Chapter 19
Noel thought she and Cavin would escape to Swansboro without a hitch, but she failed to consider the walk from the candy shop to the adjacent lot where Cavin parked his vehicle.
It just so happened that as Cavin opened the passenger door for her like a gentleman which ironically made her feel a bit uneasy, Chelsea and Rainey pulled in one space over and quickly hopped out of their car.
“Hello there, Noel,” Chelsea greeted with her eyes dancing from across the roof of her car.
Cavin couldn’t see Chelsea from his vantage point, but at the sound of her voice, he turned and spotted Officer Rainey dressed in plain clothes and then the source of the voice, a blonde-haired woman on the other side of the vehicle.
“Hey, guys,” Noel replied, trying to play it cool.
“Good evening, Officer Rainey,” Cavin said while extending his hand.
“You can call me Rainey,” Rainey responded, since Cavin was with his friend Noel.
Noel suddenly looked perplexed. “Do you know everyone in Beaufort?” she questioned without even thinking.
“I have not met Rainey’s wife,” Cavin teased. However, earlier today he noticed the ring on the officer’s finger.
“I am Chelsea,” she introduced herself as she hurried around the front end of the vehicle to extend her hand to the handsome man opening his vehicle’s door for her best friend.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Chelsea,” Cavin remarked. “I am Cavin Dawson.”
Chelsea studied him from head to toe, none too discreetly. “How do you two know each other, and where are you heading?” Chelsea inquired her eyes darting between Cavin and Noel impatiently waiting for an answer. She tightly clutched the purse dangling at her side.
“Business,” Cavin answered quickly while recalling Noel’s words from earlier. “We have a business meeting this evening.”
Rainey’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but smirk while studying Noel’s facial expression.
“Right,” Chelsea laughed. “I am not the police officer here, but I can see straight through that lie.”
Cavin’s face turned a light shade of red and Noel’s a noticeable amount darker.
“Would the two of you like to join us for a ‘business meeting’ at Clawson’s?” Rainey invited holding up air quotes for the words business meeting.
Cavin looked to Noel for a response, and Rainey and Chelsea followed suit.
“Thanks, but I am not ready for that,” Noel insisted, accepting the fact that misdirecting her friends didn’t work like it had with the kids. Nor am I ready for this, she kept to herself feeling precarious in this conversation.
Chelsea wrapped an arm around her husband’s and tugged him slightly in the direction of the restaurant. “Okay, then we will let you two get to your meeting,” she announced with a mischievous smile. “It was great to meet you, Cavin Dawson.”
“You as well, Chelsea Rainey,” Cavin responded casually heading for the driver’s side door to allow Noel a moment with her friends. “Nice to see you again, Rainey,” Cavin concluded before disappearing behind the vehicle.
Chelsea took full advantage of the time it took Cavin to walk around the large SUV. “Call me tonight after your business meeting-or in the morning or whenever it adjourns—and give me all the details,” she requested while fluttering her eyebrows and biting her lip.
“It’s not like that,” Noel insisted, reaching for the door.
Rainey smiled and pulled on his wife’s arm. “Just have fun,” he remarked, “but not too much fun,” he added like the second big brother he always was.
In middle and high school, he and Keaton kept away the boys who creeped her out and even some of the ones she liked but they knew were trouble.
Noel never considered that it would persist into adulthood, but it all of a sudden became a reality, and she figured Rainey and Keaton would probably be even more protective now because of the current state of her fragile heart.
A minute later Noel’s head fell against the headrest, and her eyelids closed as Cavin cranked the engine and reached for the navigation system.
“What is the name of the restaurant?” he inquired.
“Let’s just go,” Noel urged a little louder than intended.
“Okay.”
Cavin shifted the gear into reverse and glanced in the rearview mirror.
“I can tell you how to get there,” Noel explained, deliberately calming her tone and wishing she could backtrack in order to offer this response as her first.
Cavin backed out of the parking space, and neither he nor Noel said anything until they crossed the bridge leading out of the Beaufort waterfront district.
He could tell she needed some time to breathe, and he wondered what was going through her mind.
As they left the parking lot, she placed her elbow on the window frame and rested the right side of her face in her palm, and it remained that way even now.
“If you would rather people not see you with me, we do not have to go out for dinner,” Cavin surprised her with his bluntness.
Noel closed her eyes for about the fifth time and then spoke slowly as she opened them and gazed out the window at the small private airport runway they passed. “It’s not about you,” she revealed. “This is one of the hardest things I have ever done.”
The air grew silent for a few moments as they traveled over a high-rise bridge with a magnificent view of land merging with water.
“What do you mean by that?” Cavin eventually asked respectfully.
“This is the first time I have been anywhere with another man since Fletcher died,” Noel explained hesitantly.
Cavin sighed realizing the conversation that initiated this outing, or date, or business meeting, or whatever the title involved the story of how her husband died which meant he didn’t know the details: how, when, where, and all the rest. Nor did he know what had or hadn’t transpired between then and now.
He noted the name Fletcher knowing he didn’t want to avoid it like one might the name of an ex.
“I want you to be comfortable,” Cavin insisted. “This does not have to be a date. We can be two friends enjoying dinner together or professionals having a business meeting. I will not try to hold your hand or kiss you or do anything else that might make you feel awkward.”
The words Cavin chose surprised himself and not just because he said them but because he meant them.
Usually on a first date, he hoped for more than just conversation, and although the goal at the end of the night wasn’t intimacy, he longed for some type of physical connection even if just flirty touching.
“I appreciate you saying that,” Noel acknowledged although everything about this evening already felt way more awkward than she could even begin to explain.
However, Cavin wasn’t at fault. She remembered how at ease she felt after her shower, but the tension began to increase again when she and Cavin started talking to the kids and Mrs. Madelyn and even more so when met unexpectedly by Chelsea and Rainey.
Now her shoulders felt tighter than the lines Fletcher used to tug on once a giant fish took the bait.
As she breathed in slowly considering Cavin’s thoughtful words, Noel felt a sudden release like a fish set free back in the water.
She previously decided there would be no handholding, kissing, cuddling, or anything else physical with him tonight, but something about his reassuring words liberated her mind and body.
They traveled in silent contemplation during the remainder of the drive to Swansboro which took about forty-five minutes in total. Noel appreciated the time Cavin gave her to decompress after such a challenging day.
Cavin admired the beauty of the landscape as they crossed a small bridge that led to the town of Swansboro.
At first sight the place resembled a small fishing village.
Docks lined the left side of the bridge with an array of boats jutting into the water while the back sides of the shops and restaurants that lined Main Street came into view.
Many offered balconies for sitting while eating or drinking coffee.
To the right the water view was more expansive, but Cavin could see the tree line on the opposite shore.
Noel informed him that the Italian restaurant was just over the bridge on the right.
They parked in a gravel lot, and then Cavin shared an idea with Noel that she didn’t know how much she would appreciate until he offered it as an option.
“Would you like to walk along the waterfront and talk about your story,” he asked, “rather than sit in a restaurant filled with patrons while staring at each other from across the table?”
“Walking and talking sounds much nicer,” Noel acknowledged, especially after sitting in the vehicle for some time. “However, I do want to have dinner with you like we agreed.”
Cavin grinned. “Mrs. Madelyn kind of did the agreeing for you,” he pointed out with a smile.
Noel laughed. “You noticed that, huh?” she replied, experiencing the relief of shared laughter.
“I was okay with it,” he reported, chuckling easily.
Absentmindedly, Noel punched Cavin in the arm playfully just like she used to with Fletcher. “Sorry about that,” she quickly noted.
“I am okay with being a punching bag if you need one,” Cavin offered. “As long as you do not hit much harder than that,” he teased.
Noel realized she probably would have benefited from a punching bag this past year although not a human one.
As they approached the walkway along the waterfront, she turned to Cavin.
“The truth is I do and don’t know exactly how Fletcher, Lexi, and my parents died,” she revealed in a voice not much louder than a whisper.
Cavin’s facial features initially showed a surprised and then puzzled expression. “Who is Lexi?” he asked softly, remembering hearing Noel reference that name earlier and wanting to place that piece first.
“Keaton’s wife . . . and Laney’s mom,” Noel offered in explanation.