Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
She was dead.
And soon he’d be dead, too, unless…
Those were the only lines Felicity was able to see before Justin had drawn her attention. She had to say that she was intrigued. Who was dead? Why was he going to die too? And of course, who was the character that was still alive? And what came after “unless”?
Her editorial mind raced as she thought up reasons why Justin would have what looked to be a manuscript page under his couch.
Did it belong to a girlfriend? Was it a short story of some kind?
Possibly. Though, she didn’t think so. Those opening lines seemed to imply the characters, whoever they were, were about to start a big journey.
She wished she’d been able to read more. Was it something he’d written? She chanced a glance at Justin as he maneuvered his pickup through the heart of Kringle Falls on their way to the storage unit.
Curiosity ate at her. “So, are you going to tell me more about that manuscript page?”
He cast her a quick glance. “Can’t you just leave it alone?”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. I have to know more. Please, let me read it.”
“It’s not finished.”
“Ah. So, it is yours.” A grin pulled at her lips. “At least let me read what you have?”
He arched a brow. “You wouldn’t be interested.”
“You are so wrong. I’m totally interested.”
“It’s not that good.”
Her brows scrunched together. “Why would you say that?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been trying to get an agent, but no one is interested.”
“I’m sure it’s just because you haven’t finished the manuscript yet. With untested authors, they want to know you can complete the manuscript from start to finish before they are willing to take a risk on you.”
“That’s the thing. The book is completed.”
“Oh.” She was confused. “But you just said…”
“No. Not this book. I have another book that is completed. It’s the first book in the series. And it’s the one I’ve been sending to agents.”
A grin pulled at the corners of her lips. “Perfect. Let me read it. Please…”
He shook his head. “I don’t have a print out.”
“That’s fine. Just send me the digital file.”
He hesitated. “I don’t know. It’s not a romance.”
“That’s fine. I read other genres.”
His eyes momentarily widened. “I didn’t know that.”
“There’s lots you don’t know about me. But we can work on it. Now send me that file.”
“Fine. I’ll send it to you when I get home.”
“Don’t forget.”
“I won’t.” With a sigh, he said, “I don’t recall you being so bossy.”
She laughed. “And you are still stubborn. I do have one question for you.”
“I’m afraid to know what it is,” he grumbled.
She lightly pushed on his shoulder, noticing the firmness of his muscles. “I’m not that bad. I just want to know if you’d mind if I make some notes as I read it. With me being an editor, it’s just something that I’m used to doing.”
“And how much will I owe you?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely nothing.”
“I can’t accept your professional help without doing something for you in return.”
“I’m just doing it for an old friend. That’s all.”
The low rumble of a groan emanated from him. “Fine. But I’m still going to figure out a way to pay you back.”
“But you don’t—” When he frowned at her, she shut up.
“I do have one request.”
She nodded. “Sure. What is it?”
“I need you to promise to keep all of this—about me writing and the book—I need you to keep it to yourself.”
Okay. Her intrigue notched up even more. “Why is it a secret?”
“Because no one knows I write, and I want to keep it that way.”
“I didn’t even know you were interested in creative writing.”
He shrugged. “It’s not something I talk about.”
“But why? I think it’s fantastic.”
“Because my family gives me a hard enough time about all the reading I do. They mean well. They give everyone a hard time about this or that. I just don’t…” His voice trailed away.
“You don’t want them to discourage you. I can understand that.”
He shrugged as he slowed the pickup at a four-way stop. “It’s probably never going to amount to anything.”
“Why would you say that?”
He accelerated through the intersection. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”
She could tell it mattered a lot, and it was very important to him. She didn’t think he understood what a special gift he had. It wasn’t something to be squandered.
“Once upon a time, I tried to write a book,” she said.
He glanced over at her. “You did?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“What happened?”
“I wrote myself into a corner. For me, it’s a lot easier to point out the errors in someone else’s work than for me to put the words on a blank page.”
He shook his head. “I’m sure if you gave it another chance that you’d be great at it. You were always good at whatever you set your mind to.”
“If only that was the case…” Oops! She hadn’t meant to admit that much.
He arched a brow. “What? You have one failed manuscript. That’s not a big deal. I have a few hidden on my computer.”
It was good to be able to talk to him this way. The conversation flowed effortlessly. Each time they spoke, it was like they were tearing down the wall that once stood between them.
How did she do that?
As Justin pulled into the parking lot of the storage unit, he couldn’t believe that Felicity not only learned his secret, but she was also going to read his manuscript. That last bit had his stomach tied up in a great big knot.
And here he’d been promising himself that he was going to keep her at arm’s length. So far, he was failing miserably.
But at the same time, it felt good to have his old friend back in his life. He hadn’t realized until now just how much he’d missed her prodding, teasing, and laughter. What was he going to do when she went back to the city?
As soon as he pulled the pickup to a stop, Felicity jumped out. He followed her inside the storage unit and knew exactly where the boxes were she wanted. In the end, he carried four red plastic storage bins out to his pickup.
As quickly as that, they were on the road again. He liked riding around with her. It made him think about the fun they had in the past. Every time she smiled, he was reminded of the girl he’d once loved—and if truth be told, maybe he was falling for her just a little all over again.
But she was no longer the girl with big dreams in her eyes. Now she was a woman with thoughts and opinions of her own. And he longed to know more about the person she’d become.
When they returned to the Evergreen Apartments, Felicity was more than happy to take Sunny outside.
There was a shoveled dog area off to the side of the building.
While he carried the boxes up to her mother’s apartment, a little voice in his mind told him that spending a little more time with her wouldn’t hurt things.
Once the dog had been sufficiently walked and the boxes were stacked in the corner of the apartment, he turned to Felicity. “I think you’re missing something.”
She glanced over at the boxes before her gaze met his. “No. I think I got everything.”
“What about the tree?”
“Oh yeah. It’s next on my list of things to do.”
“There’s no time like the present.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him, but when he sent her a big, warm smile, she wordlessly closed her mouth.
“Come on.” He waved for her to follow him.
“You know I’m not going to argue, right?” She followed him out the door. “The thought of me carrying a tree, all by myself, from the tree lot to here, well, it’s not going to happen.
He grabbed his coat and headed for the door. “The tree lot will be closing soon.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t go then.”
He stopped and turned back to her. “Felicity, you already got the ornaments. Let’s get the tree.”
“Fine…”
They made their way back to the pickup. The tree lot wasn’t far. In fact, there wasn’t anything that was far away in Kringle Falls. It was one of the town’s charms.
“Bet you haven’t been to a tree lot since you moved away.” He started the engine, causing warm air to blow out of the vents and then pulled out of the parking lot.
She shook her head. “There was no reason to go. There was absolutely no room in my apartment.”
“You must be anxious to get back there.” He longed for her to say she was tired of the hustle and bustle of the big city—that she longed for a simpler life.
Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong. Maybe he should think about moving to the city. After all, he’d been willing to do it many years ago. Why not do it now?
He pulled into a parking spot and noticed the long period of silence. He glanced over at her. “Felicity, what’s wrong?”
Her gaze lifted to meet his. There was a pained look in her eyes. It worried him. What was she going to say that would put that anguished look on her face?
“Justin…”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
And just like that the moment passed. In a blink, the look was gone from her eyes. And he wasn’t going to learn whatever she’d been intending to tell him. He couldn’t help but feel that it had been important.
He turned his head toward the driver’s side window. There stood his parents. Talk about your worst timing.
His mother smiled. When she noticed Felicity in the pickup with him, her whole face lit up. The next thing he knew, Felicity had the pickup door open, and she was rushing around to give his mother a hug and say hello to his father.
His mother’s gaze moved between Felicity and himself. “It’s so good to see you two together again.”
“Mom…” Justin’s voice had a warning tone to it.
His mother sighed. “I didn’t mean it that way.” Her gaze moved to Felicity. “I truly didn’t.” After Felicity nodded in understanding, his mother said, “It’s just that when you were growing up, you two were inseparable.”
Why did his mother have to make a big deal out of him being with Felicity? Couldn’t she just be happy to see them and leave it at that? But no. She had to bring up the past.
“That was a long time ago,” Justin muttered.
“Not that long ago. You’ll see when you get to be my age. Time continues to speed up. If only I could figure out how to slow it down, I’d have time for all of the hobbies that I keep promising myself to do one of these days. Well, enough about that. What are you two up to?”
“I’m helping Felicity get a tree for her mother.”
The smile returned to his mother’s face. “That’s wonderful. We won’t keep you.” She glanced at Felicity. “Don’t be a stranger. Stop by the house sometime, and we can catch up.”
Felicity smiled. “I would like that.”
And then his parents, hand-in-hand, strolled away. Justin always thought one day he’d have a marriage and family like theirs. But as the years passed and relationships failed, he was starting to think the bachelor life was for him.
When he turned around, he found that Felicity had walked away without him. He hurried to catch up to her…