Page 45 of Come to Me

“Michaela is a lovely host.”

“Yeah, well don’t get any ideas.”

“Logan.” Mitch shook his head at Patrick and mouthed “don’t listen to him,”

“Micki is the glue of this family.” Logan took a long swig of his beer.

“I can see that.” Patrick paused, wondering if he should step out of bounds again. “I hope you appreciate all she does.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed at Patrick. “My family isn’t your business.”

“Logan. He’s here for a vacation.” Mitch pushed his friend on the shoulder. “Relax dude.”

“He suggested that I don’t appreciate her.”

“You don’t. Not always,” Mitch said. “You’re always saying how guilty you feel that you’re not doing more.”

“Yeah, well…” Logan gave Patrick a sideways glance as he finished his beer.

Patrick was relieved when Logan hopped up and announced it was time to go. Patrick followed the two men back toward the resort, white knuckling it all the way. He was certain that the speed had picked up and several times he nearly pitched his four-wheeler over.

By the time he arrived back at the garage where the vehicles were housed, he was covered in splatters of mud and the remnants of his bruised ego. He followed directions by explanation and example of how to hose off his four-wheeler and store it.

Finally, he was free to return to his cabin. As he trudged through the woods on the path back to the resort, he felt a million miles away from what he understood about the world. Like he was in a foreign land. An alien on another planet. He’d arrived at the resort feeling lost and defeated. A failure in his life and work. Today hadn’t done anything to help him overcome that. In fact, the once confident man now shuffled toward his cabin with the defeated gait of a man who was inept in all he did.

This was a mistake. He couldn’t build his confidence and find himself by entering a world that highlighted ineptitude. At least in New York, he understood the city and its people.

Or maybe the issue was that he hadn’t done anything to work on himself since arriving. He’d stumbled through each day, usually with the help of Tate or Michaela. And he’d been okay with that because Michaela made him forget his troubles. But that wasn’t how problems were solved. He needed to face his issues and deal with them directly, not allow himself to be distracted by Michaela.

He reached the lodge, intending to head down the path to the cabin, but he was swept up by Mitch and Logan, and the women up on the deck eating cookies and drinking sweet tea asking about the day.

“How’d it go?” The gleam in Michaela’s eyes told him that she knew he’d had a time of it.

“He did great,” Mitch said. “Didn’t roll at all. Got stuck only once.”

His audience clapped. He wanted to feel the goodwill they were sending him. He wanted the camaraderie they were sharing, but all he could think was he was wasting time embarrassing himself. He was letting Michaela distract him from what he needed to do.

“I survived,” he said, hoping he sounded positive. “I need to clean up.”

“We’re grilling burgers and hotdogs,” Michaela said. “Why don’t you come back for dinner,”

“Thanks, but…I’m exhausted. I’m just going to call it a day.”

Her brow furrowed in concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah sure. Thank you, Logan and Mitch. That was an adventure. Have a good evening, everyone.” Patrick made a beeline to his cabin. He stripped and stepped into the shower, washing away the dirt and sweat, as well as the pull Michaela had on him. He couldn’t get his life together playing in la la land. It was time he got focused on his future. To do that, he needed to stop spending time with Michaela.

CHAPTER 14

Micki chewed on her lower lip, her brow furrowed in concern as she watched Patrick make his way down the path to his cabin. She'd been so hopeful that this little adventure would help draw Patrick out of the emotional turmoil she sensed simmering beneath the surface. But now, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that her well-intentioned plan had backfired.

Something was off about him. He was polite, but there was an aloofness to him. Had four-wheeling been a bad idea? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time – a chance for Patrick to do something physical that would take him out of his head. Plus, four-wheeling was fun.

But as Patrick disappeared into his cabin, Micki couldn't help but second-guess herself. What if the activity had only served to push Patrick further into his shell? His city-bred sensibilities were so at odds with the carefree country lifestyle she adored. Perhaps the experience had simply been another painful reminder of how little he belonged here.

"Did Patrick seem off today?" she asked.

Mitch shrugged. "He clearly never four-wheeled before?—"

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