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“But you are not a child anymore. Why would they worry so for you?”
“As my mom always says, I’m their child, and a mom never stops worrying.”
She didn’t mention how the last time she dated, things had gone so horribly wrong.
“That is not the way I was raised.”
“America, the home of the helicopter parent.” She shrugged with a chuckle. He joined in, the sound of it heating long-dormant places inside her.
Their server delivered their dinner. It smelled divine, rich with garlic and herbs. She was about to take a bite when she remembered how much garlic was in a good scampi. Too late now, and wasn’t it okay as long as both parties had garlic?
Wait, was she planning on kissing this man? Her brain definitely needed to have a discussion with her body before making those kinds of decisions. But kissing Anders wouldn’t be her worst idea this decade.
“Thank you for the recommendation,” he said. “This is excellent.”
“Glad to be of service.” She promptly blushed. Dammit, why did her libido drag her thoughts deep into the gutter? She tried a different tactic. “I’ve talked a lot about me. Why don’t you tell me about you?”
“There’s not much to tell. I came to the US as an adolescent, moved around a lot. Now I’m here.”
That wasn’t helpful. In fact, it raised a red flag. Mr. Asshat had kept a lot of details about his life from her. She assumed he was a decent human being, and it turned out he was anything but. She wasn’t getting the same vibes off Anders. Her ex had lied to her in order to keep things from her, keep her under his control. Anders just wasn’t telling her things. Maybe he had his reasons. After all, this was only their first conversation about something other than dusty old records, but a brick in her wall slid back into place.
“What about your family?” she asked.
A hint of sorrow dimmed his bright eyes. “My parents are long dead, and I never had siblings.”
“I’m sorry.”
He made a small gesture of dismissal. “It was a long time ago. I have grieved and made my peace.”
“Still, it’s hard to be all alone.”
Curiosity pushed aside the sadness. “It sounds like you speak from experience.”
Mere raised her shoulders, hunching them into a defensive posture. She forced herself to relax. He had no way of knowing.
As he noted the motion, the smile disappeared, and his fingers curled into a loose fist on the table. “I’m sorry, it is not my business, but a kind person like you feeling lonely offends me.”
She flinched when he’d clenched his fist, but his words put it into context. He wasn’t mad at her, but at whoever had hurt her. The warmth that had been building all night blossomed into a bonfire.
“No, it’s…it’s okay. It was a while ago. I went away to college and stayed in the big city for a few years after. I made some decisions that put some distance between me and my family. It was lonely for a while. I came home five years ago, and things are better now.”
It was lonely because Tyson had wanted her isolated. He put the walls between her and her family, as small as it was, as tight knit as it was. Tyson, who milked her for every last cent she earned before he made her his punching bag. When she finally screwed up the courage to leave, the dirtbag had driven to Strawberry Creek and threatened her family. He hadn’t seen Nadine’s baseball bat coming. Dude spent a night in the hospital with a concussion, then a few nights in jail while Mere got a restraining order in place. She hadn’t seen him since. It helped that the sheriff had been her dad’s student once upon a time.
“I didn’t mean to bring up a delicate subject.” He relaxed his hand.
Oddly, remembering the whole situation with Tyson in Anders’s presence was far more comfortable than expected.
“It’s not a big deal anymore. I’m here, back with my family, and I have a job I love.” She took a long sip of her wine, which perfectly complemented the scampi.
“It is good to have work you love. Did you find anything else out about the photo?”
“The one of Mr. Reed?”
“Yes.”
Since Leonard Reed was likely his relative, and was long dead anyway, she filled him in.
“You say he died almost fifty years ago?” Anders toyed with his half-eaten food.
