Rise (Roam Series, Book Three) Page 12

  “Yes, please.”

  “Have a seat- you don’t have to stand,” he turned to smile at her, gesturing to the kitchen chair adjacent to his own. “Would you like something to drink? You’re welcome to whatever’s cold in the refrigerator.”

  “Thanks.” She moved toward the refrigerator, stopping at the basement door.

  He watched her grab the counter, swaying on her feet.

  “Roam?”

  “Is that a door to the basement?”

  “Yes,” he slid his chair backward, standing. She’s holding her breath.

  “What’s down there?”

  “Just storage. You should probably breathe,” he ordered.

  He watched her squeeze her eyes closed, dragging slow breaths in her nose and out her mouth. “Sorry… just… I don’t know. Refrigerator,” she murmured.

  He pointed at the kitchen chair. “Sit down. I’ll get water for us both. Breathe,” he longed to take her into his arms, fighting the urge determinately. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m so sorry… I hold my breath sometimes, for no reason. I’m fine now,” she promised.

  There’s always a reason. He forced the dark thoughts of Julie and 1977 out of his mind. That was a completely different world.

  “Here,” he set the water on the table, and returned to the keyboard. “How is your family?”

  “Good,” she answered, sipping the water. He watched her creamy neck as she tilted her head back, swallowing. “Morgan is working with my dad- he works for a car dealership. She goes back to school in the fall. She started dating Ally May’s brother, Jason. We’ve known each other since we were all kids- same neighborhood.”

  “Good for her,” his genuine reply was heartfelt. Move on, Morgan. “This won’t take long,” he murmured, his fingers punching at the keys.

  “Mr. Perry, can I ask you something?”

  “West,” he corrected, eyes fixed on the screen.

  “West,” she repeated, his name on her lips tightening his grip on the mouse. “Did you always know that you wanted to teach history? Was there ever a time you thought about doing something… else?”

  He continued staring at the screen. “Of course I had other ideas. I traveled a lot before deciding what I wanted. Are you having second thoughts?”

  “I think maybe I’d like to be a preschool teacher. I don’t know.”

  “College is a time for setting and achieving goals. Think short-term first, and reevaluate often.”

  “So first, get to Princeton, throw myself into thousands of dollars of debt, and try it out?” She replied, taking another sip of water.

  He lifted his eyes. “No scholarships?”

  “I have a few, but I’m relying heavily on financial aid.”

  Damn it. He sat back, staring at her. “Is it the money that’s making you second guess Princeton?”

  “Maybe.”

  “And are you opposed to taking a year off before starting school?”

  “All the paperwork is done, I already have my dorm information, I-…,”

  “Roam,” his even look caught her attention. “Are you here for a letter?”

  She blinked slowly, meeting his gaze. “I don’t know. I’ve been having a hard time since graduation. I…,” she pressed her fingers to the table, and he knew she was trying to still the wringing. “I’ll just be honest. I have nothing to lose here. I miss you, I miss seeing you every day. I think… I have a crush on you, as childish as that sounds. I’m sorry, I know nothing about your life… I had no idea you even had another daughter,” she darkened to a shade of crimson he’d never seen on her before. “And I’m with Logan. My birthday is tomorrow, and maybe I’m just having some kind of breakdown, I don’t know.”

  He listened without interrupting, his mind racing. I love you, baby, I understand. Asher’s spell obviously left residual effects, and he silently cursed the circumstances that brought her there. Looking down at the tabletop, he moved his hands away from the keyboard.

  “Happy birthday,” he whispered, finally meeting her eyes. They were brightened with tears. “I think you’re going to love Princeton. Let me send this letter to the printer,” he clicked twice, moving to the desk.

  “I’m sorry. I’m mortified.”

  “In another place and time, I may have answered you… in a different way. Right now, I just want you to keep following your dreams, okay?” He placed the letter on the table, well within her reach.

  “Okay,” she jumped to her feet, smiling as she brushed a delicate tear from her cheek. “Yes, you’re right. Thank you so much for the letter,” she hurried, retrieving the document and backing toward the door. “Thank you.

  “You’re more than welcome. My phone number is on the bottom of that letter. Call me if you need anything at all,” he said firmly, slipping his hands into his pockets, locking them away from her body.

  “I will. I really appreciate this. I’ll go out the front, if that’s okay… please tell your daughters to have a nice summer,” she opened the door, stepping onto the front porch. For a moment, she stopped, staring at the post near the stairs. “You have a nice summer, too,” she added, turning to smile at him.

  The last time I saw her on this porch, I carried her up the stairs and made love to her. Wiping the memory from his mind, he nodded once. “You too.”

  As she drove away in Logan’s Camry, Violet appeared behind him. “I’m sorry. That must have been so hard.”

  “I have to get out of town for a while. I’ll make a few phone calls and then we’re going to the beach. Sound good?”

  She shrugged, watching Eva climb to the kitchen chair to play on the laptop. “Yeah… sounds great.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  July 13, 2014

  “It is making a knocking noise? Have you checked the oil?”

  I shifted my phone, reaching beneath the steering wheel to pop the hood. “Dad, you changed the oil before I left.”

  “But it may be leaking… go in the trunk, and get the white rag in the bin I made for you back there. You’ll need to check the oil.”

  I moved to the front of the car, the North Carolina heat sweltering in the afternoon sun. Pinning my iPhone between my shoulder and my chin, I slid my fingers under the slight opening in the hood of my 2003 Hyundai Elantra. “Camden Car Curse,” I murmured, unable to find the latch to pop the hood.

  “I should have gotten you something newer.”

  “Dad, I love my birthday present. That’s not what I meant.” Frustrated tears slid from my eyes and down my cheeks.

  “I wish I was there, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m almost nineteen. It’s time to be a big girl,” I sniffed, backing away from the hood. “I just can’t believe Logan did this to me.”

  “Oh, honey.”

  I thought back over the last twenty-four hours with Logan. I’d driven from New Jersey to Camp LeJeune in North Carolina to be with him before his deployment in September, fully prepared for him to propose to me.

  Instead, his heartbreaking words had left me gasping for air.

  Cam, you’re always going to be my best friend.

  I just don’t feel… that way about you.

  I love you, but I’m not in love with you.

  “Okay, I got it open.” I propped the stem against the hood, jumping back as I stared underneath. “Ew… Dad, there’s… oil or something sprayed all over the underside of the hood.”

  “Shit, that’s what I was afraid of. I’m going to call you a tow truck. Where are you?”

  “I drove to this book store in this plaza… in Emerald Isle. Emerald Isle, North Carolina.”

  “Okay. Wait there, get yourself something to eat. Don’t worry. I love you.”

  “Thanks, dad. Love you too.” I ended the call just in time. Crumbling, I lowered to the curb next to the sidewalk, burying my face in my hands. My jean shorts were too short to prevent the concrete from chafing beneath my thighs. I looked down, realizing I’d gotten grease on my white, A
merican Eagle tee-shirt. Perfect.

  Taking the summer off from school was a mistake.

  I longed to be safely back in my dorm, curled up with a history book. When Logan left me with a half-hearted kiss next to my car before he returned to his barracks, I had immediately grabbed my phone, searching for the nearest book store that sold the new Roman Empire book I’d been waiting for.

  Read for a while before driving; calm down, or you’re going to cry the entire way back.

  I’d made it into the parking space outside the plaza as the engine began sputtering.

  My hair, reaching my lower back, was roasting on my neck. I wished for a ponytail holder more than anything in the world at that moment.

  “Roam?”

  Hearing my name in the middle of the unfamiliar place made my heart race. I rose to my feet, brushing my tears away as Mr. Perry stood before me.

  “Mr. Per- West, what are you doing here?”

  “I live here,” he took inventory of my car, hood still propped open, and my tears, coming to obvious conclusions. “And I wander the island for damsels in distress. Looks like you’re today’s winner.”

  Relieved laughter burst from my lips, and I tried to wipe the grease off of one hand with the other. “It’s really nice to see a familiar face,” I admitted, tears rolling non-stop down my cheeks. “I just… well my car… and Logan’s being deployed to Afghanistan… and he broke up with me… and…,”

  “Hey,” he said soothingly, placing a bag with Emerald Isle Books splashed across the front on the sidewalk next to me. “You read this, I’ll look at your car. I used to be a mechanic.”

  I picked up the bag, recognizing The Rise of Rome immediately. “I actually came here… just for this book,” I said, gesturing to my car. “You don’t have to do anything. My dad is calling for a tow truck.”

  He bent over the unfamiliar car-guts, groaning. “It may be the transmission line… it looks like the fan may have sprayed the oil… there’s a shop near here that I use.” He lowered the hood with a soft snap.

  “Do you think it’ll take long to fix?”

  “I don’t know.” He brushed his hands together. “Let’s clean up, and let me buy you lunch. We’ll catch up.”

  I remembered my embarrassing profession of love in his living room, flushing. “Thank you so much for offering, but I’ll be fine… I’ll find a hotel around here, and figure out a rental car. No big deal.”

  His eyes swept over me once. “Logan broke up with you, huh?”

  Fresh pain severed my heart. “I think he’s just projecting his nerves about going overseas on our relationship. Understandable.”

  “And he had you drive all the way from New Jersey to North Carolina to tell you something he could have told you over the phone?”

  The accusation in his voice prodded my defenses. “I insisted on coming. He’s leaving for an eighteen month tour.”

  He continued to hold my gaze. “Let’s eat lunch while we wait for the tow. My daughters and I are staying here for the summer, and my house has plenty of space. You can stay with me until we can get you back on the road. Okay?”

  My romantic, school-girl alter-ego gripped her Nicholas Spark’s novel to her chest and did a giddy spin. “That’s so nice of you,” I admitted, really not wanting to charge my new credit card with a hotel room.

  “We can sit outside and watch for the tow truck while we eat.”

  His tanned skin contracting over his muscled arms distracted me thoroughly. “I… okay. Thank you,” I moved to the car for my purse, but he held up his hand.

  “You don’t need anything. Restrooms are inside the restaurant. Wash up, and I’ll meet you on the patio.” He gestured to the restaurant in the plaza behind us, and I nodded, thankful for his authoritative direction.

  As I scrubbed the grease from my hands in the restroom, I willed myself to cool off in the air conditioning. Make-up free had been a good choice for the morning; as the tears dried on my cheeks, they left no mascara streaks in their wake.

  He’s here with his daughters. He’s being nice. Don’t embarrass yourself again, I chided my reflection, thankful I’d worked on my tan with Morgan all through June.

  “So, how’s Princeton?” He asked, standing as I joined him on the patio. He slid my chair out for me, and I smiled in surprise. So charming.

  “It’s going well. I made the right decision,” I acknowledged our conversation in his house after graduation. “Thank you,” I responded to his polite gesture with my chair.

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you feel that way,” he added, settling back into his own chair. His watch drew my attention to his left arm. Coordinates. I stared at the taut, tattooed skin on his forearm, and shifted in my seat. What is wrong with me?

  “It was hard, at first, to be away from my dad and Morgan for so long, but I’ve made friends, and I like my professors. Not as much as I liked your class,” I rushed, nearly tearing my napkin in half as I unrolled the flat wear inside.

  His blue eyes fixed on me intently. “Well, that’s flattering.”

  “You talk about history… like you’ve been there, and you made me feel like I was there, too. That’s a gift. I don’t think I could ever teach like that.”

  Reaching for the glass of water, he took a long drink before responding. “You will be a wonderful teacher.”

  “That tattoo is really intriguing. I never asked you the location,” I blinked in the sunshine, focusing on the numbers on his arm.

  “Here… Emerald Isle. Where Eva was born.”

  “Oh… very sweet.”

  Silence fell between us for a few seconds, and I was thankful to find that it wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable. “How are your daughters? Eva and…,”

  “Violet. They’re well. Violet goes to Lake Erie College, and she’s off for the summer. Eva starts kindergarten in the fall.”

  “Aw. Is she excited?”

  “Not really,” he chuckled, his smooth voice appealing to my ears. “She’s so smart, but she doesn’t understand why I can’t be her teacher. A little separation anxiety. She misses her mother.”

  “Poor baby...,” I whispered. “I understand. After my mother passed away, I really didn’t want to leave Morgan’s side for a minute. It was hard to be away from her, but it helped that we were only two years apart, so she was in school with me for most of the time.” I softened my voice. “Did her mother… die?”

  “No,” he looked down at the menu. “We’re separated. It’s been very hard on her.”

  “Does she spend much time with her? I’m sorry, that’s so personal,” I corrected, shaking my head and looking at the menu myself.

  “You’re fine, Roam. No, she doesn’t.”

  I tried to imagine a woman who wouldn’t want to be with her child. It made no sense to me at all. “Is it too personal if I ask about… Violet?”

  “Not at all. Her mother and I were divorced… actually just this year, it was final.”

  I held my tongue, not asking about their ages. He can’t be over thirty. Impossible. “Oh.”

  “I’m thirty-four.”

  “Oh,” I repeated, nodding. “I have no idea why I’m prying into your life like this. Please excuse me,” I rushed, smiling as the waiter approached. I ordered a BLT, and he copied my order to the waiter for himself.

  “You’re not prying,” he corrected as the waiter walked away. “I wouldn’t offer anything that I didn’t want to.”

  I straightened, rolling my shoulders back and lifting my chin proudly. “I want to officially apologize for my behavior at your house, after graduation last year. I was having a lot of problems sleeping, and I acted very immature-…,”

  “Wait,” he held his palm up, indicating that I stop. “Don’t apologize. I value a person who is brave enough to admit how they’re feeling, and ask for reciprocation. If anything, I respected you even more after you left that day.”

  “Really?” I smiled, raising my eyebrows.

  “Really. And I’m
sorry that you and Logan have parted ways… for now. Life takes many twists and turns. You’re right to not give up on him.”

  Sighing, I sipped my water. “I think… he’s right. Our relationship was… strange. Like best friends, trying to force a romantic relationship. We never got… very far,” I gathered my hair, nearly breaking into a sweat. “I’m just so scared for him over there.”

  He watched me carefully, his knuckles nearly turning white with the force of his grasp on the table’s edge. “He’s a really smart kid. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s… resourceful. He’ll be fine, I’m sure,” he promised.

  The tow truck arrived at that moment, and West stood. I started to follow, but he pointed at the table. “No, stay and eat. I’ll take care of everything.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I know my way around the island. I’ll let him know where to tow it. Why don’t you call your dad, let him know you’re okay? I’m sure he’s worried.”

  “I will,” I reached for my phone, watching West as he walked to the tow truck driver. In seconds, my father picked up. I let him know that Mr. Perry and his daughters were on the island, and he’d offered me a room until my car was up and running.

  Minutes later, our food arrived as West sat back down. “So, The Rise of Rome. I’d have thought you’d read it the moment it was released.”

  I smiled, glancing at the bag on the empty chair at our table. “I’ve been busy with Morgan’s wedding. She and Jason May are getting married at the end of August.”

  “Really,” he sat back in his chair, a far-away smile touching his lips. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

  “Jason’s a great guy. He’s hilarious. They just work… perfectly together.”

  “And where are you headed next, Roam?”

  I pushed at my food, anxiety stealing my appetite as it always did. “You mean, after I go back?”

  He leaned forward as a warm breeze swept past us on the patio. The smell of his shirt, some fabric softener, combined with what I guessed was his after-shave, nearly melted me into a puddle of lust. Control yourself!

  “I mean, in this life.”

  I drowned in his eyes. “I want to graduate… and teach…,”