Meant To Be (Coming Home To The Grove Book 2)

by Hope Ford

Carrie

  “I guess I’d better get home. I have to be at the bakery really early,” I tell him.

  Truth be told, I should’ve called it a night much earlier, but I was having such a good time and enjoying myself with Scott that I don’t really want to leave. And now, here I am sitting at a table with Scott, and he’s holding my hand.

  He looks reluctant, but he stands up and grabs his jacket. Is he wishing we could stay longer too?

  Excited shivers dance over my skin when he accompanies me from the bar with his strong hand at the small of my back. Outside, Scott mistakes my excited shivers as being cold.

  “Are you cold?” he asks.

  But before I can answer him, he’s draping his jacket over my shoulders, and I feel like I’m bathing in his masculine scent.

  I try not to read too much into his actions as he opens the door and holds it for me and then does the same with his car door.

  “I live over on the other side of town, close to Grove Cinema,” I apologize to him.

  But he doesn’t seem to mind the fifteen-minute drive. We make friendly conversation after I give him the address. I’m so nervous being alone with such an amazing, handsome guy like him. I’m grateful that he does most of the talking.

  “I really enjoyed dancing with you tonight,” he says.

  “Me too,” I say, turning to face him. With his focus on the road in front of us, I can look at him freely. “Do you go there a lot?”

  “To the Roadside?” he asks.

  “Yeah. I mean, I know there’s not a lot of places to eat in Forest Grove, but do you go there to dance too?”

  He shakes his head and looks over at me while we’re at a stop sign. “No. Tonight was the first time I’ve danced there. I usually just go for the food.”

  I can’t keep the smile off my face if I tried. “Really?”

  He nods and laughs. “I had to dance. That was the only way I was going to get your attention.”

  Stunned, it seems like everything is happening so fast. Before I realize it, we’re on my road, and I tell him I’m the third house on the right.

  “Well, thank you for tonight. And the ride home,” I tell him, reaching for the door.

  “Wait!” he says, putting his hand on my arm. “I don’t want to kiss you.”

  Stunned, I pull back like he’s smacked me in the face. “Okay—”

  He touches his hand to his head. “Heck, I’m doing this all wrong. I mean, I want to kiss you. But I know you’ve been drinking. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  I bite my lip in confusion. “What? You do want to kiss me?”

  “More than anything.”

  “But you’re not going to?” I ask him with bated breath.

  He looks for a second like he might, but then he shakes his head. “No, I’m not. Let me walk you to your door.”

  He opens the door and helps me from the car, walking me up to the porch. I try not to let my spirits fall that he’s not going to kiss me goodnight. Scott was clearly raised to be a gentleman.

  I unlock the door and remember that I still have his jacket on. “Why don’t you step inside out of the wind, and I’ll give you your coat back.”

  I shut the door behind him as he follows me in, and I take off the coat, wishing I didn’t have to.

  I hand it to him, and just as I’m about to tell him goodnight, I hear the familiar rhythm of my mom’s footsteps down the stairs. I’m almost pushing Scott out the door. “Thanks for a fun evening. I’ll see you later.”

  But I’m not fast enough. My mom joins us in the foyer and is all smiles, completely unaware of the fact that I’m not happy to see her.

  “You’ll never guess what I managed to do for you. Never! Go ahead, guess.”

  “Get me fired?” I deadpan.

  My mom doesn’t catch the sarcasm or warning in my tone. “No. But that’s not a bad idea. I got you a date!”

  Shoot me now. I’m so done. Does she not see Scott standing right here?

  “It’s to the charity event coming up. Those tickets are sold out, you know. He’s a cousin of my friend Hilda’s and she said that he isn’t put off at all by frumpy girls, so you don’t have to worry that he’ll regret the blind date.”

  “Excuse me,” Scott says, and I clench my eyes shut tightly. He’s clearly witnessed enough for one day and must be dying to escape. “Carrie’s already agreed to attend the charity ball with me as my date, so you’ll have to tell Hilda’s cousin he’s out of luck.”

  My eyes pop open, and I’m all smiles, so grateful that he rescued me from what sounds like a horrible blind date.

  Scott

  Carrie is surprised, but I pull her to me affectionately, hoping her mother doesn’t notice. I take great pleasure in stopping her mother from her toxic way of speaking to Carrie, even more in swiping Carrie as my own date. The smile she gives me is even better than when she laughs. She’s too beautiful not to kiss, and I figure she’ll forgive me for it since it’s in front of her meddling mother.

  “Thanks for going out with me tonight,” I say to Carrie as I slide my hand to the small of her waist. I tip her chin with my other hand and kiss her briefly, cutting it off before I let myself get carried away but definitely enjoying the chance to hold her close and taste her lips.

  She looks a little dazed when she pulls back.

  Her mother’s mouth is hanging open.

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, see you then,” she says, touching her fingers to her lips.

  I’m smiling with every step back to my car, and I figure it will stay there the rest of the night.

  14

  Carrie

  He kissed me. That is the thought that went through my head all night as I tossed and turned and then as I stumbled out of bed early this morning to get to work.

  There’s a tremor of excitement happening, and I am a bundle of nerves as I open the bakery and wait to see if he shows up this morning.

  And he doesn’t disappoint. He’s my first customer of the day.

  Before he can get a word out, I have his coffee set in front of him and I’m thanking him. “Thank you for your help last night, but I don’t expect you to go on the date with me.”

  All night I wondered why he did it, and I figure the best way to find out is to give him an out.

  He shrugs. “We can help each other out. There’s a woman down at city hall that keeps asking me out and doesn’t want to accept that I don’t want to go out with her. So you’ll be helping me out too.”

  “Let me get your breakfast burrito,” I tell him before going back into the kitchen. He wants to fake date. Of course, I should have known it was going to be something like that. How stupid can I be?

  I walk out with a smile plastered to my face and set the plate down with two breakfast burritos on it. “I’m happy to help you. I’m glad the favor works in both ways.”

  Even though I did my best to not allow myself to get excited about the “date” the night before, now it’s confirmed we’re both doing each other a favor, I’m disappointed. Scott is helping me out, so I refuse to let him know that I had hoped it was the real thing.

  “So the favor you’re doing me is bigger than mine. I can be your wing woman and help you find a woman you want to date.” The words put a bad taste in my mouth just saying them.

  “You don’t have to do that,” he says.

  “Don’t mention it,” I tell him, smiling, and then thankfully another customer comes in for me to help.

  Scott

  The week started off great. I was looking forward to going to the charity ball with Carrie and then she made it her own personal mission to find me a woman. Why didn’t I just tell her that I wanted her to go with me?

  Every day since she’s asked me what I’m looking for in a woman. Finally, I broke down and told her, pretty much describing Carrie in detail. Beautiful, funny, good dancer, knows how to have fun, nice, caring, willing to help others. I mean, I described everything I know about
Carrie. But she didn’t get it. She just wrote it all in her notebook as if she’s actually searching for a woman for me to date.

  It’s too late to come clean now, especially after she’s started narrowing down the town’s most eligible women. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this.

  And now I’m having to deal with Crawford. He was caught drinking on the job and blew just under drunk on the breathalyzer. I had no choice but to formally discipline him and suspend him. I was already told that I’m going to have to appear at the hearing and give my own recommendations. With the way Crawford has been performing, I know that the only answer I can give in good conscience would be dismissal.

  Right or wrong, I still don’t look forward to being a part of taking a man’s career away from him. A lot of training and money goes into becoming a police officer, but with all of the failure to perform warnings that Crawford received, not to mention his interest in young women, and then topping it off with drinking on the job—well, I don’t see how I could recommend anything less. At this point, he’s done it to himself.

  I’m finished for the day and am not hungry for food, but I’m aching to see Carrie. Nothing can ease my stress and sadness better than one of her smiles.

  Carrie

  Ever since the night Scott brought me home, my mom has been behaving like she wants to be recruited as a detective. She keeps popping into the bakery asking me all kinds of questions. Today, she doesn’t even give me time to answer before she’s popping out the next question.

  “When are you going to see Scott next?”

  “What are you wearing to the charity ball?”

  “Why haven’t you mentioned you were dating the sheriff?”

  “Mom, slow down, it’s not a big deal. You act like this is the first date I’ve been on,” I say to her. I know it’s hard for my mom to believe, but I have been out on dates before. “Here’s your order. Aren’t you supposed to be meeting your quilting group?”

  She looks at her watch. “Yes. Shoot. Okay, honey, we’ll talk about this later.”

  She’s walking out the front door just as Scott is coming in.

  Scott laughs off the owl-eyed look that my mom is giving him, and his easy laughter and smile warms my body and eases the stress headache my mother had given me.

  “You want a coffee?” I ask him, sort of surprised to see him so late in the afternoon.

  He seems to think about my question and sits down at the end of the counter. “Uh, no, I don’t think so.”

  “What’s wrong?” I ask him. He’s still smiling, but I can tell something’s bothering him.

  He just shrugs. “I’m having trouble with one of the officers.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” I ask him.

  He looks around the room at a few of the people sitting around enjoying their afternoon treats. “Uh, no, that’s okay. I’m looking forward to our date tonight.”

  “Me too,” I tell him, and even though he doesn’t label it, I know he’s talking about our fake date. “I think I found a great catch for you. She works at the hair salon off of Bruce Street. Anyway, she’s pretty. Really smart. She cut my hair on my lunch break today.”

  “Your hair looks pretty.”

  I wait for him to continue, to maybe ask me about the woman. Maybe her name, anything. But he doesn’t. He must be really upset about the problem with the officer.

  My hand goes to my hair. “Thank you.” I go over and pour my special hot chocolate recipe into a big cup and hand it to him. “So what time are you picking me up tonight? Oh wait, or I can meet you there if you’d rather.”

  “I’m picking you up, Carrie,” he says, almost sounding frustrated. “I’ll be there at six.”

  He tips the cup back and takes a sip of the chocolatey goodness. His eyes flash to mine and instantly he smiles, taking another big sip. I feel pride knowing I’m the woman that put that smile of satisfaction on his face.

  15

  Carrie

  With all the nagging and meddling my mom can do, I’m shocked when I get home to get ready for my date and she gives me a dress for the dance.

  “I saw this and knew it would be perfect for you. The poufy skirt will hide everything you want to hide. It’s perfect.”

  I’d planned on wearing the dress I’d worn to my cousin’s wedding last year, so having something new and fancy gets me excited. And surprisingly, the blue A-line dress fits me to a T, and is very flattering.

  “You are beyond lovely, honey,” my dad tells me before he hugs me tight.

  “Thanks, Dad. And thank you, Mom, for the dress. I love it,” I tell her, still in awe that she bought it for me.

  I’m excited to go, confident even. That is until my mom pushes on my stomach and tells me to double up on a girdle.

  “Suzy!” my dad gasps just as the doorbell rings.

  Thank goodness, saved by the bell. Nothing is going to get me down tonight. Even my mom’s cruel words.

  My dad opens the door, and he and Scott shake hands. Not wanting to be left with my mom, I walk around my dad and try not to let my mouth fall open.

  Scott is devastatingly handsome in his dress blues. His formal uniform makes me feel like I’m being picked up by my own personal hero. I start to feel warm all over, and I’m hoping I don’t start stuttering or worse, trip in my heels.

  “You look beautiful, Carrie.”

  “You look handsome.” We both say it at the same time and then laugh. Already, I feel so relaxed with him.

  I hold on to the arm he’s holding out for me.

  “Ready to dance?” he asks.

  Just with our arms looped together almost makes me feel lightheaded. “I’m ready.”

  Have fun tonight, Carrie, and try to remember this is a fake date.

  Scott

  Carrie is breathtaking. She’s so beautiful a part of me doesn’t want to take her to the ball where I know some of the other officers are going to be there. They’ve been warned, but the way she looks right now, I can’t really blame them if they choose to ignore my words. However, I also know I’m not going to just stand by either.

  I’m so proud to have her on my arm for the evening. She has her long blond hair down and in curls down her back. The blue of her dress brings out the blue in her eyes. And I have to say, she fits perfectly at my side.

  I pull at the tie around my neck and feel my heart racing in my chest. I know it has nothing to do with my tight tie and everything to do with the woman on my arm.

  “I’m so glad we’re going to this dance together,” I tell her, wanting her to know that I wanted us to go out together. Somehow I need to let her see that this isn’t a fake date. At least not for me.

  “Me too,” she says nervously. Once we’ve driven across town and enter the ballroom, which is actually the banquet hall in the basement of the Forest Grove Church, I feel that all eyes are on us. Even walking in, I feel like I can’t take my eyes off Carrie. Or maybe I can, I just don’t want to.

  I lead her to a table and then go off to get her some punch. When I get back, I sit at the chair next to her and scoot in closer.

  She thanks me for the drink and is looking around the room. Immediately, she starts pointing out different female prospects for me. She shakes her head. “I don’t see Elaine.”

  “Elaine?”

  “Yeah, the woman that cut my hair. I was telling you about her.”

  I don’t remember, but I still nod my head. “Do you want to eat? Or go dance a little bit?” I try my best to distract her from her mission of setting me up, but she’s determined.

  The only moment I get to enjoy being with Carrie is when her mom comes over to check on us. But I think it’s so her and Carrie’s dad can get to know me better.

  “You should come to dinner tomorrow night,” Suzy says.

  “No, Mom. I’m sure he’s busy,” Carrie says.

  But I cut in, “Actually, I’d love to join you for dinner tomorrow night. What time should I be there?”<
br />
  “Six o’clock,” she says instantly, and then Donald is pulling his wife up to leave. “C’mon, Suzy. They don’t want to hang out with us all night. Let’s give them some space.”

  Suzy is happy as she walks away, but Carrie doesn’t seem to be.

  She’s looking at me with a frown on her face. “You don’t have to come to dinner tomorrow night. You may be a cop, but you haven’t seen harsh interrogation tactics until you’ve spent a meal with my mother,” she says.

  “I think I can handle it. Plus, I’d like to have dinner with you. Is that okay?” I ask her because it feels like she doesn’t want me to come.

  My defenses are on high alert. I should have just come clean with her and told her I thought this was a real date and not made up the fake date idea. That way if she didn’t want to go out with me, I wouldn’t be getting strung along. Man, I’m getting too old for this.

  “Let’s dance.”

  And this time, I don’t wait for her to respond. We go to the dance floor, and they’re playing some of the same songs from the other night. They’re all fast paced, but Carrie and I have no trouble keeping up, and it isn’t long before we have people surrounding us, cheering us on.

  When the song ends, people cheer, but when the DJ starts playing a slow song, I don’t waste any time in wrapping my arms around Carrie and holding her close.

  I’m enjoying having her in my arms when she pulls away. “There’s Beverly. Let’s go over so I can introduce you.”

  My head falls in frustration. This again?

  I grab her by the hand and start walking toward the exit. “No, you know what? Do you care if we go?” I ask her.

  She’s surprised but nods her head, and I waste no time getting her out the door and into my car.

  16