AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled. “Call it more of a continuing curiosity.”
She nodded. “For being so curious, you aren’t a big ask-a-lot-of-questions kind of guy.”
“That’s not really my style.”
Meg already knew that from all the time she’d spent with him. She took a slow breath in through her nose and let it out.
“Are you cold?” He leaned forward. “I can get you a blanket.”
She looked into those gentle eyes that sought answers but waited for her to share. That filled with concern when he sensed her need. Ones that looked at her now ready to do whatever it took to make her comfortable. Happy.
“I’m not cold.” Her voice hitched. “I’m scared.”
*
Chet leaned closer.“What scares you?”
“I really, really like you. I like spending time with you.”
With those words, it was as if all the walls around her fell to the ground. His heart pounded in his chest at the thoughts that she knew she could trust him. That she could trust her feelings for him. “I feel the same way about you.”
“But you don’t know everything about me, Chet. I’m scared to get close to anyone.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he waited.
She laughed and shook her head. “And that is one of the things I like most about you.”
“What’s that?”
“You don’t push me. You just…wait.”
“I don’t ever want you to feel anything but safe with me, Meg. We’ve spent time together and I’ve listened to you. From the little you’ve told me so far, it’s easy to see you have pain in yourpast. But it’s not up to me to decide when and if you share that. That’s up to you. But I’m a patient man. I’ll wait as long as you need.”
“I’m afraid if I do, you’ll turn and run.”
He shook his head. “The only running I want to do is with you, not away from you.”
She looked down into her wine glass. “Do you have any idea how rare you are?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. Is that good?”
They both laughed.
“It is.”
“You can share anything you want with me, Meg. I’m listening.”
She rolled her shoulders back as if mustering her courage. Chet held his breath, not daring to move lest he break the spell, ready to wait hours, weeks, years if that’s what it took for her to trust him.
“I was a firefighter. But not for very long.” She looked into her wine, her index finger moving up and down the glass as she spoke. “I actually grew up in Silver Bay. My dad opened the diner and loved it here. My mom left us when my brother, Myles, and I were little. She hated small-town life. I haven’t seen or heard from her since, nor do I want to.”
Chet listened, watching her eyes, her mannerisms. No wonder she felt the need to be strong and independent. She’d had to be since she was little. His own mother might irritate him from time to time, but he couldn’t imagine her walking away from all of them, abandoning her family.
“Dad and Myles and I did okay. We built a life here that we liked. We helped our dad out in the diner, and he was a wonderful parent. It must have been hard to be a single father while running a business. But we managed just fine.” She lookedup and gave him a small smile before returning her gaze to her wine glass.
“After high school, Myles went to San Jose and became a firefighter. I was his little sister and looked up to him in every way so of course I wanted to follow in his footsteps, which I did. We worked in the same fire station and I loved every minute of it.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Dad was sad we left, but super supportive. He never wanted us to feel trapped in a life he chose for us.”
She took a small sip of wine and raised her gaze to the backyard, the darkness broken only by the flicker of lights from neighboring houses in the distance. Her neck moved as she swallowed hard. “About a year after I started working, our station was called to a fire. It was a big one at a factory downtown.” As if to keep tears from falling, she swallowed again. “Myles was killed, along with another comrade.”
