“Then I’ll definitely see you around.” It was rude, but the sound of a door closing in the distance drew my attention and a few moments later Teddy bounded down her steps and onto the sidewalk. She froze when she saw me and then her gaze slid to Kara before she glared back at me. “I should get going.” It was pointless now though, Teddy was in her truck and driving away as fast as she legally could.
Kara’s brows dipped low, almost as if she expected I would be as eager to spend time with her as I was back in high school. “I was hoping we could catch up, maybe over a beer?”
“Yeah, maybe.” Where was Teddy going? She wasn’t dressed up, but maybe she was meeting the new doctor for coffee or a long, intimate hike.
“I assume you’re going to the fundraiser since you’re one of the heroes?”
“What? Oh, yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Then we should go together. For old time’s sake, you know?”
No, I didn’t know, actually. I didn’t know what she was up to, but I knew that I had no interest in being her chew toy again. “I don’t date married women.”
Her shy smile dipped into a sad one. “No worries there since I’m technically, legally separated, but it’s just a formality until the divorce papers can be filed.”
Ah, she was back in Jackson’s Ridge licking her wounds and figured I was a decent enough consolation prize. “Sorry Kara, I just can’t.”
“Ouch.” The word held no pain or anger, her sad smile perked up just a little. “It was worth a shot, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about treating you like you didn’t matter back then. You did, I was just too blinded by what I thought I wanted, and what I thought I deserved, to see it.”
I shrugged off her apology because I didn’t need it. “It was high school, you were still learning how to be a decent person.”
“Still, you were a good guy considering you were handsome and popular and smart. You deserved better from me and I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted, Kara.” If I wanted Teddy to forgive me for acting like a jerk, I had to do it too. “Now, I really have to go, but I’ll see you around since you’re in town for a while.”
“I am,” she replied with a smile and a short wave.
I raced back to the house in search of my phone and dialed Teddy’s number. The first call rang twice before she sent me to voicemail.
The second call, three times.
The third call went straight to voicemail.
I got her message loud and clear. If she wanted to do things this way, there was only one thing to do.
Wait her out.
Teddy
I thought a long run through the state park would help clear my mind, maybe get rid of some of the anger I felt towards Cal, but it didn’t. It also didn’t help that when I headed out, he was on the street chatting with his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend who looked as good as she did a decade ago. It wasn’t just that Cal didn’t really want me, he didn’t even want a woman like me. He would always gravitate towards the pretty, bubbly types like Kara. Always.
Some things don’t change, not ever.
It was important to remember that lesson I’d learned all those years ago. No matter what Cal said, his actions were what mattered most, they were what told the truth of what he really wanted.
And that was fine. I didn’t want Cal, not really. I mean, yeah, if he wanted the same things I wanted in life and if he was a man who could be counted on, then he would definitely be a contender in the ‘ever after’ running, but he didn’t. Which meant none of the rest of it mattered. It didn’t matter that he was jealous of Rusty because that wasn’t about me. It didn’t matter that he was smiling on the street with Kara, because that had nothing at all to do with me. He wasn’t mine and I wasn’t his. We were nothing to each other than a few memorable nights.
Which didn’t explain why I found Cal sprawled on my porch when I returned home from my restless run. My jaws clenched in annoyance, but I was determined to be emotionless, to show Cal—and myself—that I wasn’t affected by him. “Cal. Is there something I can help you with?”
He stood up, using his full height so he could stare down at me as he folded his arms, a slight frown on his face. “We need to talk.”
I nodded. “It’s probably best we discuss any issues or concerns you have with the renovations in the office, during business hours.”
A low growl sounded from somewhere deep inside of Cal, and though the sound was a little frightening, it was also kind of hot. Really hot, actually. “You know damn well I’m not here to talk about the house.”