“It was all I had. It was my claim to fame, even though that's ridiculous. Hearing myself say it out loud makes me feel like a loser.”
“You shouldn't define yourself by these kinds of things, Hen.”
“Henrietta.”
SuAnn waved her hand. “See? Henrietta sounds pretentious. Why can't you just let me call you Hen?”
“Because a hen is an animal, not a person. It's not proper.”
“Don't you ever get tired of keeping up appearances?”
“I suppose so. Sometimes. But I'm far too old to change who I am now. Look, I'm sorry for what I did. I don't really know how to make it better. I guess I can go admit what I did, and then you can have the crown and the spa certificate…”
“I don't want the prizes. I just wanted to know I accomplished something here in my new home. It's lonely sometimes, even though my family is here. They're all busy,” SuAnn said, sitting down next to her.
“I know what you mean. My son moved all the way to Atlanta in search of some fancy job. My daughter got married and moved out to some godforsaken ranch in Montana. I never see my grandchildren because they live too far away. And my husband, well let's just say he's not the most entertaining fellow I've ever met.”
SuAnn laughed. “I just got divorced because I got addicted to shopping on those TV stations and ended up spending a ton of money. And my husband was as boring a man as I've ever met. I had to do something to entertain myself.”
The two women looked at each other and started laughing. “Why, aren't we a pair?” Henrietta said.
“Yeah, I guess we are more alike than I thought we were.”
“Say, do you think we might be able to become friends?”
SuAnn thought for a moment. “I guess anything is possible. But first, you have to make things right.”
“I will,” Henrietta said. “I promise.”
Dawson stepped aboard William’s boat, the water causing him to bob up and down as other boats made their way home for the day.
“How’s business so far?”
William laughed. “Well, I’ve been in business less than a week, so I’m not a millionaire just yet. But, things are going well.”
“Good. Congratulations, man.” Dawson sat down and leaned his head back, running his fingers through his hair.
“What’s up?”
“What do you mean?”
William sat down across from him. “Dude, I’ve known you since we were kids. You’re always stressed when you lean back and run your fingers through your hair.”
Dawson sat up and looked at him. “You mean I have a tell?”
“Let’s just say you wouldn’t be good at poker.”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I just had to get away from the inn for awhile. Camp ended this afternoon, and things were so quiet after those kids left.”
“Yeah? I bet you’ll enjoy that quiet,” William said with a laugh.
Dawson scrunched his face. “Is it crazy if I said I don’t enjoy it? That I miss those kids? Or, specifically, one of those kids.”
“Janine told me you’ve formed a bond with one. Dylan, I think?”
Dawson smiled. “He’s a cool kid. The situation he was in… Man, I can hardly think about it without my eyes tearing up.”
“Bad stuff, huh?”
“Yeah. But…”
“But what?”
“I’m thinking about adopting him, if they’ll let me.”
William stopped what he was doing and looked at Dawson. “Seriously?”
“Do you think that’s a crazy idea?”
“I think it’s really noble.”
“Nah, it’s not noble. It’s just that I love that kid. I don’t want to save him. I kind of feel like he’d be saving me.”
“How so?”
“I’ve wanted to be a dad for as long as I can remember. You know that.”
“What about Julie?”
“Well, see, that’s the thing. I don’t know how she’d feel about being married to me and raising a son.”
“Married? Have y’all even talked about that?”
Dawson shook his head. “Not really. At least, not in a few months. Getting her to marry me is going to be hard enough after everything Michael put her through, but asking her to start over and be the parent of an eight year old might put the last nail in the coffin.”
William leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I think you’re wrong about Julie. I see how she looks at you, man. She’s a good woman, and there’s no way she’d leave you because you want to adopt Dylan.”
“I don’t even know if I’d qualify to adopt him. There’s so much red tape involved. But, I’d at least like to try, you know?”
“Is there a reason why you don’t just propose to Julie?”
“Are you insane? I can’t just propose without even talking about marriage beforehand. She’s not a spur of the moment kind of person. She’s more of a planner.”
“She literally moved here on the spur of the moment and started a whole new life. What makes you think a surprise proposal wouldn’t be the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to her?”
Dawson sat with the idea for a moment while William finished getting his stuff together to go home for the day. What would happen if he just went straight to the jeweler before they closed, picked the perfect ring and popped the question by the ocean in a few hours?
“What if she says no?”
William slapped him on the back. “Then you’ll have your answer. What good is it to keep dating if you want to be a married man? And, at least you’ll know where you stand, right?”
“Right.” Dawson said as he climbed out of the boat. “I just hope I’m not standing alone.”
Chapter Twelve
Julie sat in her car, her hands shaking as they gripped the steering wheel. What had she been thinking? She was going to pop the question to Dawson? Had she gone insane? Dixie could talk her into anything. Well, at least nothing had happened yet. He had no idea she was thinking such a crazy thought, and he never would. At least no harm was done.
She could see him off in the distance, casting his fishing line out into the water as he waited for her to get there. Why was she so nervous? He wanted to talk to her, and that never seemed like a good thing. In her experience, when a man - or anyone, really - said they wanted to talk, it wasn’t because they wanted to chat about how great things were going.
After finally summoning her courage, she stepped out of her car and started walking toward him. He was so handsome, standing there in his khaki shorts, baby blue t-shirt and boat shoes. Tall and strapping, as her mother would call him, he was the epitome of movie star handsome. The way he moved, so lithe and strong, made her feel safe when he was around. He was the whole package of strong and sexy and kind that every woman wanted, and she got to call him her boyfriend. What would it be like to call him her husband?
That was it. She was going to do this. She was going to propose. She was going to go for it! She marched toward him like she was on a military mission, and she wasn’t going to lose. This was her moment, and she was grabbing that brass ring. Going for that gold medal…