The Standby Guy (Men of Lakeside) Read online

  “Not marriage. Not interested in another one of those. I don’t even want a steady relationship. I want ‘me’ time. List time. And yes, mojo time. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Sex.”

  “We’re all grown-ups here. You don’t have to whisper.”

  “I know. I’ve been a mom for so long, I haven’t felt like a woman.” Tears prickled, but she blinked them away. “I want to feel sexy. Think sexy. Act sexy. Be treated sexy. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfectly.”

  “Then, sex. I want sex.” Katie couldn’t believe she said it out loud, but now that she had, she was going all the way. “A fling. Or even a one-night stand. More than one, one-night stand?” She couldn’t believe she said that out loud. “I want to have fun. I want to feel like a desirable woman again.”

  “To Katie’s mojo!” Ginny lifted her water glass, and they tapped glasses before they finished their dinners and headed out for a dress to kick off her mojo-finding mission.

  …

  Carter breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Katie’s headlights sweep across the backyard as she pulled into the driveway. He took another slug of beer, his second can, or was it his third? He’d sneak back inside as soon as it was empty. He didn’t want Kat to know he was sitting out here in the dark waiting for her to come home.

  He’d told himself it was to enjoy the cool breeze. The dog days of August had hit hard this past week. He’d told himself it was to enjoy the quiet, but he could have done that inside. All these years later, he still missed Tim, missed hanging out with him. He’d had a way about him. When he talked to you, you felt like the most important person in the world. No wonder Katie loved him.

  Carter had almost called one of his brothers to share a couple of beers, but Beckett had his young daughter, Holly, and Noah had Anita now. Carter had any number of other friends he could have called. And his brothers or friends would have arranged it if he’d needed them, but it was just a lazy night with stars dotting the sky and a breeze to wipe the sweat from his skin.

  A night when he was waiting for his best friend to get home safely.

  But she wouldn’t appreciate him staying out here waiting for her to come home. She wouldn’t want anyone to think she needed looking after. So now that he’d seen the lights come on in her house, it was time to—

  “Hi.”

  He glanced over to see Katie step out onto her back patio. She was wearing a dress with a full skirt. He could see the silhouette of her shapely legs by the light coming from her kitchen. Neither one of them had turned on their backyard lights.

  “Hey, Kat.” He couldn’t help but smile. Relief? Pleasure? Happiness? Probably all of the above. “Have a good night?”

  “Yeah. It was fun. What are you doing sitting out here in the dark?”

  “Enjoying the breeze. Didn’t want a light on to attract the bugs.”

  She nodded. “You got another one of those beers?”

  “Sure.” Carter’s mini-fridge was built into the outdoor kitchen installed across one side of the patio. He hopped up and grabbed her a can. She pulled a lounge chair over next to his and accepted the beer.

  “Thanks.”

  He watched her silently as she took a swallow, then rested her head back and stared up at the sky. She looked ready to conk out at any minute.

  “I’m glad you didn’t turn on the lights out here,” she told him, her voice low and slow, as if she were half asleep already. “The sky is so clear tonight. Look at the moon. And all those stars. Some of them are planets, though, aren’t they? I should have studied astronomy sometime in my life.”

  “Nothing says you can’t keep adding to your list.”

  She sat up straight with a small gasp. “You’re right. Be right back.”

  Katie started to get up, but he reached over and placed a hand over her slender wrist to keep her in place. “You don’t have to get that damned notebook right now. You’ll remember those stars.” He squeezed. “You sound exhausted. Relax for a few minutes.”

  She sighed softly. “Okay.”

  He realized he was still holding her arm but waited another self-indulgent moment to savor her warm, smooth skin before he pulled his hand away. What the hell was he doing? He took a deep drink from the can and leaned back in the lounge chair. He should have let her go back in the house.

  Katie didn’t say anything more, just studied those stars as if the answers to the universe could be found there. Carter found himself looking up into the dark expanse littered with pinpricks of light, too, and tried to ignore her soft scent.

  “Were you waiting up for me?”

  He debated whether he should deny it, but they’d always been truthful with each other. “I was already enjoying the breeze and the beer. Might as well make sure you got home okay.”

  “I don’t want you doing that.” For some reason, he liked the way she got all huffy now and then.

  “Habit. I’d wait up for Sean, too.”

  She almost whispered, the words coming slowly. “You mean we could have been waiting together all those nights?”

  “Guess so.” But he knew that wouldn’t have been a good idea. Coffee after work, sure. Bumping into each other at Bud’s or hanging out with Sean and his friends? No problem. But at night, the two of them like they were right now, with her soft scent and softer skin? Not such a good idea.

  He sat up straight and swung around to place his bare feet on the warm concrete beside her. “So in all the years we’ve lived next to each other, you’ve never checked to see if I got home okay?”

  “Of course I have.” The amusement was clear in her voice. She swung her legs around and put her feet down, too, their toes almost touching. “But I always stayed inside and peeked through the curtains to watch for you to drive in.” She leaned forward and gently bumped her knee against his. “Of course, that means some nights I could tell you had a woman in the car with you before you pulled into the garage.”

  “What?” He’d never thought of her being able to notice when he brought dates home. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  “Don’t worry. There were nights when I fell asleep on the sofa long before I saw your headlights sweep across the curtains.”

  “I don’t like that you stayed up late waiting for me.” He knew that for sure.

  “I only kept track like any friend would.”

  “So it’s okay for you to look out for me but not the other way around?”

  “I’m not a helpless female needing a man’s protection.”

  “You’re the last person I’d call helpless. You’re strong and smart and don’t hesitate to tell me when I’ve screwed up.”

  “I’d lose my friend card if I didn’t help you out when you needed it.”

  He shook his head good-naturedly. This was what they needed, the lighthearted banter instead of the slow whispers. “We’re a pair, aren’t we, Kat?”

  “We are.”

  Carter liked practicing law, was happy working in the family business, and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, but he’d still often felt as if something was missing from his life. Right at that moment, however, he felt a contentment he’d never experienced or at least never acknowledged before.

  He cleared his throat. “I won’t be by for coffee in the afternoon, but I’ll be over to get you at six.”

  “Sounds good.” Katie got to her feet then. “’Night, Carter.”

  “’Night.” He watched her disappear into her house. And as he picked up the empties and brought them inside, he wondered if it was the combination of the starry night and her scent in the air that had contributed to the confusing reactions he’d had for her tonight.

  Chapter Three

  “Where have you been?”

  Carter had just walked in the back door of Colburn and Sons Salvage the next morning when his mother came barreling down the hall. Ever since Pop had the stroke that put him in a wheelchair, he and
Mom relinquished most of the responsibilities of running the place to their sons. But his mother still made sure her voice was heard loud and clear. As often as possible.

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s only ten.”

  “I expected you here first thing. I have to be able to count on you.”

  “I got here as soon as I could.” He held back a sigh. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding her of his law practice. His folks had helped him with the outrageous tuition. “I had things I had to do at the office first thing.”

  “I worry that someday you’re going to come through that door and tell us that you’re too busy being a lawyer and you can’t work here anymore, and I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  He gave his mom a hug. “I won’t do that. Promise.”

  She stepped away and locked her gaze with his. “I wouldn’t blame you. You’ve worked hard and—”

  “I’ll pull as much weight as I can at Colburn and Sons.” He cleared his throat. “Now what do you need me to do?”

  “I need you to place some orders online. I put the list on your desk.” His mother liked to check out social media on her tablet, but she refused to have anything to do with the business computer.

  “I thought Charlene was doing the ordering now.” Noah’s ex-wife had moved back to Lakeside to be close to their girls and had been hired to take over the accounting and payroll duties Noah used to handle.

  “She has her hands full this morning. I don’t want to add anything more to her workload.”

  “Okay, Mom.” He waved good morning to his cousin, Ginny, who aside from working in the showroom handled the advertising and website for Colburn and Sons. “I’ll take care of it right now.”

  “I can’t help worrying about the business.” His mom followed him to the small desk tucked into a back corner behind the showroom counter. “Now that Noah can’t be here as often, I depend on you and Beckett to keep things going.”

  She never used to sound so needy. And it kinda upset him that she didn’t think she could trust him and Beck to get things done. “Everything moves smoothly here. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “The business supports so many people. They depend on us. We can’t risk anything going wrong.”

  “Nothing’s going wrong. Things are changing, sure. Noah’s finally getting on with his life. He deserves it, don’t you think?”

  “Of course he does. But I worry that your law practice is taking more and more of your time away from us, too.”

  “Mom.” He wasn’t going to apologize for building a successful career.

  “Don’t get me wrong. Your pop and I are so proud of you, but we need you here. I’m afraid someday you’ll be too busy for us, and we’ll lose you altogether.”

  It’s what he was afraid of, too. He was split between his law practice and the family business. Expected to be on standby for both, but not able to give his all to either. How long could he manage being stretched so thin before something had to give? He couldn’t burden his mother with his worries. “I won’t let that happen.”

  She sniffed. “Who’s going to be reaching out to find new salvage jobs?”

  “Mom, we’ve got that covered. Ginny keeps the word out online, and we’re not short of jobs. We’re scheduled out for months. Please don’t worry.”

  “I just…” She dropped into the chair beside the desk. “I guess I feel like everything is out of my control. It used to be your pop and I were responsible for everything. Now I’m not responsible for anything.”

  He placed his hand over hers. “You and Pop taught us well. We all know what we’re doing. You’re both responsible for that. You supervise the showroom, and you know how important all those sales are for the business.” What salvaged items Colburn and Sons didn’t sell as is were redesigned, repurposed, and reworked, and then put on the floor of their huge showroom for sale.

  “I know. I guess it’s hard to hand over the reins.”

  “Even though you’ve been working toward it for years?”

  She smiled. “We have.”

  “You and Pop worked hard to make Colburn and Sons a stable business. Beck, Noah, and I are going to keep it going. We’re going to grow it even more. Trust us.” If the dinner tonight went well, he’d be able to add another level of security to the family business.

  “I do. We do.” She sighed. “Your pop gets lonely. And then I feel guilty for coming in. And then feel guilty when I don’t.”

  He’d never tell his mom she didn’t need to come in every day, even though it was the truth. “Pop doesn’t have to stay home. He can shoot the breeze with customers in the showroom or with Jimmy and Pete in the shop.”

  “He says it’s not the same. Coming around here is too much of a reminder of all the things he can’t do anymore.”

  Coming into the shop might help Pop get his mind off his partial paralysis and slurred speech, instead of watching game shows all day with Carrie, his aide. He’d have to talk to his brothers about a solution.

  “Okay, but don’t worry. We’ve got this.” He turned on the computer. His mom dropped a kiss to the top of his head and walked out back. It only took a couple of minutes to place the order his mom had been worried about.

  “I hear you’re going out for a romantic dinner tonight.” Ginny came up behind him, a mile-wide grin on her face.

  “It’s a business dinner. How did you hear about it anyway?”

  Ginny’s eyes were bright. “Anita and I were out with Katie last night.”

  What the hell? “Katie said it was going to be a romantic dinner?”

  “Of course not. But it’s at a fancy restaurant, and she bought a new dress.”

  Carter groaned. “I didn’t want her spending money on a new dress. Anything she wears will be fine.”

  Ginny gawked at him like he’d lost his mind. “You don’t wear just anything to Castle on the Hill. Besides, a woman shouldn’t need an excuse to buy something for herself.” There was a sudden mischievous spark in her eyes. “You know, it could still be romantic. I always thought you and Katie—”

  “Are friends. You know that.”

  Ginny’s expression turned serious. “Couldn’t it ever turn to more?”

  “No.”

  His cousin studied him. “What are you afraid of, Carter?”

  “Afraid? I’m not afraid of anything.” He and Katie weren’t just friends; they were the kind of friends who mattered. If he was afraid at all, it was that a shift in their friendship could ruin everything they already had. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. He didn’t want to lose his friend Kat. Or, even worse, have her turn into one of those women who wouldn’t return his calls or avoided him when they ran into each other. It wasn’t worth the risk.

  “I worry about you. Even when you were dating, you never really put yourself out there. I remember Shelley telling me that you were all surface charm, but she never felt like she could get to know you.”

  “Shelley? Shelley Green?”

  “Morano now.” Ginny frowned. “You were kind of a shit to her, you know?”

  Carter didn’t know how to respond. What could he say? He thought they’d just been having fun. You didn’t need to get to know someone to have fun.

  “But you and Katie are so right for each other.”

  He wanted to shout, so he took a breath and then lowered his voice instead. “Katie was married to my best friend. She loved my best friend.” He was tired of having this conversation. “She doesn’t love me. We’re just friends.”

  Ginny looked like she was going to argue some more, but she just sighed. “You should find someone else then, or you’re going to end up one of those grumpy old bachelors who sits in the barber shop all day and talks about the good old days with other grumpy old bachelors.”

  His cousin made him feel decidedly grumpy at the moment. And he didn’t like the reminder that he apparently deserved the reputation Katie intimated. “Why don’t you go out on the floor and dust something
?”

  Ginny lifted her phone. “I’m going to take a picture of you and post it to the business page under the caption future grumpy old bachelor.”

  “You are not.”

  She dropped her phone into her pocket. “Before you know it, you’ll be sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of the showroom, talking to anyone who’ll listen about the one who got away.”

  He scrubbed his hand over his face. Ginny wasn’t close to getting married, and she was only a couple of years younger than he was. She had no business giving him a lecture on staying single. “Go help some customers.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” But she smirked before she turned and sashayed away. Ginny was a good worker, talented with the website and advertising, but she’d been a brat when they were kids, and she was a brat now.

  The one who got away.

  He shut down the computer and shoved the chair away from the desk. Of course he wanted a family someday, wife and kids and the whole nine yards. And yeah, he’d probably thought it would have happened before he turned forty. But he’d been having fun playing the field. And then he just…got busy. Too busy to realize he was giving people around here, women especially, the wrong impression. He was more than the guy who gave some girl a good time when she was feeling down after a breakup.

  He wasn’t going to end up a grumpy old bachelor.

  Someone called his name from the back, and he lunged to his feet. He was more than a rebound guy. He was a lawyer with his own private practice. He was instrumental in Colburn and Sons, and he had a plan to bring more stability to the family business.

  Tonight was the first step.

  If he was also looking forward to seeing Katie in her brand-new dress, smelling her soft scent, and sitting beside her in a candlelit restaurant, no one could blame him. He couldn’t help being a guy. But as he reminded himself yet again, her friendship was too important to risk on a romantic relationship that could turn sour at any moment. As it had for him too many times in the past.

  …

  Gobsmacked was one of those words that Katie’s son, Sean, had heard on TV sometime in his midteens and for some reason grabbed ahold of. Sometimes he’d affect a British accent when he said it, but more often than not, he used it in his everyday conversations. His friends had laughed at him at first, but eventually they picked it up, too. Katie would miss hearing that word thrown around, along with the laughter of her son and his friends.