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Drew fell back, instinctively snatching his hand in, realizing too late that Rex had been barking at Ally to throw the ball, not Drew. “Okay, boy. Guess we’re not friends yet.”
Ally rose. “Rex! No—”
“It’s okay,” Drew said. “He needs some space.” And he understood that, better than he wanted to, actually. He’d been trying to get space from his dad all his life, and knew well how irritating it was to have someone trying to close up that space by forcing his wants and needs on the other person.
“He’ll come around,” Ally said as she picked up the ball and threw it again. Rex took off. “Just give him time.”
Time? Drew laughed under his breath. Yeah, right. His dad had proven that time didn’t heal all wounds.
“What’s so funny?” Ally shot back, her brow deeply furrowed.
“Oh, nothing.” He didn’t want to unload on her about his problems with Dad, not when she already had so much on her plate.
“No, really.” She pointedly glared at him, her eyes turning as hard as emeralds. “What joke did I miss?”
Rex came back with the ball in his mouth, but instead of dropping it, he lay down instead, panting around the ball, then placed it on the ground between his front paws, obviously played out for now.
Ally went on, her tone rising. “I mean, I just found out my home is a total loss.” Her eyes snapped. “Tell me, what could possibly be funny about that?”
Contrition zapped through him. “Nothing, trust me,” he said, trying, belatedly, to set her mind at ease. “It’s just that...” He trailed off. The last thing he wanted to do was burden her.
“Just that what?” she prompted sharply.
He let out a heavy breath. Guess he was going to have to level with her. “What you said made me think that sometimes time can’t fix problems.”
She stared at him without speaking.
Her silence prompted him to go on. “My dad and I have had a...difference of opinion for a long time, and it’s only gotten worse with time, not better.”
“About what?” she said, her voice softening just a bit.
“What I want to do with my life,” he said, surprised that he was willing to open up. Guess he needed a shoulder, though why he wanted that shoulder to belong to Ally was beyond him. “Moonlight Cove’s fire department is volunteer only, except for the chief, so I want to move away to where I can be a full-time, paid firefighter, and eventually train to become a paramedic.”
Her eyebrows drifted skyward. “Go on.”
“And, well, my dad’s had years to adjust to what I want to do with my life, and he’s still in a snit about my plans.”
She frowned. “Why is he so against it?”
“Well, at first it was just because it meant I wouldn’t be around to take over the family real estate business.” Dad had been adamant that Drew come back to Moonlight Cove after college, and Drew had agreed, figuring he might come to love the business in time. “Then my sister’s fiancé was killed while working on a hotshot fire crew a couple of years ago.”
“Oh, that had to be rough.”
“It was, of course. But ever since then, Dad has refused to accept that this is what I want to do, and he’s making no secret of his feelings, either.” He rubbed his jaw. “It doesn’t help that he moved into the apartment above the garage a couple of weeks ago and he and Mom haven’t spoken since.”
Ally’s eyes went round. “Ah. Okay.” She paused, nibbling on her bottom lip. “It sounds like he’s just worried about you.”
“I know that’s part of it. But I’m an adult, with my own life to live. I need him to relax a bit.”
“Have you asked for God’s help with this?”
He blinked, surprised that she’d brought up the very thing he’d thought about recently. “No.” God hadn’t helped Jake and Beth, and their lives had exploded. Would He even be there for Drew?
“Well, maybe you should. I always feel better when He’s on my team. How’s your mom dealing?”
“That’s the thing.” He shook his head. “She seems to be just fine.” He realized how strange that comment sounded. “Not that I don’t want her to be fine. It’s just that I would expect her to be a bit more upset by their rift, you know? I mean, their marriage seems to be on the rocks....”
“I got what you meant.” Ally nibbled her bottom lip. “Do you think that maybe she’s just acting fine to cover up how she really feels?”
Drew thought back to their recent conversations. All had involved Mom cutting him off with a lot of distracting mumbo jumbo and then skillfully changing the subject. “You might have a point,” he said. “It does all seem kind of premeditated.”
“Well, it’s just a thought, but seems like a definite possibility. It’s always easier to cover up than open up.”
He peered at her. “Sounds like you talk from experience.”
Ally paused, her eyes unblinking. Then she pushed her mouth into a tight, fake little smile that didn’t reach her eyes, or anywhere else on her face for that matter.
“Um...yeah.” She picked up Rex’s tennis ball. “C’mon, guys. Enough playing. Time for bed.” She regarded Drew, a composed mask slipping into place over her pretty features, as if someone had told her to look indifferent and she was giving it a go. “Good night.”
He simply nodded, stunned silent at how quickly she’d shut down their conversation. Her words about covering up versus opening up echoed through his mind, raising his curiosity.
With the dogs following in her wake, she headed into the house, leaving Drew standing there alone with the cool spring breeze ruffling his hair, wondering again what her story was.
And why he cared about what made Ally tick.
Chapter Three
“Hello, Jan.” Unexpectedly, Mom’s cheery voice rang out from the reception area just outside Drew’s office.
His eyebrows raised, he looked up from the Sullivans’ offer paperwork displayed on the computer in front of him. What was his mom doing here? She hadn’t set foot in the office since Dad had moved out.
Jan, the receptionist at Sellers Real Estate for the past twenty years, replied, “Hi, Grace.”
“How is that new granddaughter of yours?” Mom asked.
“Oh, she’s just a little doll,” Jan replied.
“I’m sure.” Mom sighed. “I’d like some grandbabies one of these days. Of course, I love Heidi to death, but I’m really looking forward to having a newborn in my arms.”
“You think Phoebe and Carson will have a baby right after they get married?” Drew’s sister, Phoebe, was seriously dating Carson Winters, the sheriff of Moonlight Cove. Heidi was Carson’s thirteen-year-old daughter, so she was technically a step-granddaughter-to-be. She and Mom had bonded right away and spent a lot of time together scrapbooking, his mom’s favorite pastime.
“They’re not even engaged yet,” Mom said.
“Well, yeah,” Jan replied. “But rumor has it Carson’s been ring shopping.”
Drew smiled, glad Phoebe was happy and on the path to love after suffering such a devastating loss.
“You might be right,” Mom said. “But I haven’t heard anything definitive yet.” A pause. “Is Drew in?”
“Yup. He’s been working on paperwork all morning,” Jan replied. “Go on back.”
Drew set his mouse aside and swiveled his chair toward the entrance to his office, waiting. This ought to be interesting.
Sure enough, Mom appeared at the open door. “Good morning,” she trilled. She was dressed in a stylish pair of jeans and a camel-colored raincoat. Her hair was windblown, which was typical for anyone who went outside in Moonlight Cove.
“Hey, Mom.” His eyes snagged on the manila envelope in her hand. “What brings you here?”
“Bank paperwork,” she said, holding up the envelope. “Your dad needs to sign.”
“He’s not here right now,” Drew said. “He’s showing a house.” He eyed the envelope but didn’t reach for it or offer to hand it off to Dad. Maybe if they saw each other in person, they’d talk, and maybe that would lead to their working things out. It was a long shot, but Drew would never give up hope that his parents would eventually make up.
Mom held the envelope out. “Would you please give this to him, then?”
Drew stared at her but still didn’t take the envelope.
She sighed and dropped her hand. “What’s the problem?”
He stood, his hands on his hips. “I’m not going to act as your intermediary with Dad. If you need to give him something, you’ll have to give it to him yourself.”
Pursing her lips, she stared at him. “Is this really the way you want to play this?”
“Excuse me, but you and Dad are the ones playing things this way. Phoebe and I are just stuck in the middle.” Drew ground his molars together. “You two are adults. You need to find a way to deal with your differences without expecting Phoebe and me to tiptoe around, delivering messages.” He nodded toward the envelope in her hand. “Or whatever.”
Her eyes drifted sideways.
“And don’t even think about asking Jan to give that to Dad.”
Mom frowned. “Well, aren’t you full of vinegar today.”
He rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t sleep very well last night.” For some reason, every time he’d closed his eyes to go to sleep, a vision of Ally standing there, watching her home burn, rose in his mind. He’d tossed and turned all night, haunted by the desolate expression on her face, by the thought of her all alone, with nowhere to go. Essentially homeless. And he couldn’t deny that he was still intrigued by her and her story.
Mom sat in the chair across from his desk. “No doubt you were awake all night dreaming up ways to get your dad and me to talk.”
“No, actually, I was thinking about Ally’s situation.”
Mom’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “Really?”
He held up his hands. “I feel bad for her. She suffered a terrible blow yesterday, and I’m concerned, that’s all.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Mom said.
“Why?”
“Because Ally is meeting Chief McCoy at her house in fifteen minutes, and I think you should go with her.”
“I’m buried here,” he said quickly, gesturing to the piles of paperwork on his desk and then at his computer. “Maybe you could go.” Someone should. But preferably not him. Getting any more involved with the lovely and intriguing Miss York would be a mistake.
“Oh, no, I can’t,” Mom said, standing as she looked at her watch. “I’ve got a doctor’s appointment I can’t miss.”
He studied her, his matchmaking radar going haywire. “Mom, what are you doing?”
She straightened the collar of her coat and gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”
“Are you trying to get Ally and me...together?” Mom had made no secret of her desire to see him married with children. He wouldn’t put matchmaking beyond her.
“Should I be?” she asked, her voice echoing with a speculative tone that put his teeth on edge.
He sighed. “No, Mom. But you do seem to be trying to get us to spend time together this morning.” After an under-the-breath snort, he added, “Before long you’ll be talking engagement party.”
She blinked. “Where did that come from?”
“C’mon. You’re a romantic. You’ve said so yourself.” Although lately it seemed as if every shred of that romantic had gone poof. “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about me getting married.”
A hopeful light grew in her eyes. “Would that be so bad? Don’t you want to fall in love?”
“No way.” He’d done the love thing, and it had ended horribly. For him at least. “Love turning out well is nothing but a myth.”
Mom pursed her lips and shook her head. “Honestly, Drew, sometimes I don’t know where this cynical side of you comes from.”
“I can’t believe you have to ask that.”
“Well, I know Natalie hurt you, but that was back in college.”
“Yeah, it was a long time ago.” But he had loved her with everything in him. And he’d thought she’d loved him back since she’d been wearing his engagement ring for a month and they’d been close to setting a date.
Until she’d left him for an Italian exchange student and moved to Rome the very day she’d unceremoniously dumped Drew and given his ring back. She’d broken his heart, and it had never healed. At least not fully. His whole being had seemed to freeze that snowy day in January, and it was still numb. Oh, sure, he dated some. But he kept it casual. Getting his heart involved was out of the question.
“So you’re not over her?” Mom asked, her brow crinkling.
“I’m not still in love with her,” he replied carefully, truthfully. “But what she did changed me inside.” He expelled a sharp breath, then segued into another subject by saying, “What about you and Dad?”
Mom froze. “What about us?”
Maybe she didn’t know how much their rift had affected Drew. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt and set her straight at the same time. “I thought you and Dad had the perfect relationship, and look how that worked out. You two are living under separate roofs and you’re not even speaking.” It was the awful truth and had him twisted in so many knots he had to say something. “It just confirms that even the strongest love has problems.”
Her eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth to respond. But then she just as quickly clamped it shut. “I’m not discussing that.”
Of course not. No wonder she was clueless about his feelings. Everything was off-limits these days.
She belatedly lifted her chin, undoubtedly to strengthen her stance, and then went on. “Ally needs help, that’s all.” Mom fiddled with the buttons on her coat. “Do I really have to make that clear? Honestly, where’s your compassion?”
Chastised, he could only give her a blank look. There was the guilt thing she wielded so well, cutting him down to size with one swipe. Maybe he deserved it. Honestly, right now, he didn’t know which way was up with his parents.
Tut-tutting, Mom moved toward his office door, looking over her shoulder. “Try to stop reading so much into everything, all right?” She stopped and turned around, then nailed him with a pointed look. “Just do the Christian thing and help Ally face her burned-down house, knowing she has someone on her side.”
His face heating, he watched Mom disappear, feeling as if she’d given him what for. Could anyone lay guilt on like an opinionated mother?
The problem was, his mom’s guilt trips were usually right on target. And this one was no exception. He was being uncharacteristically uncharitable. Guess the stress of his life, what with his parents’ problems and the upcoming changes looming in his own future, really had him in a funk.
