But I didn’t want the people I cared for having to walk on eggshells because of me. I was doing better dealing with it all, for the most part. I could talk about it without the world falling out beneath my feet at least. My therapist had helped me get there.
But she seemed to realize she’d reacted because her expression lasted about a second before she said, “I’m not much of a hiker or a camper anymore, but Jackie is when she’s in the mood. You need to get out while the weather is good and see some things.”
“I just started hiking again, and I haven’t gone camping in twenty years.”
Her expression changed once more, and I knew she was thinking about my mom again, but just as quickly, she recovered. “We should do something. What are you doing on Monday? I haven’t been to Ouray in a while.”
Ouray, Ouray, Ouray… It was a town not too far, I was pretty sure. “Nothing,” I admitted.
“It’s a date then. As long as I don’t have to cancel on you. Want me to pick you up or meet here?”
“Meet here?” I couldn’t see Mr. Rhodes being happy with me having her come over to his property, and I wasn’t willing to piss him off, even if I wasn’t going to be around too much longer.
She opened her mouth to tell me something before she leaned forward and whistled.
I turned around to see through the big windows I’d peeked through weeks ago, too.
“You see that?” she asked as she made her way around the counter and headed toward the front.
I followed her. There was a truck out there, a truck that looked awfully familiar… And beside it was a man on a cell phone, and there was another man standing beside him in the same uniform.
Clara whistled at my side again. “I’ve always been a sucker for a man in uniform. Did you know my husband was a police officer?”
Sometimes… sometimes I forgot I wasn’t the only person to have lost someone they really loved. “No, I didn’t know that,” I said.
A wistful expression came over her face, and it made my heart hurt only imagining what she could be thinking of. Hoping it wasn’t the what-ifs. The alternate realities. Those were the worst.
“Police officers are cute, but I’ve always had a thing for firefighters,” I told her after a second.
Her mouth formed a little smile. “With their little pants and hats?”
I looked at her. “I like their suspenders. I’d give them a snap or two.”
Her laugh made me smile, but only for a second because the man on the other side of the glass had turned, and I finally got my confirmation that Mr. Rhodes’s butt was fantastic in his work pants. “Did you meet him the other day when he was here?” Clara asked.
“Which one?” I knew exactly who she was referring to even as I eyeballed the other man in the same kind of uniform. He was about the same height as my landlord but leaner. I couldn’t see his face though. I could see his butt though, and it was a good one.
“One on the right. Rhodes. He comes in sometimes. He was just here yesterday. He used to date my cousin a million years ago. His son is best friends with Jackie.”
No shit? I wanted to tell her the truth, but she kept on talking.
“Dad said he moved back here when he retired from the Navy to be closer to his son and—oh, he’s about to get into his truck. Let’s move before he sees us and things get awkward.”
He had been in the Navy? Well, that was another piece of the puzzle. Not that it mattered.
And actually, the way he talked now made total sense. That bossy voice. I could totally picture him bossing people around and giving them the stare down he’d given me. No wonder he was so good at it.
“He’s my landlord,” I told her as we moved away from the window before getting caught spying.
Her head whipped around so fast, I was surprised she didn’t end up with whiplash. “He is?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the garage apartment you’re renting?”
“Uh-huh.”
“He let you rent it?”
“You’re not the first person to ask me that that way. But no, it was more like Amos did behind his back. Why?”
“It’s okay. He’s a good dad. He’s… quiet and private is all.” Her eyes widened. “This suddenly makes so much sense. That’s why Amos got grounded.”
So she’d heard from Jackie. Was that why she had been giving me funny looks when she thought I wasn’t looking? “Yup.”
It wasn’t until we made it back around the counter that she asked really quietly, “Have you seen him without a shirt on?”