"Wow," I said wistfully. "I can't even imagine."
"You were very gracious that night," he said as his eyes met mine.
"All I did was hand you a few Kleenex."
"Yeah, but you could have just kept walking. You could have ignored me."
"You would have been fine."
"Probably, but you didn't know that. Not everyone would stop to help a perfect stranger."
His praise was making me uncomfortable, displayed by the blush on my cheeks. "And what are the odds that you and I both end up in Florida three years later? Meeting at another elementary school?"
"It is peculiar, isn't it?" he said, smiling again. He clasped his hands and rested his elbows on the table, peering at me over his hands. "My parents have lived here my whole life. After Olivia died, just a little while after my breakdown at the parent-teacher conferences, I decided to move back home to be close to them, so they could help with the kids."
"It's great that you have that kind of support system."
"Yes, but why are you here?"
I brought my water glass to my mouth, sipping slowly, trying to find the right words. "Things in Fairbanks didn't work out. I'd spent a summer here once when I was younger." I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I figured it was a good place to start over."
"I found you. I foiled your plan," he stated with a straight face.
"No," I said, laughing softly. "My plan was foiled long before you came around."
The waiter returned to take our order, then left us in peace once more.
"So, there's you and the kids, and your parents. Anyone else?" I hated the way I sounded, as if I was fishing for information. I totally was, but I wanted to sound less obvious about it. Fortunately, he continued providing information I wasn't entitled to, without sounding put out by it.
"I have brothers and sisters, but they're spread out all over the country. It's all right, though. The kids and I pretty much have it all figured out by now. My parents help a lot, but they don't really see it as helping. They see it as just spending time with their grandkids."
"That's good," I replied. I had one more question burning through me, and it was the worst one I could think of asking, but something about Devon's open nature and calm demeanor made me feel as though he would tell me anything. "Can I ask how she died?"
"Breast cancer," he said almost immediately, the words cold, as if he were trying so hard to say them without emotion. As if he were holding himself back from spitting them.
"I'm sorry. That must have been so hard." I'd never been close to anyone who passed from cancer, but I knew it wasn't a quick and painless road.
"It was. But," he continued on a sigh, "we've made it through the hardest parts. We'll persevere." We both paused and I had no idea where to go from there. Luckily, he kept talking. "I couldn't help but notice there's no ring on your finger. But there is a tan line."
I looked down at my ring finger before I could stop myself. Sure enough, the line was still there. It had taken a while for the indentation to go away, but finally it had. My thumb rubbed over the spot where my wedding ring used to be.
"My husband and I split up about two and a half years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not." That was a lie. "Okay, I'm a little sorry," I stated.
"Kids?" he asked innocently.
"No," I replied, trying not to let the black sludge I felt swirling around inside me seep out with my words.
"I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be a good thing or not. Kids and divorce is kind of rough. But kids are pretty awesome."
Oh, God.
"Try a room full of thirty of them," I said, forcing a smile on my face, trying desperately to move our conversation back to safe territory. Back to a place that didn't make me want to drown myself.
"Did you always want to teach elementary school?"
And just like that we were safe on dry land.
We talked pleasantly throughout our meal. A few times he laughed and I held my breath, waiting for the wings of the butterflies in my stomach to stop swirling, for my heart to slow to a normal pace. Toward the end of our time together, I let myself study his face. He was pretty magnificent, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to just take the memory of him with me. The first man I'd met who seemed to, perhaps, have more baggage than me, but still seemed to be doing fine. Seemed to be making it through with the scars to prove it, but the life to also prove there were reasons to keep going.
After we'd finished, he walked me to my car. "Thank you for keeping me company, Mr. Roberts," I said as I pulled my keys from my purse.
"Please, call me Devon."
"Only if you promise to call me Grace."
"Deal," he said with a smile that made my breath catch.
"Well," I said, opening my door. "I should probably get going. Thanks again for the company."
"My pleasure. I'll send that packet to school with Jaxy on Monday."
"Sounds good."
"See you around, Grace." He gave a little wave and stepped back onto the sidewalk, watching me settle into my car. I waved back as I drove away, and let out a big sigh. It had been surprisingly comfortable to share a meal with him and I hadn't anticipated that. I hadn't eaten a meal with a man besides family or my ex-husband in years, but Devon made everything seem light and easy.
Nothing in my world had been easy for years.
Chapter Four
Devon
"Have you ever painted your own house?"
I'd been helping an elderly man with supplies to paint his house for over a half hour. He seemed determined, but seeing as how he was making his way through the store with a cane, I had to wonder about his ability.
"No, I can't say that I have. And honestly, I don't know that I would. It's hard work." I watched the old man's face carefully as I said the words, hoping they'd sink in.
"All our kids are grown and moved across the country. I'd tell 'em to come help, but it wouldn't do any good."
I pictured myself old and alone. Would Jaxy and Ruby stay close or run away as far as they could, leaving me to waste away by myself?
"I have the cards of some pretty reputable painting companies up at the register. They hire college kids so the costs are pretty reasonable." I knew if he decided to hire someone else to paint his house I would lose the sale, but I couldn't, in good conscience, send an old man to paint his own house in the Florida sun that was only getting hotter by the day. The man grumbled under his breath for a few seconds, then let out an audible sigh.
"I'm painting the house because I have to sell it. My wife died a year ago and it's just too hard to be there anymore."
Oh, I hear you.
"I'm sorry."
"The point is, I'm painting the house because I want to sell it. I'm starting to think that if I paint it myself, it might not help my cause. I should probably hire a professional."
I laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "A good paint job can add a lot of value."
"There's no amount of money that can buy the memories of my wife in that house," he said gruffly. "But I can't stay there forever."
"Let me get you those cards." I walked away before he said any more stupidly poignant and emotionally draining things, and headed toward the register. I'd opened the drawer below the register and grabbed a few business cards, when my phone on the counter caught my eye. The light in the corner was flashing. I activated the screen and saw I had five missed calls. Confusion and panic coursed through me. I opened my voice mail and immediately pressed Play.
"Mr. Roberts, this is Amy from Tree Hill Day Care. I'm just calling to let you know that Jaxy hasn't arrived yet, even though we expected him a little while ago. I haven't heard from the school, so I'm not sure if there was a miscommunication or not, but we're still expecting him. Please give us a call so we know you got this message."
"Shit," I swore as I moved on to the next message.
"Um, hi, Devon? Or, uh, Mr. Roberts? This is Miss Richards from North Elm Elementary. I've got Jax here. He's fine and safe, but the bus that usually takes him to day care broke down on the way here. I'm still here with him, so don't worry about that, but I just wanted to let you know. They don't have an estimate of when or if they'll be able to come get him, but I'm here with him and I'll wait to hear from you. Uh, thanks." I heard some rustling, then her voice again. "Oh, and this is my cell phone in case you're confused by the caller ID. You can call me back here, or the school number. Either way. We're on the playground, which is why I called on my cell. Someone will answer if you call the school. Uh, okay. I'll shut up now."
The voice mail ended and I was a mixture of amused and relieved. Grace's message made me chuckle and I was glad she had Jax and he wasn't missing and scared somewhere on a broken-down bus.
"Dad," I hollered to the back of the store, where my father was in the office.
"Yeah?"
"I gotta go pick Jaxy up from school."
I walked back to the old man by the paint samples. "Here you go. I've heard great things about all these companies." I handed him the cards and gave him a gentle clap on the back. "Good luck."
"Thank you," he mumbled, then made his way out of the store.