The July Guy Read online

  He didn’t have an answer right now, so he continued through the dining room and into the living room. He set the tools down. The bat still stood by that abused mantel. He picked it up and smoothed his hand over the hardwood. He could picture Anita taking out her frustrations with it not that long ago. Aggie had done the same. Had it helped them deal with what life handed them?

  The tension had been building inside him all day. Noah tested the heft of the bat. He’d once thought if he hadn’t been weighed down with work responsibilities from an early age, he might have played baseball. Not that he would have been good at it, but still, he would have liked the chance to try.

  Without another thought, Noah lifted the bat and let it fall with all his might onto the wooden mantel. The force vibrated through his arms, down his legs. But he was already raising it again, smashing it again.

  Ethan Bradford. Smash.

  Charlene. Smash.

  Colburn and Sons Salvage. Smash.

  Anita.

  Noah lowered the bat, breathing hard. She was right. It was his fault that he’d insisted on adding romance to what was supposed to be a fun one-month fling. If there hadn’t been wine and flowers and walks through the park, would emotions have found their way into their hearts anyway? Who knew? It was too late to second-guess things.

  It was his fault he’d contacted her father when she didn’t want him to, but all that had done was speed up the breakup. Nothing would have changed in the end.

  It was time to remove this poor mantel. If the painting was finished today, he could install the new one tomorrow, the one Anita had picked out a lifetime ago.

  He was right. The mantel came off the wall with a couple of quick tugs from the crowbar. As he lifted it away, he saw a small envelope, the size and thickness of a greeting card, on the floor. They often found cards and photographs that had slipped behind mantels over the years. He picked it up. It was addressed to Anita.

  He’d been given another reason to get in touch with her. Thanks, Aggie.

  Noah stowed the mantel in the back of the box truck and went back into the house for the bat. He carried it out with him. It wouldn’t be smashing any more mantels.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Anita and her father stopped at a fast-food spot halfway through Pennsylvania. As they sat there on plastic chairs, eating their burgers and fries, her father cleared his throat. “I have a question for you.”

  “Go for it.”

  “Why didn’t you contact me after you received the trust fund?”

  She chewed a fry slowly as she thought back to more than twenty years ago. “I was angry. Angrier at you than I already had been. I thought you were trying to buy me off. Like I’d forgive you if you threw enough money my way.”

  He lifted a brow. “Yet you spent the money.”

  “Hell, yeah.” She waved another fry in the air for emphasis. “I deserved it, didn’t I, after you abandoned me? It didn’t make up for all those years of nothing, but it got me out from under my mother’s thumb. Didn’t make me forgive you, though.”

  “Fair enough. But you must see that is why I didn’t attempt to contact you for many years. I took the hint and left you alone. I understand, I do. You weren’t ready. And to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to being rejected by you.” He gathered up the trash and piled it on the tray.

  “But you must know life is not often that simple,” he went on. “People are not simple, are we? We have many layers. Many reasons why we make the decisions we do. Whether they end up being right or wrong, those choices are the best we can do at the time. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  “Yeah, I get it. We all make mistakes, but we never think they’re mistakes at the time.” She wouldn’t think of Noah leaving after she pushed him away.

  “Not only that, but there can be more than one reason for the choices we make. And those reasons can change over time. My Maria, she was a wonderful woman. Warm and funny, and I felt blessed to have her in my life. But there was a sadness in her as well. A wish for children that never came true for her. It hurt her to know about you. To know I had a child when she was never able to. So I kept my love for you, my desire to see you and to know you, hidden from her. You didn’t want to connect with me, in any case. That was obvious to me. So why would I cause her pain by speaking of it? By leaving Spain to seek you out and face certain rejection, when it would hurt my Maria?”

  “You wouldn’t,” Anita whispered. She’d never at all considered what her father’s life had been like.

  “But the guilt, mija, it wouldn’t leave me alone, especially after I lost Maria. I thought it was enough that you had the money, but then I realized I was a cowardly fool. My search for you could no longer hurt my wife. If it meant I could finally have a relationship with you, anything I had to suffer would be worth it. I would risk years of rejection. As many as it takes.” He sent her a sardonic grin. “But when a man gets to my age, he wonders how many years he has left to grovel.”

  Anita sucked in a breath. She remembered what her neighbor, Cindy, had said about Aggie not reaching out for the same reason. Were they all so afraid of rejection that they never even tried?

  She grabbed the tray and dumped it in the trash. She reached the car before she spoke. “I wonder if that was why I never wanted to contact you. Subconsciously. What if I found out you really didn’t love me? What if I found out you actually never wanted me after all? It was better not knowing.”

  Her father nodded and pulled her into a hug. His arms felt warm and strong around her, and she sank into his embrace.

  “Fear is what drives us all, I think,” he said. “Fear and love and guilt.”

  “You may be right.”

  They spent the remaining hours talking. He told Anita about his life in Spain, which had changed so much after the death of his wife and his forced retirement. He was the youngest of three brothers, but his two older brothers had both passed away. He told her about his younger sister, Anita, whose death from pneumonia had prompted him to become a doctor. She had to blink tears away when she realized she’d been named for her father’s beloved sister.

  Anita told him about her position at the university, the pleasure she found from watching young artists bloom, and the joy she felt while painting her own canvases. About the notes Aggie had left. When they stopped at a rest stop, she told him about the trips she took each July and about the flings.

  “So you haven’t had any serious relationships?”

  “Why would I want one of those when I have my parents’ relationship as an example?”

  “Ah, I see this is where I must grovel again. I’m so sorry. Your mother and I must share the blame for your unhappy childhood. I deeply regret hurting you so badly. But I hope you know there are many people who risk heartbreak for a chance at something remarkable.”

  They walked one length of the sidewalk, stretching their legs. Anita heard his words but didn’t know how to respond. All the quick retorts she’d used over the years didn’t seem to work anymore.

  “Do you love Noah?” her father asked, straight and to the point.

  “I don’t know.” It might not be a lie. Since she’d never fallen in love before, how did she know for sure? “I think so.” The admission flew from her lips before she realized it.

  “He’s a good man. I could tell from our conversations. From the way he speaks about you.”

  “He barges in where he thinks he’s needed, even if it’s none of his business. It wasn’t his place to contact you. Especially when I told him point-blank that I didn’t want to talk to you.”

  That hadn’t come out exactly the way she wanted, but her father sounded more amused than hurt. “After all these hours we’ve spent together, do you still wish I’d never come?”

  “No, but that’s not the point.”

  “What is the point, mija?”

  The point? “He…he does what he thinks is right even if I’ve already told him not to.” Bringing flowers. Lighting candles. Fa
lling for her.

  “You mean he is a man who thinks for himself?”

  “He’s a man who doesn’t listen to me.”

  “He is a strong man. You’re a strong woman. You need a strong man, mija, to be your equal.”

  “I don’t need a man at all!” She clicked her seat belt. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Now was not the time. If she had her way, her father would never hear the words her mother had pounded into her head day after day. Men made you choose. Men killed your dreams.

  Anita was exhausted by the time they pulled into the parking lot of the memory care facility, but they’d decided to stop there before going to Anita’s condo. She knew she’d collapse once she was home, and now that they were here, her father didn’t want to wait another day.

  “It looks like a beautiful place,” he said. She could hear the nerves in his voice. He hadn’t seen Patty in forty years, and they had no idea how she would react when she saw him. Would she recognize him? Would she fly into a rage?

  “It’s a great place. They take good care of her.”

  Her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the name or number, but she could tell it was a Lakeside number. She glanced at her father, and he gestured he didn’t mind her answering. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Delgado? My name is Steven Holder. I live here in Lakeside, and I’ve heard you’ve done some work on the old house once owned by Aggie Swanson.”

  He paused, like he needed confirmation his information was correct. “Yes. She was my grandmother.”

  “I’ve also heard you’re interested in selling?”

  She looked out the windshield at the elegant, expensive facility. “Yes, I want to sell the house.”

  “Family is important, isn’t it? My children are married and busy raising their families in other states. I’m interested in buying the house for a vacation home for when they come to visit. Their little ones have so much energy, they’re a little overwhelming.” He laughed. “I don’t know how much you’re asking, but I know what I think it’s worth.” He quoted her a price close to Ethan Bradford’s high offer.

  She wouldn’t have to call a realtor. She’d have the money to take care of her mother. There would be children running in the yard and playing on the porch as she’d imagined. “I just want to make sure you’re not going to demolish my grandmother’s home.”

  “I can promise you I will not tear down your grandmother’s house.”

  That was reassuring. Knowing there would be a new family enjoying the house made all the difference. “Okay, well, I’m in Philadelphia right now. You should go to the open house this weekend, and we can talk next week.”

  “I don’t need to see the interior to make the offer, Ms. Delgado. I’ve been in the house before. You don’t even have to be in Lakeside for the sale to go through. If you agree to the price, I can have my attorney draw up a contract today. He could email it to you within a couple of hours.”

  “That sounds great. I’ll look forward to studying the contract tonight.” And once she signed it, her only tie to Lakeside would be severed.

  …

  Could the entire population of Lakeside fit into the village hall? Noah thought maybe they could. He wondered if they had passed the maximum occupancy, but the fire chief had stopped by to shake his hand not five minutes ago, so he figured they were okay. Most people stopped by to tell him good luck, even the ones he figured would be voting for his opponent.

  He’d never been to one of these Lakeside meet and greets before. He never understood the need, since most everyone knew both candidates. Apparently, it was an excuse for coffee and cookies, catching up with friends, and maybe asking a question or two of the candidates if there was an issue they were concerned with.

  His folks and brothers were working the crowd for him, even though he’d never asked them to. So were his daughters. Even Charlene was smiling and talking Noah up. He felt so lucky. If only Anita were here.

  There were always a few constituents who had to cause drama as time went on. Asking questions about the renovations. Why had he done this? Why hadn’t he done that? What did he know about running a village? Where was Anita? He didn’t mind the genuine questions. It was the loud, sarcastic ones asked by members of the Bradford faction that made him clench his teeth while he answered truthfully.

  Ethan was on the other side of the room, his laughter loud enough to rise above the chatter of conversation going on around them. Noah feared for the village if Bradford was elected mayor.

  Ginny came up to Noah and slid her arm around his waist. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a loud braggart. Most of the people here can see right through him. Most of the people here trust you.”

  “I hope you’re right.” He knew almost everyone in the village, but that didn’t mean they trusted him to be mayor.

  The two hours seemed to drag on for half a day. The minute hand was inching the final time toward twelve when Ethan sidled over to him. “How do you feel about your chances after tonight, Colburn?”

  “I feel great.” How could he answer any other way?

  He shook his head as if he felt sorry for Noah’s delusions. “I warned your girlfriend that you’d messed up your chances when you bet all your chips on fixing up that old house.”

  “What? You talked to Anita?”

  “Didn’t she tell you I offered to take the house off her hands? More than once. I imagine she thought she was being loyal to you by turning me down.”

  “Unlike you, my reasons for running for mayor and for renovating the house are for the town, not for glory or money.”

  “No one in Lakeside was taken in by that publicity stunt.”

  “That house belongs on the lake, and anyone who comes to the open house will see exactly how I plan to blend the old and new.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Politics isn’t the place for you. Admit it. Better to stay in the junkyard, where you belong.”

  Bastard. Noah was pleased the word didn’t burst out of his mouth. He nearly smiled when he imagined Anita would have had no qualms saying it out loud. Noah was going to take the high road, though, no matter what. Rudy Armstrong, Ethan’s partner in their new development company, came up to them, along with his son-in-law, Steve.

  Rudy leaned close to Ethan. “It’s a done deal,” he said in a loud whisper, sliding his gaze to Noah.

  “Excellent.” Ethan turned to Noah and gave him a wide, fake smile. “See you at the open house, Colburn.”

  Ginny appeared as Noah watched the three men stride away. “What do you think that was about?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. But I don’t like it.”

  Sam Hernandez came over. The smile he and Ginny shared told Noah there was definitely something going on there. If not, there should be. “So how was your first meet and greet, Noah?”

  Nerve-wracking. Exhausting. Interminable. “Great.”

  Sam chuckled. “You did a good job tonight. Not my favorite way to spend my time, either.”

  “So what’s your take, Sam? What are my chances? Realistically?”

  “I heard a lot of positive feedback tonight,” Sam said. “I think it’s going to be tight, though. Ethan’s been out in the public eye more than you have in the past few years. The voters may see him as more mayor material.”

  “Yeah, slick and two-faced,” Ginny said.

  Sam sent an indulgent smile Ginny’s way, then turned back to Noah. “Well, if you don’t make it this time, I think you should run for a board position in the fall. Get people used to you being a political figure in the community.’

  “Great. You’re giving up on me already?”

  “Not at all. Just being realistic, man.”

  “I posted a picture of Noah shaking hands, surrounded by smiling people,” Ginny said. “I hope it helps.”

  Sarah and Hannah ran over and gave him a hug. “I wish we weren’t too young to vote,” Sarah told him. “This was so cool. The election process in action.” Hannah rolled her eyes, and he chuckled. His girl
s couldn’t be more different in their interests.

  “We’re going home with Mom,” Hannah told him. “Love you, Dad.” They waved and left with Charlene. He didn’t know how long his ex planned to stay in the house, but he’d push soon if she didn’t start making other plans. The girls would be leaving for college in a few weeks, and he wasn’t going to be living in the house alone with his ex-wife.

  Carter and Beckett came over. “Mom and Dad are heading home,” Carter told him. “They said they’re real proud of you.” He nudged Noah. “So am I. I’ll buy a round at Bud’s if anyone’s interested.”

  “I am,” Beck said. “Holly went home with Mom and Dad, so I’m free tonight.”

  Sam looked at Ginny. “You going? I’ll walk over with you.”

  She beamed. “Sure.”

  Noah watch them walk away, side by side if not hand in hand. He missed Anita. He wanted to get through the next few days, and as soon as the election was over, he was going to make the trip to Philadelphia and convince her the one-month limit was bullshit. He’d give her all the time she needed if she’d only agree to give them a chance.

  …

  Anita’s father grasped her hand as they walked down the hallway to her mother’s room. She squeezed his hand and then knocked quickly before opening the door. The rooms here were spacious and beautifully decorated. Patty Delgado was sitting in a comfortable rocking chair beside a large window. She wore a soft-yellow shirt and white pants. Her silver hair was combed, and she wore the rosy lipstick she loved. She was well taken care of here.

  She looked up when Anita walked in and Tony came in behind her.

  Her mother looked past Anita, and her eyes widened. She beamed a smile. “Tony! There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Her father rushed to her side and dropped to his knees. His hands shook as he grasped hers. “Querida. I am sorry it took so long. Do you forgive me?”

  “Of course, silly.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you.”

  Anita’s heart stopped. Could her heart actually stop? She slapped her hand to her chest, and when it started up again, the heavy thud was a bone-deep ache. Her mother remembered the man she’d cursed for forty years, forgave him when she never forgave anyone?