Page 14 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

“Oh, it might not mean anything, but I brought him lunch, and he said he never expected to have a woman in his life who would do that for him. And I teased him that he expected to have a wife that wasn’t very nice to him, and then he said that he’d never seen himself as someone who was going to get married.” She hiccupped as she held back more tears, and then there were a few beats of silence.

“That’s… that’s it?” Alexis asked.

Faith turned to her in surprise. “Yes.”

Alexis’s expression looked strange for a moment, and then Faith realized that her cousin was trying very hard not to smile.

“Faith,” Alexis said, and a laugh spilled out of her.

Faith laughed too, the feeling a welcome change from the crying. “What?” She threw a pillow at Alexis. “Why are you laughing at me?”

“I’m not laughing at you, I just—well, I think you’re really reading too much into this. It’s sweet you care so much about Ryan that you’re so worried about what he said, but trust me, men do not think the same way we do.” She made a face and continued. “Grayson says things all the time that I would never say unless I definitely meant something by it, but when I ask him about it, he’s like ‘What? I didn’t mean that at all.’” She shook her head, chuckling. “I don’t think Ryan would choose that moment to offhandedly tell you that his intentions for your relationship aren’t serious.”

“But I don’t think he was trying to tell me anything—I think that’s just what he feels. Or, I’m worried that’s what he feels anyway. Maybe he thinks that because we haven’t talked about wanting to get married someday, that means we’re both not planning on it. That’s kind of the norm with city people, youknow. I’m just coming to realize that I really want a family and a home and a marriage with him, and now it looks as though I may never get those things with him.”

Alexis nodded. “I understand what you’re saying. But he seems like he really cares about you, Faith. It’s not like people never change their minds about anything. The two of you are still in the discussion stages of your relationship. It’s totally okay to tell him what you want. Then you can hear what he wants, if he even knows what that is yet. Maybe what he wants is changing now that he’s dating you.”

Faith bit her lip. “Or maybe he’s going to tell me that he’s sure he doesn’t want to marry anyone no matter what, and I’m going to have to end our relationship now before I get even more hurt.”

Alexis shook her head, and pushed a can of root beer and the jar of popcorn toward her cousin. “Eat something. Food helps you stop jumping to conclusions.”

Faith laughed. “Oh, it does, huh?”

“Yes. Clears the brain. When all you can think about is how good something tastes, your worries go on hold.”

Faith chuckled and took a sip of her root beer.

“Now the popcorn,” Alexis said firmly.

Faith grinned and popped some of the kernels of the cheesy popcorn into her mouth. She had to admit, they did make her feel a bit better.

“Now,” Alexis said, placing a hand firmly on her shoulder. “You need to talk to Ryan about this. I know it feels scary, but you need to not be afraid to bring up the things that are important to you. There’s no point in hiding things like that from your partner. You want to be close to him, and that starts with being willing to share things with him that feel risky to share.”

“You’re right.” Faith nodded. “I do want to be close to him and feel like I can share anything with him.”

Usually, I do feel that way,she thought.But this? I’m so scared about what he’s going to say in response.

“Perfect. You talk with him about it, and I’m sure it’s all going to go great.”

“Okay.” Faith smiled at her cousin, but the thought of discussing the matter with Ryan made her sick to her stomach with dread.

“Come on,” Alexis said. “Let’s eat some more popcorn. Judging by the look on your face, you need some, and I’m always ready for a snack.”

CHAPTER NINE

Dean sat down at the desk in his office and sighed. It was still early in the morning on Monday, but he already felt as though the week had lasted for days. They had more work than ever before in the shop that day, and he’d gone hiking with Noelle the day before, leaving him slightly sore and more fatigued than usual. Usually he could go hiking with no issue, but they’d gotten lost in the woods and ended up walking much longer than they’d intended to.

He glanced at his coffee maker and decided to pour himself a second cup of coffee. While caffeine didn’t take away his muscle aches or his fatigue, it did give him an energy boost mentally, and he was about to need one.

On Saturday, the interviews he’d held for the new mechanic position had all been flops. Each of the mechanics had been skilled and qualified, but none of them had been the right fit. He was determined to find someone who would represent Main Street Auto’s friendly, genuine reputation, and each of the men he’d interviewed had been quiet and gruff to the point of being brusque. He wanted to hire someone with a cheerful, kind-hearted energy, but he was beginning to think that no such miracle candidate was going to show up.

He had one more interview that morning. He was almost dreading it, because he didn’t want to be disappointed again. Noelle’s idea of hiring another mechanic had been an excellent one, and he’d gotten his hopes up about being able to have more time and energy.

If this doesn’t work out, I’m going to give up on hiring a new guy and come up with another idea,he thought with a sigh.Maybe we can just cut back on how many cars we take on. I hate to disappoint people and lose the business, but I don’t want to overwork my guys, and it’s important that I stop overworking myself.

He pulled the man’s resume from his desk drawer and looked it over again. Jeff Lawson. He’d briefly skimmed over it the other day before calling the man on the phone to set up the interview. His eyebrows lifted as he remembered the call. Jeff had seemed friendly, he remembered, and different from the other men. Another glance at Jeff’s resume told him that although the man was only twenty-seven, he still had an impressive amount of experience working on cars. Only a conversation with him could tell Dean what Jeff really knew, however.

In the next moment, there was a soft knock on Dean’s office door.

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