way too many calories?”
“Hell, yes.” Melissa, Rachel’s best friend since grade school, let out a throaty laugh. “Tell me where and when, and I’ll get Jason to watch these kids so I can escape the shackles of motherhood for a few minutes.”
“The Sea Shanty. As soon as possible.”
“Hold on a sec.” Melissa covered the phone then yelled to Jason, “I’m going out so you’ve got the rugrats for dinner.” Then she was back. “Give me ten minutes.”
“I can’t wait.” Rachel pulled into the lot, parked her car and tucked her keys in her purse. How long had it been since she’d had dinner and drinks with friends? Clearly, way too long if she couldn’t remember. She had to find a better way to balance her life. Otherwise, she had a feeling she’d wake up a year from now and realize she was still in the exact same place as before. She wanted to date again, go out more often, get her business running. Coming here tonight instead of going home was a good first step, but Rachel had a feeling she was going to need a miracle if she wanted to carve more than an impromptu dinner out of an already tightly structured twenty-four hours.
Yeah, definitely a miracle. She still had a pile of paperwork to do at home, the end of the quarter financials to finalize and a restock order to process. She didn’t have time for a long dinner—maybe a quick bite and the rest to go. Melissa would understand, Rachel hoped. Maybe in a few more months...
But even Rachel didn’t hold out hope for that. Her father was all she had left, and there was no way she was going to abandon him. If it took one year or ten, she would be there, taking care of him and doing what she should have done—
Before her mother died.
The guilt rolled through Rachel like a wave. Those two years after her mother got sick, Rachel had been so invested—too invested—in her own life. Her father hadn’t even told her about her mother’s illness early on, and she’d missed all the subtle clues that something was awry. Rachel had been pouring herself into her new business, into getting it off the ground, and by the time she realized her mother was sick—
It was too late.
Her father had been the one who had dealt with the doctor’s appointments, the long, sleepless nights, the funeral plans at the end. Her mother had told her, just before the end, that she had begged Ernie not to tell Rachel about the cirrhosis, because she wanted her daughter to be happy, unburdened by an illness that took full-time caregiving. Her father had agreed, and the two of them had done their best to shield their daughter from the situation until the weakness and changes in her mother’s face spoke the truth.
That was why Rachel had dropped everything to be there for her father now. She may have let him down before, but she wasn’t going to do it again, regardless of how long it took.
The Sea Shanty was half filled with diners, and several people sat at the outdoor bar. Rachel opted for an outdoor table, since the weather was warm, the breeze light, the ocean waves lapping at the shore like a quiet song in the background. The band was tuning up, a three-piece group she’d heard before and liked. They did a lot of covers of popular songs, but had a strong female singer who could belt out a ballad, too.
Rachel was just opening her menu when she caught a glimpse of Colton Barlow, just settling down at the end of the bar. He ordered a beer then picked up a menu.
Damn, he was a good-looking man. He’d changed since this morning, into a fresh pair of jeans and a pale blue polo shirt that stretched across the muscles in his back. His dark hair was damp, which had her picturing him in the shower. Naked. Soapy.
Crap, crap. He’d turned and caught her looking. She jerked the menu up to her face and prayed Melissa arrived, like right now. Instead, Colton slipped off the bar stool, crossed the wooden deck toward her and, in less time than it took to flip a burger, derailed all of Rachel’s careful plans.
* * *
The pretty clerk from the hardware store blushed when Colton approached. He liked that. She’d come across as so self-assured in the shop, and yet when he caught her eye now, a shy smile flitted across her face, and she dropped her attention to her menu. Avoiding him? Or embarrassed that he had caught her staring?
“You seem to be everywhere I am,” he said. Not exactly a winner as far as opening lines went, but in his defense, he was a little rusty. It had been at least three months since he’d been on a date, almost a year since he’d been in anything remotely approaching a relationship.
“It’s a small town. It’s bound to happen.” She put her menu to the side and crossed her hands on the table. All business now, the last traces of her blush gone. “So how was the fishing?”
“Great. The rod you sold me worked out well. Caught two striped bass, but no sharks.”
“Just as well,” she said, and a smile flitted across her face. “If you got bit while you were staying here, it might put a dent in our tourism industry.”
He arched a brow. “Stone Gap has a tourism industry?”
“Well, only if you count the Fullertons, who come down every winter to vacation with the Whitmans.” Then she glanced at him again, and her cheeks grew pink. “Well, them...and you, of course.”
“Of course.” He looked down and noticed another place setting and a second menu at the seat across from her. For a date? Colton had no right to care whether Rachel was dating anyone or not, but a part of him did. He knew he should just let the conversation drop, let her go. He was leaving town in a few days, after all, and anything he started with this beautiful woman he would never be able to finish. Except he couldn’t seem to get his feet to move. “I wanted to thank you for the fishing advice you gave me.”
She waved that off and gave him a smile. A genuine one that brightened her eyes, her whole face. Something deep inside Colton warmed. “It was nothing. The advice comes free with the purchase of the rod and reel.”
Maybe so, and maybe she wasn’t interested in him, but in that moment Colton decided he wasn’t going to walk away with regret a second time. So maybe he was only going to be in town for a short while. And maybe she was waiting on a man. But he loved the way she smiled and especially loved the way she blushed, and he didn’t want to return to his seat without knowing when he was going to see her again. “Let me take you to lunch tomorrow.”
“Oh, I can’t.” She shook her head. “I’m working and it’s...difficult for me to get away.”
“Then dinner.”
“I have... I, uh, don’t think I can. I’m sorry.” Another head shake, this one a little slower and sadder.
“Are you just playing hard to get?” He grinned. “Or are you really this busy?”
“No, really, I am this busy. My life is...complicated right now.”
“Join the club. Mine is a bit of a mess.” He glanced again at the second place setting and decided maybe she simply wasn’t interested in him. “I’m sorry. I should let you get back to your date.”
“Good Lord, don’t do that. This poor girl hasn’t had sex in months.”
Rachel turned red as a beet. Colton spun around to find a short brunette with a big smile and an even bigger purse pulling out the second chair. She thrust a hand
