The Calendar of New Beginnings (25 page)

Leave it to Matt to lay it all out. “Dammit, don’t box me into a corner here. I gave her my word.”

“Her parents don’t even know what’s going on,” Moira said, letting her hand fall away from his arm. “Neither does Mom. Although Mom said Lucy and Ellen had a huge fight yesterday about the calendar.”

“Look,” he said, holding up his hands. “She just got back to town, and while she remembers you guys, you’re not…her friends.”

“Everyone needs support,” Moira said. “I told her I’d like to be her friend last night.”

“Like any of us are good at letting people in,” Andy said, rolling his eyes, not wishing to outright tell Moira to dial back the fangirl thing she had going on with Lucy. “We Hales are as tough as they come.”

“We’re getting better,” Natalie said, putting a hand on her hip. “I’m back with my ex-husband, after all. And Matt is getting married.”

“What about me?” Moira asked. “Don’t leave me out because I’m still single.”

“You left behind a dead-end job for something better,” Matt said, raising his hand for a high five. “Back in the day you might have sucked it up and stayed just to spite your boss.”

Moira’s hand smacked Matt’s so hard his brother winced. “I told Natalie when we were driving over here, but Jill encouraged Evan Michaels to consider me for the director position of the Artemis Institute here in Dare Valley. Being connected to a man like Evan and a company like Quid-Atch would open up big doors for me.”
 

Andy put his hands on his hips. “Jill strikes again. Be good to have you back home. Danny would be over the moon to have another aunt in Dare Valley.”

“I know,” she said, a smile crossing her face. “I decided the pros outweigh the cons. I could finally get a nice house with a view of the mountains, and whenever I miss city life, I can just drive back to Denver and stay with Caroline. Of course, I haven’t met with Evan’s CFO yet, but I’m going to knock him dead.”

“If you do knock him dead,” Matt said, rubbing the red spot she’d left on his hand, “call Andy Cakes here so he can resuscitate him.”

They all chuckled a little. Matt even bumped into Andy playfully.

“We’re here for you, Andy,” Moira declared.
“All
of us are here for one another. That’s why I pulled a calf muscle trying to keep up with you.”

Andy crouched down to look at her calf, but she shoved him away.

“You
said
you’d pulled a muscle,” he said, giving her an exasperated look.

“It’s fine,” she said, making a show of shuddering. “I’m not going to let my brother check out my muscles. Even if he is a doctor.”

Andy ran his hand through his hair, realizing he was sweaty. He probably stank too. “Fine. Put some ice on it when you get home and take an ibuprofen.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said in a nasally voice.

“I need to get going,” he said, checking his watch. “Danny needs to be picked up soon.”

“I can grab him and take him back to the house with me,” Natalie offered. “Blake would love the company. Besides, Touchdown and Rufus could have a doggie play date.”

Andy never understood why dogs had to have play dates. He appreciated the need to socialize animals, but the word just weirded him out.

“I don’t know,” he said, thinking about Lucy. He’d have to face her sometime about the kiss he’d stolen. Part of him wanted to delay the inevitable conversation, but that would only make things fester.

He’d learned in his marriage that conflict was like an infection. With early prevention, the effects subsided with little harm to the patient. Delay treatment, and things turned ugly.

He didn’t want to have to use the paddles to resuscitate his friendship with Lucy.

They were all watching his struggle as intently as if it were must-see TV, so he shot them a look. “Fine. I appreciate the offer.”

“If she needs anything, we’re here to help too,” Moira said. “You’re right, she doesn’t know us well anymore, but we grew up with her. Plus, she’s your friend, which means we’d do anything for her.”

“Unless she and Ellen are at odds,” Matt said, making a scary face. “That woman wouldn’t hesitate to knock you in the nuts if you got in her way.”

“She wants to knock our dad in the nuts,” Moira said, “let me tell you. The things I hear from Mom’s kitchen when they think I’m still sleeping… It would curl your toes.”

Matt put his hands over his ears. “Please don’t tell me. I have a delicate constitution.”

They were all laughing as they walked back to the parking lot. He kissed his sisters on their cheeks and hugged his brother. “Thanks, guys.”

“We’ve got your back,” Natalie said.
 

The look she gave him spoke volumes. They had both loved Kim fiercely, and now they were both trying to rebuild their lives. It felt good to do it together.

Then he heard Matt yell, “Natalie! Dammit. You slapped that bumper sticker on my ride when I was running with Andy.”

His sister gave him a saucy wink as she opened her car door. “You better believe it.”

“I helped!” Moira volunteered, grinning.

Andy detoured to the back of Matt’s SUV. Sure enough, there was a new pink bumper sticker on his brother’s ride—the latest battle in Matt and Natalie’s ongoing war.

“‘I Love Mr. Darcy’?” Matt exclaimed, pointing to the offending sticker, which featured a red heart next to the phrase. “Seriously?”

“Jane loved it,” Natalie said as she and Moira got into Natalie’s car. And with that parting phrase, they drove off.

“My future wife had a hand in this?” his brother said, all Matty Ice now. “Oh, she’s so going to get it when I get home.”

Since he knew his brother was only joking, Andy slapped him on the back. “Go show her who the big dog is.”

His brother cut him a glance and then smiled. “I’m pretty lucky to have her, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” Andy said, heading to his car.

At one time in his life, he’d thought he was the luckiest man alive. He’d had everything: the most beautiful, loving wife in the world; the happiest kid on the planet; and the best job out there.

Then it had all come crashing down.

But that didn’t mean he had to stay down forever. He still had the happiest kid on the planet and a really great job here in his hometown.

And now his best friend was back.

He wondered how lucky he was going to feel after he and Lucy talked about their kiss tonight.

Chapter 17      

When Lucy’s father showed up around suppertime with fish and chips, one of his classic hangover cures, Lucy tried to smile and choke down a few bites. Her vision was still scaring the bejesus out of her, despite what Dr. Davidson had said. Lucy was trying to look at everything with her good eye, and it took a lot of concentration since it wasn’t her dominant one.

“It’s not like you to tie one on,” her dad said, drinking a Guinness at her kitchen table. “Even if you and your mom went twelve rounds.”

“I’d hardly call it twelve rounds, Dad,” she said, pushing around her coleslaw.

“That’s not how she tells it,” he said, leaning his meaty forearms on the surface. “I’m still trying to figure out what happened with your car. That doesn’t wash.”

What? Was she in tenth grade again? “Dad, I’m way too old for this kind of interrogation. Unless you’re planning on trying to ground me—which I can tell you is impossible with your nearly forty-year-old daughter—I suggest you finish your beer and head back to the bar.”

He stared her down. “You’re only thirty-six, and if I want to worry about you, I will. You asked me to respect your wishes and not ask more questions, but that’s not working for me right now.”

It wasn’t working for her either, truth be told, but she wasn’t ready to tell him everything yet. No, if he knew, her mother would know. And she couldn’t handle being smothered just now. She and her mom were having enough scrapes as it was.

“Everything is fine, Dad,” she told him, something she’d been repeating to herself often enough.

“That Hale boy knows what’s going on,” he ground out. “I have half a mind to go talk to him.”

Great. Maybe Andy would blurt out that he’d finally gotten up the nerve to kiss her. They should call the newspaper, have Arthur run an article. “Leave him be. He has enough on his plate without you poking at him.”

“I’ll poke at him if I want, Lucy Lu,” her dad said. “You can keep your cards close to the vest for only so long, kid.”

That would only be true if she couldn’t drive, but Dr. Davidson had assured her she could. After all, people who only had vision in one eye did it all the time. She’d just have to find a way to be comfortable behind the wheel given her new reality. Maybe driving twenty miles an hour everywhere was the answer.

“I’m an adult, Dad,” she said, shoving her uneaten food away. “I need you to respect that.”

He was frowning as he stood up. “If I hadn’t said those same words to my father when I told him I wanted to bartend instead of going to college, I’d keep at you. But you’re tired, and I’m tired, so I’ll just go back to my sanctuary and hope you’ll trust me when you’re ready.”

Her heart broke, hearing him admit he was tired. “Oh, Daddy.”

He pulled her out of the chair gently and wrapped his arms around her. “I know part of what’s holding your tongue is worry about your mother. I wish I could promise you that I wouldn’t tell her the whole truth. I’ve watched you two knock heads all your life. She means well. She just has the courage of her convictions—rather like someone else I know.”

If she hadn’t been so tired, she might have stuck her tongue out at him. “Then we’re both stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“I’m glad you have Andy to help you,” he said, letting her go and putting his hands on her shoulders. “But I swear to the Almighty that if you don’t let me help you if you need it, I’m going to…”

“I’m too old for you to paddle my butt,” she quipped.

“I never liked doing that,” he said with a heavy sigh. “All right. I’m going. You get some rest and text me tomorrow to let me know how you are. Your mother might fool herself, but I know this isn’t a hangover.”

She watched as he walked out of the kitchen. The front door opened and closed. Sitting back at the kitchen table, she reached for her Guinness. Part of her wished getting drunk would help her mood, but that would be stupid. She’d felt this same temptation before, after a massacre in Sudan. There had been so much misery and death and darkness around her, she’d wanted nothing more than to keep drinking gin and tonics with her peacekeeper friends until she passed out. But the tension in the country had been too taut for her to take the risk.
 

Closing her eyes again, she let herself fall into the blackness. As a child, she’d never been afraid of the dark. She’d learned to fear it overseas—sometimes there were scary things in the dark, especially if the power went out because of an explosion. But not here. Not in this kitchen. It was just her, and the darkness felt comforting somehow.

She stayed that way for so long her left leg fell asleep, so she rose to shake it awake. A knock landed on the front door. She was reluctant to leave the blackness, but the person was persistent, which made her guess it was either Andy or her mother.

At the moment, it was a toss-up who she’d rather see.

When she opened the door, he seemed to fill up the space, rather like he was filling up the entire frame of a photo. He had on a suede coat over a dark T-shirt and jeans, and since he rarely dressed casually, she knew he’d selected the outfit intentionally. Was he hoping it would lighten the mood? Regardless of the reason, he looked good, and she felt her body responding to him.
 

His eyes scanned her face as if gauging her reaction to him post-kiss. Perhaps it was the fusion created by that kiss, but her brain sent a signal to her eyes—she knew about such things now—and she found herself looking at the sexy, soft lips that had covered her own earlier in the day.

His body suddenly seemed too big, too warm, and she realized her chest was tight with tension. But her belly was also soft and liquid—a sure sign she was aware of him as a man.

“You know I had to come,” he said after a long silence. “We both care about each other too much not to talk about what I did earlier. Can I come inside?”

That he would take full responsibility for the kiss didn’t surprise her. “I didn’t think you’d pretend it hadn’t happened or say you’d missed my cheek. Come on in.”

She detoured back to the kitchen because it seemed like the smart place to have a tough conversation, and this one was going to be tough.

When he shrugged out of his jacket, she took in all the hard muscles of his arms and shoulders. Her mouth went bone dry with the desire to reach out and touch him.

“You look like I’m about to give you a root canal,” he commented, hanging his jacket all neat and tidy over the chair. “I’m sorry. I know it’s been a rough twenty-four hours.”

They were counting time now? “No, it’s best we get it out in the open. I…ah…knew you wanted to talk about it earlier…when you brought my car back with Matt. But I just couldn’t then.”