Page 30 of Starting Over

“I’m staying.”

His smile was wide as he walked toward me.

“Glad to hear it. Diamond Creek just got a little more exciting.”

I laughed at his blatant flirting.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Thirty-eight,” he answered.

“Just a baby,” I whispered.

He would have been about twelve or thirteen when Colleen was born. I shuddered at the thought. I never understood how middle-aged women could be with men young enough to be their children. And while King wasn’t quite that young, he was still too young for me.

His brother, however.

“How old is your brother?” Not sure why I was asking.

“Dec is fifty,” King said with a smirk. “He old enough for you?”

“Not why I was asking.”

He was older than me, not that it mattered. “I was just curious, ’cause there seems to be a big gap. Most women don’t wait twelve years between children.”

“Yea, my mom always told me I was a surprise. She always made sure I knew I wasn’t an accident.”

“What’s the difference?”

“She always said an accident was something that wasn’t supposed to happen. A surprise was something you didn’t know you wanted until you had it.”

I smiled at his words. “That is a beautiful way of thinking about it.”

We stepped out onto the porch, and I stopped.

“Is there an auto dealer here?”

“Yea, you buying a new car? ’Cause if you are selling the Mustang—”

“Bite your tongue! I would never sell Betty, but she doesn’t like the snow much, so I figured once she’s fixed, I’ll park her in the garage. I’m thinking I need a truck.”

“A pickup?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yea, a pickup. I plan on having chickens in the spring; plus, I will have a lot of materials to haul fixing this place up.”

“Ok, let’s get you a pickup,” he said, walking to the SUV.

I swear I heard him mutter something that sounded like, “Dec is gonna love that.”

It didn’t matter what Dec thought. His opinion of me didn’t matter.

Keep telling yourself that.

My plan was to stay far away from the town sheriff.

I couldn’t trust cops.

My past had taught me that.

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