James laughed at that. He motioned to the peeling wallpaper in the corner and then the extremely outdated countertops and appliances.
“I’m not sure many people would want to vacation here, never mind in Seven Roads. We’re not exactly a tourist trap.”
“Hey, don’t forget the power of passers-through, especiallywith the motel being out of business now.” She shrugged. “A little paint here and there and I could see this place working.”
James started to fix his own coffee. It was more a reflex than a need. Since offering Rose a place to stay he hadn’t had any trouble staying awake.
“Sadly, my plans for this place aren’t as grand as all that. I just want somewhere to grow roots, house some kids, and drive me a little crazy as we both age. I don’t need outsiders trying to pay me to be nice.”
Rose made a noise into her coffee. James turned with an eyebrow raised.
“What, are you surprised the big ol’ mechanic man bought a house specifically for future kids?” he asked.
Rose put her coffee down and shook her hands in front of her.
“Not surprised you want to, just surprised how casual you were about saying it, is all. But maybe that’s because I’m so used to getting asked when I’ll get married and settle down that I’m a bit quiet on the topic.”
James leaned against the counter. He knew it wasn’t exactly his business, but he was curious.
“Doyou want to get married and settle down?”
He half expected a glare or a pointed barb sent in his direction at the intrusion. Instead, he was met with a shrug.
“It’s not off the table,” she said. “I just haven’t sat down at the table it’s on yet, so to speak.” She let out a sigh. He wondered if her head still hurt but decided to hold that question for later. Unlike this one, he wasn’t sure she would be as honest with her answer. Admittingshe was in pain didn’t seem to be Rose Little’s strong suit.
“The last guy I dated wasn’t a fan of my job and—while I get that it’s not for everyone and I don’t blame those who stay away—he kept waiting for me to change my mind and leave the department. Leave Seven Roads. I’m not sure if he wanted the whole white picket fence thing but I know he didn’t want me wearing a badge.” Her hand moved beneath his sightline under the table. Like she was reaching for her badge on memory alone.
She lifted her gaze back to his. Her smile felt watered down but nonetheless sincere.
“I know I can belong other places but it’s here where Iwantto belong,” she finished.
James understood her, if only for different reasons. Since Rose had given him some information, he decided to share in kind.
“I had the opposite problem with my ex,” he started. “She wanted me to stay in there and I wanted to be in Seven Roads. She didn’t want a house of kids, and I don’t think I could live in a house without them.” James ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Though I’ve gotten a little off-track since helping Dad with the shop. Or maybe it sounds nicer to use your ‘not at the right table yet’ analogy. I’m not even sure I’m in the right room as my table yet.”
As he said it, he couldn’t help but notice that Rose was sitting at a very real table in his very real home. On the one hand, it was surreal. On the other, it felt oddly normal.
Rose’s brow drew in. She voiced her question next.
“I don’t know if it’s impolite for me to ask but whydidyou want to live in Seven Roads? You only lived here for a few years when you were a kid, right? Then came back a few years ago to start the shop? Why?”
This wasn’t an unexpected question. James had been asked some variation of it more than a dozen times. Why had the kid with no true hometown come back to plant a flag, so to speak, in a place that he’d barely lived in before?
James pushed off the counter’s edge and closed the space between them in two steps. He took her hand.
“Let me show you.”
The land the old house sat on was just over one acre. It included the field and a cropping of trees just beyond it. That field of tall, wild grass looked the same as it had when he was six. Decades later and in the dying sunlight.
“When I was six, I got into a really big fight in a foster home I was staying at. It was a bad one too. I got hurt pretty good, landed myself in the hospital, and pretty much scared myself off people too. The county agency decided it would be better to shift me to a new place and, after a lot of back and forth, I landed in Seven Roads.”
They were standing on the back porch, which was surprisingly not as worn as the rest of the home. James had dropped Rose’s hand after they had gone through the back door, and now placed his own on the railing. The solid wood railing showed the remnants of stain long-since perfect.
He patted it once and with absolute affection.
“This was my last foster home before I went to theKellers but that’s not why I bought this place. Want to see the real reason?”
Where he expected a little resistance, he received none. Instead, Rose let him take her hand again and this time lead her out into the tall grass. The fading light almost perfectly matched his memory as they walked through the overgrown back lot at a light pace.
