Page 55 of I Found You
“Oh yeah, my sister is in town and we had an appointment tomorrow at Honey Lou’s, but she’s had to cancel. She’s a bit flaky, so it comes as no surprise.”
Honey Lou’s was the only luxury spa in town.Well, luxurious to us townies anyway.
“That’s too bad that she canceled. I’ve never been, but I heard all great things about it.”
“Do you want to come with me? Is that weird to ask?” she laughed. “I promise I’m not a crazy person. I just don’t want to go alone.”
“Seriously? I’ll ask Wyatt if he can watch Jane. If he can, then sure. I’m in,” I exclaimed, exchanging numbers with her so we could finalize the plans. Over the past few weeks, Jackson hadn’t asked me for any money, not for the rent or food or gas for one of his buddies. Spending that money on myself was such a foreign concept, but I found myself really looking forward to it.
The door that led into the station opened, and Wyatt strode out, followed by Luke. I couldn’t help but notice that Scarlett’s eyes kept drifting toward them but quickly averting away again while she busied herself with paperwork.
The brothers nodded to each other, a silent communication passing between them.
On the drive back to the garage, I asked Wyatt if he could watch Jane, but his hedging response made me backtrack my request.
“You don’t have to. I can ask Jackson,” I told him.
“I need Jackson with me tomorrow. But we can ask my dad. He’ll do it.”
“Wyatt, I am not asking your father to babysit for me,” I huffed at him. He looked at me in confusion, like he couldn’t comprehend why I thought that idea was crazy.
“Why not? He’d love it. Watch,” Wyatt said, using voice recognition to call his father on the spot.
“Wyatt!” I hissed. “He’s going to think I put you up to this.”
He gave me a wink as his father answered the phone. Without any preamble whatsoever, he asked him if he was free tomorrow afternoon and if he would be able to watch Jane. And just like that, I had a child-free afternoon scheduled. I immediately texted Scarlett to let her know I could make it, giddy at the idea of making a new friend. I felt like I was in middle school with how excited I was.
* * *
Charlie Wilder opened the front door with a large grin plastered on his face. He was a handsome man in his late fifties. He had a great head of hair, albeit mostly gray. His large frame filled the doorway, and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities in his build compared to Wyatt’s. But besides the mess of hair—much like Wyatt’s—and his size and stature, I didn’t really see much of Wyatt in him. Where Wyatt’s eyes were a soulful brown, Charlie’s were a mossy green. Where Wyatt’s nose was straight with a button tip, Charlie’s was broader and buttonless.
He led me into the house, carrying the bags I’d brought with me. Jane had almost never been away from me, except for that fateful night that ended in the emergency room. I tried to think of everything that she might want or need, even though it was only going to be a few hours. There was enough formula, diapers, wipes, and clothes to last a full week.
Charlie plucked Jane from my arms and ushered me out the door after I explained to him, in detail, how she liked her bottle made… for the fifth time. He assured me that they would be just fine but agreed to text me every hour with an update.
Finding a parking spot in downtown Calla Bay was a nightmare this time of year, made even worse by it being a Saturday. I ended up snagging a spot by the market, which meant that I had a six-block walk to get to the spa. By the time I arrived, I had sweat in every crease of my body, of which there were many. The spa’s air-conditioning felt like the most exquisite ice box.
Scarlett was sitting on the plush white couch, scrolling through her phone, when I walked in. She looked up at the sound of the door and smiled with her whole face. Some people smiled with just their mouths; other people’s smiles reached their eyes. Scarlett was one of those people whose whole face lit up when she smiled.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m so glad you were able to make it. Who’s watching the baby?”
“Charlie, Wyatt’s father. But this is the first time, and I didn’t ask him to. I asked Wyatt, and when he couldn’t, he just took it upon himself to ask his father.” I didn’t want her to think that I expected other people to take care of Jane for me. She was my responsibility, and I took that very seriously.
“Oh, that’s great. Charlie is the best. I can see him with a baby in his arms. He will probably spoil her rotten all day. It’ll be great for both of them.”
I wanted to ask her how she knew Charlie so well, but it wasn’t any of my business, and I had the distinct impression I would be stepping into something if I opened that door. Calla Bay was a small town, and she did work with one of his sons. But did she know all of her coworkers’ parents that well? Or was it specific to Luke and the glances that she was givinghim? From what I saw, she would be setting herself up for heartache if she went there. She may have been having a hard time keeping her eyes off him, but I didn’t see him even once glance in her direction. Then again, Luke was married.
They called us into a room where we spent the next sixty minutes being lavishly pampered with warm towels, hot stones, calming scents, and relaxing massages. By the time it was done, I felt so relaxed I could sleep for days.
It was only five o’clock, and Charlie had agreed to watch Jane as long as I needed him, so after a quick check-in text, Scarlett and I decided to head to Harpoon’s for an early dinner and a drink.
As we walked into the bar, my eyes needed a moment to adjust to the lack of light. The sun wasn’t going to set for a few more hours, but inside the bar and restaurant, it looked like night had already descended. A waitress with short blonde hair cut into a shaggy bob came to our high-top table quickly, which made sense, considering we were early enough that it was still pretty empty here. Scarlett ordered a beer on tap while I opted for a margarita, and we agreed to share a plate of nachos as an appetizer.
The drinks came out first, followed closely by the food, which Scarlett and I both attacked. There was just something about a plate of bar nachos and a margarita that couldn’t be beat. On top of that, Scarlett was great company. She was actually a little shy, which surprised me, considering how quickly we clicked. We talked about books, movies, and work. I even told her about Josie coming back around. How we’d met up a couple of times now, always in short increments and never with Jane around. But I was careful not to bring up the Wilder men. I was still unsure where or what Wyattand I were. And as curious as I was about her potential crush on Luke, it was none of my business, and more than that, I couldn’t imagine it would be a fun topic of conversation. Unrequited crushes rarely were.
Apparently, Scarlett didn’t share that same hesitation. After dancing around the question for a while, she finally just spit it out, “Okay, so what’s the deal with you and Wyatt?”
“Ha. Beats me. He’s great. The best, honestly. But I still have a hard time imagining a world where he sees something in me, even after he says all the right things.”
