“Everything’s okay, darling. Mick here was just telling me that he was going to be leaving town real soon, weren’t you, Mick?”
Carly looked at Mick. “Oh, is that right?”
“I’ve got some work to do still,” Mick said.
Fletcher gave Mick a hard slap on the back. “And then he’ll be on his way back to the big city. Say hi to your mama for me, won’t you, Mick?”
Mick nodded. He felt his jaw tense.
“You have a good day now, darling. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Fletcher Myers put his hat on and sauntered out the cafe, just as he did when he came in.
Chapter 13
After Fletcher left, Carly went back into the kitchen to get Mick’s order. Watching her dad and Mick was like watching a train wreck. Carly brought a hand to her stomach. What a horrible mess. Why did Mick glance at her when her dad asked him how long he was staying? Fletcher Matthews never missed a cue. Those Friday night poker sessions with the town farmers have made him a pro at reading people. She was certain they’d exchanged words when she wasn’t there. “Are you okay?” Carly asked Mick, setting a plate of the house special in front of him.
Mick nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
“And... Dad?”
“Seems like he’s doing well,” Mick said.
Carly grabbed a cloth and some kitchen spray. She went around the counter and began cleaning the empty tables, hoping that the morning crowd would come in already—anything to keep her busy.
“What are you doing?” a voice whispered in a hiss.
“Goodness! You startled me,” Carly said to Charlotte.
“What’s going on with you?” Charlotte whispered. “Why are you cleaning what’s already clean?”
Carly turned her attention back to the tables. “I’m just getting ready for the breakfast crowd.
Charlotte took hold of Carly’s elbow and led her to the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Carly asked after Charlotte let go of her once they’d entered the kitchen.
“No—what are you doing?”
“I told you,” Carly said with a whine.
“What’s going on between you and Mick?”
“Nothing!” Carly said almost too defensively.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Yeah right.”
“I mean it—there’s nothing going on between us.”
“Right! First, Mick turns up in town—out of the blue, I might add. And then you get a call from Ella and tell her to stop spreading rumors. And Fletcher! What was your dad doing here? He’s never here.” Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. “Spill it.”
“Mick is here on business. It’s got nothing to do with me. Ella is a gossip. And Dad—who knows? He said he was going to take his truck to the mechanic.” Carly spoke quickly. “Nothing to do with me!”
“Nothing, huh? Then what are you doing out there cleaning like a maniac when there’s nothing to clean? Service hasn’t even started.”
“Uh—because it’s my job.” Carly rolled her eyes and tried to step past Charlotte.
“Okay, fine.” Charlotte stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”
Carly threw her head back. “Why will I get hurt?”
Charlotte looked at her, and Carly returned her gaze. “Look, I know Mick.”
“So do I.”
“He’s just passing through, Carly. He’s not going to stay.” Charlotte ran a hand through her hair. “When we were younger—you know Mick’s just a few years older than me, right? When we were younger, Mick worked really hard to get out of here. He didn’t even come back when his own father was dying. I mean, he did... but it took a while for him to come back.”
Carly tried to hold back her tears. She knew that Charlotte was right.
“He’s never been in a serious relationship—at least none that I know of. Mick only looks out for one person. He looks out for himself. No one else.”
“Why are you doing this?” Carly moaned.
“He’s—what?—twenty years older than you?” Charlotte continued. “You’re from different worlds.”
“Oh, so now you’re saying I’m too young. Am I too immature for you, Charlotte?”
“Carly, that’s not what I’m saying. What could you possibly have in common with someone like Mick?”
“Because I’m not good enough, right?” Carly could feel her nerves rising. “What could a handsome, intelligent, wealthy man like Mick possibly want with a dumb, small-town girl like myself? Is that right?”
“Carly—he’s old enough to be your father.”
“That’s disgusting, Charlotte!” Carly spat.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“No, I’m sorry”—Carly undid her apron—“I’m suddenly not feeling too well. I’m taking a sick day.” Carly tossed her apron on the work counter and walked out of the kitchen to get her bag.
“Carly, please—”
As the doors swung shut behind her, Mick looked up. “Everything okay, darling?”
“Yeah.” Carly shook her head. “I’m not feeling too well, so I’m gonna head back home.”
Mick got up from his seat and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. “I’ll take you home,” he said to Carly.
“No, no, I’m fine. You haven’t even finished your breakfast yet,” she said, taking note of his full plate.
“I’m not too hungry anyway,” Mick said, leaving the money under his cup of coffee, still half-full.
Carly didn’t wait for Mick and instead rushed out the door without looking back.
“CARLY, WAIT UP!” MICK called after Carly as she rushed out the door. “Is everything okay?” he asked as he fell into step with her.
“I’m fine.” Carly didn’t look at him when she spoke.
“It’s obvious that something happened back there.”
Carly continued to walk.
“Okay—well at least let me take you home. We can go in my car.”
“No, thank you.”
Mick has had his fair share of silent treatments to know when he was being given one. And like most silent treatments, he didn’t know why he was getting one. Mick followed as Carly crossed the street in a hurry. He reached for her arm to slow her down. “Carly, what’s going on?”
Carly yanked her arm back and turned to face him. “What are we doing, Mick?”
“What?”
“This”—Carly waved a hand between them—“what is this?”
“What do you mean?”
“First you tell my dad that you’re only here for a few days. And, and,”—Carly stammered—“is it true that you left Willow Oaks because you hated it here? I mean, you’re never home. You apparently hate this place so much that you didn’t even come back when your dad died!”
Carly’s words hit Mick like a punch to the stomach. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just leave me alone, Mick! I’m not looking to get hurt.”
“Carly, what do you—where is this all coming from?”
“I’m thirty-two, you’re fifty. What could we possibly have in common?”
Ordinarily, Mick would have asked the same question. But having gotten to know her in the last six months, as NYJedi, there was more to them than the age difference. He should have just told her straight away that he was NYJedi. But what’s done is done. “Plenty! That’s all part of getting to know each other.”
“What if after you get to know me, you realize that we have nothing in common?”
“Carly,”—Mick took Carly by her arms—“look at me.” He leaned in and looked into her eyes. “Isn’t that the way life is? We try things out? Get to know each other. Build a relationship. What does your heart say?”
Carly shook her arms off. “I’m not something for you to try out, Mick.”
Mick sighed her name. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Everything alright, guys?” Mick turned around to find his sister Je
nna walking towards them. He let out an exasperated breath. Can’t I go anywhere without seeing someone at every turn? “It’s fine, Jenna.”
“You okay, Carly?” Jenna asked as she joined them.
Carly gave a weak smile. “I was just going home. I’m not feeling too well. I’ll be seeing you guys.” And with that, Carly turned around and walked away.
Mick wanted to go after her. But what could he say? She was right. He hated the town. He disliked everything about it. And yes, there was a large age gap between them.
Jenna leaned against Mick’s arm, following his gaze. “Isn’t she too young for you?”
Mick shrugged. “Too young for what?”
“You’re my brother, Mick. And I’m not stupid. You have that same look you had when Jodie Ann Keller and her family moved away when we were in high school.”
Jodie Ann Keller. That was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. A name he’d worked hard to forget. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have kids to look after?”
“They’re at school now. I’m here to see Charlotte, as usual. Not that you would know what’s usual since you’re never home.”
“This isn’t my home, Jenna.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
Mick knew that Jenna was digging for information. “I told you—I’m here on business.”
Jenna turned to look back at Carly as she disappeared into the distance. “Looks like you’re going to have to work extra hard on your business.”
Mick glared at her. “I’m outta here.”
“See you tonight for dinner! Don’t forget!” Jenna called after him as he walked off.
Chapter 14
Carly stood at the edge of her bed and dove on to it, face down. She pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and then, lying on her stomach, she opened the Love Is Blind app and checked her inbox. There were no pending messages from NYJedi. Carly bit down on her bottom lip and clicked the envelope icon.
I think we should try to meet again, she typed.
Carly looked at the blinking cursor, waiting for her next set of words to follow. But she had none. All she wanted was to meet NYJedi once and for all and see if there was still anything between them or whether she should just put the whole thing to rest. She wanted to find out if she really liked him or if she only thought she liked him because deep down, she knew that it would never happen.
Carly hit send and stared at the screen.
In less than a few seconds, her phone beeped.
She clicked on the new message.
Okay, the message read. It was from the Jedi.
One word, okay. Carly’s heart began to beat fast. She pushed herself up and sat cross-legged on her bed. She typed a response. When? she asked.
Almost immediately, NYJedi replied. Tomorrow at 2:00pm. Meet me by the benches at the lakeside park. I’ll be waiting.
Tomorrow? Carly wondered. She looked around her room—not for anything in particular. What? she mumbled. Carly drew a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. Tomorrow at 2pm. I’ll see you then, she typed back and hit send. Tomorrow, she would see for certain if she had any real feelings for NYJedi.
Carly lay her head down on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. What happened at the cafe was unexpected—seeing Mick, her dad being there, and being confronted by Charlotte. She remembered Ella’s phone call and wondered what people might have actually seen. The brief conversation with Mick had caught her off guard as well—not to mention the fact that Jenna turned up out of nowhere.
The more Carly thought about it, the more uptight she felt. Why does everyone need to be involved, anyway? It’s my life! she argued.
MICK WONDERED IF MEETING Carly to admit that he was—that he is NYJedi007 was a good idea. But he knew he needed to do this. He needed to come clean. He was in too deep to back out now. His feelings for Carly had grown even more than when they were exchanging messages. Knowing her now—having her so close to him—made it harder to walk away.
Chapter 15
The following day at work, Carly walked up to Charlotte. “Hey, do you have a minute?” She’d spent the night before tossing and turning. Carly regretted how she’d treated Charlotte and made it the day’s top priority to fix it.
Charlotte turned around from the cupcakes she was icing. “Of course, let me just wash my hands.”
“I’ll meet you at the courtyard.” Carly went out the back to the courtyard, the part of the cafe that no one ever saw. It was the space where she, Charlotte, and Steph escaped to for a quick break in the day. The three of them had spent many late nights de-stressing in the courtyard, especially during the peak months of the year.
“Hiya,” Charlotte said, as she joined Carly. “What’s up?”
Sheltered from the sun by a large outdoor umbrella, Carly looked up from where she sat and smiled. “I just—I want to apologize for how I’d acted yesterday,” Carly said. “It was really immature of me and I shouldn’t have walked out.”
Charlotte shrugged. “Look, we all have our bad days. Don’t worry about it.”
Carly shook her head, embarrassed. “Did you manage alright without me? I mean, being one man down?”
“We survived,” Charlotte said with a wink. “But look, I owe you an apology as well.”
“What? No—”
“I was out of line. I shouldn’t have shoved my nose where it didn’t belong. I was just worried—actually, no. I shouldn’t make any excuses,” Charlotte said. “You’re a grown woman and I know that. But if you ever need to talk, you know that I’m here, right?”
Carly nodded. She knew that Charlotte would always be there for her. “You weren’t out of line,” Carly said. “You were just looking out for me.” Carly smiled. She appreciated how Charlotte and her friends were always so nice to her. Growing up, they didn’t have much to do with each other because the age difference was too wide. Sure, they saw each other at Sunday mass—but so did everyone else. There were also the annual town events and the odd times that Charlotte babysat her. Other than that, they were from different worlds. But when Charlotte first opened the cafe and Carly applied for the job as a front of house waitress, the gap between them closed and she had found a dear friend in Charlotte. Today, Carly felt as if she was ten years old again, looking in on the older girls—wanting to be one of them.
“Are we okay?”
Carly nodded. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
Carly took a deep breath. She needed to know. “Do you really think there can’t be anything between Mick and I?”
Charlotte relaxed into her chair.
Carly returned Charlotte’s gaze, allowing the thoughtful silence to take hold of the moment.
“Mick is,”—Charlotte sighed—“Mick is two years older than me. Growing up as best friends with Jenna meant that I grew up around him too.”
Carly listened. She knew about them growing up together. Living in a small town, they’d all grown up around each other. They witnessed family hardships, break-ups, new life, and even death. Every generation in Willow Oaks always formed a strong bond, passing it down on to the next. Each other was all that they had, and it was that same bond that fostered the success of the town. From cafes and eateries, to bookstores, hardware stores, and other small businesses. The people of Willow stood by each other, buying only from their own, when it was possible. Without that kinship, Willow Oaks might have not have been as successful.
“Mick has always been a bit of a loner. No, that sounds bad. What I mean is, he does not like to rely on anyone.” Charlotte ran her finger over a potted succulent which sat on the table between them. “He might have changed—who knows? But I remember when Jodie Ann Keller left—”
“Who?”
“Jodie Ann Keller. You might not remember her, though. Her family left town when you were quite young—in fact, you might not have been born yet!” Charlotte laughed, but Carly decided to let it go. It was one of the things that she would have t
o get used to if anything were to come of her and Mick. “She and Mick used to date. They were always together.”
“She left town? That’s so sad.” Charlotte was right. Carly couldn’t remember Jodie Ann, much less put a face to the name.
“The Kellers moved to New York, and the rumor was that Mick had left home to go after her. Whether he’d found and reconnected with her or not, no one really knew. Mick kept to himself.”
Carly gasped. She’d never heard the story before. Of course she knew Mick left, but she never knew the full story. It had never really mattered to her.
“People say that’s the reason Mick left. And he just never came back. I mean, sure he would come back every so often. But he’d never really come back home to stay.”
“How old was he then?”
Charlotte paused to think. “I think he was about seventeen or eighteen. Jenna and I were in high school when he left. Mrs. Myers was heartbroken, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it.”
“I had no idea.” And she really hadn’t. Mick was always the talk of the town whenever he was home—so far, just for weddings or funerals—but Carly never really bothered with the truth. She’d just always accepted whatever story floated around.
“After that, I hadn’t really heard anything about his relationships. News about Mick was rare.”
“Are Mick and Jenna close?” Carly shook the niggling feeling that she was betraying Mick by asking about him. She knew she would hate to have someone asking around about her. But she needed to know.
Charlotte shook her head slowly from side to side, and her hand waving along. “I’m not sure if close is the right word to use. As I understand it, Mick isn’t close to anyone in his family. Jenna takes what she can get. You know how she is. Family is everything to Jenna.”
“I shouldn’t be asking you these questions.” It didn’t feel right. Carly shook her head. “I feel like I’m digging for dirt.”
Love Me Timeless--A Willow Oaks Sweet Romance Page 6
