Taking You (4 page)

“You’re a good man,” Gretchen said. “Your son will forgive you. And thank you again, for helping me show my sweet side instead of my salty one.”

Harris smiled, and some of the twinkle came back into his eyes. “I don’t know, I think I could grow to like your salty side…under the right circumstances.”

Gretchen shook her head as she reached for her water, only frowning a little when she noticed that the waiter had let the glass get nearly empty. “Well, I’m sure you’ll see a little of both tomorrow,” she said, almost needing to shout to be heard over the raucous laughter coming from the groomsmen’s table. “Weddings always bring out the best and the worst in people, don’t they?”

“I’m just glad I’ll be there as someone’s date instead of the poor, lonely old deacon,” he said, making Gretchen’s cheeks feel even warmer.

She couldn’t believe she’d asked Harris to be her date on the car ride over, but then tonight was full of surprises.

“But I do have a confession to make,” he added.

Gretchen’s brows floated back up her forehead. “And what’s that?”

“I haven’t been on a date in almost forty years,” he said, folding his napkin and setting it beside his empty plate. “Not since Regina and I got together after college.”

Gretchen sighed as she set her water glass down with a shaking hand. “It’s been a long time for me, too. Stephen and I started dating in high school. It’s only been a year since he passed away.”

“I’m sorry,” Harris said. “Some people will tell you that it’ll get easier, but I wouldn’t say that it does. It’s been three years since she passed, but Regina’s always with me. I think about her every day, imagine the things she would say, the way she’d laugh at one of my good jokes or roll her eyes at my bad ones. In my heart, she’s alive as she ever was.”

“Oh, I know.” Gretchen paused, hesitant to voice her own secret fear, but knowing she might never have a chance to talk with anyone else who would understand.

Half of her girlfriends loathed their husbands, and the other half grudgingly put up with them. It was a rare marriage that stayed healthy into its fifth decade, but she and Stephen had had that, a marriage that got stronger and deeper as time went on. It sounded like Harris and Regina had had it, too.

“Do you ever feel guilty?” she asked, meeting his sad blue eyes. “Do you feel like you’re betraying her if you think about spending time with someone else?”

Harris shook his head and smiled. “I couldn’t have worked up the courage to flirt my way into a wedding invitation if that was the case.”

He laughed and Gretchen felt it all over, like a warm light was soaking into her bones, banishing the aches and pains that had settled inside of her with a new vengeance after Stephen had passed.

“I know Regina would want me to find happiness again,” Harris said. “I’m not good at being alone, with no one to talk to or laugh with. She knew that better than anyone.”

Gretchen nodded slowly. “I think Stephen would feel the same way, but still…” She took a breath and let her gaze skim over her family, all the people she loved and felt so obligated to take care of. “Sometimes I feel like I’m letting him down. He was such a strong leader for our family. I’m not sure I’m filling his shoes the way he would want me to.”

“You don’t have to fill his shoes,” Harris said. “You have your own shoes to fill in this world, and your own part to play in this family. I’m sure Stephen wouldn’t want for you to be anything more than the woman he loved. And these kids all adore you. You should have seen the looks on their faces when you almost fainted back at the church.”

Tears filled Gretchen’s eyes for the first time in months. She hadn’t shed a tear since the sixth month anniversary of Stephen’s death, when she’d decided that continuing to cry over her husband was pointless and forced herself to buck up and move on.

But until now, she’d only been going through the motions. Tonight, with Harris Nelson, was the first time she’d felt completely alive for over a year, the first time that something vital inside of her didn’t feel numb or hopeless or certain the story of her life had already been told, and that she was just flipping blank pages until she reached that inevitable “the end.”

Now, though, she saw that there were still chapters waiting to be written. There was still hope, happiness waiting be seized, and Gretchen decided right then to grab for them with both hands.

“Want to get out of here?” Harris asked, patting her shoulder. “I’d love to go for a walk around the lake before the sun sets.”

Gretchen smiled as she dabbed tears from her cheeks with her napkin. “I would like that very much. Thank you, Harris Nelson. For this talk and for a wonderful evening.”

“There’s still more evening to be had,” he said, scooting away from the table. “Let’s not say goodbye just yet.”

“All right, then. We won’t.” Gretchen plucked her purse from the table and took the hand Harris offered, letting him help her from her chair and lead her toward the back door of
Joe’s on the Lake
.

The Italian restaurant had always been one of Stephen’s favorites, and for a moment, as they slipped out into the dreamy pink sunset light, Gretchen swore she could feel her husband watching her and Harris meander down the path to the lake.

She could feel his eyes on her the same way she’d felt them the first night he had asked her to dance at the Methodist Ice Cream social, when she was seventeen and Stephen had told her she was the prettiest and funniest girl he’d ever met.

A part of her knew that wherever he was, her husband still felt the same way, and that he wanted nothing more than for his Gretchen to be happy, even if another man was the one making her smile.

Remain calm, just remain fucking calm,
Nick chanted silently to himself, repeating the phrase over and over.

So far, the mantra wasn’t working. Nick wasn’t fucking calm; he was fucking freaking out.

The evening air was cool and a nice breeze blew onto the old dock from the lake, but Nick was still sweating beneath his black button-down shirt. His palms were clammy, and his mouth was bone dry, even though he’d forced himself to drink a glass of water for every glass of wine he and Melody had ordered during dinner.

They’d had three. After three glasses of Pinot Noir and the several sips of bourbon he’d had at the church, he would usually be feeling no pain, but he didn’t even feel buzzed.

Apparently his nerves were more powerful than the effects of alcohol and the sleep-inducing mojo of a pasta dinner combined.

“This is the most beautiful night ever!” Melody sang out, spinning across the faded boards of the boat dock, her long, yellow linen dress swirling around her. She looked like one of those girls from the old musicals she’d been making him watch before bed, the ones he pretended to hate, but secretly enjoyed.

But he’d probably enjoy picking up trash on the side of the road as long as he got to do it with Melody. The thirty days that they’d lived together were by far the happiest of his life. He couldn’t imagine going back to waking up alone. Hopefully, after tonight, he would never have to.

“I wish it could go on forever,” she continued with a dreamy sigh as she kicked off her ballet flats and plopped down on the edge of the dock to stick her feet in the dark water.

“That’s going to be freezing cold,” Nick said, chuckling as she squealed when her feet hit the water.

“Sheesh, yeah it is,” she said, continuing to paddle her feet back and forth. “Good thing I’m too wined and dined to care.”

“Are you saying you’re drunk, young lady?” Nick asked, keeping his tone light, even as he mentally cursed himself for ordering her that last glass of wine. He didn’t mind if she was feeling a little loose, but he didn’t want her drunk. He wanted them both to remember every detail of this night.

“No, just tipsy. And happy,” she said, leaning back on her hands to stare up at the pink-and-blue streaked sky. “The only thing more exciting than a wedding rehearsal dinner is the wedding itself. Don’t you love weddings?”

“Weddings are pretty great,” Nick said, pulse speeding again, making his throat feel tight and his stomach cramp around his mushroom ravioli.

Melody wasn’t drunk, the sun was setting like something out of a postcard, and the family would be finishing up their supper and heading home soon. There was no time to lose. It was time to man up, calm down, and set his plan in motion.

“Hey, you think it’s cool to take this rowboat out?” he asked, trying to sound casual—as if he hadn’t made a special trip here yesterday to ask the restaurant manager to reserve the boat for him tonight—but the words came out weird and stilted.

Thankfully, Melody didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, yeah. You totally can,” she said, kicking one foot through the water, sending up a spray of drops that sparkled in the golden light. “Nana and Pop-pop used to take it out all the time. They were so cute. Pop-pop would row and Nana would hold her blue parasol.”

“Let’s go for a trip across the lake, then,” Nick said. “Before it gets dark.”

Melody hopped to her feet, snagging her shoes in one hand as she rose. “Okay, but I think we have to go reserve it first.”

Nick glanced back over his shoulder at the restaurant on the hill. “It’ll be dark in an hour and there’s no one else out here,” he said. “I say we just go for it and ask forgiveness later if anyone notices we took it.”

“Okay.” Melody grinned wickedly as she dropped her shoes back onto the dock and took his hand. “Forgiveness is more fun than permission anyway.”

Nick shook his head in mock disapproval, as he helped her into the boat. “I remember when you used to be a sweet girl who followed the rules.”

“I’m still a sweet girl, I’m just more open minded than I used to be,” Melody said, lifting her nose into the air as she settled onto the wooden seat of the rowboat. Between the peeling blue paint and her bright, retro-inspired dress she looked like a World War II pinup come to life.

On impulse, Nick pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a quick picture with one hand while he unwound the rope tying the boat to the dock with the other, knowing a snapshot would help him keep the memory of this night close.

“Careful,” Melody said, playing it up for the camera as he got a second pic for good measure. “You’re on your third phone this month. If you drop that in the water you are going to be very, very annoyed with yourself.”

“No, I won’t,” Nick said, settling into the boat and taking hold of the oars before shoving away from the dock with one foot. “Since the shop has been doing so well lately, I finally went and bought that waterproof, drop-proof, apocalypse-proof case you were telling me about.”

“Ah. Good.” Melody nodded before closing her eyes and tilting her face back to catch the last of the sun’s warmth. “It’s about time you started listening to your girlfriend’s advice. She’s a smart girl.”

“And very humble.”

“Yes,” Melody agreed without opening her eyes. “She is.”

“And very, very beautiful,” Nick added, unable to keep the cheesy note from his voice, but knowing it didn’t matter.

With Melody, he didn’t have to try to come off cool or above it all. With Melody, it was okay to show that he loved her, that he was so far gone there was no hope for his aloof, bad boy reputation. It was a thing of the past, and Nick couldn’t say he missed it one bit.

She opened her eyes, her smile softening around the edges. “You’re pretty nice to look at yourself,” she said. “I had such a good time with you tonight.”

“Me too,” he said, his nerves finally starting to transform into excitement. Tonight had been pretty perfect, but he knew it was about to get even better. He dug the oars deeper into the water, pulling harder toward the diving platform at the center of the lake.

“This was totally worth missing a night at the mic,” Melody said. “Although I’ll be glad to get back on stage next week. I’m becoming so addicted to performing. It’s starting to scare me a little.”

“Why? You’re great,” he said, with complete honesty. He’d been to see Melody sing at
The Horse and Rider
three times since she became the new lead singer for
Ghost Town Double Wide
, and every time she’d been better than the last.

She shrugged and gazed off across the water, a dreamy expression on her face. “I don’t know. I’ve always been more of a family and friends type of girl. I never thought I’d enjoy getting up in front of a crowd. I’ve never had those sort of dreams, you know?”

“Do you have them now?” Nick asked, oars stilling as they glided within sight of the diving platform where he’d rowed out to place the wooden jewelry box earlier today.

Melody bit her lip. “I don’t know. Lila was saying I should audition for this all-girl band she plays with in Atlanta on Saturdays, but that’s a big work day, so…”

“But it’s a paying gig, right?”

Melody nodded, gaze still lingering on the shoreline, showing no sign of noticing the unusual object on the platform. “She said the gig on Saturdays pays three times what
The Horse and Rider
gigs do, but still… The catering business is my first love, and I don’t want to let Lark down.”

“Lark would understand,” Nick said. “And so would I. I’m behind you, whatever you want to do. I can switch shifts with John and be your chauffer to the city every Saturday.”

“As long as I keep making Shepherd’s Pie every Wednesday for dinner,” she said, reaching out to poke him in the leg with her toe.

“Yes,” Nick said seriously. “You can change careers if you want to, but the Shepherd’s Pie is non-negotiable.”

Melody started to laugh, but the sound was cut short as the boat made contact with the platform with a dull thud. Her eyes finally shifted to the middle of the lake and Nick’s heart started pounding all over again.

“What’s that?” she asked, brow furrowing.

“What’s what?” Nick asked, his renewed anxiety helping his voice sound more innocent than it had before.

“There’s a jewelry box or something…” Melody trailed off as she reached out, scooping the box off the platform as they drifted by. “I wonder if we should take it to the lost and found? Maybe someone…”