Chapter Four
Four
Alistair
The perfect moment is this one.
—Jon Kabat-Zinn
“And the next thing I know, a moose is standing there next to my RV with my underwear hanging from its mouth.” A rumbly laugh rolled out of my chest as I told her my favorite camping story.
I’d recounted my funniest stories for the past two hours, trying to make her laugh. She did this adorable little snort thing, and I loved how it sounded.
She fought to catch her breath and dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her napkin. “Oh gods. That’s hilarious. What did you do?”
“Well, I let him keep the underwear, obviously, but I just waited for him to go on his merry way. Moose are dangerous, and I didn’t want to risk scaring him. That was the last time I hung up my wet clothes in moose territory, though.”
She chuckled. “You learned that lesson the hard way.”
“I did.” I sighed and finished the last of my cold Americano. “I loved the blueberry muffin, by the way. Do you do any baking these days?”
She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. “You know, not really. I think it’s one of those things where I spent so long doing it that it’s nice to have time away from it. I still bake my kids their birthday cakes every year, though.”
She still made their birthday cakes.
With a stupid grin on my face, I stared across the table at Pam. She was beautiful. Funny. Interesting.
How in the world had I been in this little town for a month and not once run into her? I mean, our freaking kids had mutual friends.
I was leaving tomorrow, and now I was dreading it.
Shit.
It was presumptuous of me, but I felt like we had some real chemistry.
She caught me glancing down at my watch. “Did you have somewhere to be or…?” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
In reality, I was mentally calculating how much time I had left with this wonderful woman.
“Not at all. I was actually hoping you’d be up for a trip to the bookstore. Maybe some ice skating after that?”
Her face lit up with a bright smile. “I’d love that.”
“Good, let’s get out of here, then.” I rose from the table, gathering our cups and plates back onto the tray to return it to Brian.
“Oh, allow me,” she said and pushed out of her chair.
“No, no,” I insisted. “You get your coat on, and I’ll take care of this.”
Pam glanced up at me through her glasses. “All right.”
When I returned to the table, she was bundled up with a green scarf wrapped around her neck, ready to head back out into the January cold.
“I like your scarf,” I said as I held the door open for her. “Another one of your knitting creations?”
“Yes,” she said, snuggling down into it. “It’s ancient, but it’s my favorite.”
I could see why. It looked well loved but very cozy.
We headed to the bookstore, walking side by side, the warmth of the early afternoon sun making the chilly day somewhat tolerable.
Perfect weather for ice skating, I thought to myself.
“So, what do you think of Briar Glenn?”
“You know, when Chai first told me she took a job here, I was skeptical. I didn’t have high hopes for a state-of-the-art gym in a small town, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. She has a steady group of personal training clients, and it’s a great workplace. Atlas really looks out for her.”
“The revitalization initiative has breathed new life into the town.”
“You don’t mind that more people are moving here?” I asked. Usually, people in small towns were wary of newcomers and were content to live their lives surrounded by the people they grew up with.
She shook her head. “Not at all. I actually thought you might be a new resident. I wasn’t sure how I missed someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“Mm-hmm. A handsome guy like yourself would have definitely caught my attention if I saw you out and about.”
“It’s a shame we didn’t run into each other sooner.”
“I think it worked out better this way,” she said.
“And why is that?” I asked.
“There’s no way I would have had the courage to come up and talk to you in person.”
“Well, why not?”
“Because I haven’t hit on someone since high school,” she said with a laugh.
“I think for someone who hasn’t hit on anyone since high school, you’re doing just fine.”
“Oh gods!” Pam shrieked as she lost her footing, her boots sliding along a patch of ice.
“Whoa there.” My hand darted out and grasped Pam’s palm tightly as I pulled her to her feet.
“T-thank you,” she said as she looked up at me.
Her chest was heaving, her hand still gripping mine.
She felt so small as I stared down at her.
So small yet so close.
I wanted to lean over and kiss her, but was that too forward? She was a widow, and from the sound of things, her only real experiences had been with her late husband.
Before I could do anything drastic, she made the decision for me, turning her head away and pulling her hand from mine.
A small frown tugged at my lips, but I forced myself to grin instead. It pained me to do it, but this was for the best. I was acting irrationally.
We were silent for the rest of the walk to the bookstore and managed to avoid any more awkward near-kiss incidents.
“Here we are,” I said, opening the door for Pam and following her inside.
The Briar Glenn Bookshop was like something out of a magazine. The small store was lined with shelves and tables overflowing with books. It had become one of my favorite places here in town, and I was glad Pam had agreed to accompany me on what would probably be my last visit.
Well, until the next time I visited Chai, that is.
“Hey, Mrs. Rollins!” The petite goth girl behind the counter greeted her with a little wave.
It was charming how everyone knew one another here. I couldn’t help but wonder what our date would mean for the town gossip mill, though. In the long run, it wouldn’t matter. Tomorrow I’d be on a plane headed back to the Rockies.
Pam loosened her scarf, her eyes already scanning the rows of books in the romance section.
“Romance, eh?” I said with a laugh.
She looked at me and pushed her glasses up her nose. “It’s always been my favorite genre. There’s comfort in knowing the characters will always get their happy ending.”
“Well, I like happy endings.” I sidled up beside her, my wide body rubbing against her shoulder. “Which book would you recommend for a romance novice?”
My preferred genre was historical fiction, but for her, I was willing to give anything a try. Plus, I could use a little romance in my life.
“Hmm.” Pam trailed her finger over the colorful spines before stopping on one in particular. She slipped the book off the shelf and handed it to me. “This is one of my favorites. It’s about aliens on an ice planet.”
I looked down at the cover. There was a frozen tundra with a beautiful brown-haired woman and a giant blue alien male.
A little far-fetched, but okay.
I flipped it over and read the blurb. “Oh, this does sound good. I think I’ll get it.”
The look she gave me was priceless. Like I was some sort of saint for taking an interest in the things that interested her. Little did she know, I wanted to know everything I could about her. Everything we could possibly cram into this short period of time together.
For thirty minutes, we browsed the bookstore. I offered to hold Pam’s selections for her, watching as she piled title after title into my arms until the stack almost reached my face.
“I think I might have gone a little overboard,” she said, her brows raised as she peeked over the books at me.
“Nonsense. I think this is the perfect amount.”
We walked over to the counter, and I placed the books down for the cashier.
“Is this everything?” the cashier asked.
“Yep, that’s everything. We made sure we left a few books in the store for you, though,” I teased, and Pam nudged my arm playfully.
She went to put her card down, but I stopped her once again.
“Pam,” I said as I looked down at her, “please let me get these for you. Consider it a late Christmas present—if you celebrate Christmas, that is.”
“Alistair…”
“Please. I want to. That way, when you read them, you’ll think of me.”
“Fine,” she said with a smile that made my heart race.
Oh, this was bad.
I was in serious trouble.
With a heavy bag of books on my arm, I held the door open for Pam as we made our way back onto Main Street.
“Did you drive here?” I asked.
“I walked, actually. I live on one of the side streets.”
“Are you still up for ice skating?” I was hoping she’d say yes.
Please fucking say yes.
“Absolutely. You aren’t getting rid of me just yet.”
I felt like I’d won the lottery.
“The rink is at the park. Would you be all right with me driving us over?”
Since we’d just met, I wasn’t sure if she’d feel comfortable getting in the car with me. I’d heard those online dating stories on true crime podcasts.
“I trust you,” she said, threading her arm through mine.
—
I pulled my car to a stop at the park. “Well, it doesn’t look like the ice-skating rink is too popular today.”
Besides one car, which I assumed was the rink attendant’s, the parking lot was empty.
“Hmm. It’s a shame, too. For January, it’s actually a pretty nice day.”
“Even though you almost slipped and fell on a patch of ice?”
She shrugged. “Gotta look on the bright side. The sun is shining, and I have great company.”
I liked her attitude. Her positivity aligned well with my own.
I got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her.
“Thank you. You’re such a gentleman.”
“I had a good role model. My father treated my mother like a queen.”
It was the truth. When I thought of the perfect couple and the ideal relationship, my parents always came to mind. It was the type of love I’d wanted with Chai’s mother but could never find. After that, I sort of gave up looking, I guess.
“Alistair?” Pam looked up at me, her bright green eyes sparkling and her vibrant red hair blowing in the chilly wind. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Better than fine, actually. Ready to do some ice skating?”
She nodded and I extended my arm out to her, but this time she slipped her palm into my hand.
We were holding hands.
It was something so innocent, so normal, but with her, it felt intimate.