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“You told us all about the Miles for Mental Health Run you’re doing.”
“Yes. I’m pretty excited about it. I have lots of people already signed up.”
“You said we could run with someone else. A partner.”
“Yes. I thought it might be nice to have someone to run with. To push each other a little, but also to talk to.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “It’s good for our mental health to reach out, talk, listen, and exercise as well, right? And I thought that having a walking or running buddy would be a great way for people to get to know each other in the community.”
“I love that. It’s a great idea.” He scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how to continue without sounding lame.
“Chet, what is it?” Rachel’s smile was always so warm. So…sincere.
“How are you pairing people up? Is it random or do we choose a partner?”
She didn’t even try to hide an even bigger smile. “Do you have someone in mind?”
He shrugged.
“My plan is to do it randomly. I want people in town to get to know each other and thought that would be a good way. But I also don’t want anyone uncomfortable. If you’d like to choose someone, I’m okay with that.”
He looked at the floor. Why was this so hard? He had talked to Rachel plenty about things he struggled with in his job. Along with a few personal things. What made this so different?
“Would this partner happen to be a tall, pretty brunette who owns a certain eating establishment in town?”
He had also mentioned Meg to Rachel once, knowing Rachel was a vault with whatever people shared with her.
He nodded with a shrug. “I just thought it might be a nice way to…you know. Get to know someone in town better.” He smiled, knowing she’d catch his use of her own words with her.
She shook her head and chuckled. “I tell ya something, Endicott, you use that smile on any woman in town and she’ll run as many miles as you ask.”
“I’m not so sure about this woman.”
“She does seem to need a little nudge.”
Chet nodded again.
Rachel looked at him knowingly. “Who am I to say no to a friendly nudge?”
Chet grinned.
Step one of his plan was in motion.
Chapter Five
Chet didn’t doubthimself often, and yet he had done that very thing over the past couple days since talking to Rachel about the Miles for Mental Health Run. He still felt that running with Meg could be his best chance of getting her to open up to him a little, let down that guard of hers, and yet he also knew that she might respond in the opposite way and shut him down completely. Steps two and three of his plan wouldn’t work if step one didn’t go well. But all he really wanted to get started at this point was a conversation. Any time he came into the diner, Meg was polite, treating him like any other customer, but there was a definite aloofness with him and he couldn’t quite figure out why.
She didn’t date much, at least not that he was aware of. Other than hanging out with Baylee and a few other girlfriends, she kept mostly to herself. He shook his head. He hadn’t stalked her by any means. He was going by what he’d been able to glean about her from tidbits Eva overheard from Baylee or what he observed of Meg when he saw her around town.
He was drawn to Meg more than any other woman he’d ever been around, and he was hard-pressed to figure it out. She wasn’t the type to warm up fast. But he was willing to go slow and play his cards right. Something deep in his gut told him she was worth it.
Thankfully, he’d been busy with work since talking to Rachel, so he hadn’t had a lot of time to sit and stew over it. Although it was a small town, there still was a lot for firefighters to do, even if that included things like building booths for Harvest Festivalsand the stereotypical removal of a cat from a tree for an elderly local.
He finished packing up his gear and tossed it in the truck bed. Dottie, having just woken up from her third nap of the day, ambled to the back door and waited for Chet to open it. She stepped in and sat her backside on the seat, her front legs on the floor and her head sticking between the two front seats. It was like having a four-legged furry human riding behind him.
He chuckled as he climbed into the driver’s seat and gave her a soft scratch on the head. She nudged his cheek with her nose. The drive through town got him thinking about how much he enjoyed living in Silver Bay. The pace was so mellow, so opposite of where and how he grew up. He didn’t dislike his upbringing; it just didn’t fit him. Silver Bay was more his style.
The cabin he owned wasn’t large. A couple bedrooms and bathrooms. A nice-sized kitchen, which he appreciated because he liked to cook. He was a simple guy.
Before Dottie, his backyard had been a wide-open expanse of grass, but as soon as he committed to adopting her, he’d built a fence around the property. It was about three acres of land so there was plenty of space for her to move around, although beyond sniffing a bit and occasionally chasing a bird now and then, she was mostly content to snore in the sun on her extra-large pillow on the porch and be near Chet.
