Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Grayson felt the wind ruffle his hair and he half-closed his eyes for a moment. He was walking along the sidewalk in Rosewood Beach, enjoying the beautiful afternoon weather. He thought to himself that the wind smelled clean and fragrant there, and it was pleasant to feel it brush against his face. In L.A., the air had often smelled foul, and getting hit with a blast of wind was sometimes unpleasant. There in Rosewood Beach, everything seemed fresh and new.
He’d been regularly exploring the town, getting to know it better. He’d been wandering through all of the stores and trying out all of the local food places. He wished that Alexis was there with him, showing him around, but she clearly wasn’t too keen on the idea of spending time with him. He’d decided that he would try to get a better sense of her world on his own, and he had been spending his time becoming acquainted with Rosewood Beach.
He found himself walking past Seaside Sweets Bakery and decided to go inside. He remembered the place as being one of Alexis’s favorites, and he’d been there himself a few times. He’d been extremely impressed by their pastries, and he thought eagerly of the lemon-filled doughnuts they usually had available for purchase.
He stepped inside the cozy, sweet-smelling bakery and was greeted by a smiling teenager at the register. He bought a cup of dark roast coffee with a splash of cream, and one of the lemon-filled doughnuts.
He took his purchases outside and sat down at one of the little café tables that were placed near the front door. He had a beautiful view of the ocean from where he was sitting, and he watched the sunlight sparkle on the waves while he ate his doughnut. He found himself missing Alexis terribly, and wishing she was there with him. He felt sad that she was so nearby, and yet still seemed to be worlds away from him. He thought about what she might say if she was there. He wanted to ask her if she’d ever had one of the lemon-filled doughnuts, and he wondered which one of the Seaside Sweets’ pastries was her favorite.
He finished his doughnut and stood up, deciding to finish his coffee as he strolled. It was nice, he thought, not having any kind of agenda for his day. Time had slowed down so much for him since he’d arrived in Rosewood Beach. In the past, there had always seemed to be a clock ticking in the back of his mind, urging him to do more faster, but now that sense of frantic urgency was gone.
He continued to walk along the sidewalk, and soon he found himself in front of Dean’s auto repair shop. He stood outside for a few moments, listening to the sound of banging and whirring that was coming from inside. He didn’t know Dean well, and he didn’t know what Dean thought of him, but after hesitating for a moment, he decided to go inside.
He stepped into the cool, dim lobby and found it empty. A glass wall between the lobby and the garage allowed him to see into the shop, where three men were working on cars. He saw Dean smiling at one of his employees as he wiped greasy hands on the front of his jumpsuit. In the next moment, Dean looked up and saw Grayson standing in the lobby. He said something to his employee and then made his way toward the door that led to the reception desk.
“Hey, Grayson.” Dean smiled in a friendly way as he stepped into the lobby, but Grayson noticed that same uncertain gleam in his eyes. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. I heard you cut your hand here.”
Dean glanced down at the large Band-Aid that was covering his thumb. “Just a scratch. I’m down to regular at-home care now. Just Band-Aids. No stitches or anything.” Dean smiled cheerfully, but Grayson noticed that there were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looked pale.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Grayson nodded, meaning what he said. Dean was a nice guy, and he deserved for things to be going well for him, Grayson thought.
“How are things going between you and Alexis?” Dean asked, his tone tactfully gentle. “Have you made up?”
“Oh, I’m not sure what you would call it.” Grayson sighed. “We talked the other day. She said she’s willing to see how things go, but she’s definitely been avoiding me. I have to admit, I thought that quitting my job and moving out here would be enough of a grand gesture to make her come around and see how serious I am about winning her back. Instead, she seems to be unsure of whether or not she can trust me. I guess I have only myself to blame for that, but—well, it’s disappointing to say the least.”
Dean nodded. “I can understand that. If you wouldn’t mind, I can offer you a little free advice?”
“Go for it. You’re her brother, and maybe you know her even better than I do. Or at least, you know her in ways that I don’t. You can understand better than me why she loves it here so much, and what’s been keeping her here. She’s growing into a new person, it seems, and I want to know what kind of things she’d been doing here that made her not want to come back to L.A.”
“My guess would be that it’s just that—she’s doing things. She has a sense of excitement about her life now that she’s able to take action and have interesting experiences every day. And I’m sure she loves being back here with her family again. We were really a tight-knit group before Julia and Alexis moved away to big cities. That’s just my guess, though, and I think Alexis is the best person to tell you all about what she’s been thinking and feeling. Have you tried asking her why she loves it here?”
“I’ve tried talking to her, but I never end up asking her everything I’d like to. She gets so quiet. It seems clear to me that she doesn’t really want to talk to me.”
“She does seem to be upset about the whole thing. It’s been really hard for her, you know. I think a bit of courting will definitely be required on your part. Alexis is just trying to protect her heart and heal from the pain that your marriage caused her. I’m sure she’s inflicted pain on you too, and I’m sure she knows that. I think she’s been unsure of what to do for so long, ever since your marriage started languishing.
“But she seems really happy here doing things for other people. She’s thrown herself into helping others, and she’s even been trying to find a girlfriend for me.” Dean grimaced playfully. “I think that’s her way of coping—she’s been trying to find a purpose in her life by making herself useful. My best advice to you would be that you shouldn’t try to take that from her. You should try to join her in it.”
Grayson nodded, feeling amazed by how insightful Dean was. He felt sure that what he was hearing was great advice. “How do you know so much about love, even though you’re single?”
Dean smiled, a little sadly. “One learns a lot from observing.”
“I suppose so. Well, thank you. I’m really glad I came in here to talk to you.”
Dean grinned at him. “I am too.” He held out his hand for a handshake and Grayson took it and shook it firmly. “Best of luck, Grayson.”
“Thanks. I may need it. And thank you again for the advice.”
The two men exchanged another smile, and Grayson stepped back outside in the sunlight. His heart felt lighter, and he felt as though he understood where his wife was coming from better. He vowed to himself that he would continue trying, and he would do whatever it took to win back her heart.
“Set it right there, just like that. That looks cute, doesn’t it?”
Hazel laughed over how enthusiastic Alexis was being. She and her sister were in the kitchen with Samantha, officially packing the gift basket for Jacob with all of the goodies that Hazel had picked out for him.
“Yes, the bag of coffee definitely looks cuter over there next to the macadamia nuts,” Hazel teased, and Samantha giggled.
“I think Aunt Alexis is right. It just looks better over there. It’s more aesthetically pleasing.”
“Wow, look at you with the big words!” Hazel said, laughing but genuinely proud. “All that reading is paying off.”
“Well, I agree about the reading, but I heard that word when Aunt Alexis used it about the kitchen.” She grinned. “It is very aesthetically pleasing in here. The colors are cheerful and calming at the same time.”
Alexis and Hazel exchanged a delighted look. Hazel felt glad that someone was living with her who could appreciate just how darling Samantha was almost as much as she did.
“And I’ll set the gum right here,” Hazel said, placing the final item in the basket. “There. It’s all ready to go.” She smiled, and her heart began to beat faster—both with excitement and nervousness.
“When are you going to ask him out?” Samantha asked, looking starry-eyed.
“I’m planning on meeting him at his work on Friday.” Hazel took a deep breath, laughing breathlessly as a little rush of adrenaline shot through her. “I’m going to tell him how I feel about him.”
Alexis put an arm around her sister and squeezed her tightly. “You can do it. How are you feeling about it?”
“Good, but nervous.” Hazel smiled. “I’ve got lots and lots of butterflies, for different reasons.”
“You’re going to do great, Mom,” Samantha promised.
“Thank you both. I feel very loved right now.”
“You are!” Alexis said, and both she and Samantha gave Hazel another hug.
“Well, I guess it’s all ready to go,” Hazel said, looking down at the basket with a happy sigh. She picked it up and carried it over to the refrigerator, setting it on top. “I’ll leave it there until Friday. Enough about me! How was school today, Samantha?”
“Great. I got an A plus on my history report, and Abbey and I found a frog on the sidewalk outside when we were leaving.”
“Sounds like a great day.” Hazel grinned at her. “Way to go on that report. What about you, Alexis? How are things going with Grayson?”
Alexis, who had been looking down at the kitchen table, looked up and flushed. “I haven’t spent very much time with him. We ate dinner together at The Lighthouse Grill the other night.”
“Why haven’t you been spending time with him?” Samantha asked. “Don’ t you miss him since he was in L.A. for so long?”
“Samantha,” Hazel said gently, wanting to warn her daughter to not accidentally say anything tactless.
“No, it’s all right.” Alexis sighed. “I did miss him. I do miss him. But it isn’t that easy, unfortunately. He’s been basically ignoring me for so long that now, I’m scared to open up my heart to him again.”
Samantha frowned and nodded, as if she didn’t quite understand but wanted to be supportive anyway.
“I’ve been avoiding him since he got here.” Alexis looked out the window, fiddling with a gold bracelet on her wrist. “I just don’t know how to handle him being here. It seems too good to be true, and I’m scared of getting let down.”
Hazel wrapped an arm around her sister. “I can understand that,” she said gently. “Love is always a scary thing since there’s always some risk involved. But I think what Grayson is doing shows that he really does care about you. He wouldn’t have quit his job and come all the way out here if he didn’t truly intend to make it work. I think you owe him a chance.”
Alexis nodded, looking a little nervous, and then she smiled. “I do need to have more faith in him. He’s let me down for so long, but when we first got married, he was my best friend. It would be wonderful if we could be that way together again.”
“That’s the spirit!” Hazel grinned at her sister.
“Look at you, being the love cheerleader.” Alexis laughed. “Next you need to help me encourage Dean to find love.”
Hazel chuckled. “Maybe I will. I do feel particularly optimistic about love right now. It’s been a long time since I felt this confident in the process of stepping out and hoping for the best in relationships. I have a very good feeling that things are going to work out great for both you and me, Alexis.”
“I hope so.” Alexis smiled at her sister. “And in your case, I’m sure it will. I mean, just look at that basket! Even if he isn’t already interested in you, which I’m sure he is, that basket is going to make his heart start beating faster. It’s so thoughtful and caring.”
“I hope you’re right.” Hazel looked up at the gift basket where it was resting on top of the refrigerator. She felt giddy with excitement. Ever since she’d started putting the basket together, she’d been catching herself daydreaming about how her declaration to Jacob might go. Sometimes she imagined him looking a little dazed and stammering out an agreement to go to dinner with her. Sometimes she imagined him looking at her with starry eyes, declaring that he’d also been interested in her for years. And sometimes she let her herself imagine that as soon she told him she was interested in him, he would take her in his arms and kiss her, telling her that he felt the same way.
She sighed as she turned toward the sink, which was full of dirty dishes. She liked washing dishes, because it always gave her time to think. She knew that she was going to stand there, up to her elbows in soap suds, and picture giving the basket to Jacob over and over again. She knew her daydreams were building up her expectations for the moment, and they were also building her resolve. She couldn’t wait to give her gift to her crush and tell him how much he meant to her.