Lakeside Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) (6 page)

“You just met me. You haven’t seen my bad personality traits.”

“Like what?” he asked with a smile.

“Well, I am crazy messy. I cannot get organized.”

“Like a hoarder?” he asked.

“No, not that bad. Well, temporarily I was. After the wedding fiasco, I did let things go for a week,” she admitted with a laugh.

“Understandable. What else?”

“I have to separate my food on my plate. Nothing can touch. I know, weird…”

“I do the same thing. That’s why I chose omelets so you wouldn’t see me do it!” he said with a hearty laugh that made her smile.

“Okay, one more. I am always early. I hate to be late, so I’m always getting places way too early. Drove Max crazy.”

“So, in short, you’re a disorganized person who likes to separate her food and get places early rather than late? Wow, you’re a real nutcase, Erica.” She laughed at his joke as she finished off her wine.

“Yep. That’s me.”

Dylan cleaned off the table and walked back onto the deck. “Listen, I’d better paddle home. It’s getting late, and I have an early meeting with a client.”

“I’m so sorry for keeping you out late,” she said standing up.

“Don’t apologize. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you, Erica. And please enjoy your time here because you don’t need to keep fretting over Max. He wasn’t worthy of a beautiful, smart woman like you anyway.” His words tore through her again. How did he do that? How did he know just what to say?

“Thank you,” was all she could manage to say.

“Goodnight,” he whispered as he backed toward the stairs. Without thinking, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

“Thanks again. For everything,” she whispered into his ear. He froze in place for a moment before stepping out of her embrace and walking down the stairs. She watched him climb into the kayak as her heart skipped a few beats.

Erica woke up the next morning to a very sore leg and a bit of a hangover from overindulging in wine. She wasn’t accustomed to drinking more than a glass a night, and she’d had at least three that she should could remember.

As she walked into the living room and looked out at the lake, she saw Dylan’s kayak resting on his side of the lake. She wondered what he thought when he woke up that morning. She hoped she would see him again soon, but maybe he was just being nice to her. Maybe he was gay. Maybe he didn’t think she was his type. Maybe he was dating someone. Part of her was giddy at the prospect of meeting a new man, but the other part of her knew it was too soon. Too much, too fast. And, he lived two hours from her.

She decided to drive into town for breakfast to see her favorite waitress, Gracie. Pulling into the diner parking lot, she realized she was starting to feel more at home in Mill Creek Crossing than she did in the city where she’d lived for many years.

“Mornin’, Miss Erica!” Gracie called from behind the counter. “Have a seat, and I’ll be right over.”

Erica went to her booth from the day before, and sat down. Perusing the menu, she didn’t notice Dylan walking up to her from a booth across the restaurant. His client walked outside to take a phone call while Dylan sat down with Erica.

“Good morning sunshine,” he said with a laugh. His blue eyes were even more beautiful in the daylight hours.

“Good morning. How are things at your house? Any damage?”

“Couple of broken tree limbs, but that’s all.”

“Good. Glad to hear it.” She didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she felt like a school girl talking to her crush in the hallway.

“How’s your leg?” he asked.

“Sore. Really sore.”

“Any redness or swelling?”

“A little… I looked around the cabin for some first aid supplies this morning, but nothing that I could find. I figured I’d stop by the drugstore…”

“We need to get you to Doctor Higgins then. Don’t want to get it infected. How about I meet you back here in an hour, and I’ll take you myself.”

“That’s okay, I can manage getting there.”

“Do you know where he is?” he asked with a smile.

“Well, no… but…”

“Then it’s settled. Once I finish with my client, I will meet you right outside on the bench. One hour, okay?” he said.

“Fine. One hour,” she relented with a smile as he waved at his client and walked outside. The two men walked down the sidewalk out of sight.

Erica watched him walk away as Gracie appeared at the booth.

“Hi, sweetie. What’ll you have?” she asked eyeing Dylan herself.

“How about French toast and bacon with orange juice?” she said looking at the menu.

“Great. I’ll put your order in…” Gracie said, obviously distracted by something.

“Everything okay, Gracie?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything…” she said hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“I don’t mean to pry, honey, but are you seeing Dylan Kramer?” she asked sitting down across from her.

“No. I just met him. He saved me from floating around in a lake last night without an oar. Long story…”

“Good. Okay,” Gracie said standing up.

“Wait. Why do you ask?” Erica said, wondering why Dylan would be a bad bet for a boyfriend.

“He’s got a reputation. Just between you and me, he’s known for not being able to stay in relationships because of his past. Don’t get me wrong he’s a sweetheart. But he can’t commit because no one can compare. No one can overcome his grief. It’s sad really…” she trailed off.

“Grief?” Erica was more confused than ever.

“Oh, you don’t know? I’ve probably said too much. Dylan was married, but his wife died tragically about three years ago. She was a beautiful woman, and they’d dated since they were in middle school. Her name was Amelia.”

“How did she…”

“Die? She was hit while crossing the road. Teenage driver was texting. So sad. Turned out she was pregnant but hadn’t told Dylan yet. She was saving the surprise for that evening because it was his birthday. When she was hit, she was picking up his cake.”

“Oh, my goodness. How horrible…” Erica said with tears welling in her eyes.

“No woman has ever come close to filling the void. He dated a few women in town, but it never got serious. I don’t think he can get over it. He works a lot, but I never see him date anymore. I think he gave up. And it’s so sad because he is an absolute sweetie, not to mention gorgeous…” Just then, another customer walked in and Gracie trotted back up to the counter. Suddenly, Erica didn’t have an appetite.

She picked at her meal watching the clock the whole time. How was she supposed to meet him in an hour and not look at him differently? She knew one thing for certain - she wasn’t about to stir up a relationship with a man whose wife was a ghost in his life everyday. He was a nice guy and sexy as heck, but she wasn’t going to come in second place to a dead love he would never get over. Heartache had already wrecked her life, and she didn’t want to sign up for more hurt.

After she finished eating, Erica still had about ten minutes before she was to meet Dylan. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Callie’s number for a bit of girl chat. She paid her bill and stepped out onto the sidewalk, being careful to look out for Dylan. Sitting on a bench outside, she was glad to hear Callie answer the phone.

“Hey, girl!” Callie said in her normal excited voice. Everything excited Callie. It didn’t matter if it was a milkshake or a baby being born; she loved life.

“Hey,” Erica whispered into the phone.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because I want to make sure a certain someone doesn’t hear me.”

“Okay, you lost me. What’s up?” Callie asked.

Over the next few minutes, Erica recounted the night’s events. She talked about getting stranded in the lake, the storm, hurting her leg and all the rest of it, right down to what she’d just learned from Gracie.

“Wow, that’s some story!” Callie said.

“I know. I never imagined…”

“Imagined what? That you might meet someone amazing in Mill Creek Crossing?” There was a hint of sarcasm in Callie’s tone that seemed misplaced. Erica wondered about it, but she moved on.

“Now I have to figure out what to do. I mean I don’t want to become attracted to this man. He’s got big problems with committing after losing his wife. I can’t compete with a ghost.”

“Erica, settle down. You’re only just getting to know Dylan. It’s not like you’re getting married…” Callie stopped herself short. “Oh, girl, I’m sorry. Bad choice of words.”

“It’s okay,” Erica said as she leaned her head back and sighed into the spring sky.

“Erica?” Dylan said from behind her. She worried about how long he’d been standing there.

“Dylan… Where’d you come from?” she said smiling nervously.

“I just walked up. Ready to go?” he said with a smile as he extended his hand.

“Sure. Callie, I’ll call you later, okay?” she said into the phone.

“Okay. And Erica, be open. Please. Just be open to him,” Callie said, almost begging. What was up with her?

Erica stood up as Dylan took her hand. Without thinking, she instinctively slid her hand through his arm as they walked down the sidewalk. She was limping a bit, but nothing that concerned her too much. But, the last thing she wanted to do was let the cut on her leg get infected and ruin her trip.

“My truck is down here,” he said pointing around the corner.

“Okay,” she said softly.

“Everything alright, Erica?” Dylan asked looking at her.

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“You seemed startled when I walked up. Were you talking about me?” he asked grinning.

“Conceited much?” she said sarcastically.

“I’ve been accused of that a time or two.”

“I’ll bet,” she said giggling.

His big, black pickup truck was parked on the street just off an alleyway. He opened the door for her and helped her climb up into the tall vehicle. In order to do so, he had to put his hand on her butt, which shocked her and almost caused her to lose her footing yet again. Why was she suddenly the biggest klutz?

“Careful little lady,” he said with a chuckle as he closed the door. Dylan walked around the other side and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Sorry.”

“About what?” Erica asked in confusion.

“I should have warned you I was going to touch your butt.”

“No big deal,” she said turning beet red. She was a grown woman, but hearing the words “your butt” come out of his mouth reduced her to a thirteen year old girl.

“Then why are you turning red?” he asked as he put the key in the ignition.

“Can we just go, please?” she asked trying not to look at him. He sat back and crossed his arms.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“Why do you think something’s going on?” she asked still trying to keep her eyes straight ahead.