8. Derek
8
DEREK
T he day after the holiday market downtown, on Saturday, Naomi and I made pancakes together.
“I wonder if Claire always had that many freckles on her face,” she said as she poured the batter.
Sunday, when we went to pick up birdseed for all the feeders we had near the house, she asked, “Do you think Claire always wears her hair in a braid like that?”
Then Monday, on the drive to school, she said, “I still don’t understand how Claire thought it was a xylophone. Anyone can see it was a marimba.”
I rolled my eyes. Not sure about that.
Tuesday, she urged me to Google her. I declined… only to later look up the woman my daughter seemingly couldn’t stop wondering about. I just made sure to look after Naomi was asleep.
“But why is she so curious?” Stacy asked when we met for lunch on Wednesday. She worked as a hygienist at the dental office next door to this café on Main. All the stalls were gone. The market décor was taken away except for wreaths and stands near garden spots throughout the sidewalk area. “Aren’t you worried about how curious Naomi is about this woman?”
I sighed, dropping my napkin on my plate. “Why should I be worried? It’s not like she’d be up to no good. I was right there from the moment they met. Nothing happened without my supervision.”
She cringed and shrugged.
“And she has a name. Claire.”
“I remember. When I came over last night to visit, it was Claire this. Claire that. And Claire this and that and this and that.”
I leaned back in my seat, propping my elbow on the arm and resting my chin in my hand to study her. “Why does that bother you so much?”
“She’s a stranger.”
“Not really.” I considered what I knew—or learned. I wasn’t on social media anymore. When Jenna died during Naomi’s birth, I stepped back from so many means of communication. I was already on paternity leave, but that just morphed into retiring early from my investment career. I was overwhelmed with the duality of condolences about Jenna and congratulations about Naomi. That was all I needed to log off social media. Yet, it wasn’t too hard to find a lot about the smiley brunette who’d stood up for my daughter to a bully.
“Derek.” She shot me an exasperated look and huffed. “You stalked her online. That doesn’t mean you know her.”
“I didn’t stalk. I researched. I looked her up.” Not just because my kid wouldn’t stop talking about her but also because I was curious.
“Yeah, and that doesn’t count for much. Anyone can lie and post it online.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you like her?”
She glanced to the side and rolled her eyes. “I don’t not like her. I don’t know her.”
I supposed I had to say I didn’t, either. I was aware of basics, like the fact that she managed Barone Realty in Denver, had a family home in Macomb, and that she drove a silver SUV. I’d learned some other basic information, but nothing personal. She used her online presence professionally, to further advertise her services as a realtor.
But to my surprise, I wanted to get to know her.
“Wait a second.” I sat up, almost stunned by the assumption that hit me. “Are you mad? That Naomi is curious about Claire when she was quick to show how much Mackenzie annoys her?”
She pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow.
“You are!”
“I am not.”
“Stace. Listen to the words coming out of my mouth. I don’t care what BFF pact you made with Mackenzie Ford. She will not become your sister-in-law.”
She huffed again, tossing her fork down to her salad bowl. “You’ve never even given her a chance!”
“No. No, no. I’ve given her countless chances to act like a normal?—”
“She’s normal.”
“—woman who’s not a gold-digger?—”
She gasped. “She’s not after your money!”
“—and doesn’t come on so hard that promiscuous is her middle name.”
Glowering at me, she growled. “She’s not promis?—”
“Stacy.” I shot her a hard look. “I told her no. Many times. And still, she persists.”
“It’s just that you’d look so good together,” she whined.
I shook my head. “That’s disregarding how much Naomi doesn’t like her. You want your niece to have a woman in her life whom she can’t stand?”
“Well, no.” She frowned.
“And it’s disregarding how little interest I have in speaking with Mackenzie at all.”
She sighed.
“ And it’s disrespecting me and my wishes not to be forced into dating anyone.”
Her brow creased as she scowled. “Yet you won’t hesitate to look up this real estate woman?”
I did hesitate, actually. But my curiosity won out.
“Why are you so against my wanting to get to know Claire?”
She raised her brows. “Do you?”
I shrugged. “I’m more interested in her than I’d ever been in the women you sic on me.”
“I don’t sic anyone on you.”
“Why don’t you like Claire?” I asked, determined to get an answer out of her.
“I’m just… skeptical.” She softened her scowl, frowning and appearing thoughtful. “She’s clearly a career woman. Dressed all fancy, even for a little holiday market. She’s got to be more comfortable in the city. And she won’t last here, in a small town like Preston.”
Technically, she was living with her dad in Macomb, according to what she’d shared.
“She’s probably only hanging around this part of Colorado to be home for the holidays. Then after that”—she snapped her fingers—“she’ll just go back to the city.”
I nodded, unable to argue with her logic. I’d thought the same thing, that Claire wouldn’t stay here long-term. Stacy was probably right, but I didn’t like that.
And I’d lied, shrugging when she asked if I wanted to get to know Claire. I did, and I’d already acted on that urge.
This morning, I replied to an email she’d sent to my account that I kept open for business transactions and important things like my property deeds. She’d contacted the listed owner information to ask about a large amount of acreage I owned. It’d been in the family forever, and when I left the city to raise Naomi here, I bought out my neighbor’s land when they were moving into a retirement home.
She couldn’t know it was me who’d replied to her email. The layers I’d installed with shell corps info hid my identity like that. She wouldn’t be the first zealous realtor who saw all that prime riverfront land and wanted to solicit me with a deal. That was why I’d gone more incognito with the business email, so no one could cold call me anymore.
I wouldn’t sell a square inch of my land. Never. It was home for me and Naomi. That was why I bought my neighbor’s property, so I wouldn’t have to deal with developers nearby. I valued the serenity of the sloping land I called home.
But I’d given Claire a slight impression that I was open to talking about the land. I replied, offering to meet up for a discussion. That didn’t mean that I had to intend to sell.
It was simply a means for me to talk to her again. Stacy was right. Claire did seem like a career woman. She’d passed on hot cocoa, citing the need to work. If I wanted a guarantee of talking to her again, teasing her with a chat about properties would give me the opportunity to see her again and hear her melodic voice again.
“Why are you so interested in her?” Stacy asked as she lifted her credit card for our waitress to take it for the bill. “You push away Mackenzie. You resist talking to any woman. And one look at this realtor and you’re suddenly interested?”
“I never said I was interested.” That felt like a lie. Claire had captured my attention. “But I won’t dismiss how she’s made a favorable impression on Naomi.” I shrugged. While I wouldn’t freely own up to being curious about Claire, I wouldn't miss a chance to put the “blame” on Naomi. “She’s made a favorable impression on me, too. Standing up for her. Not being annoyed with her constant questions.”
She winced. “She’s really got to work on that.”
“On what?”
“Being so nosy.”
I frowned. “She’s a kid!”
“Who can go overboard with the questions sometimes.” She shrugged, feigning innocence.
“She’s just curious.” And I was confident she’d grow out of that phase.
After Stacy left to go back to work, I tried to hold my excitement in check. Yes, I was looking forward to seeing Claire again. But I was especially looking forward to being able to have “adult” time with her. Naomi was in school for a couple more hours, and I was glad to be able to have a talk with Claire without her interruptions. Not because I didn’t like how she asked a lot of questions. Not because she was sometimes too chatty when the mood struck and could sound like a walking encyclopedia. But because I seldom had time away from her.
When Jenna didn’t make it from giving birth—a complicated mess that the doctors worked so hard to avoid—it was just the two of us. Me and Naomi. We were close, and always together, so it felt like a rare difference when I could do something without her. To not be Daddy, but Derek.
I retired early because I was fortunate and blessed with the results of working hard and wisely. I had over a billion to spend, a sum I’d never use up in my lifetime. While I didn’t have to have a job, except being a father, the school days were short. After I dropped Naomi off at school, I managed the house and land. Most days, I helped Nicky with his carpentry business. And then it was time for picking up Naomi again.
As I left the café and walked down toward the coffee shop on Main, where I told Claire that I’d meet her, I mused that it didn’t matter if I was talking to Claire without my daughter around. I already knew that she’d definitely passed the Naomi test.
And that’s why I’m here now. I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets as I strolled.
It was because of Naomi’s interest in Claire that I wanted to know more about her. Why I wanted to know more beyond what I could read about online.
Deep down, I knew I was borrowing trouble, posing as a seller. She was clearly a businesswoman, and I doubted she’d appreciate that I was leading her on to think that I’d part with any of my land. Someday, I could sell some, but not much, and not now.
It’s not like I’m promising her anything…
I was careful with how I worded my email. I didn’t come out and say that I was actively trying to sell anything. We were supposed to be meeting with a vague and loose goal of chatting, a simple discussion that could go any which way.
Right?
I grimaced, fully aware that wasn’t true. It was shitty of me to play games like this, to mislead her into thinking this would be a talk all about business.
But it’s the only way to get ahold of her.
Once I saw her, and once some of that new shine that came with being attracted to a lovely woman would dim.
She’d captured my eye at the market, but that didn’t necessarily mean the luster would last.
It’s just a chance to talk. Nothing more.
For all I knew, she might be completely different without Naomi here as a buffer. For all I knew, she might be exactly like all the other women my sister was pushing my way. Claire, heaven forbid, could end up preying on me and being just as eager as Mackenzie was.
There was only one way to know. One way to find out.
I spotted her walking down the sidewalk up ahead, and the sight of her in another prim and proper pantsuit did nothing to discourage me.
I blew out a deep breath, worried I was playing a game—with myself.
One I might not be able to win.
I wasn’t ready to date anyone, but this woman just might be the exception I needed.
My heart felt lighter. My lips curved into a smile. I held up my hand to catch her attention.
At the first glance at me, raising her brows in surprise, she slowly grinned… relighting that spark of attraction that hadn’t lessened since I last saw her mere days ago.