Luck of the Draw (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 1) (18 page)

Jim chuckled and pulled out a worm, stuck it on the hook on Liam’s line then proceeded to do the same on his own. He showed Liam how to cast. Or, in his case, drop his line into the water, and then they settled down to wait.

Jim set his pole beside him and pulled off his boots to dangle his legs over the side of the dock into the water. Liam followed suit, and before long they were sitting amiably next to one another, feet cooling in the water, lines drifting. No way were they catching any fish, but it wasn’t a bad way to relax at the end of the day.

Jim watched his line float and let his mind wander.

After a while, he showed Liam how to gently tug every so often to keep the worm moving, but Liam ended up slapping the water with his pole more than anything. No matter. They were having fun. Liam turned and beamed at Jim, and Jim felt a tug of something other than his fishing line.

Maybe if Doug and Rach had a son, he and his nephew could go fishing like this sometimes.

Jim pursed his lips and squinted over the lake.

Just as likely Doug would take his own son fishing. And swimming. And show him stuff like how to replace rotten boards in the dock or grill a steak just right.

Things dads do with their sons.

Jim bobbed his line as the sun dipped toward the horizon, the water turning dark with streaks of burnished gold. He noticed that shadows were forming where trees overhung the shore. They should probably hang it up soon. Just as well.

He startled as Liam scootched closer toward him on the dock, Liam’s little face sweaty, dirt-streaked… and unbearably hopeful.

“We catch fish soon?” he breathed.

Jim tugged the brim of Liam’s floppy-style fishing hat and tried hard to ignore the knot in his gut. “Not sure they’re biting tonight, Buddy. How about we try another time?”

“Tomorrow?”

Jim swallowed and looked back toward the cottage. Christ. A woman with a kid? Had he learned nothing from Justine? But then he looked back at Liam’s hopeful expression, and something in him answered hopefully in return.

What harm was there in a little fishing? And who else was going to teach the little guy? “Tell you what… if you see me out here fishing, you can join me if your mom says it’s okay. Deal?”

“Deal!” Liam said, scrambling to his feet.

“Whoa!” Jim pointed to Liam’s pole. “If the fish aren’t going to swallow it, who’s going to take care of the worm on your hook?”

Liam looked out at his line, and his face scrunched up. “Do
I
hafta eat it?”

Jim barked out a laugh as he, too, rose to his feet. “Not unless you’ve got an older brother that says you do.” Liam shook his head, wide eyed. “Then I guess you’re safe.” Jim reeled in his line and set his pole on the dock. “Here, you give it to me, and I’ll take care of it. This time.”

Liam passed over his pole just as Kate appeared at the porch railing of the cottage to announce dinner was ready. “See you ‘morrow!” Liam called, running up the dock toward his mother.

Jim watched from below the brim of his hat… not the boy bounding up the path toward the cottage… but at Kate as she stood waiting at the top of the steps, the breeze forming her skirt to her thighs. A perverse side of him wished it would pick up the hem, just a little, because he clearly hadn’t tortured himself enough for one day.

And then Liam’s pole jerked in his hand as Kate turned away… and Jim pulled a six-inch perch from the water.

June 25
You don’t need to tell me I make unhealthy choices. I *know* fish is good for you, but try as I might, I’ve never been able to choke it down. I always end up craving the bad-for-you foods. Onion rings and juicy burgers dripping with cheese. The foods you know will come back to bite you, tell you you’re fat and make you miserable in the long run.
It’s so hot today, I’m craving ice cream. Ugh. See? What did I tell you?

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
____________________

“T
HANKS FOR HANGING OUT WITH me on such short notice.” Rachel swung her legs under the outdoor picnic table and licked her ice cream. It was a steamy June day, and the
Lick-n-Dip
ice cream stand was hopping. Dang if it wasn’t as good as Jim had said. “I’d just be twiddling my thumbs at Grace’s apartment or window-shopping for things I shouldn’t buy otherwise, and I can’t go to Mom and Dad’s. Doug and I aren’t ready to say anything to them quite yet about the baby, and I know I’d end up blabbing.”

“It’s our secret,” said Kate as she slid into the opposite side of the table.

She’d been pleasantly surprised when Rachel had called and invited her to get together for an hour or two. The day had turned out hot and humid, and crouching in the sun weeding the perennial beds back at the cottage and stressing about her future held a lot less appeal to sitting in the shade, eating ice cream and people-watching. With more thunderstorms predicted for later in the day, the barometric pressure had Kate feeling antsy anyway.

It had nothing to do with her feelings for her sexy neighbor.

“I hope Doug’s interview goes well,” she said.

“Thanks. He’s meeting the head of QC, General Manager and one of the techs today, so it’s a good sign things are moving in the right direction.” Rachel sighed and licked another dribble from the side of her cone. “It feels surreal, though. A month ago we were just a couple in a tiny apartment in Methuen… Now, we’re expecting a baby, and Doug gets this lead for a job in Sugar Falls...” She licked her cone again and stared down the sidewalk at the midday spattering of people going about their business. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful! Just… surreal.”

Kate nodded. She understood surreal all too well.

The nearby playground had proved too big a temptation to put off, so Liam was running his matchbox cards over the jungle gym bars while Kate and Rachel enjoyed their cones. Kate scooped some of Liam’s overly-melted ice cream from his dish and popped it in her mouth.

“
Rachel?
” Kate dove across the table and saved Rachel’s cone a second before it hit the top of the picnic table. She grabbed the spare dish she’d asked for ‘just in case’ and shoved it under Rachel’s cone. “Are you all right? You just turned white as a ghost.”

“The ghost of mistakes past,” Rachel mumbled, grabbing a napkin and wiping the ice cream that’d dribbled onto her wrist. She laughed shakily and waved off Kate’s concern. “I’m okay. I’m okay. Just surprised.”

“And not in a good way.”

Rachel shook her head and stared at her cone, now melting in the dish despite their shady cover. “It shouldn’t be a surprise. I mean, I should have expected it.” She ran a hand over her brow and met Kate’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” said Kate, still concerned.

Rachel poked at her upturned cone with her index finger. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“I know we don’t really know each other, and I hope you don’t think I’m one of those people that blurts out all her troubles on somebody she just met. As a rule, I’m not. But I don’t want to talk to Grace
—she
cannot
keep a secret—and I don’t know who else...”

“What is it?” Kate prompted.

Rachel grimaced, looked back down the sidewalk then back to Kate. “The truth is…I just saw someone.”

“Someone? I’m not sure what your question
—”

Rachel winced. “An ex-boyfriend. Lover, actually.”

Kate’s eyebrows shot up momentarily before she could rein them back in. “Um... how ex, ah, lover are we talking?”

Rachel sighed, picked up a spoon and took a small bite of ice cream. “High school.” She winced. Swallowed. “Doug had gone to college. It was my senior year. I was feeling left behind and questioning everything, and long story short…it happened.”

“Happened,” Kate echoed.

“I had a fling,” Rachel said
sotto voce. “
Well, not really a
fling
fling, more of a one-night stand. But then it ended. Over. I—
we
—broke it off, and we’ve never talked since. At least... until last week.”

“Wait. You
talked
to this ex—?”

“I called him. I knew I’d be coming to town and I wanted to set some ground rules, you know? In case we ran into each other...” she gave another shaky laugh. “Kate, he wants to see me and I don’t know what to do!”

“Does Doug know anything about this?”

“No! I called while I was at work.”

“No, about your fling—stand—
thing
. Did you ever tell him?”

Rachel blanched. “No! It would crush him! Doug was my
—he likes to say he was my first and last…  I could never tell him. Ever.”

“Then I guess you have your answer.”

Rachel stared down at her dish. “I know. It just feels so awkward. The way things ended between us... this guy... and me... I wasn’t very gracious. I blamed him for something that was both of our faults. Don’t I owe him an explanation?”

“Owe him? It’s been years. I’m sure he’s fine by now.”

“He said he just wants to get coffee. There’s no harm in that, is there?”

“Is he single?”

“Yes.”

Oh
Lord.
“I guess the question is why do you want to have coffee with him?”

“What if we move back to Sugar Falls? That’s what Doug is hoping. That’s what
I’m
hoping. But what then? It’s a small town, Kate. What if Doug runs into him? What if this guy says something?”

Rachel licked her finger and rubbed at a sticky smear on her forearm. “He sent me a friend request.”

“Ignore it,” Kate told her. “You’re a married woman, Rachel. A
pregnant
, married woman.”

“I know. I know! I just wonder sometimes what my life would have been like… if things had gone differently.” She swallowed and forced a smile. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my husband. I do! But don’t you ever wonder if you’ve made the right choices? If you’d chosen a different path, would things have ended the same way?”

Kate must have made a face, because Rachel reached across and grasped her arm. “Oh God! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean... What choice did you have with your husband’s accident?” Rachel let go and let out a soft sigh as they watched Liam on the slide. “But that’s what I mean, I guess. We never know what’s going to happen in life, and this guy—he was intense and
exciting
. He drove a motorcycle and had this eagle tattoo right here...” She pointed to a point just below her left shoulder. She shivered and hugged herself despite the heat. “But then…”

“You had regrets.”

Rachel’s eyes flew to Kate’s. “Regrets? No. Never. I mean, yes, it was a mistake, but then I was at college and with Doug, and I never looked back. Never gave this guy another thought.”

“Until now?”

Rachel shook her head and then glanced at the sky overhead, tears glistening. “I always knew we weren’t meant to be together, always knew he belonged to someone else, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn down the opportunity to be with him. I knew it was wrong, but I
needed
it. I needed to experience that intensity, be that wild, just once in my life before settling down, you know? Doug is wonderful. He’s responsible and sweet and hard-working. But he doesn’t do impulsive. And he certainly wouldn’t do half the stuff—” She cut herself off and dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “But it couldn’t last.” She laughed without humor. “Actions
always
have consequences.”

Kate nodded and licked her ice cream, her thoughts tumbling over each other. Randy had been her fling guy. Her dangerous, intense, wild guy. With him, she’d felt everything her carefully choreographed upbringing had protected her from. Excitement. Daring. Disorder. Randy had pulled her outside the stifling, country-club bubble her parents had raised her in, and it had been intoxicating. But instead of having her fling and returning home to marry a nice, stable, reliable guy like Doug, she’d married Randy. And look where
that
had gotten her.

Kate licked her ice cream with considerably less enthusiasm.

Who could blame Rachel for a fling that happened years ago? If only Kate had had the good sense to end things with Randy when things went downhill—when it became clear the Technicolor excitement of ‘us against the world’ had faded to a dull, unbreachable distance between them. But no. She’d thought she could fix it, this problem they had, like she’d bailed them out so many times before. A baby would surely bring them closer, right? But, after Liam was born, the silent divide in their marriage only grew wider, and Kate had cared for Liam alone—as Randy sat around watching NASCAR and drinking himself into oblivion.  She knew she’d been grasping at straws, praying there was some way to bring back what they’d once had, but she knew better now.

Some problems are simply un-fixable
.

Kate watched as Liam tumbled onto the ground at the bottom of the slide, giggling to himself. He stood dazedly and grinned at her, and Kate’s heart squeezed hard in return.