Discovering Sophie (41 page)

“Honey, I’m worried about you.” Chellie followed Addie to the table and took a seat next to her. “Please don’t keep everything all inside. I’m here for you.”

Chellie, fifteen years older than Addie, had three kids to worry about—two of them teenagers—and didn’t need the added burden of Addie’s problems. Besides, suppressing her feelings was a coping mechanism Addie had learned to use right after her mother died. Instead of facing the hurt, anger and fear, she’d efficiently stuffed her feelings in hidden places. It was like a child who cleaned her room by hiding and stuffing things in closets, under beds and in drawers so on the outside it all looked neat and tidy.

“I’m fine, Chellie.” Addie was already finding places to tuck away the negative emotions Brandon’s wedding announcement brought to the surface. She took a bite of the cake and closed her eyes to savor the moment. At the same time, she did her best to ignore the fact that since the break up her jeans were starting to feel a little tight. “
Mmm
. I know how I feel about this chocolate cake.”

When she opened her eyes again, her sister had that look on her face. The one that said she wasn’t going to let it go. “Dad’s worried about you too.”

Addie swallowed the lump in her throat, along with the cake. She had tried so hard to hide her feelings from him and thought she was doing a great job. “What am I doing that’s so worrisome?”

“He said you don’t go out anymore and refuse to attend any church single activities.”

“Hello. You would’ve stopped going too if you were me. Need I remind you about the singles retreat I totally ruined for the new youth pastor? Once I spoke up all spiritual thoughts were gone and the poor guy spent the rest of the time trying to get things back on track.”

The corner of her sister’s mouth twitched. “I’m sure anyone could’ve made the same mistake.”

“Um, I don’t think so.” Addie felt a hot flush sear her cheeks when she thought about her blunder. While everyone sat around the lodges’ cozy fireplace listening to the message, she’d been daydreaming about the new youth pastor who was both single and cute. When he’d suddenly turned to her and asked her to share her thoughts on what he’d been talking about, Addie hadn’t had a clue what he’d even said.

Desperate, she’d thought about Sunday’s sermon and blurted out her desire to follow God’s plan so she could gain immortality. Only it had come out wrong, and Addie had witnessed to the large gathering of young single adults her desire to gain
immorality
.

Letting out a deep breath, Addie glanced up at her sister. “I quit attending the activities because I couldn’t take one more guy asking me how my quest for
immorality
was going.”

Chellie snorted a laugh before covering her mouth with her hand. When she’d composed herself again, she said, “Okay. I can understand that, but why have you stopped going out?”

“Uh, I think I just explained that.” She cut into her cake and lifted it up toward her mouth. “Besides, instead of giving up refined sugar, I’ve decided to give up men.”

While Addie enjoyed the chocolate confection melting on her tongue, her two nephews came into the kitchen with about a half a dozen boys ranging in age from fourteen to sixteen. It was the perfect time to escape her sister’s pending lecture about her decision to stop dating.

“Hi, Aunt Addie,” her nephews said before diving into the chocolate cake.

“Hey, guys.” Addie scooted away from the table to make a quick departure.

Brice, one of her nephew’s best friends, moved in front of her and blocked her exit. “Hey, I need to ask you a question.”

Addie eyed him warily. Brice was a tad on the arrogant side, especially since he was bigger than most college guys. A comparison Addie regretted making a few months ago since now the kid thought she would go out with him. “Sure. What’s up?”

A confident grin stole over his face as he leaned in close. “I was just wondering how the quest for immorality was going.”

Ha ha. Very funny
. Of course, all of the boys thought it was hilarious, including her nephews.

“You’re way too young for an answer, Brice.” Addie sidestepped the little twerp and waved to her sister. “I’ll see you later.” Chellie was too busy reprimanding the boys raiding her kitchen to try to stop her.

Feeling somewhat deflated, Addie drove away from her sister’s house and tried thinking happy thoughts. If she couldn’t pull off happy-go-lucky girl for her father, it might lead into another Addie-is-depressed conversation. She wasn’t depressed. Just a little…under enthused.

She wound through the rural housing development, surprised by the number of new houses under construction. When Chellie and her husband built their house nearly ten years ago it had been surrounded by fields and only a handful of houses. Now, new homes sprung up as fast as the farmers parted out their land.

Daisy Springs, known for its natural hot mineral springs, had suffered from the recession. It had recently gotten a boost in the economy when the new food processing plant had opened up a few years ago. Addie was one of the accountants at the plant. It wasn’t her dream job, but at least she wasn’t flipping burgers at the local hangout.

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she rounded the corner and saw her favorite house—the house similar to the one she was supposed to be sharing with her husband. Her throat constricted and she blinked hard when she felt the sting of tears. She hadn’t cried once today, not even when she’d opened up Brandon’s wedding announcement.

Swallowing, she forced her eyes back on the road and told herself how lucky she was not to have such a huge mortgage payment. She and Brandon hadn’t seen eye to eye about where they should live after they married. Addie had wanted an older home near her dad in town. Brandon wanted to move to a bigger city like Boise.

The compromise was Brandon would set up his law practice in Daisy Springs and they would build near Brandon’s parents’ house, which was only a couple of miles away from Chellie. Now three months later, it kind of sucked she wouldn’t be living close to her sister and that Addie still lived with her father, but, hey, at least she wasn’t stuck doing yard work every weekend.

As she emerged from the neighborhood, she caught the beginnings of a stunning sunset. The fiery orange and red colors bled into wispy clouds that hovered over the snow peaked mountains. It was beautiful, and Addie wanted to capture the image with her camera.

She eased off the side of the road and grabbed her camera bag from the passenger floor. Carefully, she attached the new lens she’d gotten herself for Christmas. It had taken what little she had left of her savings, but was well worth it. Besides, it was more like an investment into the photography business she dreamed of starting one day. It would also work with the professional camera she had her eye on as soon as she could come up with six thousand dollars.

After taking several shots, she put her camera away and climbed back inside her car. Not for the first time, Addie wished she’d followed her dreams and majored in photography. Instead, she’d taken Brandon’s advice and gone into accounting. Number crunching was mindless work, and probably the reason for her sugar addiction.

It wasn’t her fault she liked eating bad carbs—it was Brandon’s. The big jerk.

Thinking of bad carbs made her wish she’d taken a slice of her sister’s cake with her. Maybe when she got home she’d make a chocolate cake of her own.

Glancing over her shoulder to check for cars, Addie pulled back onto the road. A mile later, she came to a stop at the intersection, surprised at the heavy traffic on the newly constructed two-lane highway. The processing plant, along with the new hospital, had created the need for the expanded road.

Addie hoped to avoid Daisy Spring’s version of a rush hour by stopping at her sister’s house before going home. Since the road should be cleared out by now, there had to be an accident or wandering cows. Either way, this was the only route back to town so she merged into the flow of cars as soon as there was an opening.

The sky darkened as she slowly moved forward. Not wanting her dad to worry any more than he already was, she tried to call home. It rang several times before rolling over to voicemail. She ended the call without leaving a message. Her eighty year old father rarely answered the phone unless the handset was right next to him. Listening to voicemail was out of the question.

The congestion started to let up and she increased her speed. The right lane appeared to be going a little faster and Addie turned on her blinker, preparing to merge over. But a motorcycle filled the gap before she could make the lane change. Instead of flowing with traffic, the motorcycle stayed at Addie’s side, keeping her pinned between two oversized pickup trucks. She had to tap on her brakes to slow her Honda back to a slow crawl.

Annoyed, she glanced over at the motorcycle. The driver wasn’t some punk like she suspected, but a really good-looking guy wearing a black beanie, a black leather jacket and gloves. A five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw and he seemed a little intimidating—until he smiled. Flashing her a set of straight white teeth, he lifted a hand and pointed to the front of his bike. Did he want her to notice his motorcycle?

A grin tugged at her mouth as she averted her eyes back to the road. It was sort of nice to have someone flirt with her, even if biker boys weren’t really her thing. She felt particularly vulnerable right now, so having a guy pay a little attention to her felt good.

The motorcycle kept pace with her as they entered the city limits. Addie looked at him sidelong and he shot her another grin. Again, he gestured with his hand to the front of his bike.
Yes, Mr. Biker Boy, you have a very nice motorcycle
. Addie giggled and lifted her hand to give him a flirtatious wave.

The motorcycle continued alongside her as she approached a stop light. Feeling quite flattered, she crossed her fingers, and hoped for a red light. If they stopped she might have a chance to talk to the guy. Biker Boy was looking better and better to her.

The light turned yellow and she and the motorcycle both slowed down rather than trying to beat the red light. Nervously, Addie glanced over at Biker Boy. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he motioned for her to roll down her window.

Her heart fluttered inside her chest as Addie pushed the button and leaned toward the passenger side of the window. “Hi,” she said, hoping the guy hadn’t heard the tiny squeak in her voice.

The man had incredible blue eyes. They twinkled as he revved the engine a little. “Hey, I just wanted to tell you your lights were off. Your car is dark and someone like me might not see you until it’s too late.”

Addie’s face heated. Definitely not the kind of pickup line a girl wanted to hear. “Oh, well, thank you.” She flipped on her lights.

Biker Boy nodded his head in approval and winked. “No problem.” Maybe now he would ask for her number.

The light turned green and he shot off without giving her a second glance. Addie closed the window and slowly pressed on the accelerator.

She didn’t really like guys with motorcycles anyway.

Feeling discouraged and tired, she finally pulled into her driveway. The small bungalow styled house looked cozy and secure. She longed to sneak inside her house, grab a bite of food and go directly to bed, but her dad would be anxious to hear about her day.

She parked in the garage and entered the house through the kitchen. The faint smell of onions and beef lingered from her dad’s dinner and she knew he would have a plate for her warming in the oven. She hung her keys on the hook by the door, not sure if she could eat anything heavy right now. A bowl of cold cereal sounded just right. But first she wanted to change into her favorite yoga pants and a T-shirt.

After she placed her purse on the counter, Addie followed the muffled sounds from the television to look for her dad. She found him asleep in his recliner, his head tipped down on his chest. She paused by the door and studied him. His gray hair, or what was left of it, had fallen over his forehead. The flickering light from the television illuminated the deep crevices of his face.

As she watched him, she realized how old he appeared. He looked every bit his eighty years. How much longer would she get to have him around? Tenderness and love for her dad washed over her. The upside of being jilted was at least now she’d have more time with him.

Careful not to awaken her father, she slipped off her shoes and tiptoed toward her bedroom. The floor creaked beneath her feet and startled her dad awake.

“Hi, honey,” he said on a yawn. “When did you get home?” She loved the deep, gravelly sound of his voice.

“Just now. Sorry if I woke you.”

He smiled and waved his hand. “I needed to get up, anyway.” He braced his hands on the arm of the chair and attempted to rise. “I think I’m getting old.”

The corners of her mouth tipped up. In spite of his advanced age, his mind was still sharp and his attitude as upbeat as ever. She moved next to the chair and held out her hand. “You’re not old, Dad.”

He gripped her hand firmly and stood without much assistance. His eyes—the same light brown color as hers—twinkled as he playfully tugged on a lock of her hair. “Not too old with my little girl around.” His lips stretched into a smile and he winked. “I’m glad you’re home. How was your day?”