And of course, Diana wanted to talk to Sophia. Gen was back to work on a lighter schedule, so Diana didn’t see Sophia every day. She’d seen her once since the night of the ruined dinner, but they’d been like ships passing. Today, she’d make time to talk. Diana couldn’t get past the fact that she may have inadvertently said something that caused Sophia to run off halfcocked. When Sophia waltzed in for her shift, Diana was busy filling orders and as usual they easily made the switch-off so smoothly the customer hardly seemed to notice when Diana took the order and Sophia rang them up.
“Thank you, Jerry! Have a nice day, and come again!” Sophia sang out and went to the next customer in line.
Diana hung up her apron, and went around to the other side of the counter. She took out her notebook and Alphasmart and set them on a table near the window.
“Are you staying?” Sophia asked when the last of the customers had gone.
“I’m meeting Mrs. St. Michaels here today to read her book.”
“Mrs. St. Michaels wrote a book?”
Diana nodded. “She’s working on it. Kind of a memoir.”
“Wow, that’s weird.” She took out her phone and her fingers started flying.
“Are you posting that to Twitter?”
“Maybe,” she said without looking up. “I know a few people that might be in it.”
Diana pretended to be busy, but her mind was grappling for an easy way to bring up the subject. “I kind of heard about what happened at dinner.”
“Of course you did.” Sophia didn’t look up.
“I feel like maybe I misled you. When I said I wouldn’t let anyone tell me what to do.”
Sophia looked up. “It wasn’t anything you said.”
“Are you sure? The truth is it took me a long time to get over disappointing my dad. We were never really close, and he shut me out after the divorce. I was used to disappointing him, in other words. Things were different with us, but you and your dad seem to get along. I’d hate for you to make a quick decision—”
“This isn’t quick. Or sudden. It’s been coming.”
“Is your dad upset?”
Sophia snorted. “One could say that.”
“And you’re not upset by that?” Kind of difficult to believe, given what Scott had told her about Sophia. She was a good daughter and not exactly a rebel. Maybe a little too addicted to social media, but who wasn’t?
She looked out the storefront window. “I was upset, for a long time. The whole thing was making me sick. Depressed. Honestly? I wasn’t sure I could go through with telling him. I figured I’d just flunk, and he’d find out and get me a tutor. Throw more money at the problem. But then we were at dinner and I don’t exactly know what happened. I guess I looked around the table and I saw a bunch of happy people. Wallace and Gen, in love. Billy and Brooke, about to have a baby. Scott finally in a job where he can help people twenty-four seven. Even my dad with Eileen. Everyone at that table had what they wanted out of life except for me. I got so pissed off I couldn’t wait another minute to say something.”
“Sometimes timing is everything.”
“I’m sorry I ruined dinner, but I’m not sorry I finally had the guts to say what I’ve wanted to say for years. I didn’t want to disappoint my dad, but like you said, I’m the one who has to live my life. I think once he realizes how miserable it was all making me, he’ll come around.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“I’ve got a great dad. He loves me, I know. I wish he trusted me to live my own life.”
“And do you know what you want to do with your life?”
“Of course. I think I always have. I want to run my dad’s restaurant, just like my mother did. I’m just like her so I’m good at it, and it makes me happy.”
Diana swallowed around the lump in her throat. Writing had always made her happy, but when others became involved in the process, something had changed. Something that brought her joy somehow wasn’t good enough. And then came the day when writing became a chore and the words dried up.
The bell jingled and Mrs. St. Michaels walked in. “Hello, girls! I’m ready for the New York Times bestseller list. Kidding!”
“Who’s in your book, Mrs. St. Michaels?” Sophia asked. “Is Stu in it? The guy who took the toilet?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? That’s my little secret. You’ll have to buy the book, won’t you?”
Mrs. St. Michaels sat across from Diana and pulled a stack of papers out of her briefcase. “Chapters one through five.”
“You’ve been busy.” In a week, she’d done better than Diana had in a year.
“It’s so much fun, isn’t it? Writing? I never realized. But I guess you would know.”
“Sure.” She’d almost forgotten about that part, but yes, once upon a time she’d had fun.
“You’ll probably tell me I have to change some things. And I have changed names, as you suggested. Will you look it over for me and tell me what you think?”
“Of course. I said I would.”
“Good.” Mrs. St. Michaels leaned back in her chair.
“You’re going to wait?”
“Sure. Why not?” She turned in her chair to address Sophia too. “Hey, did you girls hear about the accident last night?”
Sophia pulled out her phone. “Jenny tweeted about it this morning.”
“I saw it as I was coming back from the airport.”
“Timmy sideswiped a diesel truck, the idiot. I hope he’s learned his lesson. Honestly, his parents let that little snot rule the roost. He’s always had everything he ever wanted from the time he could walk. Spoiled rotten.”
“But is he going to be all right?” Diana asked.
“Of course he is! Thanks to our firefighters and paramedics, not to Timmy’s good sense because if we counted on that he’d be dead to rights.”
“What were you doing at the airport?” Sophia asked Diana.
She hadn’t meant to give out all that information just yet, but now was probably as good of a time as any. Sooner or later everyone in town would know about it. “My mother and sister are going to stay with Gran for a while.”
“Wonderful.” Mrs. St. Michaels smiled.
“Not really.” Diana explained the details as carefully as she could.
“That’s horrible!” This from Mrs. St. Michaels. “Crooks are everywhere!”
“I’m sorry,” Sophia said.
“Please don’t tweet about it,” Diana said. “Even though I know it will be all over town soon enough.”
Mom would probably be upset, but Diana had given up on keeping huge things like this under wraps in a town the size of Starlight Hill. The way she looked at it, it was best to get in front of the situation and not be blindsided by it. Because people would talk, one way or another.
“My lips are sealed.” Mrs. St. Michaels used her fingers to make a slash across her lips.
“And my fingers are still,” Sophia said, slipping her phone back in her apron.
“Thanks, guys.” Diana spent the next few minutes reading Mrs. St. Michaels’ chapters, and laughing out loud no less than five times.
There were tons of punctuation, tense and spelling issues, but Mrs. St. Michaels had a gift for telling a story. The grammar could be fixed. “You have a flair for mad cap comedy, you know?” Diana set the pages down.
Mrs. St. Michaels slapped both hands down on the table, a big smile tugging at her lips. “You like it?”
“Actually, no.” She ruffled the pages together. “I love it.”
“True life! Nothing funnier.”
There was a grain of truth to that statement, even if Diana couldn’t find anything funny about the fact that suddenly her article seemed stiff and wooden in comparison. Like someone had edited the crap out of it. No, there was nothing wrong with the writing—it just wasn’t fresh. She’d over-edited and lost the heart of it. And maybe she’d been doing that all along in her writing, when she’d managed to get any words out.
“I’ll just keep this and make a few editing suggestions, but otherwise I think you’re on a roll. Just keep going.”
Mrs. St. Michaels leaned in. “You know, I love Gen as much as the next person, but why don’t you do this instead of working here?”
“Do what?”
“Help other people get their stories out. If not for that outline you helped me with, my book would be a mess. You got me organized so I had a starting point. You could teach others how to write.”
After Mrs. St. Michaels left the bakery, Diana considered the advice. It would be teaching, and she’d already thought of doing that. She could start out slowly, building up a small clientele. Maybe eventually teaching some online workshops. It could work. But first, she had to do something far more important. She brought up her one thousand word carefully crafted, grammatically sound article. It was crap on a cracker. Diana went to her hard drive, selected the file, sucked in a breath and hit ‘delete.’
‘This action cannot be reversed.’
She blew out a breath and pressed delete again.
***
Scott fully expected today to be FUBAR.
Sure enough, by morning there were no less than twenty email alerts on his phone. No surprise to him. The dregs of sleep still in his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and scrolled through them one by one. This, he figured, was his punishment for staying alive. For being mostly whole while too many of his friends had lost it all.
Jake’s sister Megan had sent the usual barrage of emails and accusations marking the fourth anniversary of her brother’s death.
You’ve fooled everyone else but I know what you really are.
Jake needed your help. Where were you?
Scott had already learned it was useless to engage her. Both Jake and Megan had been raised in a mostly dysfunctional family and Jake had always been her one and only protector. Scott kept reading, the anger and despair filling him. Wallace had repeatedly asked him not to read these emails and most of the time he didn’t. But today he allowed Megan to punish him. Hell, he wanted to punish himself. At least this way someone was doing it for him.
Scott rolled out of bed and wished Diana was next to him right now. He’d tug her into his arms and breathe in the light flowery scent that was so uniquely hers. In her warm eyes, he’d see reflected the look that made him feel human again. Wanted. Needed.
On his kitchen counter, he picked up the Wounded Warrior information. Ty had dropped enough hints about the Wounded Warrior project to last for a while. Scott got it. He should channel some of his grief for Jake into doing some good. Ty was working an event in a month and he wanted Scott’s help. And he hadn’t been shy about asking for it. Another word might be ‘demanding’ it. But Scott wasn’t sure he could do it. Being around too many casualties of war could bring the nightmares back. There was nothing wrong with the fact that he was dedicated to his job. His entire identity revolved around his job. Not everyone could say that about their life’s work. He was out there, making a difference every day. The accident had proved that.
And now he’d be suspended for two days.
The word was Timmy would be in traction for a while since the leg had been broken in several places. The kid would be lucky if he didn’t have a limp after all this. The legal matters were probably only beginning. Considering what the kid had to look forward to, Scott should probably consider himself lucky to get a two-day suspension. Trying to shake his foul mood, he dressed and drove to the bakery, hoping to check in with Sophia. To his surprise, Diana sat in a corner of the bakery in such deep concentration that she didn’t even look up when the doorbell chimed.
“Hey,” Scott said to Sophia after she’d taken care of a customer.
“I wouldn’t interrupt her right now.” Sophia gestured in Diana’s direction. “Anyway, I said something to her a minute ago and she didn’t even hear me.”
“I actually came by to see you.” Though he couldn’t stop glancing toward Diana.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard, a little smile on her lips. She bounced in her seat a little bit and every other second her shoulders would bump in time to something only she could hear. Cute. At least she didn’t look pissed while writing anymore. If something pissed him off that much, he’d probably stay away from it too. Good to know something had changed.
“Did you know Mrs. St. Michaels is writing a book about all her tenants?” Sophia asked.
“I saw your tweet.”
Sophia took her phone out of her apron. “Is what Jeremy keeps tweeting true? Did you really jump over the guardrail?”
Scott froze. “Tell me there’s no video of that.”
“Are you kidding? I heard there was a huge traffic jam. I think Jeremy only knows because he happened to be stuck in it on the way to AT&T Park.”
He thanked God for that one. The last thing he needed was some other rescue going viral. This one would be bad for the department, showing him ignoring protocol.
“Yeah, it’s true.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stole another glance at Diana. She still hadn’t noticed him. Why did that bother him, exactly?
“Man, you have it bad.”
“What?” He forced his attention back to Sophia.
“You can’t stop looking at her.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re friends.” It was all Diana wanted, and he understood that. She had needs for him on one level, but they didn’t extend beyond that.
Sophia snorted. “Yeah. Oooo-kay.”
He ignored that comment. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Daddy-O is starting to come around. It’s going to take a little time, but Eileen is really helping with that.”
“Yeah?”
“She’s been super cool about the whole thing.”
“She only wants you to be happy and doesn’t have any other expectations from you.” But when he thought about it, Mom had always only supported what her sons wanted to do.
Wallace had tested in the gifted range in school, and he could have done much better than construction work. But he was doing what he loved. Not to mention doing who he loved. Every day and night, probably.
“I think she’s helping me wear my dad down. My mom used to do that, you know.” She nodded and smiled at the customer who walked in the door. “It’s all good.”
Scott stepped aside for the customer, and strode to Diana’s corner table. He was a foot away from her when she looked up. The previous smile on her lips shifted slightly, but it was her eyes that held his interest and attention. They were soft and glowing with heat. For him.
She pulled ear buds out. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No kidding.” He sat across from her. “It’s going good?”
“For the first time in ages. I’m having fun again. I’m not worrying about rules.”
“You worry about rules?” He forced a smile.
“Not with you. Obviously.”
The doorbell jingled and Debbie White headed straight for their table. Great. So not what he needed right now. Either she was going to tear into Diana, or rip him to shreds over something her precious sonny boy had told her. He stood up because Diana might not know who was sending all the flannel but he strongly suspected who did. And he didn’t want anyone ruining the fact that Diana was finally starting to get past the video.
To his shock, Mrs. White grabbed him in a bear hug. “Scott Turlock, I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
“Just doing my job.”
“No, more than that! You care.” Mrs. White pulled back, sniffling. “Timmy told me what you did. He was scared and alone and you stayed with him. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“Maybe you could get Timmy to stop speeding.”
She shook a finger towards Scott. “Believe me, we’re taking away the keys. He’s in a lot of trouble, and lucky to be alive, thanks to you.”
“We all did what we had to do.” Scott stuffed his hands in his pockets, uncomfortable as hell with a
ll the gratitude.
“But you took a risk to help my son. No one else did that.”
Mrs. White next turned to Diana, and Scott reacted purely on instinct, putting his body between them.
She dodged around Scott. “I have an apology to make,” Mrs. White said. “Diana, I’m sorry about all the flannel and bathrobes.”
“That was you?” Diana stammered out.
“It was stupid, I know. You should dress however you want. I didn’t mean to imply dressing that way made you a loose woman or anything.”
“Um, sure. And you should know I had a perfectly good bathrobe.”
“There was no time for it,” Scott added.
“Of course not,” Mrs. White said. “It was a fire, and the important thing was your life. And anyway, hon, if I’m being honest maybe we’re all just a little bit jealous that we couldn’t pull that look off.”
“I just…I…” A blush rose in Diana’s cheeks.
“I don’t mean to embarrass you, dear.” Mrs. White patted Diana’s shoulder. “I’m just…sorry. Okay?”
Diana smiled. “Forget about it. I’m going to wear the flannel when it starts to get colder.”
Over his dead body, Scott thought, and then realized he’d have no say in it come winter.
The two women hugged. Once Mrs. White had left the bakery, Diana didn’t waste much time. “What did she mean by you taking a risk?”
He lifted a shoulder and got ready to lie. “Don’t know. We all take risks every day.”
“I hope you realize how much you’re needed right here. Do you see that you can do good right here? People love you.”
People. Right. Not her. “I don’t care about that.”
The ridiculous thoughts running through his head pissed him off, and he pulled back from her. It was emotional suicide to want more from her when he clearly didn’t deserve it. What he had to do, and soon, is cut her loose before he got too lost in her. Too tied up to easily walk away. His phone buzzed again his pocket, for the fifth time in as many minutes. He wasn’t going to look. Not now.
Unforgettable You (Starlight Hill Series Book 4) Page 24
