Page 17 of Waiting to Love You

I don’t know too much about Connor’s story, but it seems like he’s speaking from experience. Brady said something in passing before we left for deployment that Connor was a widower. His wife, Lydia, died during childbirth. They were high school sweethearts, and he was devastated when he lost her. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting his daughter, Jade, but I hear she’s a spitfire. Jade and this business are his entire world.

I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose the love of your life. The one person you believed you were going to spend the rest of your life with. How does someone’s heart heal from something like that? Hell, I’ve only been apart from Bristol for a little over a year, and each day has been excruciating. I tried not to think about her, but my mind always came right back to that night we spent together. I never forgot her, even though I tried. And damn did I try, but now I’m here in Tyson’s Creek, hoping that she might give me a chance to see where things could lead between us.

“Let’s get inside and get this interview out of the way—although it’s just a formality at this point,” Connor says, as I nod and follow behind him.

There really isn’t much to their setup. There are another two trailers off to my left with a few backhoes and Bobcats parked next to them. A chain-link fence surrounds the entire area, more to keep people from getting in than out.

“Home sweet home.” Connor swings the door open and walks in.

I stop for a moment and wipe my feet before following him inside. There are two medium-sized desks splitting the center of the room, with filing cabinets lining the wall to my left.

“Take a seat.” Connor motions toward the empty chair in front of his desk. “Vance is running late, as usual, but he should be here soon.”

“Not a problem. I don’t mind waiting for a few,” I reply as I sit down.

“How are you settling in here in Tyson’s Creek?” Connor doesn’t waste any time asking the serious questions.

“Great. I’ve been to visit a million times over the years with Brady, as you know, but there’s something about knowing this is my home that makes things a little different.”

It’s different because this is my home. Something that I haven’t had since joining the Marines. I had a roof over my head and a place to sleep, but the barracks on base never felt like a place I could belong. I’d never felt that until I stepped foot into Tyson’s Creek for the first time. There’s just something about this town and these people that makes me feel at ease.

And it’s not just the town. The Thomases are the closest thing I have to a family. When I needed a place to go, it wasn’t even a question that I was coming to stay with them. Mrs. Thomas always told me I had a home here in Tyson’s Creek, but I thought it was just for show. Something nice that you say to your son’s friend, but the Thomases are different. Cut from a different cloth.

“Are you planning on being here long term?” he asks.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Tyson’s Creek has felt like home for the last few months,” I admit, not sure if that’s the correct response.

“I feel you on that one. There’s something magical about this place. Seems like it gives everyone the one thing they’ve always been searching for.”

“I hope that’s true for me, too,” I murmur, ensuring that Connor doesn’t hear my words.

Sure, Tyson’s Creek is a place that I can call home, but the only thing missing in that scenario is Bristol by my side.

“Anyway, we just got a big contract to revamp some villas a few towns over, so we could use the extra men. I’m not sure how long we can guarantee you work, but we would love to have you,” he tells me.

“Thank you.” I give him a genuine smile. “I plan on taking the civil service exam in a couple of weeks and hope to become a deputy soon after.”

I lean back in my seat and rest my ankle on my knee. I may not have given him the answer he wanted, but it’s the truth.

“The town would be lucky to have you,” Connor answers as the door to the office flies open and someone walks in.

“Late as always, Vance,” Connor says as I turn toward him.

Vance has a huge smile on his face as he comes strolling through the door. His red-and-black checkered flannel shirt is rolled up to the elbows and tucked into a pair of light blue jeans. He’s about my height and has dark brown hair with a perfectly groomed beard that’d put any military man to shame. He has a muscular build, but leaner than Connor, but what would you expect from someone who lifts 2x4s every day?

“Hardy har.” Vance reaches out his hand, and I stand slightly as I grasp it and give him a firm shake. “It’s good to see you, man.”

“It’s good to see you, too. Thanks so much for the chance to work for Ace & Hammer.”

“Enough of that. We told you before you deployed, you had a place here if you wanted it. All of this was just a formality, if you ask me,” Vance tosses a bag onto Connor’s desk and heads toward his own. “Seli wanted Chick-fil-A again.”

“Thank goodness today isn’t Sunday, or you would be up shit creek again,” Connor laughs.

“Tell me about it. I love that woman to the end of the earth, but I can’t make someone open their doors just to make her a crispy chicken sandwich with extra pickles because the baby wants it.”

“You got your girl back, huh?” I question, my eyes locked on Vance as he takes a seat.

I knew Vance was still head over heels for his high school sweetheart, Selina. She left without saying goodbye to anyone and headed off to Juilliard and never looked back. When we were last in town, he was still waiting for her to come to her senses and come home. It seems a lot of things have changed for the better since Brady and I left on deployment.

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