After saying goodbye to Kelly and Waldo, and once again assuring her I am fine, I stroll over to my favorite spot in the park, my bench. It’s not really my bench but I like to think of it that way. I sit down, tilt my head back, and close my eyes. The late afternoon sun warms my face and a light breeze ruffles my hair. The waves lap against the shore. A boat engine rumbles across the lake in the distance. Ah, peace and tranquility, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Leaves rustle nearby. Opening my eyes, I spot a squirrel dashing up a tree. It leaps from branch to branch somehow balancing and gripping the wood. The end of the branch sways and then bounces as another gray squirrel joins in the fun. Their tiny legs carry them up and down the tree trunks and zipping along the branches.
Laughter bubbles out of me.
“Talking to yourself is one thing, but laughing? That might be cause for concern. Care to let me in on the joke?”
Mitch is leaning on the back of the bench smiling at me. Sunglasses hide his eyes. A black hoodie and jeans camouflage his toned form and I’m momentarily disappointed until I notice how the worn denim cups his attributes.
“The squirrels were entertaining me.”
He slides onto the bench and rests his arm along the back behind my shoulders.
“I went by your house to return your kayak. No one was home, so I left it by the boathouse.”
I look down at the ground and grimace. How could I forget to arrange to pick it up?
“You didn’t have to do that. I’m sorry, I should have taken care of it.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Glancing at his face to judge if he is serious or only being polite, I smile when he appears sincere. “Thank you.”
Mitch nods and scans the lake. “So what are you doing here? Besides watching the squirrels?”
I shrug. “I like to stop on my way home from the bakery and relax for a bit.”
“It’s a peaceful spot.” He taps my leg. “What happened here?”
I glance down at the grass stains and dirt decorating my pants. “I had a run in with an ardent admirer.”
His eyebrows raise and lower. “Care to elaborate?”
“Not particularly.” I sigh and roll my eyes when he continues to frown at me.
“It was a dog, okay?”
He laughs and leans back against the bench stretching his legs out in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” And what is with the sunglasses and hoodie? Is he hiding from fans?
“I needed some fresh air, so I took a walk. I’ve been out at the house all day with the contractors.”
“Are you hiding from someone?” I point to his get up.
His mouth quirks up on the side and he removes the sunglasses and hangs them on the collar of his black T-shirt after unzipping the hoodie.
“I spotted a guy with a camera in town earlier and got a little paranoid he was looking for me. It’s probably just a tourist or something.”
“Does it happen a lot? People chasing you around for a photograph?”
“Not so much anymore.” He shrugs. “I’m sure I overreacted. I guess I got in the habit of avoiding paparazzi from before.”
“Before?”
“When I was acting and when I was with Margeaux, it was a common occurrence.”
So, he’s not with his supermodel girlfriend anymore. Is that the reason he moved to Granite Cove?
I’ve read the headlines of the tabloids while standing in line at the grocery store. And I may have clicked on an entertainment article a time or two when it popped up on my web browser. Not that I will admit any of that to Mitch.
“I would hate being followed around all the time. How did you stand it?”
A derisive laugh emanates from him and he runs his fingers through his hair. “Not well, which is probably why I jumped to conclusions. Let’s talk about something more palatable, like when are you going to make those whoopie pies for me?”
“I already have a batch made ready for tomorrow.”
He grins and puts his arm back along the bench behind me.
“I’ll be there bright and early as usual. Save some for me.”
“Will do.” I stare out at the lake. A woman paddles by on a paddleboard. I always wanted to try one of those, but balance isn’t exactly my forte.
“That looks like fun, ever try one?”
“I don’t think I’m equipped with the skills needed.”
“How hard can it be? Do they rent them next door to the bakery? We should try it.”
I dart a sideways glance at his profile. He wants to hang out and be buddies again like nothing has changed.
I gave up on my plan to avoid him, but friends? He was my best friend once.
Moving forward, right?
“When it gets a little warmer. I’m not ready for another dip in the lake and I know that will happen when I try to stand on one of those and balance it in the water.”
He chuckles. “Okay, we’ll wait a couple of weeks. I want to take a drive around the lake sometime too and see what’s changed and what has stayed the same.”
“It’s been awhile since I’ve driven around the lake. I’ve gone in either direction but not all the way around and I wasn’t sightseeing.”
“Then that’s something else to add to our list of things to do this summer. How about Mt. Washington? I’ve never been. My parents and I never got around to taking many sightseeing trips.”
A list? We were making a list of things to do together.
“I drove up to the top once and I’ll never drive it again. I could probably handle riding as a passenger as long as you don’t mind me covering my eyes half the time.”
“That bad?”
“I don’t care for heights and I care even less about trying to stay on a narrow road with cars coming at you and a sheer drop out the window. The view from the top is killer though. You can see for miles in every direction if the wind doesn’t knock you down.”
Mitch laughs. “Where’s your adventurous spirit? You used to be the first to suggest something daring, like climbing a tree or exploring an old barn.”
He’s right. I wasn’t so afraid back then, not when we were together, anyway. Was it age and experience that taught me to be cautious? Or is it fear preventing me from taking chances and enjoying the process?
“I don’t know. Maybe I was waiting for you to come back and explore with me.”
Ugh, I did not just say that out loud.
My hands are sandwiched between my legs and the bench. I’m cringing inside and looking everywhere but in his direction.
“I think I’ve been waiting too.”
“You’ve been all over the world making movies.”
“Not necessarily waiting to explore, but something was missing.”
Deep brown locks of hair flutter against his forehead and my fingers itch to comb it back. Is he saying he was missing me? Am I reading too much into his words?
He smiles. “I’m keeping Mt. Washington on our list. We will find your adventurous spirit again.”
“Okay, deal. We should also add a trip to Portsmouth while we are it.”
“I agree, I’ve been meaning to check it out. What else should we put on the list?”
“I don’t know, but I’m drawing the line at climbing trees just so you understand. Those days are in the past. I can’t afford any broken bones.”
“Duly noted. How about hiking?”
“I can do hiking.”
“Renting a couple of quads to go exploring with?”
“Four solid wheels not requiring me to balance? Yeah, I’ll try that too.”
Mitch laughs. “It’ll be safe, I promise.”
“What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?”
Mitch crosses his legs at the ankles. His fingers behind me fiddle with my hair. “Probably scuba diving in Australia with sharks.”
I gape at him. “Why on earth would you do that?”
“That was pretty much my mother’s reaction too.” He shrugs one shoulder. “It didn’t scare me. The scariest thing I’ve ever done was to stop accepting acting gigs and get someone to give me a shot at directing.”
“You didn’t think anyone would give you a chance?”
“I had to prove myself first. I directed a few television episodes in exchange for a cameo and then moved onto bigger projects from there. What about you? What’s the scariest thing you ever did?”
“Nothing I’ve ever done compares to swimming with sharks, but the scariest for me was telling my parents I was dropping out of college to go to culinary school.”
“How did they take it?”
A rough laugh escapes me. “Not well.”
“But you still did it.”
“I didn’t see it as a choice. It was something I needed to do.”
“Having sampled your genius, I would have to agree.” Mitch stands and stretches. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s getting dark. The sun is going down.”
“There’s still a while before it gets dark. I live in the opposite direction of you and I make the walk almost every day.”
“Which doesn’t comfort me. It means someone could learn your routine. Don’t you watch the news?”
I stand and shake my head. “No, I don’t. It’s too depressing. Besides, this is Granite Cove, not Los Angeles.”
“Bad things can happen in small towns too. You shouldn’t walk alone after dark at the very least.”
We stroll along next to each other on the path. There’s still at least an hour until dark, plenty of time for me to get home safe and sound, but I’m not going to argue anymore if he wants to walk me home. It means I can linger a little longer in his company.
“Your parents must have come around about culinary school especially after you opened the bakery.”
Not so much.
“It’s not what they wanted for me. My mother envisioned something a little more glamorous, I think.”
“Doing what you love is the key to happiness.”
We reach the end of the park and turn down the sidewalk of the residential section. Familiar colonials and a few capes line the street all with manicured lawns. American flags wave from poles and porches.
Has the bakery led to my happiness? It’s the only thing that has brought me any joy lately. I’ve closed myself off from everything else and instead of hiding in the girl’s bathroom, I’m now hiding in my bakery.
“You’ve gotten quiet.”
“Sorry, my mind was wandering.”
“Anything you want to share?”
“No.” I’m not ready to confess something that personal yet.
“Okay, fair enough, how about telling me who the woman with the binoculars in the window of that widow’s walk up there is?”
Chuckling, I peek up at the white house we are approaching. Sure enough there is a pair of binoculars trained in our direction.
“That would be Mrs. Summers. She likes to sit up there and watch everyone. Don’t worry, she’s harmless. She doesn’t go out much. I think she’s agoraphobic.”
“Okay, does she live in that big house alone? Is there someone to look out for her?”
“She has a husband, a retired doctor. He plays golf with my father. They have grown kids I believe, but I’ve never met them.”
I wave to her as we pass by and she waves back. She’ll go on her porch, but I’ve never seen her in town. I’ve stopped and chatted with her a few times over the years when she sat in the rocker on her covered porch.
“Do you know everyone in town? I mean I guess that’s part of the charm of a small town, right? Knowing your neighbors?”
“I don’t know everyone. Granite Cove isn’t that small, but I’ve lived here all my life so there are a lot of familiar faces. It can be comforting or unsettling depending on how you look at it. Many of them have known me since I was a kid so they know my life story, good and bad.”
“What’s bad? Tell me your deep dark secrets.”
I stop at my parents’ driveway.
“We’re here. You’ll have to wait to learn my secrets.”
A smirk appears on his handsome face. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
Temptation tightens my skin. What secrets does he have to share?
Rubbing my upper arms, I glance at a crack in the pavement. I’m not ready to share any of my secrets with him. I doubt we will ever share that level of trust again.
“Goodnight Franny, we can save the secrets for another time.”
“’Night.”
He waits until I go in the house before turning and walking back the way we came.
I watch him from the living room window until he disappears out of sight. My fingers rest against the windowpane. My breath leaves a little circle of condensation.
I draw a heart and smile.
Silly, something a teenager would do.
I wipe the heart away.
I’m not a teenager anymore.