The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(74)

All Gina said was, “Thunder Point?”

“Yeah. Well, here’s what he said. He said if he approached you with the possibility—and it’s still just a possibility, he hasn’t accepted the offer on his body shop or anything—but he said you’re the kind of person that would tell him to just do the thing that worked best for him. You’d just be nice about it. That’s why he asked me to tell you and Mac about this, give you time to talk about it, give him an answer that really fits what you feel and not just the nice answer. Because he promises no matter what he does next, he’ll see me now and then, just like he does now. He doesn’t want you to feel uncomfortable if he lives nearby. So, could you guys talk it over? Really talk it over? Decide how you really feel about the idea? And then I’ll tell him. Okay?”

“You mean to say he’d turn down a good move to this town if it made me uncomfortable?”

“Mom, I know he’s sorry about the past, about the loser he used to be. He said you’re in a new marriage now and wants to make sure you don’t feel, you know, embarrassed by him.”

Gina looked at Mac. “That’s kind of sweet.”

Mac frowned. “It’s kind of sweet as long as he doesn’t have feelings for you.”

Ashley laughed. “Do you think he’d dare? Actually I think he has feelings for me. And while we were driving home, he admitted he’s scared to death of Grandma.”

“He probably should be,” Gina said.

“So, don’t answer the question. Talk about it. Be sure. Because you could be stuck with the answer.”

“And, Ash? This would make you happy?”

“I’d be okay. But, Mom, I’m almost out of here. Another year or two, I’m on my way to college and then—whatever comes next. I don’t know if I’ll live in Thunder Point the rest of my life. I know I’ll visit a lot if you’re here, but where Eric lives isn’t that big a deal. We’ll stay in touch. This has a lot more to do with you and Mac.”

* * *

Devon was on the quiet side at the clinic. And to make matters worse, it wasn’t very busy—just young mothers with small children who weren’t in school and one woman who stayed home from work with a terrible sore throat and fever. Scott fixed her right up with a strong antibiotic and did a throat culture for possible strep.

And of course he noticed Devon’s mood, though she tried to act bright and happy. “I sense trouble in paradise,” he said.

“Maybe I’m coming down with the flu,” she said, borrowing Spencer’s excuse.

“That’s okay, Devon. You don’t have to talk about what it really is.”

And she said, “Thanks. I can’t at the moment.”

She was being completely honest. She couldn’t talk about it without tears threatening. She was trying so hard not to hope and pray he’d call to say he’d been a fool who overreacted. She wanted to be as over him as he apparently was over her. She was failing in her mission, but suspected Spencer was succeeding in his—she didn’t see him. At all.

She finally dragged herself over to the diner for a coffee break and found Gina in her usual place behind the counter. There was a trio of elderly ladies in a booth, gossiping and laughing up a storm. A lone man sat down at the end of the counter, finishing up either a late breakfast or early lunch.

“Well, hey,” Gina said. “Where have you been?”

“Just working,” she said.

Gina automatically poured her a cup of coffee. “What did you and Spencer do over the weekend?”

Well, she thought. Word usually travels much faster. She wondered if Spencer was keeping this little issue they had to himself. “Well, let’s see,” she said, sipping her coffee. “We had a raucous game of Candy Land with the kids on Saturday night...then a bowl of ice cream...”

Gina laughed. “Isn’t being a single mother dating a single father romantic?”

“And then I think we broke up.”

Shock showed all over Gina’s face. “Are you kidding me?”

Devon shook her head. “I think it was something I did. I think I screwed up.”

She could tell Gina was momentarily speechless. “What could you have done?”

“I asked him for something, and I didn’t think it through very well. I should have waited. It was too soon, but at the time it felt safe enough. I reminded him that I have no family, just Rawley, and he’s not really family. So I asked if we’re a couple and something happens to me, would he watch over Mercy. Take her on. Take her in. And it was like he closed the blinds right at that moment. Pulled down the shades. Closed the door. He said he thought he was sick, but that was an excuse to avoid me. I tracked him down at Cooper’s on Sunday and he leveled with me—he isn’t interested in getting that serious. I haven’t heard from him since.”

Gina poured herself a cup of coffee, shaking her head. “Oh, brother.”

“He doesn’t really want more family. He’s in a different place. His singleness is not so single as mine—he’s got Cooper and Sarah to look after Austin. He said he’d take on Mercy if something happened to me, but he needs some time to think about us. He’s been thinking for a few days, so I’m done. I’m adjusting to that idea.” She sat back and pasted a fake smile on her face. “I’m all right on my own.”