Page 1 of Finding Home
ONE
EVERETT
Willow Valley is not the place I want to be right now, but the gorgeous girl on the other side of the bar has somehow captured my attention. Her beautiful blonde hair cascades down her back in soft waves, and a smile lights up her face, pulling me in despite the fact that I should finish my beer and get the fuck out of here. I need to get back to my motel room so I can be on the road early tomorrow morning. Lila is waiting for me to pack up the house; I came here to scout a few places and find one for us to move into at the beginning of the month.
When the blonde looks my way, she smiles, and I’m surprised she doesn’t turn away when I scowl at her. I’ve been told that, on top of being an asshole, I look like one too. I can’t argue with that. Not much makes me smile now-a-days, save for Lila.
She nods at the bartender and makes her way to my table, placing her drink down before sliding in across from me. I raise a brow, as if to say what the fuck are you doing? She just smiles brightly and reaches across the table, offering her hand.
“My name’s Chloe!” she says brightly. “Are you passing through or new to town?”
She’s really fucking cheery and persistent, not leaving when I don’t shake her hand and don’t respond. After a beat, I sigh and say, “I leave tomorrow.”
Her smile seems to brighten a little as she settles deeper into her seat. “And what brought you to Willow Valley?”
I’m not sure what about my fuck off attitude she isn’t getting, but something about her has me participating. “My grandmother lives in town.”
That perks her up. “Oh, how lovely! Who's your grandmother? I’m sure I know her. You can’t live in a town as small as Willow Valley and not know everyone. Well, except maybe old Mr. Tom, who lives on the outskirts and keeps to himself. The church women drop food off to him, and the containers disappear off his porch, so they assume he’s alive and eating it.”
I nod, taking a sip of my beer, hoping she’ll go away. To my chagrin, she stares at me with a sweet smile and tilts her head a little, waiting for my answer. I allow the silence to stretch between us, but when she doesn't back down, I heave another deep sigh and say, “Delores Simpson.”
“Mrs. Simpson is the sweetest. My sister-in-law popped into her shop just a few weeks ago to grab some things while she was visiting from Vancouver.”
Vancouver. Now that’s a place I’d rather be right now, not this hole-in-the-wall town with only two places open after ten p.m. Vancouver is somewhere you can be anonymous. You can get lost in the hustle and bustle of the city, exactly what I like.
“How is your grandmother?” she asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
My grandmother is not something I want to talk about right now. She’s done her best to keep her declining health private from, in her words, the busybodies of the town.
In an effort to change the conversation, and maybe drive her away, I lean forward on my arms, my beer bottle between my hands as I stare at her intently. “Is getting into a stranger’s business a regular occurrence for you, or are you just bored on a Saturday night?”
That seems to deflate something in her, and for some reason, it makes me feel kind of like the asshole I’ve been accused of being so many times.
“We don’t get a lot of new people around here,” she says, thebrightness in her voice almost gone. “I like to introduce myself and maybe share my love of our town with people.” Okay, I don’t kind of feel like an asshole. I feel like a full on one.
“Everett,” I say, and it adds a little bit of light to her eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Everett.”
I tip my chin at her. “And you, Chloe ? Why don’t you tell me some of your favourite things about Willow Valley?”
I don’t know why I ask, but that simple question seems to be all I needed to do to add that spark back into her face. She animatedly tells me about the Sunday farmer’s markets and the town’s parade and all the community events for Canada Day. The holiday was earlier this month, but the way she talks about it almost has me wanting to experience it too. I listen as she talks, and the bartender delivers more drinks.
Before I know it, I’m a few beers deep and she’s a few cocktails in, and I find my eyes lingering on her lips as she talks. Chloe has sucked me in so much over the little bit of time we've been talking. I know shit like her favourite colour is yellow, her favourite season is spring, she's the youngest of two with an older brother who lives in Vancouver with his new wife. I don't know these things about some of the people I'd call my closest friends, but I know it about this random girl. But the thing is, Chloe doesn't feel like some random girl, not really. I'm not a cheesy person at all, but something about her calls to me. It’s been so long since I’ve been with a woman. I’ve always wanted to put Lila first. Having a kid rearranges your priorities, and things like sex tend to fall to the wayside, particularly if you aren’t in a relationship.
Chloe excitedly leans forward, her shirt gaping just enough that I get a good view of the tops of her breasts. I can tell she’s wearing some sort of red lace bra. Her arm slides to the side as she sits back, and her drink spills down the front of her shirt. She shrieks, and I immediately reach for napkins, trying to help her. When our fingers touch as she takes the napkins, something sparks in our slight contact. I ignore it as the bartender comes out from behind the bar, handing Chloe a cloth. She offers him a sweet smile as she tries to clean herself off.
“I guess I’m cut off for the night,” she muses.
“Probably,” I mumble under my breath, and she raises a brow at me but continues trying to clean herself off. She checks the time on her phone and sighs.
“Boyd," she calls to the bartender, and he turns to look at her. "You might want to put the coffee on. My parents are both bound to be in bed, and I’m not driving home like this.”
Does that mean she lives at home, or are they just her ride for when she drinks too much?
“One of the girls not able to pick you up?” Boyd asks, and she shakes her head.
“They’ve all got their own things.”
