Chapter 9 #2
Feeling better about his decision, he paid a few bills, placed an order for some parts, and then walked around doing his final check of the shop.
With everything in place, he washed up, grabbed his keys, and locked up.
He could easily walk down to Jade’s shop and meet MacKenzie there, but considering they were heading home from there, it just made sense to drive.
But it still felt ridiculous driving two blocks when it was really within walking distance.
When he parked in front of the coffee shop, he contemplated whether he should go in or just text her.
Ultimately, he got out of the truck and went inside and immediately gravitated over to the mystery and thriller section to see if there was anything interesting.
The book he ordered was coming in tomorrow, but could you ever really have enough books?
So he scanned the shelves, read a couple of back cover blurbs, and found two that he was going to purchase. When he turned around, he found MacKenzie standing only a few feet away, watching him. “Hey,” he said. “Did you find anything?”
Nodding, she walked over and showed him the three titles she’d chosen. “I have a tablet and I know it’s supposed to make things easier, but I love holding a book in my hands. It’s crazy, but…”
“I’m the same way,” he told her, holding up his two books. “I kind of enjoy reading in bed before going to sleep. It helps me unwind.” Then he chuckled. “Even when they’re thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat.”
“Hmm…I’m not really a mystery or thriller kind of reader.
I love historical romances. Like…seriously love them.
Some might call it an addiction, but I don’t care.
I get to escape to another time and swept away into a love story.
” She sighed happily, hugging the books to her chest. “And now I have three new ones! Yay!”
He loved seeing her happy and relaxed. It was quite a difference from how she looked most of last week.
“Come on,” he said, his hand resting on her lower back, guiding her over to the register. “Let’s pay for our books and go grab all the ingredients for enchiladas.”
At the counter, she looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “This is going to be a great night.”
And he had to agree.
For as busy as the shop had been for the last week, Tuesday was oddly quiet. Devin didn’t seem the least bit worried about it, so MacKenzie figured she shouldn’t be either.
Still, it left her with some time on her hands.
Time that she spent looking at her mother’s Facebook page again and that ultimately led her to composing a message to send.
Hey, Mom. It’s me. MacKenzie. Long time no see, right? It’s been a while and I wanted to reach out and let you know that Dad passed away a few years ago. So I’m basically on my own and alone.
“Ugh…how pathetic does that sound?” she mumbled, but kept writing.
Anyway, I finally decided to leave Syracuse and am currently driving across the country.
My car broke down in the mountains of Virginia and I’m waiting for the repairs to be done before I hit the road again.
I was thinking of maybe coming to Oregon.
Like I said, I know it’s been a long time, but I thought it might be nice to see each other.
If all goes as planned, I’ll be leaving Virginia on Sunday–Monday the latest–and plan to start heading west. I’m going to be smart about it and it should take five days, so realistically, I could be to you by the weekend.
“Now I’m coming off as needy. Great.”
Obviously, I don’t have a current address for you, but hopefully you’ll see this and get back to me and we can make some plans to get together. Anyway, hope you’re doing well and I look forward to hearing from you. Love, M.
She stared at the message for a long time and agonized over hitting send or not.
Fear of rejection–again–was strong, and this time if it happened, her father wasn’t going to be there to dry her tears or to make excuses. This time, she’d have to handle it all by herself.
You could talk to Devin about it…
She could, but…she wouldn’t. It was too embarrassing. From all the conversations they’d had about their lives, it sounded like Devin’s parents were practically saints. Even now they were over in Africa giving medical care to underprivileged children.
That was a far cry from having your mother abandon you and starting a whole new life thousands of miles away.
So yeah, she’d have to keep this one to herself.
“Hey, Mac!” Will said as he strolled into the office.
“I’m going on a coffee and muffin run.” He grinned.
“No offense, but you took too long yesterday.” Then he chuckled.
“I’m kidding. Sort of. Anyway, can I get you anything?
” He stepped in a little closer and looked at the computer screen.
“Facebook, huh? I’m more of an Instagram guy myself. ”
Quickly closing the browser, she shrugged. “I go on both because I like to follow some of my favorite authors.” Another shrug. “And since it was quiet in here today, I guess I was just looking for a way to kill some time.”
“That’s why I’m going over to Books & Beans. And if it’s cool with you, we’re thinking of just ordering pizza for lunch. We’re all pretty flexible on toppings, so…”
Smiling at him, she nodded. “That sounds great. Do they deliver?”
“Totally unnecessary. They’re only a couple of doors down. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed them.” Then he paused. “Although, you and Devin come and go in the opposite direction…”
“I guess.”
“Anyway, either someone runs it down or one of us walks over to grab it. It just depends on who’s not busy, you know?”
“When we’re ready to order, I can call it in or…”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. I can handle it. You’ll just have to tell me what you like on your pizza and I’ll call it in.” Then he leaned in a little closer and whispered loudly, “I kind of have the hots for Cindy Blake. She works the register there so…”
That made her laugh. “Say no more. Lunch is totally your deal. No worries.”
“Okay, cool. And where did we land on coffee and muffins? You want anything?”
“Um…a chocolate chip muffin if they have them–or anything with chocolate, please,” she said with a twinge of embarrassment. “It’s my weakness.”
“I totally get it. Any coffee?”
“Something iced. Billie mentioned something about a chocolate mint Frappuccino. I’d love to try it.”
“Going all in with the chocolate this morning, huh?” Chuckling, he shook his head. “That sugar high is going to make you crash later, but considering it’s a quiet day, it won’t be so bad.” And with a wave, he walked out with a promise to be back soon.
When she was alone again, she updated some invoices, made some calls to confirm tomorrow’s appointments, and then went out to the waiting room and straightened all the newspapers and magazines.
Once that was done, she was back at her desk and casually reopened the browser to check her Facebook messages.
None.
With a sigh, she reminded herself that it had only been a few minutes and it didn’t mean anything.
She hoped.
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful–although she did experience that sugar crash Will had warned her about–and once everyone was gone, Devin joined her in the front office.
“Hey,” he said casually. “I hope you’re not in a rush to get home because I’m about to pull the Mustang up for you to take for a test drive.”
“Oh, my God! Really? It’s ready?”
He nodded. “Just give me a minute and…”
“Would you mind if I did it? I know it’s crazy, but…” She was practically bouncing on her toes. “Is that allowed? Is it okay for me to drive it out of the garage?” That Mustang was her baby and she missed it.
Sad but true.
He’d told her last night over dinner that the car was more than likely going to be finished today, but she hadn’t really wanted to talk about it.
While they ate their enchiladas, she and Devin had talked about the festival and all the activities, but it had seemed…
stilted. Off. It was almost as if he was holding back.
And when she’d questioned him on it, he had shrugged and said he didn’t want her to feel pressured to stay for it.
That would have been the perfect opening for her to say she wanted to stay not only for the festival but maybe a little longer than that, but old insecurities kept her from opening her mouth.
A small niggle of doubt creeped in and had her wondering if Devin was actually wanting her to stay or kind of hoping she’d leave.
The incredible sex they had said one thing, but his words and actions sometimes said another.
Like he wasn’t pushing her for an exact time she was leaving, but he certainly hadn’t given her any sign that he wanted her to ditch her plans of going to Oregon and instead stay here in Sweetbriar Ridge.
While MacKenzie chalked up her own inability to communicate well to her recent breakup.
It was hard to trust again so soon, and previous experience taught her that men were consummate liars.
Only…only she had a hard time believing that where Devin was concerned.
But it wasn’t like she could change her way of thinking quite so easily.
The clatter of keys on the countertop snapped her out of her reverie. Devin was standing there smiling at her. “Daydreaming on the job?”
She chuckled. “You caught me.”
He leaned in close and whispered for her ears only, “Hopefully you were thinking about me and what we did in the shower this morning.”
MacKenzie felt the blush start at the tip of her toes and travel up to the roots of her hair.
This morning had been totally hot–again–but so had every encounter they’d had with each other in the last couple of days.
He was becoming addicted to her, and she pulled back and gave him a sheepish grin.
“Maybe. Or maybe I was thinking about my car and speeding her around town with the windows down.”
A hearty laugh was Devin’s initial response. “You might want to take it easy on her for her first trip out and baby her a little. Be gentle.”
She wanted to remind him they weren’t particularly gentle with her the other night when they were climbing all over her, but let that go for now. Picking up the keys, she came out from behind the counter, giddy to get behind the wheel.
Devin studied her for a moment before he looked away, sticking his hands in his pockets. “So…um…,” he began, “everything has been done that we talked about, so she’s in good shape to take you on to Oregon. I don’t think you’ll have any problems for a while. You’re good to go.”
That last sentence made her a little sick to her stomach. “Oh…good,” she said, nodding. “I’m just gonna…you know…drive her around a bit. I’ll be back in a little while.” And without another word, MacKenzie walked outside and climbed into her beloved car.
It didn’t take long to notice the difference.
He had washed it and cleaned out the interior.
He must have sprayed something too because it seriously had that new car smell to it.
And when she started it, the damn thing practically purred.
Hell, she couldn’t even remember a time when it had sounded this good.
Her father had worked on the Mustang more times than she could remember, and he never got it to sound like this.
Cursing under her breath, she pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the main road.
Driving through the middle of town and down some of the local roads, MacKenzie was careful not to go too fast. She understood what Devin meant about being gentle. With every mile she drove, she kept looking for a problem–a gauge to run hot or a light to come on–but they didn’t.
Dammit.
Although she really shouldn’t be surprised. Devin had told her the day they met that he was going to fix it. And after talking to pretty much everyone in town, it only confirmed that he was an amazing mechanic.
Double dammit.
With the car in perfect running order, there wasn’t a reason for her to stay beyond the festival this weekend.
Well, other than her really wanting to.
But she felt weird admitting that to Devin. Hell, she had trouble admitting it to herself! Just like she had that fear of rejection earlier while typing up the message to her mother, she felt that same fear about confessing to Devin how she felt about what she really wanted.
“Shit,” she murmured as she cruised along the road that led to the ski resort. It was tempting to drive all the way there and get a sneak peek at everything, but she kind of wanted to be surprised along with everyone else.
That’s when an idea hit her.
It was a little out of character for her to do something like this, but…
Carefully turning around on the narrow road, she pulled over as far as she could go, put the car in park, and turned it off.
Drastic times called for drastic measures.