Chapter One #2
“Not a once. But you know I’m right. You two both make out that you’re just friends, and that’s a good enough beginning, I’ll give you that.
But you need to move past the beginning and onto what comes next.
You never know, if you keep dawdling the way you have been, you might miss your shot.
” Harvey grinned, apparently warming to his theme.
“I mean, how would you feel if some other fella came along and beat you to it? If one of these tourists came along and asked her out? She might go, might get swept off her feet. He might move her away to the city. Then you’d only get to see her when he brings her back to visit, and you’ll be the lonely old mechanic, working up here, living your life out alone. Spending lonely nights …”
“All right, all right! I get the idea. You don’t need to lay it on that thick.”
To his surprise, instead of laughing with him, Harvey met his gaze and held it.
“I may be joking around with you, but there’s truth in it, son.
I had a lot of good years with my June, but if I’d known she’d be taken so soon, I’d have asked her to marry me the first time I saw her, and I would have made the most of every minute I got to spend with her.
” He turned to look out the window at the lake and sniffed before turning back.
“You probably think I’m a sentimental old fool.” He gave a half smile. “And I’m not saying you’re wrong, but Jakey, even from where I’m sitting, life’s too short. Don’t waste it on making your mind up – grab it by the balls and live it.”
~ ~ ~
Savannah made a face as she walked across the square back to her car.
The small Ford was perfect as a daily driver – it was cheap, cheerful, and reliable – but it wasn’t much fun.
She loved her Camaro, but it didn’t make any sense to drive it to work every day.
She used to when she still lived in Hidden Valley and worked at the diner, but making the trip around the lake from the apartment she was sharing with Tiffany to the restaurant in the Lodge at Four Mile Creek and back again soon racked up the miles.
And if there was one thing she didn’t love about the Camaro, it was the gas mileage.
She checked her watch. She was back earlier than usual.
She’d worked the lunchtime shift today, and her boss, Taryn, had told her she could finish early.
So here she was – back at the resort in Summer Lake on her way home.
She hadn’t needed to stop at the convenience store, she just hadn’t relished the idea of going back to the empty apartment.
She walked over to the railing by the steps and stared out at the lake.
She could go down and take a walk on the beach, but that didn’t feel right; she wasn’t a tourist. She popped a Tic Tac into her mouth.
She needed to relax and catch up with herself.
She might not be a tourist, but she didn’t have to constantly be working or doing something productive, either.
But it was in her nature. She’d never known what it was like to have free time for what felt like frivolous things.
As a kid, she’d felt like her whole purpose in life was to take care of her mom.
She knew now that wasn’t how it was supposed to work, and sometimes people tried to make it seem like she’d had a bad childhood, but Savannah didn’t see it that way.
Her mom was in a wheelchair – she was sick; she had muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-wasting disease that had kept her mostly housebound for years.
In the end, she'd been admitted to the hospital when she caught pneumonia – and she didn’t come home again.
Whatever people might think, Savannah didn’t see that her childhood could have been any different.
Her mom couldn’t do much; they only had each other, so Savannah had done what she could.
She straightened up, pushing away from the railing.
She didn’t want to stand here thinking about her mom and how things had been.
The past was behind her – and she was hoping that it would finally stay there.
Instead of dwelling on it, she was going to take that walk on the beach.
When she and Josh were small, his mom, Sadie, used to bring them to hunt for pebbles and pretty stones.
They were happy memories, and she decided that it was about time she made some new happy memories.
With that thought, she headed to the steps that led down to the beach but stopped in her tracks when she heard someone call her name.
Her breath caught in her chest. She knew that voice. It was deep and steady and gave her goosebumps – it was Jake.
She smiled as she turned around, and her heart beat faster when she saw him hurrying across the square toward her.
“Hey!” he greeted her with his gorgeous smile and stopped a few feet away.
He always did that; it felt to Savannah like he deliberately kept his distance.
She just hoped it was because he felt the same way she did – that if they got any closer, the pull between them would be irresistible – and not because he thought of her as Stinky Savvie, like the kids at school used to call her for a while.
She knew now that it was normal for people to shower every day – and she did, sometimes twice – but when she was small…
the look in his eyes reassured her that he didn’t think of her as that stinky kid – far from it.
“Hi.”
“What are you doing here? Are you on your way to work?” he asked.
“On my way home. Taryn let me go early.”
He frowned. “It must be a pain to have to come all this way home and then go back again.”
She didn’t know what he meant at first, then shook her head. “No. It’s not a split shift – I’m done for the day.”
“You have the evening off then?”
“Yeah.” She gave a self-conscious little laugh. “And I’m so not used to that idea that what I’m doing is exactly what I’m trying to figure out.”
“What are your options?”
She shrugged. “I was thinking I could go down to the beach and walk.”
His smile hit her right in the chest, and his words made her heart hammer. “Do you want some company?”
She only hesitated for a moment. She’d told Tiffany the truth – it was better if she didn’t go out with him; it’d get too complicated, and he was such a good guy, he didn’t deserve complicated.
But he was a good friend – and there was no reason she couldn’t invite her friend along for a walk on the beach, was there?
“If you mean you, then I’d love some.”
~ ~ ~
Once they were down on the pebbles, Jake shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked beside her at the water’s edge.
His mind raced, trying to think of something to say.
It was crazy – she was easy to talk to. Whenever they got past the initial awkwardness, they could chat away about anything and everything.
But every time he saw her, he had to reel his enthusiasm back in first. When he’d spotted her from the square just now, he’d felt like he’d been sucker punched – in the best way.
He couldn’t believe his luck that instead of going home early, since he couldn’t do much at the shop this afternoon while he was waiting for parts to come in, he was here on the beach with Savannah.
They’d walked a good distance before she turned to look up at him. She was so damned pretty it made him ache – in his chest as well as in his pants. Her blonde hair blew around in the wind, and her full, pink lips turned up into a smile.
“How are things with you? How’s the business coming along? Is Harvey behaving himself?”
He chuckled. “Harvey’s great. I love having him around.” He held her gaze, wondering if he should say that he’d love to have her around too – even if only as a mechanic on call.
She spoke before he could decide whether or not to bring it up. “Don’t let him get inside your head, will you?”
Jake swallowed, feeling as though she somehow knew that Harvey had been encouraging him to ask her out – and was telling him that she wouldn’t be interested.
She laughed. “Sorry, I should have explained myself. I know what he’s like – if it’s up to him, you’ll only ever work on American-made cars. He doesn’t think much of what he calls foreign jobs.”
Jake didn’t know if his laughter was caused by relief or by the expression on her face as she spoke – she captured Harvey’s mixture of disdain and humor perfectly.
“I know what you mean, but since he’s invested in seeing me do well, he’s fine with letting me repair them. Says they’ll keep me busy and well paid, given that they break down so often.”
He loved the way she laughed. Much of the time she seemed … not serious, but definitely responsible. When she laughed, it was like she forgot all her cares and was somehow free. It suited her; she was gorgeous anyway, but when she looked all carefree like that …
She stopped abruptly, and he followed her gaze.
A large group was piling out of a couple of SUVs in the parking lot in the square.
They were mostly guys – maybe eight of them – and a few girls.
He looked back at Savannah, wondering why they’d caught her attention, then back at the guys.
They were well dressed, laughing and joking around – good-looking, he’d guess; what did he know?
He felt his eyebrows draw together as Harvey’s words came back to him. What if some tourist did come along and sweep her off her feet? He inhaled sharply. He had to at least give it a shot.
“What are you doing later?”
She shrugged. “Not much. I think Tiff’s out this evening, so I figure I’ll …”
Shit. He hadn’t made himself clear. He waited for her to finish before trying again. “What I meant was, would you like to go out with me tonight?”
Her eyes widened, and he held his breath.
When it didn’t look like she was going to reply, he gave her a rueful smile.
“Sorry, that came out of the blue, but we both know it’s not really out of the blue and …
We’ve danced around the edges for so long already.
” Damn Harvey for putting words into his mouth!
“I … Say no if you want to, but if you do, can we make sure we don’t let this change things between us?
I love having you as a friend, and I don’t want to lose that – but I’d love even more if you’d let me take you out.
On a date,” he added, just in case there was still any doubt about what he was saying.
She rolled her lips together, and his heart sank when she finally said, “We shouldn’t.”
He nodded sadly. “I know you think that; you’ve said it before.” He nudged her with his elbow. “And if that’s your way of letting me down gently, there’s no need. I–”
“No!” she exclaimed. “I’d love to go out with you. It’s just–”
He grinned. “How about we ignore the ‘it’s just’ part – even if only for tonight? You have an empty evening ahead of you, so do I. Let’s go out – please?”
Happiness buzzed in his chest when she nodded. Her eyes sparkled as they looked up into his, and she breathed, “Okay, let’s do it.”