Page 39 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

Dean glanced at the clock, surprised that it was that late already. Normally by six p.m. he was starting to feel achy and fatigued, but today he felt good despite the fact that he had been working for hours.

“No, we should be all good.” He smiled at Jeff. “Thanks for your great work today.”

Jeff grinned. “Of course. See you tomorrow!”

The young mechanic disappeared, but a moment later, another man appeared in Dean’s doorway.

“Terrence!” Dean said, his eyebrows lifting. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Evening, Dean.” Terrence nodded, looking slightly awkward and out of place.

“What can I do for you?” Dean asked. “Are you having car trouble?”

“No, no, no car trouble,” Terrence said, stumbling over his words a little and seeming a bit flustered. “I just, um—how was business today?”

“Oh, good.” Dean smiled, wondering what was on Terrence’s mind. It was clear that the older man had come there to talk with him about something, and it wasn’t his car. So what was it?

“That’s good.” Terrence cleared his throat. “Did you hear they’re selling some kind of healthy soda at the general store now?”

“Yeah, I did.” Dean had to suppress a laugh. “Noelle bought us some the other day. She’s kind of a beverage connoisseur. It was good.”

“Mm, good.” Terrence nodded. He put his hands into his pockets and then took them out again.

“Something on your mind, Terrence?” Dean prompted, unable to keep from smiling.

“There is.” Terrence let out a sigh. He gestured to the chair opposite Dean’s desk. “May I sit down?”

“Of course.” Dean leaned forward curiously. “What is it?”

Terrence cleared his throat again as he sat down. “Well, I—I came here for some advice about Vivian.”

Dean froze for a second. As much as he loved the idea of his mother starting to go out with Terrence, he didn’t quite feel up for the task of offering the older man advice on the matter. “Sure. I mean, what did you want to ask me?”

“Well, I…” Terrence sighed. “I want to show Vivian how much I care about her. Even though we agreed to take things slowly, sometimes things slip out, you know? I end up expressing how big my feelings are for her, but she has seemed a bit hesitant when I speak plainly like that.”

Dean nodded slowly. His mother hadn’t exactly confided to him what her feelings were about Terrence, but he knew that she was very fond of him. He couldn’t tell Terrence what his mother was thinking, even if that had been his place, but he could tell the other man what he did know for sure.

“I think you just need to remember that my mom is just starting to accept the idea of opening up her heart,” Dean said. “She’s still dealing with the grief of losing my dad, and on top of that, he turned out to be untrustworthy. I think that would make any woman think twice about starting to get involved romantically again.”

“I understand. She’s told me a little bit about all of that, and I can imagine it would make her feel hesitant about starting to date again.”

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in you, I know she is. I think you should just be real with her. I know my mom has always valued authenticity, and I think she equates it with being trustworthy. If someone’s real with you, you know they’re being honest, you know? And that kind of trust ended up being missing with my dad, since he lied to her, gambling behind her back for all those years.”

“I also value honesty. I’m just worried about being too honest with her.”

“I think your only danger is if you ask her to feel too much too quickly. Just make sure she knows you’re not trying to rush any kind of response from her and then let yourself be genuine. I think you can’t miss if you just be yourself and let her know that you care about her.” Dean smiled. “She might be feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of romance, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t going to be touched by learning how you feel about her. Knowing that you are ready to catch her if she falls, so to speak, is going to mean a lot to her.”

Terrence nodded. “Thank you, Dean, that’s good advice.”

“And just like all women, my mom is a sucker for romance and effort.” Dean winked.

Terrence chuckled. “I’ll go out and buy some flowers and chocolates right this minute. Or maybe I’ll try to think of something more meaningful.”

“It’ll be the effort that counts,” Dean said with a smile. “Noelle has talked with me about that a lot. I feel bad about how little I’m able to do for her because of my osteoarthritis, but she tells me that the little I do always makes her feel so special, because she knows how much effort went into it.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” Terrence frowned a little in concentration, and Dean could tell that the wheels of the other man’s mind were turning.

Dean smiled. “I know you’ll figure it out, Terrence. Just don’t be afraid of being genuine with her. It’s the right thing to do.”

---