Page 19 of Second Chances

Brady scoffed, “You can’t tell me you’re driving that old car around, are you? Char, you know it’s not safe! I understand that you’re sentimental about it, but be realistic! What if it breaks down on you somewhere? Aren’t you concerned about your safety?”

“For your information, I never take it out of town and only drive it around Beverley. All it needed was a new battery. And I’ll say it again, but it’s not any of your business.” When they were married, she had resented his criticism of the Tempest, but grudgingly put up with it. Not anymore.

“Who cares if you drive it around Beverley! That’s the middle of nowhere! I still don’t know why you moved all the way over there.”

“How dare you, Brady! You got to start over, with your new girlfriend. I believe I am afforded the same opportunity. You have no right to question me, my actions, or anything else!”

“I’m just worried about you.”

“Well, don’t be. Professionally, Henry has taken great care of my car. Isobel met him, and she thought he was nice. Respectful.” In fact, her daughter often asked her why she wasn’t “exploring things” with him.

“Yeah, she mentioned that. She may also have said he was extremely interested. So if he’s single and you’re single, what’s stopping you?”

“It’s not that easy, is it? I’m friends with his sister, and I’m pretty sure she tried to set us up. But I don’t know…I thought there was something between us, but nothing’s happened. It’s complicated.”

“Char, it’s okay to be hesitant. I mean, it’s hard knowing who might be attracted to you, or what their motivations are, especially at our age.” At our age? Was her ex-husband going out of his way to irritate her? “When Harmony and I met, you and I were still married and…what had you called it? Oh, right, slogging our way through.” Shame flooded Charlotte, regretting words she had spoken when frustration had a chokehold on her. Mistakenly believing that she was alone in feeling that way, she had many times bitten back suggesting divorce. “We just struck up a conversation. I had no way of knowing if she was interested, and I didn’t want her to think I was some lowlife scum, so I proceeded with extreme caution. Until you and I separated, when everything kind of…fell into place. It shocked me to my core, that feeling that I was alive, like I hadn’t been in years.” Charlotte recognized the sensation, because it was the same she experienced with Henry. “But if you are considering dating, maybe you should join one of those services first? You don’t want to go from three decades of being married to dating a man with issues, do you?”

Hanging up with Brady, his words had a ring of truth, especially as her eyes once again found Henry’s, over the shoulder of another woman he had once cared about…possibly still did. Was she ready to put her heart on the line and take a chance?

“Well, I’m glad you finally answered my calls again, Henry,” Melanie grumbled, her bitterness blatant over his cell phone. “I guess it only took a new phone number.”

Why the hell had he answered? Henry admonished himself, shivering in the vestibule of the diner every time someone entered or exited. After taking his brother’s advice, he’d had the foresight to block his ex-wife after she had called him the night of the state fair. His phone had remained blissfully free from her distressing texts and calls until now, when a new number flashed on his screen. Sitting at the table with DD, he answered it, concerned it could be one of his customers with an emergency. In the past, he’d rescued farmers stuck in fields with trucks that wouldn’t start, school buses stalled out on country roads, and just the other day the new vet in town was on his way to see a horse with a lame leg when he needed a quick tire fix.

“Melanie,” Henry tempered his exasperation, “do you know how peaceful these past few months have been? Not having to answer a call that I know is only going to aggravate me?” A sharp intake of breath didn’t deter him from adding, “I wouldn’t have answered now if I had known it was you, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“When did you get so cold, Henry? When did⁠—”

Henry cut her off. “Don’t start with what I’m doing wrong. Any reaction I have is based on what you have done. Let’s not rewrite history, making you the victim here.” The gall of her, putting any blame on him when she had been the one to leave. He wished he could be cold; he’d prefer that over the rage threatening to choke him. This stunt of changing her number was on brand for Melanie, who delighted in skirting around an issue as long as she got her own way in the end.

“Do you know how humiliating it was for me to have to tell your father that you were ignoring me?” Melanie grew quiet, and her sudden change in demeanor caused the hair on his arms to stand up. His ex never backed down, only got louder.

He retaliated, “Do you know how humiliating it was for me to tell my dad that you had abandoned his grandson? You knew how fond he was of you…thought you could do no wrong.”

“Maybe if you had given me some of that grace or understanding, things would have worked out differently.”

“And again, here we are…back to everything being my fault.” Rubbing his arm to keep at least that part of his body from freezing, Henry was about to end this ridiculous call when the inside door opened.

“Henry, are you coming back in?” Concern furrowed DD’s brows.

“Who’s that?” Melanie demanded, and he tensed, worrying that she would recognize DD’s voice. During their marriage, one of her issues was Henry’s teenage infatuation with DD, despite his repeated assurances that there had been no one else for him since the day they met in Arizona. Her attitude worsened when DD returned from Ohio with a brand-new husband, with constant digs about how old he was, how DD only married him for his money, and how Melanie swore the other woman couldn’t keep her eyes off Henry whenever they were in the same place.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Henry told DD, who nodded, turning back into the diner. To Melanie, he said, “None of your business. Are we done here?”

“I see you’re back to your old tricks, huh, Henry? You think I don’t know that voice? Don’t know that your dream woman is the mother of our son’s girlfriend? William told me all about it. He also said that her husband isn’t well.” Henry loved his dad, but sometimes he wished he would keep a tighter lid on all information. “I bet she can’t wait to make you husband number three-”

“Okay, I’m done. My personal life is none of your business.”

“Oh, so your personal life concerns her? I knew it, years ago. She played hard to get when you wanted her, but when you were unavailable, that’s when she wanted you.”

Her audacity shook him. “Need I remind you that you’re the one who left? You walked away without a backward glance!”

“Don’t believe for a minute that I never looked back! I did! I still do! That’s why I called⁠—”

“No, I’m not doing this,” he hissed. “I’ve got to go.”

“To her, you mean, right?” And then he hung up, taking a minute to slow his racing heart, furious with himself for letting her get to him.

Head down, he reentered the diner, only looking up as he slid back into the booth. Anger gave him more velocity this time, so he found himself all the way in the booth, with his shoulder next to the window. A slight movement caught his attention, pulling it until landing on Charlotte. How long had she been there? How had he not noticed her until now? None of that mattered because she was all he saw now. Entranced, with everything in slow motion, he instantly forgot about Melanie, automatically tuned out DD, and instead feasted his eyes on Charlotte. Until Ruth walked by, waving on her way out of the diner. With Charlotte in his direct line of sight again, Henry did his damndest to pay attention to DD, but it proved impossible. His eyes locked with Charlotte’s, and his finger rubbed his lip unconsciously. Charlotte flushed. She was breathtaking, unlike any woman he had ever known, with her grace and easygoing manner. The day she’d dropped her car off at his shop, too long ago now, had left him wanting more, and he had looked forward to talking with her again. The day she was picking up her car, he’d gotten to the shop early, installed a new battery for her and, after a thorough inspection of the Tempest, was satisfied it was in top running condition. Anticipating her arrival later that afternoon, his smile vanished the moment his parts distributor in Sioux Falls called. With two of his employees on vacation, the shop was short-staffed, and Henry was the only one available to make the trip. Even though he made it to Sioux Falls and back as swiftly as possible, he had missed her by about ten minutes, according to Juan. His friend relayed how Charlotte’s smile had faded upon hearing that Henry was out, but encouraged him to call her. Juan made it sound easy, but every time he tried, he failed. Everything he thought of saying to her fell flat to his own ears, and he was too humiliated to ask anyone for guidance.