A wave of pain crashed over him, leaving futile longing in its wake.
And putting himself in close proximity to a woman who made him wish for the impossible was foolish.
He had to get out of here.
But as he started to turn away, Cara angled his direction.
She froze the instant she spotted him, then slowly lifted a hand in greeting.
He hesitated.
The wisest plan was to wave back and walk away.
Instead, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own.
Without any conscious decision to do so, he found himself walking toward the woman who’d been on his mind far too often over the past two days.
She remained where she was, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses, watching him approach.
“Afternoon.” He slipped on his own shades as he stopped beside her. “I didn’t expect to run into you again this soon, but I’m glad I did. How’s Ms. Boyer?”
“She’s why we’re in town. She had another dizzy spell this morning, and I convinced her to pay a visit to her doctor.”
“I’m sorry to hear she’s still having issues.”
“She doesn’t seem too concerned about it, and she’s been fine the rest of the day. But it’s hard to dismiss two episodes so close together. Especially since she said it’s never happened before.”
“She told us that too. I’m glad you were able to—”
“Cara? I thought that was you. Natalie told me you were staying with her this fall. Nice to see you again.” Paul Coleman strode toward them down the sidewalk and extended his hand.
“Nice to see you too.” She returned his clasp.
“Hi, Brad.” The midfiftyish man shifted toward him. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“No problem.”
He redirected his attention to Cara. “How goes the project with Natalie? I imagine translating those journals is a challenge.”
“It is. Natalie’s been able to ferret out the gist of the entriesso far, but it’s slow going. I’m hoping we can get through all of them in the weeks we’ll have together.”
“Put in a good word for the historical society while you’re working with her, if you don’t mind. Those journals are a treasure that should be preserved for future generations—along with her translation. The two together could help keep Paw Paw French from dying with the last speaker of the language.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“I hope there were no aftereffects from her fall.”
A beat passed. “She says she feels fine.”
Brad studied Cara.
The lady was astute.
From what he knew of Natalie, she’d prefer to keep her health issues private. Cara had obviously picked that up too and was respecting her wishes.
“Glad to hear it. Please tell her I said hello.”
“I’ll be happy to.”
