-empty desktop. “She doesn’t pry.”
“Exactly.” He turned from the filing cabinet and peeked into the bag. “Looks good. I could use a break.”
“Long morning?”
“Two sittings.”
She placed her purse on one of the empty chairs and started unpacking the bag. “Fill me in.”
“A very particular bride-to-be and a retired couple.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It was. And speaking of retirees, my parents stopped by yesterday.”
Zoe stopped in the process of removing two wrapped sandwiches. “How did that go?”
Mitch reached in for the drinks and chips, setting the empty bag aside. “Okay. My dad was acting...weird.”
“In what way?”
“Interested in the studio. Wanted a tour. Talking up my career when before he thought it was a waste of time. I expected him to be totally negative since I was hurt because of my job, but he didn’t bring it up. Not once. Then we went out to lunch.”
“Your father cares, Mitch. He was a wreck when we thought we’d lost you.”
“But he’s being...nice.”
Zoe bit her lower lip to keep from laughing.
“What?”
She unwrapped her turkey sandwich. “You and your dad have never seen eye to eye, but now you have something in common.”
“Really? And that is?”
“Fatherhood.”
Mitch stopped before taking a bite of his ham-and-cheese, and leaned back in his chair. “If anything happened to Leo, it would kill me.”
“Maybe if you look at it that way, you’ll understand your dad’s change of heart. Imagine how horrible he felt, never getting a second chance to make things right.”
“I suppose I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“Until recently, you never thought like a dad.”
“Certainly puts a different perspective on life.”
“Think you and your dad can...coexist?”
“I’ll try,” Mitch said after swallowing. He glanced at the bread in his hand. “This is really good.”
“Your appetite is returning?”
“And my balance. The doctors were right. Once I gave therapy my all, I’ve gotten positive results.”
“I’m happy for you, Mitch.”
“So am I.”
As they gazed at each other over the desk, Zoe couldn’t deny the tingle of excitement. Especially with that certain twinkle in her husband’s eyes. She couldn’t put a definite name on her feelings. Yes, she loved Mitch. She always would. They had a past and they shared a child. But had the pain of the past healed enough for her to fall in love all over again? Because that had to be the next step in order for them to move on.
Lately it had been like the early days when they’d started dating; holding hands, sneaking kisses, talking on the phone late at night. He was still living with Wyatt, but she was toying with the idea of asking him to move to Samantha’s house. They still had a ways to go, but she wanted the three of them to be a real family. Could she put away her fears and just go for it?
Edgy and a tiny bit nervous, she jumped up, pretending interest in the many years of Mr. Haynes’s pictures lining the office wall. She began a circuit of the room, stopping at one in particular, letting out a peal of laughter.
“You okay?”
She turned to face him. “Come look at this.”
Mitch rounded the desk to join her. As he moved closer, his tangy cologne captured her senses as she pointed to a picture on the wall. He stared at her profile for a second, then focused on the picture.
“That’s you and Bethany, right?”
“We must have just turned thirteen.” Two girls, dressed in old-time long dresses and bonnets, mugged for the camera. “The town held a Heritage Day Picnic and we dressed up like children of the original pioneers of Cypress Pointe.”
Mitch peered closer.
“Are you holding a musket?”
“It was a replica and I didn’t say we were historically correct.”
“Yeah, because Cypress Pointe had to run off marauders in its past?”
“It was a fun day.” She sent him a glance out of the corner of her eye. “This took place just before you moved to town.”
“And I missed you all dressed up, ready to defend our fair town?”
“You probably would have taken one look at that costume and run.”
“More likely talked you into letting me shoot your gun.”
“You always were a sweet-talker.”
Mitch moved closer, took her by the shoulders to face him. “Still am.”
He leaned down, his lips warm as they closed over hers. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck while his arms circled her waist. After a few moments, he broke off the kiss and smiled at her.
“Just like old times.”
“Except these are new times.”
Mitch backed up, but still held her in the circle of his arms. “Speaking of new, I almost forgot to tell you. I got a call from Suncoast Spectacular. You know, the Tampa area magazine for tourists that features local hidden treasures. They asked if I’d be interested in working for them.”
“Word of your return got around fast.” She tilted her head. “This something you’d consider doing?”
He shrugged. “Not my usual gig, but it could be fun. They asked me to head up to Horseshoe Beach for some outdoor shots. What do you think? Want to tag along?”
At his request, her stomach dipped. “I’m not sure if I can get time away from the office. Town council meets pretty soon, I have to prepare for that. And then there’s the—”
“I get it, Zoe. Forget I asked.”
He was trying. Shouldn’t she? “When you have a date let me know and I’ll rearrange my schedule.”
“I will.” He sent her a grateful smile. “And since we’re talking about dates, care to accompany me to Wyatt and Jenna’s wedding this weekend?”
“I’m officiating.”
“I’m the photographer.”
She hesitated. Were they rushing things? Going public too quickly?
“Okay, a working date,” he offered. “What do you say?”
“I say it sounds like a plan, but I do need to get back to work.”
They moved over to the desk to finish their lunch. Afterward, they collected the sandwich wrappings and dropped the trash into the to-go bag. As Zoe grabbed a napkin, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor.
Bending to pick it up, she read a name and number. “Who’s Jack Parsons?” she asked when she stood again.
“A guy I know.”
“Mysterious,” Zoe teased, even though her stomach twisted at Mitch’s uneasy expression.
He blew out a breath. “He was with me at the accident.”
“You remembered?” she whispered.
“Not everything. I had a flashback the other day and I saw Jack’s face. Recalled his name.”
Zoe looked at the paper in her han
d and back again. “You’re going to call him?”
“I already did. This morning.”
“Oh... I...” She swallowed the disappointment. And fear. “Were you going to tell me?”
“Not until I had some answers.”
“Did you think I’d try to stop you?”
“Zoe, things are going good between us. There was no point getting our hopes up when Jack may not know what happened.”
Their hopes? Honestly, she would have been happy leaving well enough alone, but knew Mitch would never stop his search for the truth.
“But you said you spoke to him.”
“He didn’t have much to say, but he’ll be in town in two weeks. I’m going to meet with him. Maybe if we see each other, talk more, events will fall into place.”
Slowly, she placed the paper back on Mitch’s desk.
“Do you want me there?”
“Not this time. It’ll be better if it’s just Jack and me, two guys sharing information.”
Or maybe he didn’t want his normally bossy wife in the picture, calling the shots and messing up his chance to finally discover what really happened?
She grabbed her purse and draped the strap over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’re not upset?”
Mitch was an adult, one who had traveled the world. She had to trust him. “No. It makes sense. You need to talk to this person and you don’t need someone hanging around, making it seem like a social visit when you want answers.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
She stopped before him. “But I do expect answers.”
He pecked her cheek.
“I promise.”
Even though he said the words, Zoe couldn’t fight the dread building inside her. Finding out what had happened, filling in the lapses in his memory, was important to his recovery and, if she were totally honest, to their marriage. But why did she think the truth would bring new problems to their fragile relationship? Was she looking for a way to sabotage the steps they were taking toward their future? Did the fact that he hadn’t confided in her mean he could walk away again?
She stepped into the sunny Cypress Pointe afternoon, trying to shake off the cold chills that refused to let go.
