Restoration & Forgiveness (Renovate Book 2) (7 page)

She pulls me to her. "You look exactly the same."

I return her compliment, because most people would love to remain their high school self.

"You look great. Do you work here?" I ask.

She looks down at what she's wearing and grabs the hem of her shirt.

"You mean these old things. Yeah, I'm a nurse here in labor and delivery."

I smile at her and her smile is infectious.

"That's great," I tell her.

She leans against the sink and says, "What's going on? Last I heard you were living in the Big Apple."

"Yes, I'm just back to look after my dad."

The look on her face tells me she's concerned. Delaney and I were friends in high school, not super close, but we hung out a lot and when we were kids we took ballet lessons together, so I've known her almost as long as Keegan.

"I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"He had a heart attack a couple days ago. I'm here until he recovers. Hopefully, I can take him home in a couple days."

"Aimee, I'm sorry. That sucks. I should have known that, you know, running into you here at the hospital and all," she apologizes, and looks at her watch. "I've got to get back to work, but what are you doing later? We should catch up, and honestly, you look like you could use a drink."

I'm a little taken aback by her comment. Do I look that bad?

"Don't get me wrong, you look great. How about you meet me at Al Patti's at nine? I'm not taking no for an answer."

She looks at me with big green eyes and I decide that a change is good, and I like Delaney. It may be good for me to get my mind off things.

"Sure, I'll be there after visiting hours."

"Awesome, see you then. Excuse me, I really have to use the bathroom before I get back."

"Oh, sorry, I'll see you later."

While I make my way to Dad's room, I find myself looking forward to later, if only to forget about my problems. Plus, Al Patti's is a quaint little sports bar. It's family owned and close to the university, but not too far from my house.

I find my dad doing what he does best, channel surfing, but he looks better today. His cheeks have more color, and he doesn't look as tired as he was yesterday.

"There's my little girl." He smiles when I enter.

"Hi, Dad. How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, the doctors are talking about discharging me in another day or two."

The faster we are home the better I will feel. I hate visiting him here.

"Dad, that's great."

"Now you can stop worrying that pretty little head of yours. I'll be fine and you can go back home."

I hate that he wants me to go home, because all I want is to be here with him as long as he needs me.

"There's no rush. I'm fine here, and honestly if I need to I can work from here. That's the beauty of being a writer, you can basically do it anywhere."

"Have I told you how proud I am of you, Aimee Elizabeth?"

He doesn't need to tell me that, I already know. He's the best and I wouldn't trade him for anything. My father's love is unconditional, and the best kind I've ever known. I'm so lucky to have him.

I look around and see a couple of vases of flowers on the windowsill.

Changing the subject, switching the focus off me, I ask, "The flowers are beautiful, who are they from?" I should have gotten him a get-well gift.

"One is from Mr. and Mrs. James, and the other is from Reese." He points.

Of course Keegan's parents would send flowers. They have always been very thoughtful, and Reese, well, she loves my dad.

"Speaking of, where's the boy?" he asks, referring to Keegan.

"Oh, he'll be by later, he has business," I answer.

He seems satisfied with my answer, and doesn't ask me anything else about Keegan's whereabouts; I have no clue where he went. He said he'd be back, but his sudden swing in mood has me a bit confused.

My dad is looking at me, and I'm afraid he can read my thoughts. Not good.

"Remember Delaney Scott? I just ran in to her in the bathroom. She works here," I say.

"No kidding. I sure do. How is she?"

"She's a nurse here in labor and delivery. She wants to get together tonight, to catch up."

My dad looks at me, and I can tell he knows something that I didn't want to reveal.

"That's a great idea. You and Keegan should go out and have some fun. Relax, and catch up with Delaney."

"I told her yes, I'll see her later at Al Patti's after they kick me out," I laugh.

"So what's in the bag?" he asks, and I look down, having forgotten about it.

"It's just a bear claw Keegan got for me."

"Your favorite. Seems like he hasn't changed much. Always doing nice things for you no matter what, following you here to make sure you're all right."

What's he getting at, and since when was my dad all team Keegan?

"I know, Dad. By the way, I went to the cemetery this morning. I think I'll go back in a couple days and clean up a little, and bring flowers."

"Good idea," he says simply.

Silence ensues, and I decide to put on a happy smile.

"So, anything good on? I can stop at the store or home and bring you some magazines, or I'm sure the staff can find you something. Don't they have that lady who stops by with the book cart?"

"I'm fine, Aimee, but thanks for asking." He continues clicking the remote.

He finds
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
and stops. An oldie but goodie, we both watch in silence as Harrison Ford evades pursuers in Cairo, and of course, rescues his long-lost love, Marion. I liked that she was independent and strong. She always told Indy what was on her mind. Too bad the next two movies she wasn't around. Then of course she shows back up in the last movie, and they continue where they left off. Why can't life be as easy as the movies, forgive and forget, move on? I wish it could be like jumping into another story or adventure. Unfortunately, that's not how things work in reality. The love of your life leaves, and keeps secrets, and lets another woman control him. He forgets about what's truly important, and when he realizes his mistakes, it's too late because the pain is just so much, forgiveness isn't possible.

How could I ever entertain forgiving a man who hasn't let me in entirely? Who doesn't trust that I wouldn't run away at knowing his faults? No one is perfect, but things would have been so different if he just trusted me like I've trusted him. Thanks, Indiana Jones, for putting things into perspective.

I end up dozing off in the chair. When I wake, my stomach is growling so I break down and eat the bear claw. It's even more delicious than I imagined, and refusing myself such a treat is ridiculous. As I'm enjoying the sweet pastry, I look at my dad, who is just smiling at me and shaking his head.

"What?" I ask with my mouth full.

"Nothing, Aimee, but didn't I ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" He's scolding me, and suddenly I feel more like a child than I have in years.

Chapter Eight

Walking into Al Patti's, I spot Delaney right away at the massive bar. When she spots me she smiles.

"You made it. I was worried you would stand me up." She looks surprised.

"Trust me, Delaney, I need this. It's been a rough couple of days."

She eyes me, concerned. "Well, we'll have none of that, and only good times will be had here tonight."

I feel better already. I left my dad an hour ago, after spending the entire day watching television and talking. Keegan never came back, and it irritated me that he would so adamantly bully me into being together, then out of the blue disappear. He showed me that castle, and I think I'm still shocked; I literally can't get it out of my head. I'm now imagining what it will look like when it's finished. I'm sure the inside will be beautiful, but it will never be my home. It can't be.

A drink is placed in front of me and Delaney sits across from me in a booth.

"What's this?" I ask.

"It's the best drink ever, and guaranteed to make you forget: El Diablo. It has tequila in it, so don't go all crazy. No one likes a lush." She winks at me. Delaney has always been so fun to be around.

I take a sip of the drink and it's delicious. She is right, I won't be able to have too many of these concoctions or I'll be being peeled off the floor. All I ate today was that damn bear claw. The only sustenance I had was given to me by Keegan, and now he's back so I take another sip, this time enough that half my drink is gone. The faster this drink affects me the better. I'd like to banish all thoughts of him for at least one night.

"Wow, that bad, huh?" Delaney asks.

I nod. "This past month has been pretty stressful."

"Well, it's a good thing we ran in to one another isn't it?" She smiles.

The bar is a lot more crowded than it was a few minutes ago, and I take a look around, eying the patrons, who I assume are from the university.

"It's the witching hour, when all of college's finest come by, and see if their fake ID's will get them some booze. Too bad Nate is working; he rarely lets one get by him."

Nate the bartender graduated with us. I remember he played baseball with Keegan in high school. His parents owned the bar, and their parents before them, and now he does.

We laugh as he turns a few kids away who obviously are underage. The looks of devastation on their faces as they walk away make me feel a little bad for them. We were all in their position, trying to act older then we really were just to get an alcoholic drink. I'm sure the next step for the youth is to stand outside the convenience store asking people if they can buy them beer.

"I feel like I'm in college again," I say.

The drink is kicking in in a big way. I feel warmth all through my body, and it's suddenly stifling in the bar.

"Yeah, but I don't remember that guy in college, he's seriously hot." She points to the bar, at someone talking to Nate and shaking his hand. My vision is obstructed and I can't see who it is. I like hot, who doesn't? I may have lost the love of my life, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the finer things in life. I think that may be the alcohol talking, but I'm not sure.

"Holy shit, isn't that…" I know exactly who it is now, because he has moved to where I can look at him clearly.

"Keegan James," we say at the exact same time. Delaney looks at me, seeing the recognition in my eyes.

"Okay then, what's that story there, Aimee? I haven't seen him since high school."

"It's a long story," I tell her.

She moves in closer to me. "This may surprise you, but I'm a great listener, and I have nowhere to be."

Even though Delaney and I haven't talked in ages, I feel comfortable divulging everything to her, and that's exactly what I do. Well, most of it at least. There are some secrets I can't tell anyone. Some stories aren't mine to tell.

"You know, Aimee, sometimes it's good to get someone else's perspective. I remember the way you two were attached at the hip when we were younger. It made every girl in our high school envious of you, even me. Who wouldn't want the attention of Keegan James, or any James?"

"Delaney, it wasn't like that; we were just friends," I defend.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that bullshit before. Friends till the end and all that jazz, but if you believe you have ever been just friends then you may need to see a shrink."

She doesn't understand, and I'm not sure anyone would, so I just remain silent while we stare at each other.

"You obviously haven't changed since high school. That look he's giving you right now is the same look he's given you since I've known you."

Maybe Delaney needs to see a shrink, because I think she may be off her rocker. Keegan never looked at me, and if he had, why all the girlfriends in high school? The ones I had to be nice to for him, even though most of them looked at me like they wanted to rip my head off.

"How is that?"

"Aimee he's looking at you like you belong to him; it shouts
mine
. I wish some guy would look at me like that at least for one night."

I can't help but laugh hysterically. Even though her words sound nice, perfect, and what I always wanted, it's just not true.

"Delaney, how many of those have you drank tonight?"

"This is my first drink, and I have a very good tolerance for alcohol so I'm as sober as a judge right now."

"Well thanks, but I think you're wrong."

"We will agree to disagree," she says. We both take another sip of our drinks, and I'm already in need of another, especially after my session with Dr. Phil.

"Oh, since you guys are such great 'friends.'" She puts the word friends in air quotes. "Do you have any idea why he's here in town?"

Ugh, she's not letting this go, and this fun night of forgetting is turning into a real killjoy.

"That's what I thought," she states, proving her point.

Time for a subject change. "So, we heard all about me, and we are catching up. What about you, are you seeing anyone?"

"Nope, I'm as single as a jaybird, and couldn't be happier. I get to hold and cuddle with newborns almost every day. Doesn't get better than that."

That does sound nice, like she's got everything figured out, and I never had issues with my single status until Keegan came back into my life. The close connection we shared only got stronger when we were together as a couple. I think I'm going to miss that the most. I need more to drink; I can't get him out of my stupid head.

Delaney and I begin to chat and I keep looking over at Keegan, who is at the bar. When our eyes meet, my cheeks flush. He doesn't smile though, just stares at me. A leggy young blonde starts talking to him. She twirls her hair in an obviously flirtatious move, which makes my stomach drop. He flashes her a smile, and I hate it. I really, really hate it. She throws her head back, laughing at whatever he's said. What do I care if he's flirting with someone who is obviously his type and could pass for Gretchen's younger sister? The only difference is that her skirt is longer than the blonde banshee's, but not by much. He whispers something in her ear and walks away. Whatever spell I was under breaks. Delaney places another drink in front of me, and smiles. I hadn't even noticed she left the table. She must be totally regretting our outing.