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“That would be great. Will six o’clock work?”
“Yep.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
“Okay. See you then.”
Just like that the call ended, and his heart dropped. This soaring followed by the dropping sensation really did a number on him. Great. Now he’d have hours to stress over what she might have to say. Jaw clenched, he returned to his chair on Dottie’s deck.
“Gonna be a long day for you, isn’t it, Cal?”
“Nothing gets by you, does it, Dot?” he asked, mimicking her tone.
“Not much, no.” She leaned forward and fixed him with a pointed look. “What’s going on? I could feel the tension between you and Theresa on Wednesday, and I can see it up close and personal right now. You might want to unclench that jaw, Caleb. You don’t want to crack a molar.”
“Hmph.” She’d been one of the few people outside his support group he’d confided in about the loss of his wife and daughter. Dottie kept his secrets, and he frequently turned to her for advice. She wasn’t one to gossip, and she never judged. Theirs was a close friendship. In the absence of his own family, she was his stand-in favorite aunt, and he helped her out whenever she needed a hand.
“I’ve gone and done the one thing I swore I’d never do again,” he muttered. “I’ve fallen pretty hard for Theresa Rhodes.” He huffed out a breath. “I also work for her, which complicates things even more.”
“Why? It’s not like you’re an employee. You have a contract to direct the band you put together for her. Basically, it’s your band. Under your direction that band has taken her to the top of the charts. Seems to me it’s more like a symbiotic relationship than an employer/employee thing.”
“Maybe you’re right.” His support group had said the same thing. Telling the group about Theresa’s troubled past was one thing. They’d all started out in therapy together, and the confidentiality piece had always been firmly in place. As much as he trusted Dottie, it didn’t feel right to share Theresa’s story with her, so he didn’t bring it up.
“I’m guessing something happened recently that has you both spooked. Am I right?”
“Partly. Oddly enough, I’m not the one spooked. I’d already decided to jump in with both feet.”
“Ah, so she’s a skittish filly.” Dottie cast him a sympathetic look. “Do you want my advice, or would you rather I just be a good listener?”
“I’ll take advice for $400, please.” Dottie watched Jeopardy every afternoon; he’d even watched it with her a few times. She barked out a laugh at his reference, and the bunched muscles between his shoulders relaxed a fraction.
“All right. In a situation like this, here’s what you need to do,” she began, shifting in her chair to face him. “After chasing her around the ring for a while, be still. Don’t make a move, and give her your back. If she doesn’t come to you right away, offer a reward. Hold a carrot in the palm of your hand where she can see and smell it. Then wait. Eventually she’ll come around.”
He grunted. Dottie and her husband had owned a horse ranch. They’d raised, boarded, and trained horses, and also gave riding lessons. When her husband passed away, none of her four children had been interested in taking over, so Dottie sold the ranch and the business. She’d moved to Ventura to be closer to her kids and their families.
“You do realize we’re talking about a woman, not a horse, right?” he asked.
“Course I do, but the method still applies.” She brushed cookie crumbs off her lap. “I read somewhere that Ms. Rhodes recently went through a divorce. She’s hurting, Cal. Be there for her, but give her room to breathe. Give her time to heal, and time to realize what a great catch you truly are. Things will work out. She’d be crazy in the head not to snatch you up and keep you for herself.” She winked at him. “If I were forty years younger, I’d be after you myself.”
He grinned, feeling lighter than he had since before Theresa’s disappearance Monday night. “All right. I’ll take your advice.”
“You’d be a fool not to,” she quipped. “I’m always right.”
“So you keep telling me.” He sipped his now lukewarm coffee and finished his cookie. Be still, and be there for her. He could do that. The being still part would be difficult. He’d meant what he’d said when he told Theresa making love with her had been life-altering. Whether he liked it or not, the experience had cemented his commitment and strengthened his resolve to win her heart.
If chasing her around a ring—a metaphor for what, he wasn’t sure—and then standing still was what it took, he’d give that a try. He flashed his friend a skeptical look. “A skittish filly?”
“Absolutely,” Dottie said, nodding enthusiastically. “Be the carrot, Cal. You are the reward.”
Chapter Twelve
His stomach a pit of dread, Caleb opened his front door. “Come in, Theresa,” he said, not knowing exactly how to act, because he had no idea what was coming. He didn’t think she’d come to tell him she’d be looking for a new band director anytime soon. Nope. His reaction was purely a gut-level I’m about to be rejected as a lover and maybe even as a friend kind of misery.
“I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk by the ocean. Would that be okay with you?” She studied him in that intense way of hers, as if looking for something deep in his soul.
The fact that she didn’t want to enter his house—the scene of their transgression—couldn’t be a good sign. “Sure. Of course. Let me just get my sandals.” Caleb left his front door open as he went to his hall closet and changed his shoes.
“I’ll drive,” he said, grabbing his keys off the hutch by the door.
“Okay.”
