“Bryan is sharing his knowledge,” Dad said. “My father would want him to. I don’t remember you ever wanting to get your feet muddy in the woods. Maybe you should take the class.”
What a horrible idea. Bryan glowered at the bottle of iced tea in his hand. He didn’t need Sam making wisecracks while he tried to teach. It was difficult enough getting the students there. He didn’t want to fight for their respect, too.
“I’m more brains than brawn.” Sam tapped his temple.
Bryan sniffed. “More mouth than anything.”
“Hey, my conversation skills made up for your silence. You barely said a word to Lily and Kayla last weekend.”
Dad cocked his head to the side. “Who are Lily and Kayla?”
Sam stretched his arms over his head and yawned again. “Paulette insisted we meet her cousin’s daughter and friend.”
“Roxanne and Paulette are as bad as Aunt Sally.” Bryan screwed the cap back on the iced tea and set the bottle on the end table.
“Worse,” Sam said. “Kayla and Lily were nice and all, but I don’t need to be set up, especially not by middle-aged meddlers at work. I can find a date on my own.” He jerked his thumb at Bryan. “Now, this one needs all the help he can get.”
“Leave me out of it.” Bryan lurched to his feet. “I don’t want help.”
“Sure you don’t. You’re a real dating machine.”
“That’s it.” Dad rose, holding his hands out. “I’m tired of you two arguing. I’ve been saying it for months—this living arrangement isn’t working out. Maybe it’s time for one of you to move.”
“No...” Bryan shut his mouth. He’d almost blurted Sam would have the place to himself if Bryan moved to Canada this summer. If he didn’t keep a tighter lid on his plans, the whole family would be lining up to talk him out of them. He already dreaded their inevitable rant about his commitment to Sheffield Auto if he got the job. “We’re fine, Dad. Just messing with each other.”
“Don’t take things too far.” Dad gave them both a long look before asking Sam who he had in mind for the assistant manager position. Bryan let out a breath.
One problem averted. What about the other?
In this tiny town, Jade would find out soon enough he wasn’t married. He should have told her the truth right away. He didn’t want her first impression of him to be a lie. It took a lot of courage for her to come today.
It wouldn’t be hard to find her. He’d call Aunt Sally.
He owed Jade the truth.
* * *
This place was quiet. Too quiet. Dusk had fallen, which meant Jade would be exposed to outside eyes as soon as she turned the lights on.
Buy curtains.
Another thing to add to her list. Not tonight, though.
Jade sank low into her navy couch. People said small towns were so cozy and great to live in, but this silence felt eerie. Where were the traffic sounds, planes flying overhead and sirens? Without having her cable hooked up, she couldn’t turn on her television for companion noise. What she did hear unnerved her. The wind made a rippling whoosh through the siding every now and then, and the relentless drip, drip of the bathroom sink matched the pulse pounding in her temples.
Would she ever be comfortable enough to call this town home?
She yawned, not bothering to cover her mouth. At least she’d made a dent in the unpacking. After her embarrassing hyperventilation session with Bryan, she’d driven back to the one-bedroom apartment above her soon-to-be store. A set of stairs outside led to the tiny kitchen with cabinets painted gray. Newer dark laminate countertops were speckled with silver flecks. In the front of the apartment was a decent-size living room complete with beige walls and tan carpet. A short hall revealed a bathroom and her bedroom—beige, of course.
She loved every square inch of it.
A knocking sound came from the kitchen. Jade shot to her feet, grabbed the empty bronze candleholder from the end table and crept through the piles of boxes in the kitchen. Another knock sounded.
Just the door. She exhaled, setting the candleholder on the counter, and opened the door a sliver.
“Hi.” Bryan loomed in the doorway. He appeared taller and his shoulders broader than when they were outside earlier. “Sorry to bother you, but I, well, I need to talk to you about something.”
Her heartbeat galloped, partly because he was even more handsome than she remembered, and also because he’d tracked her down like some sort of stalker. Had he followed her here? She remained behind the door, using it as a shield. “How did you know where I lived?”
“My aunt Sally. Sorry, I’m not a creeper. I didn’t follow you or anything. It’s just, well, nothing is a secret in this town. Aunt Sally is friends with Jules Reichert.”
“My landlord.”
“Yep.”
What did he want to talk to her about? He probably felt sorry for her. Or was asking her not to come to class because she needed professional guidance. So help her, if he handed her the card of a therapist to work through her fears, she’d rip it up in front of him. She’d tried counseling. It hadn’t worked. She would only try it again if truly desperate.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but I need to clear something up. You could call it a confession.” Bryan shifted from one foot to the other.
A confession? Her spirits perked right up. Confessions didn’t involve condescending advice about her problem.
“Yeah, so earlier, I made it sound as if I’m married, but I got divorced almost five years ago.”
“Oh.” Divorced. There went his unavailable status, which was too bad, because him being single complicated things. The fact he’d found her to clear up a tiny misunderstanding said a lot about his character, though.
“Um, I—” he massaged the back of his neck “—well, it was wrong of me to mislead you.”
She prepared to give him her thanks-for-stopping-by speech, but he looked so contrite and uncomfortable on her doorstep. Sympathy overrode her good judgment.
“It’s not a big deal.” She leaned against the doorframe. She’d play it cool. Pretend she wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest. “I just want to be able to live here and drive to Target or a shopping mall, and, you know, go to one of the parks without hyperventilating.”
His lips lifted into a lopsided grin. “I could help with that.”
“I don’t know if anyone can help. I’m not exactly the ideal student.”
“Yeah, but you’re my only student. I can’t afford to be picky.” His blue eyes teased, and her tummy flipped.
“That’s true.” She nodded in mock sincerity. Why couldn’t she say goodbye and close the door? Flirting with him would get her heart in trouble the way flirting always did. When would she learn? Still, she didn’t know anyone here, and loneliness weighed heavily on her shoulders.
“Have you eaten yet?” he asked. “There’s a pizza place around the corner.”
Her stomach rumbled. Empty, silent apartment? Or pizza with all-wrong-for-her Bryan Sheffield? Before she could talk herself out of it, she nodded. “Let me grab my purse, and I’ll meet you outside.”
Less than a minute later, she joined him on the sidewalk in front of her building. No light poured from the large front window, making the store appear abandoned. The chilly air slipped under her collar. She zipped her jacket to her neck.
“This way,” Bryan said.
Jade