He thought and smiled. “Actually, why don’t we take a boat out at Eagle Rock? You love the water, and I love fishing. It’s supposed to be around sixty-five degrees that day. Sound like a good compromise?”
Evie swirled the water around with a grin. “I’d love that.”
“And we can stay at the inn that night.”
“Um,” she said cautiously, rousing alert from Caleb. “Sarah saw us coming home together, and she said that if I didn’t want the town talking about us having a thing, then I shouldn’t be coming home with you in your truck like that.”
“Is Sarah your mom?”
“No.”
“Is the town your mom?”
She giggled. “No.”
Then, he asked playfully, “Am I your daddy?”
She laughed. “You most certainly are.”
He grew serious again. “What’s done is done. People apparently already know I’ve kissed you, but no one can prove anything. Just because I bring you home in my truck doesn’t mean anything. There’s nothing in my separation agreement that states I can’t bring a friend home in a truck. And Sarah can mind her own damn business. She doesn’t own you, and neither does the town. Like Ashley doesn’t own me.”
Evie paused.
Caleb asked sternly, “You understand me?”
“Yes, I do. Thanks.”
He said with a smile, “Goodnight, baby girl.”
Their goodnights were over, and Caleb rolled over to go to sleep, daydreaming about being with her. Roughly fifteen miles away, Evie slathered shea butter all over to keep her skin soft for him. It took a bit of extra effort with that damned dry weather. But she would try. As she lay in bed, a negative thought came jousting into her mind. She tried to shove it away, but it was hopeless. Yes, she felt she did have a boyfriend. A secretive one, but eventually it would become whole.
However, she was almost forty-one now, and with the rarity of good men in her life, all of her hope was placed on Caleb with ever staying in love. If he didn’t work out, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever find someone even half as good as he was. Sadly, Evie would probably give up.
Just wait.
Over on Highway 42, Caleb watched the darkness outside his window creep in as the moon was hidden by the ominous clouds. It was as if the sky was mocking his emotions. Evie stayed through him being divorced. She stayed through him ignoring her. She stayed through his random PTSD episode and all the bullshit going on. But what would happen when he was deployed?
And what would happen if she found out what he did?
All he could do was keep his faith strong in her. But he made a vow to himself that the next time he’d see her, he would try to tell her everything. He couldn’t keep it on his chest anymore. The only way he’d ever be able to guarantee she’d never leave him was to tell her what she had wanted to know for almost two years.
And that was why he was trying to escape his shadows.
Chapter Fifteen
January 17th
A week had gone by. It was a day of freezing rain, sheer winds, and graying skies. In that little bungalow Evie was racing around trying to think of what to wear. Even though she had lost a lot of weight, she hadn’t really gotten out much to buy new clothes due to her depression that lasted for nearly four months. She mostly had two types of clothing to wear: lounge and work with nothing practical or truly warm for fishing on a lake. Her closet was raided and Teddy slept on the bed. The news said it was supposed to be a whopping forty-five degrees that day, nothing like what it had predicted a week prior. Evie had never handled the cold well since she moved from Alaska.
Well, in Alaska she could be properly dressed for cold weather. Wet snowsuits, rain boots, warm boots, big coats, mittens, scarves. But Missouri was weird. In Missouri, she could wear her big heavy coat in the morning with her mittens and scarves but then be dying of sweat even as she arrived at work. Or it was like trying to guess if it was going to rain or not, and if so, how much rain?
She finally decided on the best thing she could. A pair of comfortable black leggings, a baggy gym shirt, and a pink hoodie. If she zipped the hoodie up and styled it with nice earrings, good hair, and makeup,she wouldn’t look so bad. Yet she felt bad. The leggings were stretched out, the shirt hung out lazily below the hoodie, and her shoes were white faux fur-lined boots that made her look like a clown. She opted for a slimmer tank top, but when she went to go check outside for the weather, there was no way in hell that tank top would hold up on a cold lake for hours on end during late winter. And what would Caleb think of her if she showed up wearing earrings and makeup on a day like that?
Evie had to hurry. Rushing around trying to get ready and being picky over her attire drained a lot of time. Not to mention packing up pjs that didn’t look too trampy (not that she had any) but didn’t make her look like a slob either. And it was almost like another date! She had to look her best, but what the hell would she wear? Once more, she dove into her closet and frantically panicked, throwing everything on the bed. Teddy made the ‘mrrp’ sound from under a dress. Evie heard his bell jingle when he shook his head out.
As she turned, she saw Teddy crawling out from the dress she wore when Caleb aired up her tire. The dress Pawpaw bought her. Slowly, she left the closet and picked it up, feeling the summery fabric in her hands. It wouldn’t fit her now, and the fabric wasn’t suitable for the current season or event. However, a smile swept her face, and she thought of Pawpaw.
“I wish you were here, Pawpaw.” She turned and sat on the bed, tracing and fumbling the beautiful blue dress with sunflowers on it in between her hands. “You told me to watch out for Caleb. But so far, he’s done nothing wrong and has done everything right.” She twisted to look out the window, and the pale light washed her body. Soothing. Tranquil.
