Begin to Begin (15 page)

I raise my eyebrows in shock, though I'm really not that shocked. "Really? Well, I'll see what I can work out. I have to check the schedule here and make sure Liam can handle most days. I won't be able to be there full days as that will raise suspicion and the last thing I want is the Old Man finding out." I turn and throw the wrench in the toolbox on the work table. "But I will see can do."

He straightens up and walks toward me and grasps my shoulder. "Now there's the old Dalton! Looking forward to working with you again, my friend. I'll have a runner bring the burner phone over tomorrow so we don't raise suspicion with Mel."

He turns to walk out as I yell, "Sounds like a plan. And Sonny?" He turns and faces me. "I'm not your friend."

I sure as shit hope this plan works, because if not, I'm up the creek without a paddle.

******

Later that evening as I sit at the dinner table with Uncle Mel and Aunt Dot, she asks about Marin again.

"So, Dalton, I know you went out with the girl the other night. I really would love to meet her."

"How do you know I went out with her?" And then I realize that there is only one other person that knew I was going out with her. Liam. "Never mind, don't answer that."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I still want to meet her. It's not fair that you let this old fart meet her but not me." She pops her bottom lip out and pouts like a little kid, and I can't help but smile at her antics.

"We'll see." I look down trying to deflect the conversation. But that doesn't happen.

"Melvin told me last night that she is very pretty," she continues on innocently.

"Yeah, she is." I mean, what do they want me to say? That she's an ugly troll? They look at me, expecting me to elaborate, but I don't. Uncle Mel knows what Marin looks like anyway, and I'm almost positive that he filled Aunt Dot in. She's just fishing for more information.

She continues to stare at me then calmly puts her fork down and wipes her mouth. "Listen, Dalton. We understand that you are a private person. We aren't trying to take that away from you. Is it wrong that we are just a little excited at the thought of you having a girlfriend?"

I start choking on the food I just swallowed. Once I recover from almost dying, I laugh. "Girlfriend? She's just a friend. That's it for now. We are still getting to know each other so I definitely wouldn't classify her as a girlfriend." I take a big gulp of the sweet tea sitting beside me. "I'll tell you what." Pausing, I look between the two of them. I will do my best to make them happy and keep them safe. They are the closest thing to parents I have ever really had. " Next time she is here I will let you know so you can meet her."

That seems to make her happy because she smiles and picks up her fork and continues eating.

The rest of dinner time is spent mostly in silence. This time of day used to be filled with tension and frustration when I was working with Sonny and J.R. and that was if I even showed up. Most times Uncle Mel and Aunt Dot didn't even know where I was. I'm surprised that they never gave up on me. These past few months, though, I have worked my ass off regaining their trust.

I hope that my current dealings with Sonny don't screw up everything. With them or with Marin. I could lose it all. But it's worth it to get this monkey off my back and to make sure that justice is served.

As soon as I place my napkin on the table and thank Aunt Dot for a wonderful meal, my cell phone rings. I glance over to see who it is and Uncle Mel must notice the wariness on my face.

"Who is it, Dalton?" he asks skeptically.

"Don't worry, old man," I joke. "It's just a friend. Not Sonny or J.R. I have to get going, though." I wait until I'm out the door before I answer.

"Hello, Detective Merritt."

It's been a week and a half since my date with Dalton. Yes, I said date because who the hell am I kidding? We kissed so that makes it a date, right? I have tried not to dwell too much on him not calling me, but, well, I have. It sucks. I didn't want to have to go through the agony of not knowing if he likes me or not in that way.

I have been trying not to dwell on it by keeping busy planning Gwenn's party. Everything is ready to go. I can't wait. I actually have a few interviews lined up the rest of this week to fill her position. It's going to be hard filling those shoes, but I'm happy that she is pursuing her dream. And besides, since she will be in New York, it gives me a reason to visit the state.

I'm working on the new release table getting it set up with all the new books when I hear the bell. I glance over my shoulder to greet the customer but stop before I get a word out.

Dalton stands in the doorway with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets. I'm not sure what to even say to him.

"Hi," he softly says. I can tell that he's treading lightly with me since we haven't talked in over a week. He seems nervous even.

Placing the book I'm holding back on the table, I turn back to him. "Hi."

Cole watches with slight amusement from the desk with the new girl, Molly, who I hired two days ago—she’s the first of my new hires. He took on the task of training the new employees. I have one more to hire and then we will see how it goes with just one added body.

"So, do you have time to go to lunch?" Tilting my head to the side, I look at him, confused. He hasn't talked to me in over a week, has ignored all the contact that I've tried to make with him, and now he shows up here out of the blue and wants to take me to lunch? Looking back to Cole, he nods that they are fine and I should go.

"Yeah," I answer. "Just let me grab my bag." I head back to the office and grab my phone and bag and walk back out. I don't immediately see Dalton, but then I spot him over near the non-fiction shelf. "I'm ready," I interrupt as he looks over one of the newer books that have been released lately.

Following him out the door not sure where he is taking me. We walk down Fifteenth Avenue and turn onto Elm. He walks through the door of Thelma's, a quaint little diner that is mostly frequented by the locals. It's a hidden gem.

Once we are seated and give our drink and food orders—Dalton a BLT and Coke, me a turkey on rye with water—I decide to break this proverbial ice that is lingering between us.

"So I haven't heard from you in over a week. I've called, I've texted, I've even thought of driving out to the garage to see what is going on with you. Now you just show up in the store and want to go to lunch?" I pause as the waitress brings our drinks, but as soon as she turns her back to leave, I continue on. "What is going on, Dalton? Where have you been? Why have you been ignoring me?"

He looks at me, his eyes speaking the apology that's about to fall from his lips.

"I'm sorry, Marin. I really am. My life is … complicated. There is a lot of things that happened in my past that seem to be popping up again. I need to get them taken care of for good. And I promise you I will tell you everything when the time is right.”

"OK. I'm listening whenever you are ready. But just know we all have complications in our lives. That doesn't mean we drop off the face of the Earth and not return phone calls to those that care about us."

His eyes flash with shock when I state that I care about him. "I know," he answers. "I'm really sorry. I'm trying to take care of a few things but as soon as I have them taken care of I can focus on—" he reaches across the table and grabs my hands "—other things."

"OK." I give his hands a squeeze and pull away when the waitress returns with our food. "Just promise me that if something is going on and you are busy you will at least shoot me a quick text and let me know. I was worried."

"OK, I promise," he says as he smiles and digs into his food.

He continues chatting to me about his aunt and uncle and things going on with the garage and how he is making out with the office work. It sounds like he is doing OK with it, but I still would like to get him some better advertising other than a spot in the phone book. We chat about my sign guy and I give him the number to give him a call so they can get something set up at the end of the road leading to the garage.

"So … I'm having a going away party on Friday night at the store for Gwenn. You should come. Bring Liam too. Unless he already has plans."

"Count me in. I will check with Liam. Are you sure you want me to bring him along? He's quite the playboy." He smirks.

"Yeah, Gwenn is leaving, but for some reason, I feel like they should meet. I’m not sure what it is, really. They seem so different but I feel like they would complement each other. Not to mention they would look amazing together." I smirk back.

Dalton throws enough money on the table to cover the bill and the tip and stands and reaches out a hand for me. "OK, I'll see what I can do, matchmaker." I stand and link my arms through his and we continue back to the store. "I have to get back to the garage and I'm sure you need to get back to work. Can I call you later, though?"

"Absolutely."

We stop in front of the store, where anyone inside can look out and see us.

"OK, then I'll talk to you later," he says. His eyes heat, and I can feel my cheeks starting to redden. He leans down, and just before his lips make contact with mine, he sweeps them to the side and brushes the softest kiss across my cheek.

I watch him walk the distance of the sidewalk before I turn to go back into the store.

Once inside, I can finally breathe.

******

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful considering how unexpected my afternoon was, but I stay until close anyway because I haven't in a while. This is my store, after all.

Gwenn comes in for the evening when Cole and Molly have to leave and we get to have a good bit of girl talk that we haven't in a few weeks.

"So, I hear you went to lunch with Dalton today. How was that?" she inquires while she's cleaning up the coffee area and I'm closing out the register across the room. We've already closed for the night and are finishing up the process before we can get out of here.

"Yeah. It was pretty unexpected. He just showed up in the doorway. His presence took up the whole room, it seemed. Molly couldn’t take her eyes off of him. It was pretty funny."

We laugh together at the image. Molly is a sweet girl but she’s timid and shy and Dalton can be overwhelming. His size alone could be scary to some people.

"So this is pretty serious between you two?" she asks with concern. I know she isn't worried about the type of person Dalton is—she is more worried about my heart and if it can handle whatever is happening to it.

"I don't know, Gwenn. I mean … I like him. I really do. But something seems off lately. He was there for a couple weeks, texting and calling and then we went out. We kissed. It was freaking amazing and then nothing for almost two weeks."

"Maybe it freaked him out, you know, maybe he isn't used to liking a woman the way I think he probably likes you. He definitely seems like he could be the player type." I think about what she said. That could be part of it but I'm sure there is something else. I'm almost positive that there is something he's not telling me.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I smile and decide to finish up working in my office for the night. I could use the alone time to just think.

The more I think about what is going on with Dalton and me, the more confused I get. This was never meant to be more than a friendship anyway.

That kiss between us doesn't need to mean anything. I can pretend that I didn't feel the butterflies in my stomach. I can pretend that I didn't taste his lips for hours after he left. I can pretend that it didn't bother me that he didn't contact me for over a week. And maybe I can even pretend that I'm not losing touch with my love for Benji.

******

Gwenn and I walk out to our cars together by the end of the night. Since the night of the attack, no one ever walks alone at night.

Even though they caught the scum bag that attacked me and by the sounds of it he will be put away for a very long time, I'm now realizing how many criminals are actually walking the streets.

As we round the corner to the parking lot, I see a dark figure leaning against my car. Gwenn comes to a stop and tenses up, but I know immediately who the dark figure is.

"It's Dalton." I'm surprised to see him again. He said he would call me tonight and since we ate lunch together I honestly didn't expect him to show up here again.

"You OK if I head home?" she asks.

Nodding, I squeeze her hand. "Yeah, I'm good. He actually makes me feel safe. Confused … but safe." She smiles and gives a quick wave to Dalton before heading to her car.

I cross the distance of the rest of the lot until we are standing face to face and I hear Gwenn's car start and leave the lot.

"Hey," he says with a slight smile.

"Hi," I reply.

"Can I drive you home?" he asks. I look around him and don't see his Bronco anywhere.

"Where's the Bronco?"

He looks down at the pavement, almost as if he is ashamed of what he is going to tell me.

"I hope it's OK but I parked it at your place and had Liam drive me from there to here."

"Really?" I ask, surprised by this information. I'm flattered.

"Yeah, after lunch I realized that I just had to see you again. Talking or texting wasn't gonna cut it for me." He looks around, realizing that I could possibly say no and that would leave him stuck in this lot. But I won't say no.

Something about this man makes the word yes slide from my tongue more than I thought it ever would for a man again.

"OK." He whips his head back so he's looking right at me again and smiles.

"OK."

"But … are you going to be able to drive my itty bitty car? I'm sure it's nothing like driving your big, bad Bronco."

Walking around the car, he pulls the passenger door open and laughs. "Get in, Marin."

"OK, Mr. Bossypants."

When he has me shut in the car securely, he heads back around to his side and gets in.

He looks my way with a smirk and says, "You ready?"

“Yes,” I answer. But, how can I feel more than ready and not ready for something at the same time?