Page 80 of Twice as Tempting

“Not my virtue.”

They talked for a few more minutes about business matters and then hung up after Kelly promised to let Emma know if Damian contacted her and vice versa. Mrs. Simmons had left while Kelly was on the phone, so now the store was quiet again. Somehow, Kelly kept herself busy until closing time, and as she drove home, she wondered if Damian would be there and if she should confront him or continue to wait.

She was disappointed, but not surprised when she pulled into the parking lot and saw the empty space where his truck was supposed to be. While she went through the routine of eating dinner and cleaning up, she kept her ears open for the rumble of his Chevy, and she peeked out of her front window numerous times throughout the evening. When she crawled into bed that night, her anger had turned into concern, and she checked her phone for the umpteenth time before finally turning it off. Kelly decided that she couldn’t take his silence anymore and that if she didn’t hear from him tomorrow. she would hunt him down. Having made up her mind, she fell into a troubled sleep, and her head was so full of worrisome thoughts that no dreams would come to her that night.

The next morning, Kelly turned on her phone immediately, only to find a text that Emma had sent late the night before stating that they still hadn’t heard from Damian. Kelly flung back the covers and hurried to the front window. Sure enough, his truck wasn’t there, and now she questioned whether he had even come home the night before. She had slept so fitfully that surely she would have heard the loud rumble of his truck if he had come home. Now she was beyond worried, and she called Emma right away.

“Hey, Em. Since you’re opening the store today, do you mind if I come in later? I can’t take the waiting any longer. I want to drive over to Damian’s shop and at least make sure he’s ok before I kill him.”

Emma giggled, but her voice was serious when she said, “That’s a good idea. I think Zack’s starting to get concerned too.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know if I find him.”

“Oh, and Kell? Take as long as you need. I’ll be at the store all day, and then Brett’s coming in this evening. If you don’t make it in at all, I’ll understand.”

“Thanks, Em. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I wish it were that easy to share the same sentiment with Damian, Kelly thought when she hung up.

Since she wasn’t going to work, she threw on jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pair of sneakers. She put her hair up in a hasty ponytail, swiped on some lip balm, grabbed a jacket, and raced out the door. It was still early when she left, and as she drove north out of Clarkston, she noticed how brown everything had become over the past few weeks. The colorful leaves had already fallen and had long since been raked up, and the last truly warm days were behind them. She usually liked this time of year before winter closed in, but she had been so busy with work and with Damian that she hadn’t fully appreciated the fall season. It struck her that today was the first of November, and Thanksgiving was only a few short weeks away. She and Damian had bought their plane tickets to Florida a couple of weeks back, but now, with all that had happened, would he still want to go?

Kelly’s mom had called just a few days ago to confirm that they were coming and to express her interest in finally being able to meet the man that Kelly had been raving about. Now Kelly was left wondering if she would be boarding the plane alone, and her heart sank at the thought of it. Her heart sank even more when she pulled up in front of Jim’s Custom Cars a few minutes later. There sat Jim’s white truck with the auto shop’s name printed on the sides, but Damian’s truck was nowhere to be seen.

Kelly almost turned around and left, but Jim spotted her through the front window and waved her in. She figured that Damian wouldn’t like the idea of her checking up on him like this, but she felt like she had no choice. She stepped out of the car, took a deep breath, and plastered on a smile as she approached the door. After all, there was no need for Jim to know that anything was amiss.

“Hello there,” Jim said, his demeanor relaxed and friendly as always, although he looked surprised to see her.

“Hi, Jim. I just stopped by to see Damian. Is he off running an errand?”

Now Jim looked even more confused. “No. Didn’t he tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Kelly asked, feeling more anxious by the minute.

Jim scratched the back of his neck and frowned. “I just assumed…”

“Just tell me. Please,” she added.

“Well, it seemed like something was bothering him yesterday, and we got to talking, and he said he was thinking about getting away for a few days. So, I offered for him to stay at my cabin—up north.”

Kelly’s eyes grew wide, but she quickly adopted a neutral expression. “Where up north?”

“Just outside of West Branch.”

“Huh.”

“I take it he didn’t mention it?”

Knowing Jim’s character, he had asked out of concern, not nosiness, so Kelly decided to be straight with him. “No. I haven’t heard from him for the past couple days, and I came here to make sure that he was all right.”

“I assume that he’s safely at the cabin, but the phone reception isn’t very good up there, so that could be why you haven’t heard from him.”

Kelly appreciated what Jim was trying to do, but she shook her head. “I think he would have found a way to contact me if he had really wanted to.”

Jim gave her an empathetic smile. “Look. It’s probably none of my business, but I really like you two. Damian is like the son I never had, and in the short time that I’ve known you, I can tell that you’re good for him. I’d be willing to give you the address of my cabin if you’re interested.”

His offer hung out there for a minute or two as Kelly mulled it over. On one hand, Damian might be angry that she had infringed on his privacy, but on the other hand…

“Yes, Jim. I would like that very much.”

“Now, Damian said he only planned on staying for a few days, so I hope you don’t drive all the way there for nothing,” Jim said as he jotted down the address.

“I have a feeling that he’ll still be there. Besides, West Branch is only two hours away. If nothing else, it will be a pretty drive.”

Jim handed her the slip of paper. “Well, I hope everything works out for you two. Damian may not be one to express his feelings easily, but for what it’s worth, your name comes up a lot around here. Don’t tell him I said that though!”

Kelly genuinely laughed for the first time in two days. “Thanks. Jim. I really appreciate this.”

“Go on now. Don’t waste your time talking to an old-timer like me. Go get your man.”

“I will,” she said, and then she left, fueled with determination and optimism once again.

“Damian Kostas—ready or not, here I come!”