Filed to story: Love on the Sidelines (Natalie & Karl)
And Jenna had been right. The woman was a marvel of efficiency. For the first time in ages, I found myself with time on my hands.
I spent it wandering through the store, staring at the merchandise as though I’d never seen it before, and chatting with employees I’d barely spoken with since the day I’d hired them.
Not once during that week did I see or hear from Karl, although I jumped every time the phone rang. Daniel still came to work each afternoon, but I made it a point to keep my distance from him. He looked so much like Karl that it was painful for me. If he found my behavior strange, he didn’t show it.
Thursday morning I took the Chevy to the farm, parked it under the shed, and climbed into Jenna’s Lincoln. We drove to Jonesboro, and when we came back I was driving a brand new, bright red Isuzu Trooper, a vehicle about as unlike the Chevy as I could find.
It was late that evening when my doorbell rang. I wasn’t surprised. Cody had stopped by for a few minutes almost every night. I knew he still felt guilty about leaving me alone at the store that night, even though we were both very careful not to mention the incident again. I think he believed I’d go into screaming fits if he said anything, and being male, he was pretty helpless around crying women, sheriff or not.
I put the last dirty dish in the dishwasher, and went to answer the door. To my surprise, it wasn’t Cody, it was Hugh.
“Hi.”
“Hello.” Puzzled, I simply stood there, frowning.
He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left. “Mind if I come in for a while?”
Well, why not? This entire week had a surreal quality about it. Finding Hugh on my doorstep was just the latest in a long string of weirdness. I pushed the door open and led the way to the kitchen.
“Tea? I just made a fresh pitcher.”
“That would be great.”
I dumped some ice into glasses, poured the tea, and carried it to the table.
Hugh took it, staring at it like he’d never seen tea before. “I guess you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“It did cross my mind.” I took a sip from my glass.
“Would you believe I miss you?”
“Sure you do. Like a plague victim misses the rat that carried the fleas.” He looked up, smiling. “You weren’t that bad.”
“Well, that’s certainly a load off my mind.” His smile dimmed. “I really do miss you, Natalie. In spite of everything I did to hurt you, I loved you. Part of me always will.”
“Just not the right way,” I said quietly.
“No, not the right way.” His gaze shifted down again. “Being with you was like being married to my sister.”
I reached across the table and took his hand. “Hugh, it wasn’t your fault any more than it was mine. We were too young when we got married, and we did it for all the wrong reasons. It’s a miracle we stayed togetheraslongaswedid.Andifit’sany consolation, you really weren’t that bad either.”
“Not even in bed?” He laughed at the expression on my face, and I returned his grin.
“Well, let’s just say it’s hard to start a fire when all you have to work with are two broken sticks. I don’t think either of us put our heart into the effort.”
“Maybe if we’d tried harder…”
I released his hand and leaned back. “No. It still wouldn’t have worked. We both loved someone else.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, how’s it going with Jenna?”
He grimaced. “It’s not. She won’t talk to me anymore. I haven’t seen her since that night at the roadhouse. I wish I knew what she wanted.”
“That’s easy enough,” I said softly. “What she wants is someone who’ll be proud of her, someone who puts her first.”
With a sigh, he lifted a hand to rub his eyes. “I’ve been a real asshole, haven’t I? To you and her both.”
“We’re only human, and we all make mistakes. I’ve made some real dillies so don’t think you’ve cornered the market.”
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”
“You’ll have to ask her that.”
“What about you?” His gaze met mine. “If it’s not too late, I’d like to have my friend back.”
Tears filled my eyes and I could barely answer him. “You’ve got her.” We hugged for a long moment before Hugh gave a shaky laugh. “I better get out of here before they reopen the betting pool at the barbershop.” I released him, took a step back and wiped my eyes. “Who won the first one?”