“Bore me? I miss my students so much, I feel like I’m starved for conversations beyond the best-tasting beer and lunch orders. Don’t get me wrong, I love working at Mr. B’s. I love your parents, the customers, everything about it, but I actually miss helping the kids I worked with. That probably sounds weird, but hearing about your day is nice. I love that you help people. I know teaching English is a world away from medicine, but helping others is helping others.”
He let the boat float toward shore as he rolled up the bottoms of his jeans. Leesa followed suit, rolling up her pants, too.
“I can only imagine how that feels. You can get a job as a teacher here in Peaceful Harbor, can’t you? You weren’t charged, so there shouldn’t be anything on your permanent record.” A pain in his gut accompanied the words. He hated that she even had to consider such things, and if he felt a pang, what was she feeling?
He stepped from the boat into the cool water and helped Leesa to shore, then tugged the boat up at the water’s edge.
“Getting a job as a teacher means telling a new employer what happened, and even though I wasn’t charged, references come into play. I’m sure my boss would give me an excellent reference, but she’d probably still have to mention what happened. I assume she would, anyway, and it’s embarrassing even though I wasn’t charged. Not to mention that it would open up a whole world of gossip that you don’t need in your life.” She looked at the lantern hanging on the tree and raised a hand to touch it. “This is beautiful.”
“It’s battery operated.” He reached for their shoes, and after they put them on, he laced their fingers together and said, “I wish you’d stop worrying about what I do or don’t need. I’m a big boy, and I can assure you that I can make those decisions for myself.” He caressed her cheek and kissed her softly. “Trust me, Leese.”
After what she’d experienced with her ex-boyfriend, Cole didn’t blame her for being wary of his confidence, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t remind her every chance he got that he wasn’t her ex, and that his words always came from his heart. In an effort to get her mind off of her past, he changed the subject as they started up the hill.
“Shannon helped me get things set up since I had to work.”
“So that’s what the look she gave me earlier was about. She’s sweet, and she really loves you guys. It shows when she talks about her family.”
They followed a narrow path up the mountain, where Shannon had hung lanterns every few feet to light their way.
“She’s a great person. I’m glad you’ve had a chance to meet her. She’s leaving soon to go back to Colorado, and then I think it’ll be a while before she’s back again.”
“Is this my mountain climb?” she asked as he held branches to the side for her to pass.
“It is. I hope I didn’t assume too much. This is where I used to come when I wanted to get away, and the summer before I left for college I brought Ty and Shannon here, so they’d have a place to disappear if they wanted to.” He remembered that summer, and the excitement in Shannon’s eyes. It was the type of excitement that only a younger sister could bestow on a brother she looked up to. He’d been proud to see it in her eyes. Ty, on the other hand, had been only about eleven years old, and he’d always found mountains cool. To him it was just another fun adventure.
“I can’t imagine wanting to disappear from a family like yours. Everyone’s so supportive.”
“Yeah.” A soft laugh escaped his lips. “Along with that ever-present support comes the presence of family twenty-four-seven. Sometimes I needed a little solitude.”
The woods smelled like pine and dampness, and as they came to the ridge of the mountain, a picnic blanket surrounded by more lanterns came into view. His guitar sat at an angle at the edge of the blanket.
Leesa gasped with delight, and her beautiful green eyes widened with excitement. He’d never tire of seeing her smile.
“You and Shannon did this? For us?”
“We did. I got everything ready last night and ordered dinner for tonight. She picked it up and set it all up. She made it happen, so she should really get the credit.” He kissed her again as they left the trail and sank down to the blanket.
“Don’t sell yourself short. You thought of this. It’s…” Her eyes warmed. “No one has ever done anything like this for me. Thank you.”
He leaned over and tugged her into another kiss. “You’re worth so much more, Leese. This is just the beginning.”
She didn’t do anything more than smile, but the look in her eyes gave her emotions away.
He opened the picnic basket and took out a bottle of wine and two wineglasses. Leesa peered into the basket, her eyes skimming over the containers of fruit, the carefully wrapped fresh baguette, jar of olive tapenade, and containers of cheese, and finally came to rest on the dishes.
“You brought real plates and glasses?” She sat back as he handed her a wineglass, then filled it and one for himself.
“Sure, why not?” He held up his glass and toasted. “To our second date.”
“Gosh, it feels like we’ve known each other a lot longer than we have, doesn’t it?”
“Most definitely.”
They drank their wine and talked about the view of the river and how pretty the setting sun was in the distance. Cole picked up his guitar and strummed out a tune, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said about missing her students. He wanted to help her get her life back, and if he were honest with himself, he’d admit that he’d also like to get her to stick around Peaceful Harbor.
“Leesa, I’m close with the principal of our middle school, and I’m sure there are tons of kids who could use a good tutor. Maybe you should give the idea some thought.”
***
LEESA DIDN’T KNOW how to respond. Cole made no bones about his feelings for her, and she knew her references would be fine, but that wasn’t what she feared the most. “I don’t think I’m ready to face those challenges yet. I still feel like I’m looking over my shoulder at every turn, and I have a job waiting for me back in Baltimore.”
“Baltimore,” he said more to himself than to her. His eyes filled with disappointment. “What exactly are you looking over your shoulder for?”
She finished her wine and set her glass aside. “For someone to out me in public, I guess. Like today, I was serving an older couple, and the husband kept staring at me. He finally said he thought I looked familiar, and my mind went directly to Towson. I thought he’d read about what happened online or something. He was looking at me so intently that even now my heart is racing just thinking about how nervous I was. I felt like I wanted to run.”
She tried to smile but couldn’t muster it as he reached for her hand and squeezed it.
“Please don’t run.” His eyes pleaded with her as he kissed her knuckles. “I already know that my life would never be the same without you.”
She lowered her eyes, feeling her throat thicken and her heart swell. “I’m not running, and it turned out that the customer thought I looked like Naomi Watts, of all people. He was complimenting me and I was totally freaking out.” And still am.
“I understand that fear, and I wish there was some way to stop it from creeping up on you. Is there anything I can do to help?”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing anyone can do, and I don’t want to ruin our wonderful picnic with my past. But I thought you should know the truth. I do worry about it, every minute of every day. Every time I’m in public I feel like I’m watching everyone for signs of recognition.”
“I don’t know if that will ever change for you, but maybe you just need to bite the bullet at some point and get back into doing what you love.”
She tried to laugh it off. “That’s so much easier said than done. It’s not in the least bit funny, but when I think of where I was—at a solid place in my career, well respected by parents, my peers—and then in one afternoon the rug was pulled out from under me. It’s kind of crazy that things can happen that quickly.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t help to know this, but if I had been there, I would have stood by your side, fought for your reputation, and done everything within my power to make sure you never felt like you had to hide. Look at us, Leese. Good things can happen that quickly, too.” He began strumming the guitar again and humming the tune to Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up.”
Leesa couldn’t stop emotions from clogging her throat as he sang about her eyes, and learning about who he was. She pressed her lips tightly together to stave off the tears as he sang about how he’d always be there for her—and he barely even knew her. She was no match for her emotions, which had given her whiplash over the past week. She wiped a lone tear as it rolled down her cheek.
He set the guitar aside and gathered her in his arms again, which had quickly become her favorite place to be.
“You barely know me,” she said, even though she felt like he knew her better than any man ever had, besides her father. “You only know of my past.”