Page 5 of The Marrying Kind
Austen smiled at me, and my stomach did a weird little flip.
“Two for dinner, CJ.” Austen’s gaze cut over to mine. “If you don’t mind me joining you, that is.”
I shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
It was a free country, after all. And this washistown,hislocal bar—not mine. Plus, these people were trying to help me. My grumpiness shouldn’t be directed at them.
“I’ll have what she’s having.”
Over brisket sandwiches and fries dipped in yellow mustard, Austen peppered me with questions.
“So, what brought you to Kodiak Canyon?” He wiped his mouth with a napkin before placing it back across his lap.
He scored an A-plus in the manners department. What? Manners are important.
Hesitating, I took sip of my iced tea. He seemed nice enough, but how much did I really want to tell him? “You’d laugh if I told you.”
He turned his body to mine, meeting my eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”
I had no idea if I could believe him or not, but his voice was so sincere and his eyes were so kind, I decided the hell with it—I’d just tell him the truth. If he laughed, or judged me, what did it really matter? I could always give him the watered-down version.
“I came with a plan ...” I pulled my journal out of my purse and patted the top of it without opening it. “A bucket list, actually.”
His eyes widened, his gaze moving from the journal to mine. “That’s cool.”
“I just needed to get away for a while, and I created this whole grand plan of all these life experiences I’d get to take ... it’s stupid.”
Emotion tightened my throat. I might open up to Austen a little, but I wasn’t about to tell him about my parents’ tragic accident ... or about the fact that they’d lived their whole, cautious lives saving up for a retirement they never got to enjoy.
It still hurt to think about all the missed vacations and experiences they’d never have, only because they thought there would be plenty of time later. Turned out, there wasn’t more time. That was all they got. I’d buried them six months ago, and when I found their tickets to Ireland in my mom’s desk, I hatched my plan.
I would travel there in their honor. I would do all the things they’d never gotten to do.
The timing was perfect because my own life was going nowhere fast. I needed this for me as much as I needed to do it for them.
“It’s not stupid. I think it’s awesome.”
Austen’s words meant more to me than they should. One stranger’s opinion shouldn’t matter, yet somehow it did.
“Thanks.” I gave him a weak smile.
Unbidden thoughts I should not be having kept popping into my head. Like about the fullness of his lips or the size of his hands. All of this while he palmed a brisket sandwich in one hand that CJ had just dropped off, which as promised was indeed only half good.
“So, how many items are on this bucket list?” he asked as he popped a fry in his mouth.
I worked to swallow the bite I’d just taken, then washed it down with a sip of iced tea. “Ninety-nine and counting.”
“How did you come up with them?”
“Sort of randomly. Anything that popped into my head that sounded good made the list, no matter how outlandish. Things I heard people talk about wanting to do. Things I heard my parents talk about wanting to do.”
I paused on that last statement, wondering if I’d said too much. There was no way I was in the mood to talk about it.
Austen quirked a brow at me. “What’s the most outlandish thing on the list?”
I tapped my chin as a few list items flashed in my mind. “Hmm. Maybe boating down the Nile. Riding an ostrich. Visiting the bones of Santa Claus.”
His face twisted as a smile bloomed. My words seemed to stump him, and he shook his head in disbelief.
