“You can sue him,” Denny suggests. “For the money he took.”
I shake my head. “He doesn’t have it anymore, and honestly, that would add so much negativity and drama to my life that I don’t need.”
Denny nods. “I knew you’d say that, so I decided to get you this.”
He reaches into his jacket and pulls out papers from his interior pocket. I take them from him and glance over the first page. It’s paperwork for a restraining order, and there is a police officer’s card attached to the front. “Fill this out and call Officer O’Donnell when you’re done. She will walk it right over to a judge to sign. She’s aware of everything, and I’ve even volunteered to be a witness, but she doesn’t think the judge will need one.”
I nod slowly. Denny puts his hand on mine and gives it a squeeze. “Chloe, I’m serious. This is the only way he’ll leave you alone completely. And you don’t need his bullshit anymore. You never did.”
“Okay,” I relent because in all honesty, I do want Paul to go away forever.
Denny leans forward and kisses my cheek. “Also, when you meet Officer O‘Donnell, tell her how awesome I am. I’ve asked her on a date, and she said yes, but she seemed reluctant. I need you to talk me up.”
I laugh. “Okay then. I’ll do my best.”
Denny winks and starts the car.
The ride home is easy because the traffic is light on a Monday afternoon. As Denny pulls onto my street, I see Logan’s Pathfinder is in my driveway.
He pulls to a stop beside it, and we both look up. Logan’s on my front porch. Denny looks at me. “Go. I can’t. I’m not ready, but go.”
I nod, give his shoulder a squeeze of thanks, and climb out of the car. As Denny drives away, Chewie comes bounding down the stairs and skitters to a halt at my feet. He whines in excitement, his tail swooshing furiously back and forth. I pull off my glove and scratch the top of his head and then behind his ears. “I’ve missed you too, gentle giant.”
He whines again, tail swinging even faster. Logan has made it down the stairs now, and he walks right up to me, pulls me to him, and buries his face in my neck. His breath is warm on my skin and sends heat through my veins. “Thank you so much for today.”
“I only told the truth,” I say back, my voice a fragile whisper as my arms wrap around his back, and I let my body melt into his, clinging to him like he’s a life preserver and I’m drowning in the sea.
“You believe in me,” he replies, and the feeling of his lips moving against the column of my neck is heavenly. “You’ve always been like that, from the moment I met you. You’ve trusted me. Blindly. Willingly. Completely.”
He starts to pull back, and I’m worried he’ll step away completely. But he stops, an arm still circling my waist, and he lifts the other and cups the back of my neck. “I don’t deserve that. Not from you.”
“You’ve earned my trust. You’ve never done a thing to break it,” I take a shuddering breath as the look on his face turns to angst. “I don’t know the Logan who was in that car. I don’t believe he exists anymore. The Logan who asked to rent my apartment and washed my hair and saved Mrs. Green and loves his son and his family…that’s the man I opened my heart to and the one I trust. The one who I don’t want to walk away from.”
His hand behind my neck gently tightens and he pulls me toward him. Our foreheads touch and his eyes close. He still looks pained, almost tortured. “And you.”
“What?”
“You said I love my friends and family,” his eyes open again and find mine. “And you. I love you, Chloe.”
Everything inside me suddenly stills as I finally allow myself to absorb his words. My mind stops racing, my heart stops galloping wildly, my world, which had felt like it was upside down since his confession, suddenly feels right side up again. His love does that to me. “I love you too.”
He kisses me. It feels like coming home again.
Epilogue
Logan
The festival is even more packed than last year. The Saco Recreation Hall is lined end-to-end with booths. Hawkins Lobster Shack scored a prime location near the doors, so we’re the first booth everyone sees upon entering. Of course the giant blue inflatable lobster Jake insisted we glue to the top of the booth helps in that respect too—no one can miss us. Nova said Declan bribed someone to get the booth location and make sure Stan’s Seafood got the booth at the back near the emergency exit, but I don’t know that for sure because other than at the hearing, Declan and I haven’t really talked. I’m still pissed he tried to steal Chloe’s recipe, and he’s irate Chloe was hired to build a new website without his consent. He’s definitely not talking to any of us except Nova.
I glance over and see him standing next to the booth, arms crossed, scowl across his face. Nova is behind the booth with Ma handing out samples and chatting with locals. Finn and Jake are making the samples behind them. Dad has wandered off to scope out the competition, and Chloe and Aspen are following him like paparazzi, trying to sneak some candid shots.
I watch this bubbly, middle-aged woman turn to Declan after she takes a bite from her mini lobster roll and gush to Declan about how delicious it is. Declan gives her a curt nod and a forced smile and not much else. I walk over. “If you think that’s delicious, you have to try our chowder.”
I motion for Nova to hand me a tiny paper cup of it, and when she does, I hand it to the lady. I think I know who she is—the culture reporter for the Casco Bay Community Blog. She finishes the last of the roll and takes a sip from the paper cup. “My word, you guys know how to take seafood to the next level. I can’t wait to taste what you’ve come up with for the new dish contest. I’m a judge.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” I promise as she moves, grinning, onto the next booth, jotting down notes on her phone as she goes.
I turn to Declan. “I get it. You’re pissed, but that was the local writer covering the event. You should have known that and not grunted at her, Deck.”
He startles like he’s been woken from a trance and looks over at her and back at me. “Crap. I wasn’t paying close attention.”
I sigh. “Look, table your tantrum till later okay? Or leave. Because if you stay, we need you here and happy.”
He runs a hand through his hair, agitated. “You’re loving this aren’t you? Me being exiled by the family?”
“Honestly? I thought I would, especially after you stole Chloe’s recipe,” I reply. “But I’m not.”
I turn to go. I want to find Chloe and spend time with her even if it is just stalking my own dad. I make it about three booths down when I realize Declan followed me. He grabs my arm gently and pulls me to a corner behind the Saco Surf and Turf booth. He stares at me so long that I’m about to give up on him actually speaking. But then he sighs. “I’m truly sorry about the recipe. I’m a bit of a bull-in-a-china-shop asshole when it comes to this business. I realize it…but usually the revelations come after I’ve done something stupid, not before.”
Did he just own his behavior? He has never, ever done that. It’s honestly not enough, but I know for the family’s sake I need to accept any apology I get from him so we can all move on. “If you promise to try and realize it before you act next time, I forgive you.”
“I promise,” Declan exhales loudly and his blue eyes are inky and solemn as they lock with mine. He wants to say something. I don’t know what it is, but it feels intense. “And I’m also not pissed at Terra. I know she wants what’s best for the business, and I trust Chloe to deliver something better than we currently have. I just wanted to be looped in.”
“Then you would have steamed rolled over everyone with your vision and ideas,” I blurt out and regret it. He’s trying. I don’t want to shut him down, but it’s the truth.
“Well, you should know another one of my ideas is to name the lobster benny dish Chloe’s Benny on the menu,” Declan says.
My mouth falls open. “Really?”
“It’s the least I can do,” Declan
replies. “If you all agree, that is.”
“I’m sure everyone will,” I give him a genuine smile. I think it’s a sweet idea.
“Is that why everyone is stalling me on nailing down some time for the commercial shoot?” Declan asks, his jaw tight as he stares at the floor between us, unable to look me in the eye. “Because they think it’s one of my shitty ideas?”
“No. They’re blowing you off because I won’t commit and they don’t want to do it without me.”
“Why won’t you do it?” Declan asks. “We scared Mrs. Green and that Paul Turner asshole into silence thanks to the non-disclosure agreement. And I don’t even care about that. You should be in the commercial.”
“I don’t want to do it,” I reply and brace myself for a fight.
He opens his mouth but closes it immediately and gives me a terse nod. “Okay.”
Declan turns and starts back toward our booth. I follow him and can’t help but stop him before he reaches it. “That’s it? You’re okay with it?”
He shakes his head and scratches his jaw, which I realize for the first time is unshaven, which is totally not like Declan. He shaves every day without fail. “No. I’m not okay with it. But I’ll shut up and deal with it.”
We stare at each other for a long minute. His idea of naming the recipe after Chloe has softened me. I let out a long slow breath. “I’ll do the commercial if they try to include me as little as possible.”
“You’re a great brother Logan. You deserve better than me.” He hugs me. “I’m going to work on trying harder to fix my own life and not control other people’s. I just know I’m not…anyway, thanks.”
He lets go of me and marches back to the booth, getting eaten up by the crowd as he goes. I have no idea what that was about, but it felt deeper than our sibling squabbles. But then Chloe’s beautiful face bounces into my vision, and I forget everything else. “Aspen got so many great shots of your dad. He didn’t even notice we were trailing him.”
“Let me guess. He’s sampling everyone else’s food?”
“He called it staking out the competition,” Chloe replies, smiling.
“Yeah, well, when food is involved, he gets tunnel vision. You could have been a clown riding a moose around this place singing a Mary Poppins tune and he wouldn’t have noticed,” I explain and slip an arm around Chloe’s waist. “The man is driven by his taste buds.”
Chloe laughs, tipping her head back, her long hair brushing my arms behind her back. “Chloe! Time to prep the new recipe, and Ma wants your help,” Finn says as he jogs over to us. “Also, the chowder tasting is happening now. Nova took the entry batch over.”
I take Chloe’s hand in mine, and we follow Finn, weaving our way through the people back to our booth. We pass Mrs. Cofax, standing beside a woman who looks like a younger carbon copy of her. It must be her Speed Dating daughter.
“Mrs. Cofax,” I say at the exact same time Finn does. I hate when we do that. It makes us seem like the creepy Shining twins.
Mrs. Cofax smiles and waves back, but as we pass, I hear her say to her daughter, “See? I told you there were two of them.”
“Hot damn! And they’re both single?” the daughter says excitedly.
Chloe looks over her shoulder and smiles. She lifts the hand I’m not holding and points to me. “Sorry. This one is taken.”
“Lucky girl!” the daughter replies.
“Yes, I am!” I call back, and Chloe kisses my cheek.
Two hours later, we are officially out of samples at the booth, so we can do nothing but anxiously wait for the contest results. We are all milling about when I hear a voice that makes my heart swell.
“Dad!”
I look through the crowd and see River running towards me. Bethany is trailing behind, her eyes glued to him as he makes his way toward us. I let go of Chloe’s hand, which I was holding again, and am about to walk toward River when Finn jumps in front of me and extends his arms. My entire family watches.
“Hey, Bub! What are you doing here?” Finn says happily.
River stops just half a foot from Finn and his adorable little face scrunches up. “You’re Unkie Finn, not Dad.”
He tears around Finn, but Jake jumps in and lifts him up to his shoulders and swings him around. River giggles. “How did you know that wasn’t your dad, kid? I’ve known Copy and Paste for more than a decade and I still mix them up.”
“I just know,” River says, still giggling.
Jake puts him down, and he runs to me.
“He knows because he’s the smartest kid in the universe,” Dad proclaims, ruffling River’s hair as my son hugs my legs.
I let my eyes move from River to Bethany, who has come to a stop a foot from Chloe, River, and me. “Hey. I didn’t know you were coming to this.”
“I wasn’t, but Riv kept going on about how he wanted to see Grammy and Grampy win trophies,” Bethany explains, and she shrugs. “I figured, why not?”
“Thank you Beth,” Ma says stepping out from behind out booth. “It’s great to have him here.”
Bethany smiles softly at my mom. I smile at her. “I really appreciate it.”
Bethany nods and looks directly at Chloe, who I realize is shifting back and forth on her feet awkwardly. I clear my throat and am about to introduce them when Bethany steps forward and extends her hand. “I’m Bethany. I guess you know that, but I thought I should introduce myself properly.”
“Nice to meet you. Chloe,” Chloe says, and they shake hands, and I suddenly feel very grateful that they’re both so mature about this.
Someone calls Bethany’s name to our left and she glances over, smiles, and waves. She looks back at me. “That’s my friend from work. Can I leave him with you while I go say hi?”
“Of course.”
“Text me if you need to find me,” Bethany says and disappears.
“Hey Riv, Patty’s Parlor has a booth here today, and they have your favorite ice cream flavor—Moose Farts!” my dad tells him, and I notice Chloe’s face scrunch up.
River jumps up and down. “Can I have some, please?”
I nod at my dad, who reaches for River’s hand. “Come on and I’ll take you.”
“Ms. Patty is funny and her ice cream tastes good!” River says as they walk away.
Terra blinks, confused. “Moose Farts?”
“Patty’s most popular flavor,” Chloe explains. “Vanilla ice cream with fudge ganache swirl and chocolate covered peanuts.”
“Moose…farts?” Terra repeats, still in disbelief.
“She has one called Unicorn Toots, too,” Jake says. “She’s a weird one.”
Mayor Jim steps to the mic at the center of the stage and taps it. Feedback screeches through the room, making everyone cringe and groan except Mr. Butterfield, who must have forgotten his hearing aids again.
“Sorry! So sorry!” Mayor Jim says. Mayor Jim Humphries went to school with my Dad. He’s a squat, ruddy-faced man with a demeanor that would be too timid to run a city anywhere but Ocean Pines. “So thanks again everyone for coming. We had a wicked good turnout today, best festival we’ve ever had!”
There is a smattering of applause and someone in the crowd yells out, “Get to the good stuff, Jim!”
Mayor Jim clears his throat. “So, the winner of the Best Chowder of the Year is…”
I glance at my mom. Her eyes are closed and she’s holding Terra’s hand on one side and Nova’s on the other. Mayor Jim pauses and clears his throat again before letting out a raspy chuckle. “Well, actually, the winner of the Best Chowder is also the winner of the Best New Seafood Dish, so do you guys just want me to make one announcement? I could do it separately, but I guess…well I just told you it’s the same—”
“SPIT IT OUT JIMBO!” Dad hollers from wherever he is in the room.
“Always so impatient, Charlie, geesh,” Mayor Jim sighs. “Why don’t you just get up here then because the winner of both competitions is Hawkins Lobster Shack!”
“Oh
my God!” Chole is jumping up and down beside me. “You won both! You won both!”
The room is erupting in cheers, so I can barely hear her. The whole family is hugging and high-fiving each other like they won the Super Bowl, and I guess we kind of did. Our version of it anyway. Ma starts toward the stage, and we all follow. It’s tradition we all go up to get the ribbon because ever since we started winning here, Ma insists—family business, family success.
“Go!” Chloe insists, pushing me.
Declan grabs her hand. “You too. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
She looks like she might say no, but I pull her up with me because Declan is right. She earned this as much as any of us by giving her okay to use her recipe.
My dad is already up there with River when we get to the stage. He hands Ma her ribbons and gives the trophies to River, who is over the moon. I realize for the first time in a long time I’m enjoying the moment—being up here with the family in front of the town.
“Today has been so amazing!” Chloe says, beaming as I get off the stage and lag behind my family as we make our way toward the Hawkins’ booth again. “Your family, the festival, photographing stuff, being here with you. I love it!”
“And I love you,” I say as I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer.
She leans up and kisses my cheek. “I love you too.”
I stop walking, turn to face her, take her face in my hands, and kiss her like no one’s watching even though I’m fairly certain everyone is.
“Dad! I got Moose Farts! Life is perfect!”
The kiss dissolves as we both break into laughter and look down to see River standing there, already wearing almost as much ice cream as he’s consumed. “You’re right, Bub,” I say as Chloe and I lock eyes again. “Life is perfect.”
Acknowledgments
Man, this book…. I won’t bore you with the gory details but it’s been kicking around since 2018. It’s taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears (actual tears!) to get it out into the world. I hope you’re as satisfied with the results as I am. I truly believe in this book, and the messiness of the Hawkins clan and their love lives, and am proud I got to tell this story my way.
The Winter We Collided: A Small Town Single Dad Romance (Ocean Pines Series Book 2) Page 29
