May was lost. Not
physically. Physically she was standing at the railing of the porch of her
mother’s bed-and-breakfast, Holliday Hotel. She stared at the passing cars on
the street, but she didn’t know what she was looking for or waiting for. Her
hands rested lightly on the white painted wood as she inhaled deeply. The shade
was a welcome relief from the sun’s heat. The end of July had seen some welcomed
rain, but the temperatures remained scorching.
She had come back home
last year after Halloween. Yet she didn’t feel like she was home. Staying with
her mom in the apartment below the inn, May was surprised she hadn’t outstayed
her welcome. Carol, her mother, hadn’t even dropped a hint about her leaving.
Even her sister, Libbie, who could be blunt with her opinions hadn’t mentioned
that it might be time for her to find a place of her own.
Which only proved what
May already knew. When she had returned, she had come home broken, and her
family was trying to shield her from any more pain. The problem was they didn’t
really understand her brokenness. She didn’t even really understand it herself.
When had things started going so horribly wrong? How had she allowed one man to
control so much of her life, given him the power to break her? Libbie would
have never allowed it to happen to herself. May was the weaker sister. Maybe a
little too trusting. It was something Libbie had complained about in regards to
both May and Carol. May usually didn’t mind. She knew that Libbie was trying to
protect them, especially after their father died.
Now May wondered what
would have happened if she had told Libbie about what was going on. Perhaps
Libbie would have ridden in to save the day. Would she even have wanted Libbie
to save the day? Not back then, May realized. Back then, May would have fought
her and told her butt out and mind her own business. She had been so sure she
knew what she was doing. Boy, was she ever wrong!
She sighed and lowered
her gaze to her feet. She felt like she was in a holding pattern. A grown woman
living with her mom, without a steady income, feeling like even God had
withdrawn from her. Everyone she knew seemed to tiptoe around her as if afraid
that she would completely shatter at the slightest hint of anything negative.
The red front door opened
and without turning around May could recognize the sound of her mother’s
footsteps treading softly as if not to spook a wild animal. Maybe that’s what
she was – a wounded deer. One corner of her mouth twitched at the thought, but
it was gone before a full smile could bloom.
“May, Elena just called.
She says that she sold a large house outside of town. The wife was asking about
interior decorators. I have their number if you’re interested.” Carol crept
nearer, and May noticed the paper wadded in her hand.
Elena Garcia was her
mother’s best friend and a realtor in Willow Creek. Any of the jobs that she
had gotten since moving back seem to come from either her mom or Elena. She
knew they were trying to get her back on her feet, but it felt like charity.
May lifted her gaze and
held out her hand. “Sure. I’ll give them a call.”
Carol stuck her hands in
her jeans pocket after she handed May the paper. Her eyes studied her younger
daughter intently as if trying to find the secret to getting her daughter back
to her old self. May didn’t have the heart to tell her mom that she didn’t
think her old self would ever return.
“Have you painted
anything recently?” The hope in her mom’s voice made May’s stomach clench.
“No, my things are still
packed.”
Carol nodded, but her
frown deepened. “You know Marissa Vasquez had success with displaying her art
at The Master’s Manor. You could see if they would be interested in your
watercolors.”
“Maybe.” May didn’t have
any desire to paint or create. She enjoyed the few interior decorating jobs
she’d had, especially decorating the rooms of Inn Season, but Willow Creek
didn’t really have many opportunities for that. She glanced down at the paper
in her hand. At least she had one more.
Crushing the paper in the
pocket of her shorts, she knew a part of her restlessness stemmed from a
knowledge that she could not stay here and do her job. She either needed to
move to another city on her own again, or she needed to find another career.
She couldn’t live off her mother forever, but she also couldn’t survive on her
own in this small town.
“Well, think about it.”
Carol went back inside, and May felt bad that she couldn’t offer her mom more
hope that she was healing.
May crossed her arms on
the railing. The least she could do would be to pull out her art supplies and
at least show her mom that she was making an effort. Even at the thought,
though, her shoulders felt heavy. She had nothing to offer.
A gleam caught her
attention and she turned her head to see a silver Jaguar driving down the road.
It was not a car that was typically seen in Willow Creek so she wasn’t
surprised to see it pull into the parking lot of Holliday Hotel. The driver
wasn’t likely to be a local.
A man stepped out of the
car and got his suitcase from the trunk. He had dark sunglasses on, a white
shirt opened at the collar with a blue suit. His wavy brown hair looked soft
though his five o’clock shadow gave him a rugged look.
May sucked in a breath.
Willow Creek had countless resorts and B-and-Bs since it was so close to
Yosemite National Park. Why in the world had he chosen Holliday Hotel of all
places?
He walked up the steps
and only paused for a moment to glance her way. His mouth opened as if to
speak, but he changed his mind and continued to the front door.
“Welcome home, Will.” Her
words might have been kind, but her tone was biting.
He slipped off his
sunglasses, and she met eyes that were a deep blue and fringed with thick
eyelashes that would make any girl envious. Any girl but her, she assured
herself.
“I wasn’t sure you’d
recognize me,” he said. He looked at her as if he were afraid she might attack
him. The thought briefly brought a hint of a smile to her mouth.
“Oh, I’d never forget
you, Will. It’s hard to with your face plastered on all the magazines and
tabloids.” She rolled her eyes.
He looked uncomfortable
at the mention of his notoriety. “Well, it’s still been a long time.” He
shrugged. “It was possible that you would forget me. I was kind of hoping to
come home under the radar.”
May lifted an eyebrow and
looked pointedly at his car. “If you wanted to fly under the radar, you should
have rented a Honda Civic.” A flush crept up her face at the involuntarily slip
that she remembered his first car.
Will’s gaze briefly met
hers, but he thankfully ignored her comment as he looked over at the Jaguar. He
scratched his chin. “That probably would have been smart. I’ve always struggled
with that sort of thing. Put me in a lab or give me a complex math equation,
and I’m in heaven. Try to get me to behave like a normal human being around
others, and I’m afraid I’m still just as awkward as I’ve always been.”
Somehow his words found a
soft spot in her heart, but she ignored the twinge it gave her. “How long will
you be here?”
“It depends on how long
some business takes.” He looked her over, not in a way that made her feel icky,
but as if he was calculating some problem. She smoothed her hand over her
windblown hair and tugged at the hem of her t-shirt. “You look . . .” he shook
his head narrowing his eyes, “sad.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
She had been trying so hard to show him disdain. How was he able to see past
that to her heart? It wasn’t fair.
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
“You’d better get checked in.”
Will slipped his
sunglasses into his breast pocket. Instead of heading for the door he moved
towards her. She fought the urge to back up and instead met him toe to toe. His
hand lifted, but he put it back down immediately.
“I’m sorry for whatever
it is that you are – ‘fine’ with. You don’t deserve it.”
She fought back the
tears. Dang this man! He’d been here all of five minutes and had dragged her
emotions around as if he had them on a leash!
“What do you know about
me, Will? It’s been a long time. You know nothing about me.”
He nodded, but he didn’t
look like he believed her. “It has been a long time.”
She folded her arms
across her chest and met his eyes daring him to take another step, but deep
down she didn’t know how she would handle his next move. He had her so far
off-balance that she might slap him – or kiss him – and either one would be
extremely inappropriate.
He smiled the lopsided
smile that she used to know so well. “I guess I’ll just have to start at square
one. It’s never bothered me to start over. It’s the secret to my success.” He
turned around and grabbed his suitcase. At the door, he looked back and said,
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Miss Holliday.”
As the door shut behind
him, she made two startling discoveries. The first was that Will Brewster made
her feel more alive in five minutes than she’d felt in a year. The second was
that she didn’t hate him after all, and that was a dangerous thing.
