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“That Carly was it for you? How did you know?”
“She’s all I thought about. And it didn’t matter that she was living on the West Coast. Or that it might be months before I saw her again. When I pictured myself in a few years, it was with Carly. When I think about kids, about my kids, it was always with Carly. I just knew. She gets me like no one else does.”
“You sound like one of those romance novels Darlene reads.”
“Hey, don’t knock those things. Carly reads them like they’re candy, and she always comes to bed ready to get busy, if you know what I’m saying.”
“Like a trip downtown?”
“Exactly.”
“You two knuckleheads sound like a bunch of pussies.” Nash Booker appeared from nowhere and shook his head. “What’s up with that?”
“Jarret’s off the market.” Wyatt held up his nearly empty glass. “I think we need another round, Tiny.”
Nash grinned and shook Jarret’s hand. “It’s on the house, boys.”
Wyatt stayed for one more drink, which he nursed and didn’t finish on account he was driving and had no intention of staying longer than he had to. As it was, it was nearly six thirty when he left and headed to Regan’s. No longer in his happy place, he was plagued by a darkness he couldn’t explain. A feeling like things were about to change and maybe not in the way he anticipated or wanted.
It stayed with him the entire trip to her house, and after he parked his truck, Wyatt sat in the dark staring at the soft light that fell from her windows. He was anxious and on edge, and that was never a good thing. He was still looking at her place when someone knocked on his window and scared the crap out of him.
It was the neighbour, Mr. Abercrombie, and Wyatt lowered his window.
“Evening,” he said. The old guy was bundled up against the cold, his long thin nose barely visible above the thick blue scarf wrapped around his neck and face.
“You shouldn’t sit here with your truck running, son. It’s not good for the environment.”
That was the last thing he’d expected to hear come out of Abercrombie’s mouth. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Wyatt cut the engine.
“None of my business, but you’ve been sitting there for a good fifteen minutes.”
“Yeah. I didn’t realize it was that long.”
“You afraid to go in?”
Wyatt considered lying, giving the man an answer that would send him on his way. He was, after all, just an old nosy neighbour. Maybe it was the full moon that lit up the snow and cast a hazy glow over everything that got to him. Or maybe it was the need to be honest. Or it could simply be that he was tired of lying to himself.
“Sounds about right,” Wyatt finally admitted.
“She’s a tough one, that little girl. Tough enough to take on the likes of you.”
He looked at Abercrombie with a frown. “The likes of me? You don’t even know me.”
The old man tugged down his scarf and sighed. “Oh, but I do, son. I know you because you’re just like I was when I was a young lad. Taking chances. Living life like there’s no tomorrow. Riding a wave that’ll take you far above the crowd because it makes you feel good. Makes you forget. You feel like you’re invincible, like nothing can touch you.”
Abercrombie paused, a faraway look on his face. “It took a lot for me to learn the most important lesson in life that there is.”
This had to be the strangest conversation Wyatt had ever had. But he couldn’t help himself. “What’s that?”
“Riding a wave like that isn’t good for the soul. Not when you’re riding it alone. The saddest thing, the most pathetic thing, is to come to the end of it alone. To stare back at a life lived selfishly. It’s not fun to choke on regret. Not fun at all.”
Mr. Abercrombie cleared his throat. “Anyway. What do I know. I just thought you should turn off your truck.”
He turned and headed for his home, the small bungalow across from Regan’s, leaving Wyatt staring after him with a head full of questions. The main one being, what the hell had just happened?
Chapter 28
The door opened, and Regan’s stomach tumbled for what had to be, the hundredth time in the last few hours. Bella immediately began her happy dance and galloped over to greet Wyatt as if he were the most important thing in her life.
