The morning of the Valentine’s Day Shuffle was crisp and clear, the perfect day for a run.
However, not the perfect day to be surrounded by love. At least, not for Claire.
Perhaps the distraction presented by the fund-raising teamwork challenge was for the best. If not for the commitment, Claire might have moped today and spent far too much time in melancholy reflection.
She parked her car and made her way over to the booth near the gazebo on the square to see if there were any last-minute details that required her attention. Even though she wasn’t going to participate in the 5k, she wore running pants and a fitted thermal top to keep up appearances and blend with the crowd.
Heart-shaped balloons were strung in an arch that would serve as the finish line. A jazz band supplied by Goose Harbor High School played crooner love songs near the bandshell. The bake sale ladies hawked frosted heart sugar cookies and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
“Your Valentine will love these.”
Today would have been her and Auden’s one-year anniversary, if she’d gone through with the wedding. She hadn’t planned on that realization rocking her so much. Claire slipped on her sunglasses, hoping it would hide any lingering trace of the tears she’d shed on her drive over. She didn’t mourn her relationship with Auden, just the possibility that it had presented.
And the finality that today seemed to epitomize. Alone. Again. Always.
Had her life become better since ending the engagement? She had Alex, a huge positive. But she still didn’t have a career or a life or something to claim as her own. She still felt so lost and useless. That was why winning the position of mayor meant so much to her. It was something she could claim as an accomplishment. She could hang on to that title and say I matter, you picked me, I belong.
“Here’s your racing bib. Number 78!” Shelby Beck handed Claire a paper with a number on it and four safety pins. “Do you want to run with one of our shelter dogs? A few are still available.”
Shelby jutted her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of a penned-in area where ten dogs were standing, tails wagging. She and her fireman fiancé ran a dog rescue facility near the dunes. They’d volunteered to help organize everything on the day of the race in exchange for being allowed to bring some of their dogs for people to take along on the run and consider adopting.
“Oh, I’m not running in the 5k. Just an organizer.” Claire attempted to hand her number back.
Shelby skewed up her lips. “Says here you’re registered as a runner. Paid and everything.”
“It’s a mistake. I didn’t register.”
“I did.” Evan appeared at her side. “She’s running.”
Shelby laughed and handed over his racing bib. “This is between you two and I’m not about to get in the middle.”
Claire stomped after Evan.
He hiked his leg, stepping into the fenced-in area. The moment he was in the enclosure the dogs surrounded him, sniffing, some with full-body wags.
“Which one?” Evan gave them each a head scratch. He got down on one knee to consider a dog that looked like it might be a cross between a husky and a boxer. “I’m thinking this guy.” The dog offered him a chin lick as he checked the animal’s tag. “Er, girl. Says her name’s Stella. Well, Stella, wanna run with us?”
“With him.”
“Us.” He clipped a leash onto the dog’s collar and led her out of the enclosure. “The purpose of athletic wear isn’t to prance around looking cute.” His grin took on a wolfish quality. “Although, if it was, you’d have that covered.” The second the words were out his smile froze. “I probably shouldn’t have said that. Correction, I definitely shouldn’t have said that.”
With her sunglasses on, he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or not. Might not be able to assess if the heat blazing across her cheeks, which had no doubt colored them pink, meant she was upset or amused.
She let him squirm for another second. Then said, “It’s fine. Except I definitely don’t prance.”
“Prove it by running.”
Mr. Banks climbed up the steps of the gazebo and announced that the countdown for the race was about to begin.
Evan scooted past Claire, Stella happily bounding beside him. “What? Afraid you can’t keep up?” he called over his shoulder.
Sometimes a good run cleared her mind. Participating in the Valentine’s Day Shuffle while she was struggling with the significance of the day might actually be a good idea. At the least it would serve as a distraction for the next thirty or forty minutes.
Claire groaned, opened the safety pins and started affixing her number to the front of her shirt for timing purposes. Her parents kept a functioning workout room in their basement and Claire made good use of the treadmill. She’d never run a 5k outside, but how difficult could it be? There were people significantly older and younger than her lining up at the starting point. If they could do it, it shouldn’t be an issue for her.
A horn blast signaled the start of the race and everyone surged forward. A lady jogging behind a double stroller wiped past her. Skylar Ashby ran beside her father, a white T-shirt pulled over her sweatshirt. In uneven, puffy paint letters across the back was the message Vote for Dad!
Claire kicked into high gear to catch up with Evan and Stella. This wasn’t a formal part of the mayoral competition, but the people of Goose Harbor would treat it that way.
“Pace yourself,” Evan warned when she came up beside him. The elements had turned his cheeks and the tip of his nose red.
Mile one wasn’t so bad. But mile two? Oh, her lungs burned, her legs ached and talking was next to impossible.
Evan stayed beside her even though Claire could tell he could run much faster and was holding himself back. At least his breath was coming out in loud, jagged puffs. “Need to walk?”
She nodded, swallowed, licked her lips and stopped. Gulping air, she braced her hands on her thighs. Stella plopped down on top of Claire’s shoes and looked up at her with sky blue eyes. She whined once, whined again. Hopped up and licked Claire’s chin. Claire didn’t have the strength to fight off the loving assault.
“Don’t stop completely.” Evan put his arm to her back and propelled her forward. “Once you stop, it’s ten times as tough to keep going.”
“This is so much harder than the treadmill.” She panted, plodding onward. “Why is it so much harder?”
“You’re pushing yourself forward, instead of the machine doing it for you. The cold air doesn’t help, either.”
She bobbed her chin, breathing heavily. “And my feet still hurt from the heels I wore for the wedding. So not fair. You didn’t have to wear heels.”
He shoulder bumped her. “I wouldn’t look as good in them as you did.”
“A small comfort.”
“Come on, let’s try to jog.” He started going faster and got in front of her. Stella barked as she vaulted to join him, clearly happy at the increased speed. “Mrs. Clarkson and her crew are power walking this thing and I don’t want them to catch up to us.”
At the final mile marker Evan reached for Claire’s arm. “We’re almost done now. Let’s pick it up.”
“Evan, I can’t.”
“You know they’re going to be snapping pictures of us.”
She moaned. “Tell me again, why did you talk me into doing this?”
“Because I know you’re capable of more than you think you are.”
She had no quick quip to throw back at him. No jest or flash of wit. Evan had faith in her, from silly things like running a 5k to believing she had it in her to succeed at following her dreams. That’s why he’d encouraged her to paint the other day. He knew that was important to her. Knew that no one else cared about that long hidden desire of her heart.
With Evan in her life, she was stronger. Just being around him made her believe she was capable of scaling mountains, too. She rose to his challenges, but never felt like he’d be disappointed if she didn’t reach them...only if she refused to try.
Over the past few weeks he’d proved that he was patient, kind, humble and self-sacrificing. He cared about protecting others and always hoped for the best.
Evan would make a far better mayor than Claire ever would.
* * *
Evan checked the dirty clothes hamper in Laura’s room before starting the washing machine, then wiped down the vanity in the upstairs bathroom. Stella’s nails clicked on the wooden floor as she shadowed him all over the house.
“Lie down and relax. You’re home. It’s all safe, Stella-bell.” She pressed her head against his leg as he scratched behind her ear.
Shelby and Joel had given him enough pet food to make it through the weekend, but come Monday he’d head to a pet supply store and gather the items needed to take care of his new friend, including a nail trimmer. It wasn’t as if he’d planned on bringing a dog home, but after their run together he couldn’t hand her back. Stella was a sweetheart.
Anyway, Laura was seventeen and would be going to college soon enough. Now that he had grown accustomed to having someone else in the house he didn’t want to face going back to being alone again.
Evan performed a cursory sweep of the basement area, because Laura and her friends were forever leaving an array of dishes and cups down there. His basement was fully refinished, complete with an air hockey table, foosball table, a few old-school arcade games and plenty of hangout space. Laura referred to the basement as her “domain” and had already informed him that she’d signed him up to host the cast party for the musical after the last show. Thankfully, that wasn’t happening until March.
With the teamwork challenge out of the way, he could focus on the lesson plan for Sunday school tomorrow.
Mr. Banks had called Evan with the final fund-raising total. All of the close to $4,200 raised would go to the local organization Food for All. The food bank served the Goose Harbor area and hosted a program that offered daily hot meals to children from low income families.
He had even shared a laugh with curmudgeonly Mr. Banks over the doughnut eating competition. Evan had signed up for a slot, but Claire had been right; after running, he had a hard time putting up a good fight. Caleb Beck won by a mere two bites, beating a couple of the police officers, including Caleb’s best friend, Miles.
All in all, it had been a fun day. Well, other than the fact that Claire had seemed...distracted. Was that the correct word? She’d joked with him, but he’d had to drag the good humor out of her. Something was on her mind. More than likely, the upcoming completion of the mayoral race. It came down to what he’d discussed with Kendall yesterday at her wedding—his and Claire’s truce was drawing to a close. After the vote, they’d go back to how it had been a month ago. Acting like the other didn’t exist.
He didn’t know how he was going to deal with that.
Evan headed to the kitchen to stow away his piles of junk mail and load the dishwasher. His doorbell rang. It was past seven on a Saturday night. Brice and Kendall were gone on their honeymoon and Laura’s practice ran until nine. He lived in the middle of nowhere on a wide swath of land. But what if it was Andrew? He still believed he’d spotted their missing brother at Brice’s ceremony.
He wiped his hands on the nearest dishcloth, then went and opened the door.
Claire Atwood was in tears on his front porch.
His heart twisted. “What’s wrong?” He reached for her, wanting to draw her out of the cold and maybe, if she was willing, into his arms to comfort her.
“Don’t. Please.” She hiccuped. Held up her hands to block him. “Just let me get this out without any interruptions.”
The headlights of her car blazed in twin horizontal beacons at the bottom of his steps. The beams highlighted wispy snow flurrying in haphazard angles. Her engine was still running, the wipers sounding an intermittent click into the dark air. Instrumental music floated out of the open driver’s side door.
“Claire, you’re freaking me out.” His pulse kicked into high gear as he took in the scene and her pained expression. “Is Alex okay? What’s going on?”
“Please.” She sniffled. “I just want to say something and leave.”
“Okay.” Evan braced his hands on either side of his entryway. If he didn’t, he was certain he’d reach for her again, and that didn’t seem to be helping matters. “Go ahead.”
“If I had married Auden, today would have marked our one-year anniversary.”
She was crying over Auden? Any hopes Evan had secretly harbored of trying to keep up a friendship with Claire after the election took a quick nosedive. If she was still pining for Pierce, he couldn’t handle that.
Still, she’d come to him. If she wanted to confide in him about another man, he’d let her. He owed her that much. “Claire—”
“This is hard enough to say without interruptions.” Her voice wavered, as did her body. She leaned and gripped the railing. “I’ve been thinking about it all day—praying about it. And I’m relieved, Evan. In the end I only feel relief, because I had no business marrying him. I didn’t love him. Not like—” She closed her eyes tightly, shook her head. “It would have been a disservice to both of us.”
And now he wasn’t following. If she was relieved, why was she crying about their would-have-been anniversary? Evan opened his mouth to ask a question.
Claire held up her hand. “I’m not finished.” She sucked in a deep breath and continued, “You backed out on our wedding and I held that against you for a long time. I couldn’t see before. I couldn’t understand until I was in the same position.”
“Claire. No.” He dropped his hold on the door frame and stepped onto the porch. Stella’s nails clicked beside him.
Claire spoke over him as she backed down the stairs. “I don’t hold it against you anymore. I...I finally get it. I get why you did it.”
He took a few more steps, ice nipping at the soles of his feet. Why didn’t he ever wear shoes and socks in his house? “Stop.”
She’d reached the front of her car. “I hope you find love, because you deserve every happiness in life. You’re a good guy. The best guy.”
Evan’s feet cried for mercy when he reached the stairs. Stella whined, her head wiping between the two. “You can’t say something like that and then not let me talk. Come inside. Please. Come talk to me.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t—” Her hand covered a sob. “I have to... I have to go.”
“Claire, hold up—”
Stella barked happily, lurching after Claire. Evan caught the dog’s collar, but the force of her unexpected movement dragged him down into the snow, giving Claire the seconds needed to get into her car and set it into Reverse. He bashed his knee on one of the porch steps on the way down.
“Claire. Wait!” She couldn’t drop that on him and leave without giving him an opportunity to say something. “Claire!”
Her car backed down his driveway.
Hauling himself to his feet, Evan dragged Stella back inside and shoved his feet into the nearest pair of shoes. He fisted his keys on the way out and closed the door. Finding a coat or gloves would have taken too long.
He took a heartbeat to scan the area. She’d turned left out of his driveway. He owned the property all along the highway on that stretch and the road meandered, following a stream. Evan took off at a sprint, tearing through the forested part of his property. Dampness seeped into his tennis shoes, and his sockless heels rubbed raw with every step. Bare winter branches slashed at his legs, arms and chest, but he ignored their stings and ran harder. He had to make it to the curve by the stop sign before she did.
Give me speed, Lord. Help me.
His calves and thighs burned. Between the wedding yesterday and the race this morning, his muscles were begging for respite.
Not yet.
Evan pumped his arms and slid down an embankment, almost tumbling over himself. He no longer cared if they had tomorrow or not. Or if Brice would be upset. Or how it would affect his chance at office. He’d apologize to Kendall for breaking his word, but he wouldn’t stay away from Claire any longer.
No sooner had he hobbled out of the woods than her car came around the bend. As she slowed to comply with the sign, he skidded onto the road, his palms to her hood as he rounded her car. They made eye contact through her windshield. Tears coursed down her cheeks and her mouth formed an O.
She started to open her door and step out. “Are you crazy? You could have—”
Evan stalked toward Claire, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. His lips claimed hers in a fierce kiss and she answered in kind. He pushed a hand into her hair, knocking her hat onto the top of the car, and drew her body closer with his other hand pressed at the small of her back. He poured twelve years of missing her into the kiss, before finally parting.
Gasping for breath, he didn’t know if his sprint through the woods had caused his lungs to feel as if they were going to burst, or if it was Claire. Probably Claire. It had always been her, hadn’t it? His chest heaved. Claire pulled him in for a hug and he buried his face against her neck, inhaling the flowery scent that was her.
She shivered in his arms. Cuddling out in the frigid air was not the best course of action. He stepped back.
Her hand rose to her lips. “You don’t have a coat. You have to be freezing.”
“Believe me, I’m not. Not after that.” He used a thumb to lift her chin. “Claire-bear, look at me.” He drank in her watery gaze. “I appreciate what you said back there, but I had to catch you. You don’t get it.”
“But I do.” She fisted a hand into the excess fabric of his shirt. “It makes sense now.”
“No, you don’t.” He traced his knuckles along her jawline. Savoring the feel of her soft skin, he slipped his fingers into the red hair he often dreamed about. “And don’t ever tell me you want me to fall for someone else, because it’s not going to happen.” He braced a hand against the roof of the car on either side of her. Leaned closer. “I loved you, Claire. That day I backed out—the biggest regret of my life is letting you go. I don’t want to love someone else—I can’t—because I still love you. I think I always will.”
She inhaled sharply. “I’m so confused.” Her hands slid down his chest. “None of this is computing.”
“Let me explain everything.” Maybe once he told her about Sesser’s involvement...they could move on. Despite all the people who didn’t want them to be together, and years of hurt and questioning, was it possible there was a future for them?
“I have to pick Alex up from Scouts. I’m already late.” She glanced down at her driver’s seat. “I—”
“We’ll talk. This week. I’m not going anywhere.” He let his hands fall away from her. As much as he wanted to beg her to stay and have a long conversation, she was a mother and needed to be there for her son. Evan wanted to support her in that. The snow was picking up and Alex would worry if she was late.
Evan pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Tomorrow?”
She clutched his shirt again and tugged him nearer, closing the small gap between them so she could rest her forehead against his collarbone. “Get in the car. Come with me.”
“Are you sure?” He wanted to but... “We can’t exactly have that conversation in front of Alex.”
“I just want you nearby...for a little while longer.”
He nuzzled his chin into her hair. “All right, let’s go pick up your son.”