The delight dripping from his face amused her enough that she was ready to forgive his pushiness in the car. After spending so many years with a man like Karl micromanaging every aspect of her life, she didn’t care for anyone telling her what to do. Not even when it was something as simple as food recommendations.
After surviving Karl’s abuse, his total control over her, she guarded her independence with a desperation that bordered on obsession. Sitting here watching Michael’s eyes light up over these pancakes pushed away the negative tinge of discomfort that had tried to grab hold of her during their debate over the pancakes. It was as if the respectable sheriff had turned into a kid waiting for his favorite treat right before her eyes. How could she be mad at that?
“I take it you eat these often.”
He spared her an eager nod and handed her a menu sitting on the side of their table.
“I do. Two of my friends and I have come here for the last three Saturdays after our game of basketball at the high school.”
“You’re on a team?”
“Nah. My friend that you met briefly last night—”
“Adam?” she interjected.
“Yes,” he continued. “He just moved back from New York about three weeks ago to start a new job. It’s been a while since Adam, Derrick—our other friend—and I have been able to hang out regularly like this.”
“Having good friends so close is probably a relief.”
He gave a simple shrug. “It has its difficulties. I love hanging with my boys more often. Having them underfoot all the time, though, gives them the opportunity to lecture me about the failings in my life.”
She was about to ask him what he was talking about when their server came and took their orders and poured coffee in their waiting mugs sitting on the table. When they were alone again, she met his gaze.
“You were mentioning your friends getting on you about your failings. You’re the sheriff. What could possibly be wrong with your life?”
He leaned back against the seat cushion and sighed. “I work a lot and I help my sister… a lot.” There was a story behind that pause. Since they didn’t know each other that well, and especially after he got slightly defensive when she pointed out the fact that he was spoiling his sister, she figured it would be rude to dig any deeper than she was by commenting just then. “It doesn’t leave a lot of time for a personal life. They just want to see me happy, so they’re always reminding me not to take myself so seriously and have a little fun.”
Didn’t that sound familiar. Sounds like his friends were just like hers. “You’re in good company then,” she responded. “My besties do the same.”
“Work and family obligations keeping you busy too?”
She’d love to run with the out he’d provided her. She should just nod and go along with it. Yet there was something so refreshing about how open he’d been with her about his shortcomings. She felt compelled to do the same.
“I wish I could use that as an excuse.” She took a careful sip of her coffee before she spoke, hoping the caffeine would calm the butterflies flapping their wings in her belly. “The only job I’ve ever had was as the head of the accounting department at Karl’s company. After the divorce, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with myself.”
She also had a hard time processing the drastic way her life had changed seemingly overnight. Deciding he didn’t need to know all that, she kept it to herself. Her divorce was public record, and he’d already read it in his quest to help his sister. No need for adding any more embellishment on the ugly details.
“Have you?” His question struck her as odd.
“Have I what?”
“Figured out what to do with yourself?”
She sighed, though not because she was ashamed of the answers. It was the restlessness that bothered her most. She hated feeling so listless.
“I know I love accounting and I want to get back to it. I don’t think I necessarily want to return to corporate accounting. It’s just…” She paused for a minute, almost afraid to speak her desire into the air for fear somehow it would disappear. “I’ve always dreamed of hanging a shingle somewhere and starting a business of my own.”
She’d run Karl’s accounting department. Its cold and distant nature was the complete opposite of everything her grandparents had built. Her grandmother had used numbers and finances to bring her family together in that small mom-and-pop accounting shop she and Vanessa’s grandfather had run. Vanessa ached to have that kind of warmth and togetherness in her life again.
“What’s stopping you?”
The frankness of his question made her reel back slightly, as if she were dodging a blow. Her silence must have tipped him off that he’d caught her off guard because he held up his hands and offered her a contrite smile.
“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. Sometimes my inner investigator gets the better of me.”
She pulled her gaze away from his to fortify herself a bit. Did he see through her bullshit as well as her girlfriends had? Or was her listlessness tattooed across her forehead?
“It’s all right,” she replied. “It’s a fair question.” She ran a single finger around the rim of her coffee cup. The expected monotony of it giving her something else to focus on other than his dark, penetrating gaze.
