Page 38 of Don't Fall for a Grump

“You are,” he says smiling, “but I think we both know that has nothing to do with me. You didn’t go looking. She found you.”

I give Dad a dubious look.

He shrugs. “It’s true,” he says emphatically. “And sometimes, it’s just the way these things happen. The stars align, stuff plays out in your favor, coincidences bring people together in the strangest of ways.”

“Are you talking about fate?” I blurt, hardly believing what I’m hearing.

Dad shakes his head. “Don’t you find it most unusual? The two of you live in one of the busiest cities in the world, having never met, only to end up in Sharon Springs, a tiny town, at exactly the same time. All because I’ve broken my leg. I don’t know much about fate, or if I even believe in it. I just find it difficult to believe that you two being brought together was mere coincidence.”

I shrug. I suppose I can’t argue with him. He’s not wrong. Bree and I would likely never have met in the city. Even though we both worked in the financial district, the chances of our paths crossing were infinitesimal.

We finish our coffee and I hang around the kitchen for a bit. I want to help Dad get into Mr. Shilliday’s truck. With his leg in the cast, it’s likely not going to be an easy feat.

“What are you hanging around here for?” Dad says after a little while.

“I’m waiting for Mr. Shilliday to get here. You guys might need help—”

“My leg is broken,” Dad quips back. “I’m not incapacitated, for god’s sake. How the heck do you think I get dressed in the morning, or get myself to the bathroom?”

In fairness, I hadn’t really thought about it. Dad had never asked for help with any of those things, so it had never occurred to me to wonder how he managed those tasks.

“Get going.” He throws a hand toward the door. “You have your own business to attend to.”

“All right.” I raise my hands in submission. “I was only trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help,” he says. “Stop procrastinating and get it done.”

I grin then. Yep. Dad knows me all too well.

Ten minutes later, I turn away from the main road and head down the dirt track that will eventually lead me to Bree’s house. There’s that twisting in my stomach again, the nerves turning my guts into noodles. There’s fear of rejection, but I’ll be honest, the fear of her saying yes to us giving it a try is even stronger. I haven’t been in a relationship in over three years. I haven’t even been near a woman in three years. I’m actually terrified, like a teenager about to ask a girl out to prom.

Pull yourself together, man.

I’m almost at her cottage, when I hear squealing coming from Bree’s house. Bringing the truck to a slow stop, I look down the driveway to make sense of what I’m seeing. There’s a car parked behind Bree’s, but my attention is dragged to the porch in front of the cottage. The same porch we spent five hours on around this time last week.

Bree has her arms and legs wrapped around a tall and muscular guy. She’s squealing with delight as he starts to spin her around. By the look on his face, he’s clearly as pleased as she is. I feel my heart crack in my chest, but I can’t pull my eyes away. It must be Rob, her ex-boyfriend. It has to be. I look back to the strange car in her driveway. It has a New York plate. I continue to watch as Rob, instead of setting her down, carries her into the house, just like a husband carries his wife over the threshold of a new home.

Only after the door closes behind them, does the anger begin to rise within me, and I slam the truck into reverse. I hit hard on the gas and back out the way I came. As I reach the main road, I spin the wheel so hard to turn, the truck skids. I slam on the brakes and just sit there.

There’s a tornado of emotions flying around my head. Anger, confusion, stupidity, grief, and pain. It’s all there.

How could I have read it all so wrong? Had I been entirely blind? Had I seen things that were not there?

No, I’d felt something real from her. I’d felt her tender touch of comfort, and watched her blush under my gaze. The kiss that we nearly shared last Sunday had not been desired by me alone. But then, I’d disappeared for a few days. And so what does she do?

While the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Bree had played me, and like a fool, I had gone along with who I believed she was. Clearly, she was no different than Claire, or any other woman for that matter. They were like monkeys; keeping a tight grip on one branch only letting go when they had a firm grasp on a better one. With my absence, she had obviously turned back to what she knew. Her ex.

Had anything she told me been true? Had it always been the case that he was going to come out here and join her? Had I been nothing but a snack to fill her temporary hunger pang, while she waited for the main course? All these questions and no answers made me even angrier. I had fallen for her sob story, like the idiot that I am. Thinking I was out of town, she had taken the opportunity to welcome another man into her arms.

Just like Claire.

Well, she was welcome to him. She was welcome to this narrow-minded gossiping town, she was welcome to her life with a man who had treated her so badly, if that had even been the truth. I slam the steering wheel with the palm of my hand and bellow out a painful cry of anger and frustration.

I don’t care that the walls are so high that I’m a prisoner in my own head. I don’t care if I forgo living to save myself from pain. I should have stayed where I was, safe behind the walls.

As I finally pull away and head back to Dad’s house, I come to a decision. I’m going back to New York, back into the safety of my work and my isolation. I would soon forget about Bree and her little cottage, and after that, there would be no more pain.

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