Page 30 of Love Somebody Like You

He finished doctoring the coffee just the way Mom preferred, and together they returned to the bedroom. He tapped on the door, even though it was open. The room was dim, but he could see her lying in bed, her fingers restless against the covers.

“Mom, here’s your coffee,” he said, placing it on top of the bedside table.

She nodded but said nothing, her gaze fixed on the sliver of light where the curtains didn’t quite meet.

“Mom? Are you feeling okay?”

What a stupid question. How could she be? Where had the energetic woman of his youth gone? When had his memories overtaken what could be clearly seen?

A tug on his arm saw Ellie draw him back outside, her gaze sober.

“I didn’t know she had got so bad.”

She sighed, nodding, her mouth a flat line. “You know what this means?”

“I’m gonna call the doctor immediately.”

Another nod. “Besides that.”

The look she sent him drew the strings of his heart into a new kind of tense.

“You’re gonna have to call the brothers.”

He closed his eyes, tension rippling through what felt like every one of his pores. As Ellie promised to call the doctor and keep an eye on Mom, he headed back to the office and thumbed through the apps on his phone until he found the app he and his siblings used when they wanted to communicate. The last message had been two months ago. Yeah, they were that close. He slowly tapped out the message.

Hey. We need to talk ASAP. Something’s wrong with Mom.

CHAPTERSEVEN

It was quite possible she might be a little bit in love.

After a morning spent helping her mom make scones to be reheated for next week’s summer visitors, Lexi had been released to spend a few hours in Trinity Lakes. It was nice to escape the unspoken questions of her parents and all the drama and pressure her new decision seemed to demand. Especially when it meant she got to visit places like this.

She smiled at the display of vintage teacups, all set out as if readying for aDownton Abbey-like high tea. The antique vibe was further reinforced by several porcelain dolls and teddy bears dressed up as if ready to partake. It was so unexpectedly enchanting, so whimsical, and yet another surprising addition to the charm of Trinity Lakes.

She’d stumbled into the Village Shoppes Emporium down an alley off Main Street while trying to escape a couple of people she’d thought she recognized from last week’s pool party. She must’ve entered via the side entrance, as the barn-like building seemed to have been a former hardware store, judging from some of the signage and paraphernalia decorating the wooden beams and ceiling. But the floor space had been transformed into a series of cubbyhole-type stores, decorated like an old western town, with murals and painted props suggesting an old church, a barbershop, a school, and more. Each stall showcased different products to sell—candles, handcrafted toys and jewelry, vintage books, furniture, recycled fashion.

The space reminded her of local markets she used to enjoy visiting on Saturdays, except here everything was under cover. While few of the stalls had a shopkeeper, it seemed the price-tag system meant you could take things to a centralized counter and purchase your items there.

So far, she’d spied a pair of earrings she thought her mother might like for her birthday, and tried on a vintage leather jacket that might fit Lexi’s own retro glamor vibe. She fingered a soft-as-silk scarf, wondering if she could justify the cost. Maybe she could, considering the last scarf had been all but destroyed after its chlorinated adventures last week.

She finished the last of the complimentary honey stick the kind man at the counter had offered and threw the plastic wrapper into the trash can near the café. Another place she might have to check out, judging from the delectable smells.

After purchasing the scarf and earrings—she’d need to think about the jacket, considering it wasn’t exactly cold, and she’d always believed if something remained until she returned it was meant to be hers, but if not, c’est la vie—she exited, blinking against the afternoon sun. Heat rose through the pavement. Maybe she should’ve bought an ice-cream after all.

She moved across the street and was about to claim a seat under a shady looking tree when a black pickup drove past.

She recognized it. She’d traveled in it just last Sunday. She pivoted to watch it travel past, then pull in and park, the driver staying seated for a long moment.

Maybe he was checking his phone. Maybe he was—oh, nope. He was getting out. Moving to the green-roofed bank, straightening his shoulders as he clutched a packet of papers.

He pulled open the glass doors and disappeared into the yawning darkness. Okay, she’d spent a little too much time thinking about him in recent days. She’d be far better off thinking about what to do with the rest of her life.

She shifted on the wooden seat, the scent of summer holding a different scent to what she remembered from home. But while there might not be any sea-salt tang here, Trinity Lakes had a lovely essence of its own. She’d sensed it in the Village Shoppes, the way the community trusted each other and its visitors to not steal. She’d seen it last week, in the aftermath of the near-drowning, when all Barb’s visitors had pitched in to help clean up without being asked, while Lexi had sat working to regain her composure. She’d experienced it in the friendly vibes as she moved around town, the sense that people genuinely liked each other. Maybe it was a bigger city thing, but she was used to people building walls, not bridges, focusing on themselves, not others, keeping to themselves, aloof, mistrustful of motives. It didn’t seem like people did standoffishness here. Maybe that was a small-town thing.

She could see why her parents loved living in Trinity Lakes. Maybe she could settle here too. Unease roiled through her stomach as the web searches she’d undertaken recently rolled through her mind. Transferring her qualifications meant far more than simply filling out a couple of forms. It meant several rounds of applications, international university transcript validation, sitting yet another exam, background checks, and more. And while she didn’t dispute any of that, the fact it would take far longer—and cost more—than she’d imagined, made moving back to Australia more appealing. Or at least exploring an alternative career path.

But the thought of giving up all she’d worked so hard for over many years still felt like another victory to the man who had already stolen so much. Why should she lose her career due to his actions?

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