Page 40 of Why Not Me?

“I need to ask. How is Brendan?” I look at Dawn, unable to resist voicing my curiosity.

“Why—what—how should I know?” Dawn stutters, drawing a sigh from Blake.

“Well, you’ve been hanging out—it seems reasonable that you would know. You’ve been friends for as long as he and I have been involved. Besides, I thought I saw you guys having coffee just the other day.” I laugh, her reaction totally bizarre. “Dawn, if you feel weird that you’ve continued your friendship with him, don’t. I would never expect you to pick sides. I think we’re too mature for that kind of crap.”

Blake snorts, but just shakes her head when I glance over at her.

“What?” My voice is confused, they’re both acting so strange and I can’t figure out why they won’t tell me what’s going on.

“Oh. Yeah. I guess I just feel bad because I don’t want things to be awkward,” Dawn whispers and it feels like her words have a double meaning. “He’s doing well. I think he misses you too, in the same way.”

“I’m glad. I want him to be happy.”

We all start to relax as we’re pampered, the pedicurist massaging my feet is pure bliss.

The rest of our day goes well, despite the tension between Blake and Dawn. It’s not the first time they’ve had a major fight. I just can’t ignore the feeling that this time their argument revolves around me.

When I arrive at Landon’s house, I’m greeted with a note on the door telling me to come in. Smiling, I twist the knob and step inside quietly. The house smells amazing, something obviously cooking in the oven.

PeeWee runs to greet me, jumping all over, his tail wagging.

“Just in time.” Landon rounds the corner, a single chocolate rose in his hand. “Dinner is almost ready.”

Taking the rose, I lift up and kiss him, pouting when the oven timer goes off. I follow him into the kitchen, my stomach growling as the mouthwatering aroma hits me full on. “This smells amazing, what are you making?”

“It’s a roast chicken, but a little more brothy than what you’d normally expect. I’m playing around with a house favorite.” He grins at me, slipping some oven mitts over his hands and pulling out a casserole dish.

I take a seat as he sets the dish down, snagging his hand when he goes to move past me. Pulling, we smile against each other’s lips before kissing each other in a slow, deep kiss.

I finally release him when my stomach growls again, taking the serving spoon he hands me and helping myself.

“How was your girls’ day out?” He takes the spoon from me, but instead of serving himself, he holds my gaze as I respond.

“It was okay. Something is going on between those two, it’s making our outings a little tense. Blake is being super cryptic too. She was all, ‘don’t worry, I’ll fill you in soon.’ It puts a damper on our time together.” I force a smile and shrug. “Oh well, I guess if they want to talk to me about it they will. It just feels like I’m stuck in some fight and I have no idea how to fix it.”

Landon nods, his brow furrowing. “I can see how that might take the enjoyment out of your day.”

I can tell he wants to offer advice, but he also knows that whatever advice he gives is no good if Blake and Dawn refuse to talk about what’s going on.

Instead of dwelling, I dive into the delicious meal he’s prepared as we bargain over who gets to pick the movie.

Straightening my dress, I slip my feet back into my stilettos, gather my purse, and shut off the lights in my office. Landon should be here to pick me up any moment now, and I’m tired of waiting inside.

No one else is in the building, even maintenance left half an hour ago, but I wanted to wrap up a few loose strings before we went on our weeks’ vacation.

Taking a quick glance around, I shut off the lights, set the alarm, and head outside to wait.

One of the first projects I had was developing a circular park in front of the town office. There is a walking path that goes around the entire thing, leading pedestrians from the street to the main entrance of the building. At the north, south, east, and west points, there are paths leading to the center.

In each of the four pie-shaped sections, the mature foliage is a mixture of coniferous trees, lush shrubs, and thyme. All intended to be low maintenance and yet shield the center of the park from view.

Lining the paths are small solar lights that shine onto the walkway. At night, they allow you to see where you’re walking without distracting or blocking the stars.

The center is my pride and joy of the entire setup. In between where the paths come to the center is a bench, but these benches are sheltered so even in the rain they are lovely to sit in, gazing out at the stars or watching the fountain in the very center of the park as the cool water flows.

The fountain is made of three stone pillars standing amidst black stones, the water bubbling from the top to flow down the pillars and over the stones. The sound of the water flowing is a soft, soothing sound, and I admit I love kicking off my shoes to walk over the smooth, wet stones.

This is where I find myself after waiting for Landon to arrive for over fifteen minutes, my shoes kicked off and tucked under one of the benches along with my purse, walking over the smooth wet stones.

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