Chapter 34 Caitlin
THIRTY-FOUR
CAITLIN
“I’ve got something I want to share with you.” Mel sat down across the table from me.
“Sure, we’ve got about fifteen minutes before dinner’s ready.” I felt as though I needed to return my friend’s kindness for letting me stay at the apartment by cooking dinner. I’d made chicken Florentine, homemade bread sticks, and a Caesar salad.
“Perfect. Let’s use this time to talk.” Mel pulled her laptop from her bag and opened it. “I found what I think is the ideal location for our tattoo parlor.”
“You did?” I was surprised. We’d gone to look at three storefronts in the past few days, but none had called out to us, so we’d agreed to wait until one grabbed our attention.
“Here it is.” She turned her laptop around so I could see the screen. The storefront was cute, obviously in an older downtown area with a lot of charm and some vintage details.
“It’s pretty.” I studied the image. There was something familiar about the large front windows and the decorative architecture. I peered closer, sure that I’d seen it before, but I couldn’t place where. “Is it expensive?”
“Nope, cheaper than the places we’ve been looking at, and bigger, too.
The building is narrow and deep, giving us space for the individual rooms we’ll need for tattooing and a great waiting area, too.
There’s even an apartment on the second floor if one of us needs to live there.
” Melody was smiling, pleased with herself, as if she knew something that I didn’t.
“That might be me if my subletter doesn’t get out on time.” I’d agreed to a three-month sublet, but now my tenant was asking to extend that to six. I couldn’t keep sleeping on my friend’s couch much longer with a baby on the way.
“I was thinking I’d like it,” Mel said as she scrolled through the interior pictures so I could see them. “You’d be living someplace else.”
I snorted. “Like where?”
“With Brian.”
I tilted my head and stared at my friend. What on earth was she talking about? “I don’t think I’m up for that lengthy of a commute to work.”
Mel rolled her eyes at me. “More like only a couple minutes,” she said. “Poplar Springs isn’t that big.”
“Poplar Springs?” I looked again at the front of the building and recognition hit me. The building sat kitty-corner to Bite and Brew, which made it just down the street from the sheriff’s office.
“That’s right. It’s everything we said we wanted and a little more, for a really great price.”
“But in my hometown?” I said, feeling the usual pressure in my chest I always did when I thought of living too near my parents.
“I think we could make a go of it there. I did some research.” Melody pulled papers from a folder and consulted them. “The closest tattoo parlor is in Beaumont, thirty miles away.”
I almost smiled, guessing that parlor was the one where Brian had gotten the yellow flower tattoo on his butt. “That’s true.”
“With the rodeo coming to town again next year and the increase in tourists from that trail riding program I read about out there,” Mel said, “plus the customers we’ll get drawing from the thirty-mile radius, I’m sure we’d stay busy, especially when word spreads that two hot chicks create works of art there. People will flock to us.”
Mel made a good argument. The town’s rodeo weekend had been such a success that the plan was to hold it annually.
Thousands of people came to the town for the event.
Having enough business to be successful in Poplar Springs wasn’t the number one problem in my mind. Living in proximity to my family was.
“I was thinking that you’d want to be closer to Brian if you could be,” Mel said. “For the baby’s sake if nothing else.”
“Yeah, that would make it easier,” I admitted, still processing the possibility and weighing how I felt about moving home.
“And I’ve got a hankering to live someplace with a whole lot less traffic and crime.
I’d love to be able to walk to work. And who knows, maybe I’ll fine me a hottie cowboy of my own who isn’t pretending to be something he’s not.
” Mel shot me a smile. “I don’t want to pressure you, though.
If you really feel you can’t live there, I understand.
But if you think about it, it makes sense. ”
I thought of my issues with my parents. They’d hate the idea of me owning a tattoo parlor, especially one right under their noses, but was that enough to deter me from returning to a place where I could be with Brian?
Maybe it was time to stop letting my parents dictate my decisions about what I did with my life.
They were going to disapprove, no matter where I was or what I did.
I didn’t have to let that hold me back anymore.
I’d always thought I could never go home because my parents would take it as a sign of failure—that I couldn’t make it on my own.
But that wasn’t true. My confidence in myself was being restored.
I’d gotten my money back, Mel and I were moving ahead with our plans, and…
I sighed. I had the love of a good man if I could make it work with him.
Was that enough to undo the years of hurt I’d experienced?
Probably not undo, but it might be enough to begin the healing. If Brian was willing to do the same. My heart beat faster at the thought of being with him again. I knew there was no guarantee that it would work out for us. So many things were in our way, but could I commit to trying?
My fresh start could be back in my hometown with the man I’d fallen in love with twice.
“Brian would have to give a little,” Mel said cautiously, making me laugh.
“You mean he’d have to be less of a workaholic and get over his God complex?”
“Yeah, that.” Mel smiled. “Do you think it’s possible?”
I didn’t know. It would take bravery and trust on my part, and a willingness to work through his issues for Brian.
I felt suddenly frightened, and a little lost, like a child who knew that picking the right path in the forest would lead to a rainbow and the wrong one to a smelly swamp.
I couldn’t go back into that swamp again.
I couldn’t bear to come second or watch our child come second.
Could I be brave enough to risk it, knowing how much I loved Brian?
“I don’t know,” I finally said. “I need a few days to think about it. But thank you. You just opened a door that I had convinced myself was locked tight forever.” I hopped up and gave Mel a hug, feeling cautiously optimistic about the future.
“I want you to take your time deciding,” Mel said a few minutes later when we were eating dinner.
“When I contacted Sophie Lawrence—that’s the real estate agent—she said she didn’t have anyone else currently interested, so we have time.
If we decide we want the storefront, it’s available for immediate occupancy and she didn’t think we’d have any trouble getting the necessary permits. ”
We could be in business quickly. And it was way cheaper than anything we’d find in Austin, meaning our startup costs would be low.
From a business perspective, the decision was a no-brainer.
As to my heart, the way forward wasn’t as clear, but the possibility had planted a seed of hope.
It was up to me to water that seed to see if it would sprout.
I went to bed that night and dreamed about fields of yellow wildflowers. When I woke the next morning, I wondered if it was a sign. If my subconscious had made a decision already. And whether I could trust that it was the right decision.
It was on my mind while I was at my first prenatal appointment.
A part of me was kicking myself for not letting Brian know about it, especially after I’d promised to keep him in the loop.
But I knew he wouldn’t be able attend and the thought of him wishing me well or some other heartbreaking comment hurt more than I was prepared to handle.
The appointment went well. The obstetrician answered my questions and I even heard the baby’s heartbeat.
Tears came to my eyes when I listened to the wump-wump-wump of our child.
I missed Brian so much and felt that he should have been there with me so strongly that I started crying.
To try to cheer me up, the ultrasound technician said she’d email me the audio file, in case I wanted to share it with someone.
I drove back to Mel’s apartment thinking about Brian. By the time I reached the complex, I’d decided to call him. I was apprehensive about opening the possibility of my return, because what would our relationship be if it didn’t work out? I also knew that I had to try.
I parked and walked toward Mel’s door, past the small courtyard with a fountain and benches. I stopped short when I saw a tall figure in a Stetson standing by the fountain. Brian. Had I somehow conjured him?
When he spotted me, he strode toward me. I waited for him to take me in his arms. Instead, he stopped within touching distance. His stance was rigid and his shoulders tight. What had he come to say?
“What are you doing here?” My words were barely a whisper.
“I came to tell you that I resigned as sheriff,” he said. “I want to be close to you and our baby. So I hope your offer for us to be together here still stands.”
“You resigned?” I was genuinely shocked. Brian’s whole life revolved around being sheriff of Poplar Springs. He was willing to give it up for me?
“I did,” he said. “I love you so much that I don’t want anything to come between us. My job was, so I delivered my resignation letter to the mayor’s office yesterday morning and drove here, hoping that I’m not too late.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he went on.
“Before you say anything, I want to make you a promise. If you’ll take me back, I swear that I’ll always make you and the baby my first priority. I know now that you’re everything to me and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to convince you of that.”
His eyes searched my face. I could see hope in his expression, along with fear.
I understood that mix of emotions because I’d felt the same until a few moments ago.
His willingness to give up his job was all I needed to face down my old fears.
Happiness, true and complete happiness, was right in front of me.
I couldn’t find words, so I grasped his shirt front and pulled him to me.
The kiss we shared was the sweetest one of my life.
Afterwards, I buried my face against his chest and just let him hold me for a moment.
His hands stroked my back, and I could have stood like that forever, but I had my own things to say.
I led him to a shaded bench in the courtyard.
“I’d been thinking about you and about us, too.
I had made up my mind to call you today and tell you that I’m willing to move back to Poplar Springs so we can be together.
I don’t want you to give up the job you love, but I want you to commit to taking some real time off every now and then and delegating responsibilities.
When you make a promise to me or the baby, you need to keep it. Can you do that?”
He seemed shocked at my statement. “Are you sure that’s all right with you? I don’t have to be sheriff. I don’t have to live in Poplar Springs. So long as we’re together, that’s all that matters.”
I smiled at that. “Yes, you do. Being sheriff is who you are, and Poplar Springs is where you belong. I don’t want you to change for me, because I love you the way you are. Mostly.”
His hands gripped mine. “I can talk to Sofia about taking more on. I’ve realized that it’s not good for the department to be so reliant on me.
And I want to be able to walk out the door at the end of the day so I can spend time with you and our family without checking my phone every five minutes.
” He leaned closer until our foreheads touched.
“You are more important to me than anything else in the world.”
He kissed me again, and my world felt completely whole. I’d have him and our baby. I couldn’t ask for more.
“What about your parents?” he asked when we parted. His expression showed his concern.
“I’m going to learn to live near them,” I declared. I’d let my parents dictate and control so much of my life so far. I was no longer going to let them have power over me any longer. “If they’re willing to play nice, they can be part of their grandchild’s life. If not, it’s their loss.”
“You know I’ll support whatever you want to do about them,” he said, kissing me again, but he pulled back suddenly. “Wait, you can’t move home. What’ll you do about your business with Melody? I don’t want you to give that up.”
I smiled. “We’ve had a change in plans. What do you know about a storefront available in downtown Poplar Springs across from the station?”
“The old Heisler place,” he said instantly. Of course, he would know every inch of the town.
“That’s the one,” I said, remembering the florist shop that had been in that space when I was a kid. “Mel and I are looking at it for our business. What do you think?”
Before answering, he pulled me into his lap. “I think we’re going to have a beautiful life together.”
I couldn’t agree more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me for a kiss that left us both breathless.