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“I’m headed to get Charlotte now but Amelia will help you if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Caroline,” he says softly and for just a moment, my walls start to crumble.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t attracted to Heath. He’s a good-looking guy. Tall with a stable job and a full head of thick brown hair. That’s practically a unicorn to a woman in her thirties.
I’ve been fighting my feelings toward him, though, because I don’t want to upset Charlotte. We’re still getting settled here and I don’t want to throw that off. Hell, I’m still figuring out how to be a parent and balance mom life and work life. Besides, I don’t want Charlotte to feel like she isn’t the most important person to me. I never want her to doubt how much she is loved.
Still, I can’t stop myself from taking one last look over my shoulder at Heath as I head to grab my purse.
He’s looking at me, those deep green eyes of his trained on my blue ones and I freeze, trapped in his gaze. There’s something in the way that he’s looking at me, but I can’t quite decipher it.
“Excuse me, Caroline,” Amelia says, breaking the staring contest that I was having with Heath.
I step aside, letting her carry out the tray of ketchup bottles before I head for the office and then out to my car.
As I back out of my spot, I know one thing for sure.
I can’t go to his shop for the camping gear. If I do, I just might lose my heart.
ChapterTwo
Heath
I watch as Caroline turns and heads back into the kitchen, my heart thumping loudly as she disappears from my sight. It’s always like that when I see her. It has been since the first time I laid eyes on her.
I can still remember the first time I came into the Virgin Street Diner after Caroline had bought it. I had taken one look at her and fallen head over heels in love with her. I’ve never been very good with women but I really messed up with my sweet Caroline.
When I had first come in, I sat at the counter, hoping to work up the nerve to ask her out. Then the little girl coloring at the other end of the counter had run over and hugged her and the family resemblance was so strong that I knew they were related. I assumed that she was her daughter and that my girl was taken and just like that, all my dreams of being with this girl were dashed.
When she took my order, I might have been a little short with her. I was frustrated that someone beat me to her and I took that out on her. She had tried to be nice to me, but I shut her down, giving her the cold shoulder. I’ve been paying for it ever since.
Caroline isn’t taken. I should have looked for a ring before I opened my mouth. I’ve been working on getting back in her good graces ever since that first day.
So far, I’ve failed.
Miserably.
I thought that I could be patient but I might have overestimated the limits of my patience. I keep trying to talk to her but she hasn’t opened up to me much; I can’t really say that I blame her.
My best friend, Jacob Sten, says that I need to just suck it up and ask her out already. He says that’s how he got his wife, Amelia. I’m beginning to think that maybe he’s right. I need to just man up and tell her how I feel. I’m only torturing myself by prolonging it and longing for her.
I pay my bill, nodding goodbye to Amelia as I head out the door, and head back toward my shop which is right across the street from the Virgin Street Diner. I pass by Dr. Coleman in the parking lot and stop to say hi to him. He’s just getting out of his car and he looks frazzled.
“Hey, doc. How’s it going?” I ask.
He sighs, dragging a hand through his hair. “Busy. I was just stopping in to grab a bite to eat before I head back to the office.”
“No luck finding a new nurse yet?” I guess and he nods.
“I put a new ad up for one. Hopefully I can find someone soon.”
“Good luck,” I say, waving as he hurries into the diner and I make my way back to the trading post.
I unlock the doors and head inside, flipping the lights back on. I’ve owned the Trading Post for close to a decade now. I bought it right after I moved to town. The old owner was ready to retire and I had jumped at the chance to buy it.
Cherry Falls is a typical small town. Everyone knows everyone else and all of their business. The crime rate is next to zero and there’s never any traffic. Besides, it’s beautiful here with the mountains on one side and water on the other.
Small towns have always suited me more than big cities. I don’t really like crowds, and I tend to do better talking to people one-on-one. Most people would call me gruff. They’d be right but the real truth is that I just never know what to say to people, especially people that I don’t know.
