Chapter 1 #2
Nash knew many former soldiers didn’t like fireworks, but Cade and Nash loved them. They were respectful of the others by only shooting them off on the Fourth and not too late into the evening.
“Are you bringing Davey?”
“No, Beth has him this weekend, but I’m going up to watch his game on Saturday.” Even with the couple-hour drive, Nash never missed his son’s baseball games.
His phone buzzed on the workbench. He glanced at the screen. “I have to take this.”
He stepped outside. The sun beat down from high in the sky, causing sweat to run down his face. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Hi, honey. What time should your father and I be ready on Saturday?”
“I’ll be there at nine in the morning.” Nash made it a habit of bringing his parents to a few of Davey’s games a year. His father didn’t drive anymore, not after his eye surgery last year, and his mother only drove to church and the store.
“Perfect. I’ll pack snacks.”
“Sounds good. I have to get back to work. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.” Nash ended the call.
Back in the shop, he stood in front of the fan. “Why didn’t I become an accountant? Then I’d be in an air-conditioned office.”
“You suck at math, and you love cars.” Cade handed him another bottle of water.
“True. Thanks.” Nash chugged down half of the water in one gulp and poured the rest over his head.
“Cade. Got a minute?” Eric McBride hollered from the office.
“Yeah.” Cade set his tools on the bench and wiped off his hands. “Ever since Becca decided not to come back after her maternity leave, I’ve been getting a crash course in the books. We need to fill her position soon. Dad’s stress level is directly related to the amount of paperwork he has to do.”
“Yours too.”
“No kidding.”
Nash watched his friend cross the shop. Office work… no thank you. He’d live with the heat.
Sitting in a booth at Rumors Café, Addison started to question her idea to tell her mom about her job in such a public place. The restaurant got its name for a reason.
“Good afternoon, ladies. The usual?” Betty, the main reason behind the restaurant’s name, handed them menus.
“Sounds good.” Julie smiled and handed the menu back.
“The number four and a Diet Coke. Thank you.” Addison glanced over her shoulder to make sure Betty was out of earshot before turning back to her mom. “I was let go today.”
Julie reached across the laminate table to clasp her daughter’s hand. “I’m sorry, baby. I can always use your help at the salon until you find a new job.”
“Thanks, Mom. But I should be fine. I just don’t get why.” Addison picked up her water. She stared at it blankly before taking a sip.
“Well, do you think it has anything to do with the fact that you slept with your boss?”
Water flew from Addison’s mouth. She stared at her mom as she mopped up the water with her napkin. “What?”
“That’s who you were seeing this spring, wasn’t it?” Her mom’s look was the same one from when Addison snitched chocolate bars from her mother’s private stash. Yup. Her mother’s expression said it all. Had she known all along?
“Okay, yes. We dated, but I didn’t sleep with him. Cross my heart and stick a needle in my eye.” One look from her mother brought out Addison’s inner child.
“Okay, you didn’t sleep with him, but you still dated your married boss.” Julie squeezed Addison’s hand.
Betty appeared beside their table, quiet as a mouse. She set their drinks down. “Food will be right out.”
Addison waited for the older woman to move on. Betty’s hearing was legendary when it came to gossip.
“How did you know?” Her mother’s psychic abilities, where her daughter’s life was concerned, always amazed Addison. But how did her mother find out about Mark? He didn’t live in town. They never met where people knew them. Heck, she didn’t even tell her best friends until it was almost over.
Julie straightened her napkin and then looked her daughter dead in the eye. “I’m your mother. I know everything about you. You don’t really expect me to give my secrets away, do you?”
Addison gave her a pleading look.
Julie examined her fingernails. Her lip hitched up in the corner. “Fine. When you were at the conference at the beginning of February, I called you one night to ask your opinion on Mitch’s gift for Valentine’s Day. I wanted to surprise him with a skiing trip. Remember?”
Hell, Addison couldn’t remember what she did last week, more or less what her mother wanted to buy her stepfather five months ago.
“Anyway, you didn’t answer or call back until the next day.
I figured you were… out for the night. Then you started dating someone secretly.
Oh, I knew. I could tell, even though you didn’t talk about it.
However, the thing that made me put it all together was that you were working late and on the weekends all the time.
That stopped when your new relationship stopped.
” Julie sat back and took a sip of her soda, a smirk on her face.
“Well, shoot, Mom. You should have been a private eye.” No wonder she couldn’t put anything over on her mom growing up. Not that she tried. It was just the two of them for so long.
Betty came back and set the food down.
Addison bit her tongue. Last thing Addison needed was all of Gray Duck Grove knowing her lapse in judgment with her boss. Former boss.
Betty moved on, but Addison still didn’t want to take any chances. She leaned in and whispered, “I swear. I only went out with Mark after he told me he had separated from his wife. I believed they were getting a divorce.”
Nodding, Julie forked her pasta but didn’t take a bite. “Addison, you’re thirty-one years old.” She paused, as if trying to find the right words. “I won’t tell you how to live your life. Lord knows, I’ve made some mistakes in mine. But maybe you should try dating a different type of man.”
“I know, Mom. I thought I was with Mark. All the others were so handsome and charming, but not responsible or wanting to commit to a long-term relationship. Mark had already done that, so I figured he wouldn’t be like the others.
I was wrong.” Embarrassed, Addison looked at her burger, quiet for a minute.
“Baby, don’t beat yourself up. I dated quite a few frogs before I met Mitch.”
Like her father. He took off so long ago, Addison could barely remember the man. She’d once found his photo in her mother’s drawer. The man had green eyes and dark hair, just like Addison. He was a looker. No doubt.
The next time Addison had snooped in her mother’s things, it was gone. Her mom only mentioned him one other time, when she’d told Addison he had died.
Addison blinked away the memories. Now was not the time to bring up old wounds. “Well, at least I didn’t sleep with Mark.”
In the few months they dated, something in the back of Addison’s mind slammed on the brakes every time they got physical. Maybe all those Sunday services as a kid. She hadn’t been inside a church in years, but the fact he hadn’t filed for divorce yet gave her pause.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then her mother said, “Addison, that job and that man weren’t right for you. The right ones will come along. Be open to new options.”
Addison chewed and thought about what her mom had said. New options.
Julie finished her pasta and checked her watch. “I have some paperwork to do today. I’d better get back. But I meant it when I said I could use help at the shop if you need a job until something comes up.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll think about it.”
No way would she take the position at the salon, but she would be open to new options.
Both in employment and dates.