They grew silent for a while with Wes rubbing warmth into her shoulder. Her thumb kept time by rubbing the back of the new ring.
“Tell me something else about Claire,” she whispered.
His hand stopped moving, but a smile worked one side of his lips up just enough that the dimple made its presence known. It was dark, but Sophia could still see the humor cast in his eyes. “She couldn’t bake either.”
They both snickered, but Wes’s held an edge of sadness.
“Claire was too free-spirited to measure her ingredients. Unfortunately, that didn’t work in her favor when it came to baking.”
A loud boom sounded off in the distance, followed by a fiery streak. A burst of glitter lit the sky near the Ferris wheel. Their gaze moved to the sky and they quietly watched the fireworks show.
“You and your friends have a strange way of celebrating Labor Day,” Wes mused.
“Yeah, well, you guys were party poopers, so you missed hearing us recount the fun we had this summer and discussing upcoming plans.”
“That sounds like a New Year’s Eve tradition.” Wes gave her an incredulous look.
“You’ve noticed by now we girls march to the beat of our own drums.”
Wes tipped his head back and chuckled. “Yes, I have. What was your favorite summer memory?” Each time Wes talked, he drew her closer, but she had a feeling he didn’t even realize he was doing it. The tingle heating her body sure noticed it, though. “It has to include me,” he teased.
“Hmm . . . Probably finding you being chased around your kitchen by that crazy woman while she tried getting ahold of that towel you were wearing.”
Wes growled while she laughed, but he pulled her closer until she was almost in his lap, effectively ending her laughter. Their breath mingled and their eyes locked. His flitted to her lips before closing. She stiffened, worried he was going to ruin the moment by trying to kiss her. But after what felt like a great deal of hesitance, Wes did the sweetest thing. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers.
As Wes held her, Sophia realized they were sharing something pure and right. Even with her heart strumming at a considerable rate, there was no denying the fact that Weston Sawyer added a calm to her. Perhaps a better time for them both was on the horizon. Sophia didn’t know what it could possibly be, but she could only hope it would be a more peaceful season than what they had both endured in the recent past.
12
October was the worst month of the year and it held the worst memories ever made. Not just one part of the month, but the entire thing. The beginning was supposed to be set aside for last-minute preparations, the middle a time of celebration, and the end a time to marvel in the wonderment of it. Regrettably, none of that came to be.
For the past three years, Wes had dealt with the vile time by hunkering down at his remote cabin in the mountains of Tennessee where no cell phone or Internet signal could find him. He longed to take off and go hide this year, but the responsibility of the new practice wouldn’t allow him to up and disappear for an entire month, so he would have to cope the best way he knew how. Run. And when he had exhausted running, he’d run some more.
October 1 fell on Wednesday, thankfully a half day, and by the time he locked up, Wes was itching to run. As long as he kept in motion, grief couldn’t catch up with him.
But if he ever got still . . .
I just need to outrun this. With that mantra on a steady repeat, he walked toward his car with purpose. Of course, his plan was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He swiped a finger across the screen and said, “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” Seth answered in a whisper. “I need you to come get me.” He sounded distracted.
Wes stopped walking and looked heavenward, but the cloudless blue sky did nothing to settle him. “You better not be in jail again.”
“No, man. I promise that was a onetime mistake. Just come get me.”
Wes began moving again. “What’s going on?”
“I met this chick at the airport. She said she’d give me a lift to your place, but she brought me to hers instead. Said she wanted to play doctor. . . . Dude, I’m feeling delicate. Hurry up.”
Wes didn’t know whether to laugh or lecture his brother, but then something occurred to him. “Why doctor?”
Seth snorted. “She thought I was good ole Dr. Weston Sawyer for some reason. What are you, Sunset Cove’s most eligible bachelor or something?”
“Or something. I’m not a bachelor. I’m a widower.” Wes cranked the car and debated just hanging up the phone and letting his brother lie in whatever dumb bed he’d made for himself.
“Whatever. Please pick me up and I’ll never try pretending to be you again.”
I’ve heard that before. “Text me the address. And you better clear up with that woman who you are by the time I get there.” He didn’t wait for a reply before ending the call and pulling out of the parking lot.
An hour later, the brothers arrived at the beach house, one chagrined and the other acting like he wasn’t the cause of it.
“Wes—”
“We must never speak of it again.” Wes sliced a hand through the air to stop the conversation before it got started. He dropped his briefcase by the door and headed into the kitchen.
“But—”
“Hello!” a sweet, raspy voice interrupted before Seth could spit out another outlandish excuse. “The front door was left open, so . . .”
Both brothers turned, standing shoulder to shoulder, and found Sophia frozen in place, cradling a giant watermelon in her arms. Her eyes volleyed back and forth between them.
“She carried a watermelon,” Seth blurted, thinking he was so cute. They both stared at the petite brunette in purple workout gear with her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail as she stared back. “I don’t think she caught my movie reference.”
“No . . . I did. Great movie. Just . . .” She blinked slowly and then squinted like she was trying to focus. “There are two of you?”
“I’m older and wiser,” Wes admitted.
“Only by three minutes, and the jury’s still out on you being wiser,” Seth interjected.
“But you’re identical.”
“Yeah. And thank our heavenly stars Ma didn’t give us dorky twin names that rhymed. Like Dan and Stan or Wayne and Shane.” He tipped his invisible hat. “Nice to make your acquaintance, ma’am.”
“Oh. My. Word.” Sophia pointed to Seth and nearly lost her grip on the watermelon. “He’s the country-hick version of your city slicker.” She giggled freely, and if Wes wasn’t so upset about the situation he had just encountered that one must never speak of again, he would have reveled in the beauty of it. “How did I not know this?”
Seth waved both hands toward her. “And how did I not know about you, darlin’?”
His brother was laying it on thick, so Wes popped him in the gut with the back of his hand. “Knock it off. . . . This is my office manager, Sophia. Sophia, my idiot brother, Seth.”
“An office manager that delivers watermelons in cute running shorts?” Seth questioned but harrumphed when Wes delivered another warning smack to the gut.