Chapter 13 Cal #2
“Once my bag’s full. Don’t like to leave a job unfinished.” She flashes me a quick grin, then drops her eyes. “You should eat, though. I’ll be there in a sec.”
I ignore her and pick another couple avocados to drop in her bag. “Speaking of unfinished, we should probably talk about last night.”
Our eyes meet and my entire body snaps like I haven’t just been struck by lightning; I’ve become it. In that flash, I see Frankie like I haven’t before. For a brief second, she peels back the mask she hides behind and reveals a piece of herself, the real her.
No Fran. No McVey. No Forsythe.
No waitress, or actress, or heiress.
I see a woman who’s made me laugh again. A woman I can count on in an emergency, whether it’s to help turn a posterior foal, or watch my kid for a few hours. A woman who sacrificed everything to buy a hotel to save Serenity Cove. A woman who is loyal and kind and giving.
I see… just Frankie, actually.
And then her practiced smile appears, and Just Frankie disappears. “No worries, mate. It’s been a minute since I’ve snogged anyone. I got a bit out of control.”
She steps around me to move to the next tree, leaving the door wide open for me to run away again.
But that’s not what I want to do. Maybe it’s what I should do. My feet, though, are already catching up to her.
“Frankie, hold up.” I grab her elbow.
She looks from me to my hand around her arm. I loosen my grip, but I don’t let her go.
“I don’t regret kissing you. I wanted it to happen. We both did.” I drop my hand and step closer. “And I liked kissing you, Frankie. I liked it a lot. There’s nothing I want more than to do it again.”
She raises her eyes. Her shoulders soften. “Then why’d you stop, Cal? I made it humiliatingly clear I didn’t want to.”
I exhale, searching for a way to explain why without the risk of losing any chance with her. But all I can find is the truth.
“I’m not built for temporary. Even if I didn’t have Junie, it’s not in me to be casual. I tried, and I ended up married.” I huff a laugh.
Frankie raises an eyebrow, which I take as a sign to keep talking about my dead wife…or I’m just really nervous and can’t stop barfing up words.
“Kayla would have been happy keeping things casual, even after she found out she was pregnant. But I couldn’t. I pushed her to get married, and neither one of us were happy. Now that I’m raising Junie by myself, attempting casual again isn’t an option.”
Frankie tips her head, squeezing one eye shut to keep the noon-day sun out. “So, you’re worried I’m temporary?”
“I hope you’re not. But if I’m being honest, yeah, I’m worried about Junie getting any more attached to you than she already is if you’re planning to leave.
” I study the trail of freckles across her nose, wondering why I haven’t noticed them before.
Wondering what else I won’t get to discover about Frankie if she leaves.
“And you? Are you worried about getting too attached?” Her eyes reflect the color of the bright, waxy leaves surrounding her, shining like green glass caught by a ray of sun.
Without thinking, I grab the rim of the avocado bag strapped to Frankie’s chest and tug her closer.
With the full bag between us, I can’t wrap my arms around her, so I clasp her arms instead.
“Frankie, I’m on the verge of falling so hard for you, I won’t recover.
If kissing you would convince you to stay, I’d do it right now.
I wouldn’t stop. We’d spend the rest of our lives under these trees…
” I catch her smile and take a breath. “More than kissing, I’ll tell you that much. ”
I let her go, and the longing on her face shifts to a teasing grin. “Tempting, but who’d take Junie to school?”
“I didn’t say it was a fool-proof plan,” I tease back.
While Frankie studies me, I shift my weight, testing whether the ground is still solid after letting my emotions get the better of me. Turns out, telling Frankie how I feel didn’t cause the earth to open up and swallow me, even if the look on her face doesn’t give me much hope.
“I wish I could tell you that I’m not temporary Cal, but I’ve got no clue what’s ahead.” She takes both my hands in hers, lacing her fingers through mine. “And I don’t want to hurt you or Junie.”
I nod, waiting for her to say everything that’s making her brows pinch together.
“I mean, there’s too many ifs right now, right? Part of me wants to stay tucked away in Serenity Cove. Or here at this ranch.” She raises her eyebrows and her lips pull up, too, communicating she didn’t hate my idea about staying canopied in avocado trees.
But the smile is gone too fast, and her voice turns serious. “Another part wants to disappear again.”
We both let that sit. If I could breathe, I’d try to convince her that’s her worst option.
“But” she continues. “There’s a big chunk of my brain—and my heart, if I’m honest—that’s telling me it’s time to stop hiding. I’m torn whether I go back to L.A.—if I go back to acting—or if I stay here and wait for people to quit caring about Frankie Forsythe.”
I don’t miss the look in Frankie’s eyes when she mentions LA and acting. It was quick—like a struck match that gives off blue sparks but doesn’t light. It was there though. Until I saw it, I’d never considered she might want to go back to Hollywood.
She lets go of my hands and steps back. “Either way, it’s not a good option for you or Junie.”
I let out a long breath. “So…friends?”
Frankie shrugs. “That’s the one thing I can promise won’t be temporary, Cal. I’m good at being mates. Whatever else happens, I’ll always be your friend. Junie’s, too.”
I nod, force my lips to turn upward, and stick out my hand. “Friends it is, then. Shake on it.”
Frankie glances at my hand and back at me. “Honestly…what I really need is a hug from a friend.”
I smile and nod. “Same.”
Within seconds, I’ve helped her take off the bag and pulled her into my arms. I hold her against my chest, close enough there’s no way she can’t hear my heart pounding.
I hate the word friends. I didn’t realize that until this moment. It’s hit me just now how much I don’t want us to stay friends. That’s not enough. I can’t imagine it ever being enough.
Mate is a much better word. Especially if you put soul in front of it.
“Here’s the thing, Frankie. You don’t have to decide everything today,” I say, then kiss the top of her head, which is really the hat she’s wearing.
The same one I gave her the other day to help her hide.
“Let’s be the kind of friends—mates—who are totally honest with each other.
And if we can make something work, if we both want something that’s more than casual, then we say it. ”
I swallow hard. Frankie could have any guy she wants.
She’s got actors and other famous people lined up, waiting for her to go back to Hollywood.
It’s more likely she’ll lose interest in me before I ever lose interest in her.
I don’t have any prospects in Serenity Cove.
Even if I did, they’d pale in comparison to Frankie.
I can’t think of any woman I’ve met who doesn’t.
Frankie pulls away, tilts her head to see me from under the brim of the Barry’s Bait and Tackle hat. Her lips curve into the flirty grin I’m used to—but softer—and she sticks up her pinky. “Total honesty. Pinky swear.”
I wrap my pinky around hers and squeeze, both of us smiling. There’s no sign of being heartbroken on her face. I hope mine doesn’t have any signs either, but I’m not the actor she is.
When we break apart, I sling her avocado bag over my shoulder, and wrap my other arm around her shoulders, but in a friendly way. Like we’re old friends, comfortable being close like this.
“You’re done picking. Time to eat, then I’ll take you into town.”
“Okay, mate.” She slides her arm around my waist.
Her slender fingers rest on my side like live wires, sending electricity surging through my body. We reach the end of the row too soon and, without a word, unwind from each other. Like we both know we don’t want my family to see us and get the wrong idea.
“I like it here, Cal. Are you still okay with me staying a few days? Will it be too weird?” she asks softly.
“Not weird at all,” I answer automatically.
Frankie’s chest rises and falls in a happy sigh that sends a final surge of electricity through me strong enough to make my brain glitch.
As Frankie walks away, the only thought still working in my head is that it’s possible for things to go back to the way they were.
The publicity will calm down. Trends come and go so fast, the sudden interest in Frankie will fade in a week or so.
She can go back to working at Flamingo’s, and we can keep getting to know each other, but as more than friends.
As I dump the avocados in the bin, the thought takes hold and won’t let go.
Hope follows on its heels. By the time I’ve checked how full each bin is and told Felix to drive the tractor and bins to unload in our storage shed, I’ve convinced myself—despite our friends conversation—Frankie and I have a chance at something real.
I can’t hide my smile as I make my way to my family’s picnic spot. I’m not letting Hayes take my spot next to Frankie today. I’ll fight him for it if I have to.
But when I round the last row of trees and my family comes into sight, Frankie’s sitting apart from them, watching the commotion. I stop and study her, analyzing the faraway look on her face.
I’ve seen it before. Not on Frankie, though. On Kayla. And I know exactly what it means.
Frankie’s already gone.