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She just laughs, and we gossip a bit longer about the town residents like we do every month when she comes in for her book haul.
“Did Mrs. Robertson talk your ear off?” Leah asks as she comes out, a tray full of goodies and salads for the lunch rush.
“She did but that’s okay. I just hope one day I find a love like she and James had.”
“They were a special couple. Not everyone gets that happily ever after. But if anyone else can, it’s you.”
She bumps her hip against mine and grins as she loads up the case.
“Do you really think the ‘happily ever after’ is in the cards for us?” I ask her.
“I don’t know. I thought that at one time we had both found the people we were going to spend the rest of our lives with but they weren’t meant to be. It’s not like this little town is teeming with eligible men. Well, eligible men we haven’t known our entire lives.”
“You’re right, but there’s always the chance a skier—or a billionaire on vacation—comes in to sweep us off our feet.”
“You really are the happily ever after girl. You’ve been reading too many books and watching too many sappy movies. If it’s going to happen to someone, though, I would bet on you.”
The bell rings as the first few lunch customers walk in, interrupting our conversation.
Happily ever after will have to wait.
Chapter Two
Mason
"Sanderson said you knowwhere the new nozzle is?" I turn and grin at Jack, waggling my eyebrows.
"Dude, are you ever going to grow up?" He sighs, and I laugh.
"Nope, I don't plan to," I tell him while grabbing a fitting off a nearby shelf and handing it to him.
I thought when I blew my knee out, my life was over. My career in football, to be able to do what I loved, all of it. Then, a week later, my girlfriend turned down my proposal and walked out. It was the worst time of my life that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I learned the woman I loved was only with me for the money and the prestige. When I left this small town, it was in a blaze of glory. When I came back, I had my tail between my legs. I was offered a job and never ending support from theentire town. I was still a hero in their eyes, just a different kind now.
"Hey, what are your plans for the weekend? I was thinking about taking the boat out and getting in some fishing," Jack says.
"Sign me up buddy. I'm always available to show you up." I nod as my phone rings.
He shakes his head. "Hey I caught three last time," he grumbles as I pick up my phone.
"And I caught, what was it again? Seven?"
He shows me a rude gesture and I chuckle before turning my attention to the call.
"You sound good, Sanderson." The voice of my former coach floats across the line, and I feel a little of the joy at teasing Jack leave me.
I have a great life in Cottage Grove, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss the adrenaline highs of the game now and then.
"Hey Coach, what can I do for you?" I ask him as I wander away from the other guys.
"I need your help, Sanderson."
"Blunt as ever Coach, but if you haven't noticed I'm not much help on the field anymore."
"I don’t need your help on the field. I need your help with the charity gala."
I sit down on the bumper of the engine and sigh. The one thing I hated about being a professional athlete was the social obligations. I didn’t mind the visits to hospitals or the Make a Wish meet-ups with the kids, but it was the society stuff. Mingling with the boosters and schmoozing was what I hated the most.
The only social gatherings I had to be part of for the local firehouse were the occasional cookouts with my friends and neighbors.
