Mending His Past Page 11

  Trent leaned against one of the pillars with his back to the ocean. His gaze fell on the last storefront on the main drag. It was situated only a few paces from where he stood, giving him a front row seat to the storm damage that still marred its exterior.

  This particular building had been on Trent’s mind as he’d sat at the flea market earlier that day. What a fantastic storefront it would make for Olivia. He’d even toyed with the idea of staying in Liberty Cove a little longer to fix it up for her. With a location like that, she’d be set for life. But he didn’t know if he’d be able to handle staying a minute longer than was absolutely necessary—it hurt too bad to be near her but not with her.

  He chewed a candied pecan from his praline ice cream and shook his head. Many of the quaint shops and restaurants lining either side of the street had suffered storm damage, but none had been hit quite as hard as this one. Its windows were boarded up and the roof was still covered in tarp to protect against the elements until the shingles that had been stripped away by the hurricane’s driving winds could be replaced.

  He sighed into his dessert. “Would you look at this place?”

  “Heartbreaking, isn’t it?” Olivia said, leaning on the pillar next to his.

  “This certainly isn’t how I remember Main Street from when I was a kid.” His heart sank further when he looked down at what had once been a street lined with flowering trees, trimmed to perfect proportions. They now stood, stripped of most of their leaves and lopsided, after their thick branches had snapped off like toothpicks and blown away.

  “The storm really took its toll. It didn’t even spare the trees,” Olivia said.

  Everywhere Trent looked, all he saw were broken things: broken windows, broken trees, and a broken town. He turned his attention inward. Add broken people to the list. “Even if the hurricane hadn’t hit, Liberty Cove still wouldn’t be the same.” In more ways than one.

  “What do you mean,” she asked.

  “Look past all the storm damage. What do you see?”

  “I don’t know. A cute town with a bunch of lamp posts that need their burnt-out light bulbs replaced?” Olivia’s voice was unsteady as she tended to a blob of half-melted ice cream that had fallen on Molly’s shirt.

  Trent nodded. “Kinda sad, isn’t it? Did you count how many empty shops we just passed?”

  “How many?” she asked, a faraway sound in her voice.

  “Nine on this side of the road alone. That’s a death sentence for a town this size.”

  Olivia tossed a used wet-wipe into a garbage can at the corner of the building. “You’re not wrong. It does feel kind of like a ghost town compared to the old days.” Olivia cast her gaze to the ground at her feet.

  Were those tears shining in her eyes? She cared about this town more than he realized.

  “Why isn’t anybody fixing this place up and trying to attract new businesses?” Trent asked, walking over to peer through one of the windows the storm had left intact.

  “I have no idea. That’s your area of expertise. You’re the developer. What would you do around here to breathe some life back into this little town?”

  “I’d strip it all back to the studs on most of these buildings.”

  “Really?” Olivia asked, holding onto Molly’s hand for balance as she walked across one of the large chains, ice cream still dripping from her cone.

  “They may have looked okay on the outside before the storm, but none of these buildings have been updated since the sixties. You’re not going to attract any new out-of-town business if all you have to offer is what amounts to an out-of-date strip mall.”

  Even through the gloom of his heartache, Trent sensed the inkling of inspiration when he thought of the possibilities this little town held. That was the developer in him. When inspiration struck and he had a project to bury himself in, it was almost as good as… he glanced at Olivia and Molly. No. Nothing could replace what he couldn’t have with those two.

  “I’ve always liked this building,” Olivia said, pointing at the very storefront he’d contemplated fixing up for her. “I bet you could whip it into shape in no time.”

  Trent cleared his throat, giving his best effort to chase away the ache building in it. “It got hit pretty hard, but you’re right. It probably wouldn’t take that long to fix her up.”

  Olivia fixed her gaze out to sea. “You know, we could really use someone like you around here.”

  Trent’s heart leapt into his throat. What was she saying? “We?”

  “Y-yeah, Liberty Cove needs a big-shot developer to revitalize it. You sold me on the idea.” A nervous laugh hiccupped out of her mouth, but her eyes didn’t light up with her laughter like they usually did.

  Trent lost what little bit of wind he still had in his sails. All she saw him as was an old friend who had a skill set that her beloved town needed. Nothing was wrong with that—and everything was wrong with that. He couldn’t stay. He wasn’t strong enough.

  “Olivia, I…” Her gaze rose to meet his as everything he tried to say bottlenecked in his throat. The pained expectation in her eyes wedged his unspoken words even more firmly in place. “I don’t think I can—”

  A squeal from Molly interrupted the moment.

  They turned their attention to her in time to see her tumble from where she had been seated, straddling the chain. She landed on Sport, who was lying at her feet.

  A moment later, Olivia was kneeling at her side. “Are you okay?”

  “Sport catched me, Mama.” Molly giggled while squirming to get back on her feet. “For you,” she said, holding the remains of her mostly-melted ice cream cone in front of Sport.

  The dog looked at Trent as if asking permission to accept the gift from Molly.

  “Go on, boy. Eat it up,” Trent said.

  The dog lifted the cone from Molly’s caramel-covered fingers and gulped it down in one hungry swallow. Molly squealed in delight as Sport proceeded to lick her hand and arm clean.

  Olivia stood and brushed bits of sand off her knees. “Forget about what I said. What was I thinking? You’re already set to do bigger and better things in San Antonio. You don’t want to hang around this little town.” She flashed him a half-smile and twirled the end of her ponytail around her index finger. “I’d better get this little one home. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow,” she said, taking Molly’s hand and moving toward the beach.

  “Wait. The truck’s parked back this way,” Trent said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “Let me go get it.”

  “That’s not necessary. We make this walk all the time.”

  Trent’s arms hung limp at his sides as he watched Olivia take several hurried steps away from him, Molly’s short legs moving in double-time to keep up.

  She stopped mid-stride and turned toward him, her face pulled into a tight lipped smile. “See you in the morning.” She paused for a moment and locked her gaze on him. “And thanks for being such a good friend. I’ve really needed one lately.”

  Friend. That word was fast becoming his most hated in the English language.

  Olivia held his gaze for a single aching moment longer before turning to continue on toward her home.

  So this is what it feels like to watch someone you love walk away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Trent stood outside Olivia’s door the next morning, the handles of several grocery bags digging into the meat of his fingers. His stomach was a confusing tangle of emotions he wasn’t used to experiencing—disappointment, anxiety, excitement, and about fifty more that he hadn’t been able to identify yet.

  He’d spent all morning trying to wrap his head around the mission at hand. His first objective was to take care of Molly. His second was to put some emotional distance between himself and Olivia.

  This was the first time in his life he’d ever embarked on a mission without rock-solid confidence that he’d come out victorious on the other side. Taking care of Molly would be easy enough, but distancing himself from Ol
ivia… that was going to be hard, if not impossible.

  Molly’s round face popped into view in the front picture window before he’d gathered enough courage to knock. Her squeals at seeing Sport came through the thin walls of the bungalow. A moment later, the door opened.

  Trent’s pulse went wild when his gaze fell on Olivia. The hot-pink heels she wore added a good four inches to her height. The bold color stood out from her black cropped pants, the combination giving her the appearance of a long-legged runway model. Her flower-print kimono-style shirt was cinched at the waist by a fabric belt fashioned from the same material.

  Hair that spent most of its days tied back in ponytails and buns now hung freely, framing her face in loose curls that guided Trent’s eyes to the soft angles of her cheekbones. His fingers ached to touch those silky curls—they ached to touch her.

  “You look…” Words failed. The entire English language failed. Beautiful wasn’t a big enough word to describe Olivia.

  Her brows pinched together, forming worry lines between them. “I know, ridiculous, right? I look ridiculous.”

  “What? No! You look amazing.”

  Olivia’s cheeks turned the same shade of pink as the brightest flower on her shirt as she stepped back to allow Trent and Sport to enter. “I don’t know. I wanted to get a little fixed up before seeing Eddie again, but this whole look really isn’t me. I should probably go change.”

  Trent chewed the inside of his cheek as her words sunk in. She wanted to get fixed up to go see Eddie? Something about that idea soured his stomach.

  Molly bounced over to peek inside the bags he still held. “What you got?” She stood on the tips of her toes, trying to get a better view of their contents.

  Trent set the bags on the floor, smiling at the wide-eyed little girl. “Dig in and have a look.”

  Sport looked on with a wagging tail as more happy squeals filled the room. “My favorite!” She worked to free a package of white-grape juice boxes from the bag.

  “That’s so sweet of you,” Olivia said. “You didn’t have to go shopping before coming. How much did you buy? That’s a mountain of bags.”

  Trent rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish grin creeping onto his lips. “I forgot to ask what Molly’s favorite juice was so I picked up one of every flavor.”

  The tension on Olivia’s face relaxed. “You’re such a good guy.”

  The soft curve of her lips as she smiled up at him sent a rush of warmth over Trent’s body. “It’s no big deal. The juice was easy. It was the graham crackers that almost did me in. Do you know how many different kinds of graham crackers there are? There were organic, gluten free, sugar free, honey, cinnamon and sugar coated, and about twenty other kinds to choose from. I still had no idea what kind to buy after reading labels for fifteen minutes.”

  “Sounds like you had a rough morning.” The twinkle had returned to Olivia’s eye as a teasing smile played on her lips. “What did you do?”

  “I picked up the kind with the Koala on the front. It seemed like something she’d like.”

  Olivia chuckled. “She’ll love it. I usually just end up getting whatever is the cheapest. This will be a special treat for her.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed, the joy from only a moment before leaching from her face. “I guess I’d better go change.”

  As much as Eddie did not deserve to have Olivia make a fuss over her appearance for him, Trent couldn’t let her go on thinking there was something wrong with the way she looked. He cleared his throat. “You know… you couldn’t look ridiculous if you tried. You don’t need to change unless you want to.”

  A sad smile curved one side of her lips. “Thanks.” She turned her attention back to her outfit, not seeming to appreciate it as much as Trent did. “I guess I kinda wanted to give him a taste of what he’s been missing. Not exactly the greatest of motives on my part.”

  She plopped on the couch and rested her forehead in the palms of her hands while Molly continued to rifle through the bags at Trent’s feet. “It doesn’t sound all that forgiving of me, does it? Maybe this was a mistake. I should call the whole thing off.”

  Seeing Eddie abandoned at the airport would have kept Trent in smiles for a month, but it wasn’t what Olivia needed. She’d made her needs crystal clear the day before. She needed closure, and the chance to prove to herself that she was over the whole nasty situation.

  Trent stepped over the load of bags on the living room rug and sat on the couch next to her. “I don’t think you’re making a mistake. You made a lot of sense yesterday. Besides, if dressing drop-dead gorgeous is the worst thing you plan to do to your ex-husband, I think you’re doing just fine.” He draped an arm around her shoulders like he’d done a million times before when they were younger. It was only when she rested her hand on his knee that he realized what he’d done. Fiery electricity coursed up his leg at her touch, sending his head into a spin.

  He had to disengage. Retreat was his only option. He patted her shoulder and then stood. He cleared his throat and massaged the back of his neck again. “The only thing I’d consider changing if I were you are your shoes. I wouldn’t want to walk through an airport on my toes. I don’t know how you ladies do it.”

  Olivia glanced at her feet. “You’re right. I haven’t worn heels since before Molly was born. What was I thinking?” She shook her head and smiled, some of her spark returning.

  “I get shoes, Mama,” Molly said, running out of the room.

  “She was listening?” Trent said.

  “Oh, she’s always listening.”

  A tingle of excitement exploded across Trent’s skin when Olivia stood suddenly and grabbed his arm. She pulled him to the other side of the room, and drew him close to speak softly enough to avoid being overheard.

  “Just so you know, I haven’t told Molly about her dad. As far as she knows, I’m just going to the airport to pick up a friend.”

  Trent nodded. “Copy that.”

  Olivia scrunched her nose, her teasing smile returning. “It’s almost like you picked up a different language while you were away.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Military life was worlds different than life in Liberty Cove. The Army did have its own way of communicating. No frills. No chance for misunderstanding. And so much simpler than all of the confusing unspoken stuff that passed for communication in the civilian ranks. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. I understood what you meant. I like your military lingo.”

  “You do?” Something about the way she looked at him caused the tempo of his heart to pick up its pace.

  “I do.” Her words hung in the air for a moment before Molly bounded back into the room, Sport following close behind. She held a pair of black flip-flops decorated with rhinestones.

  “I love these for you, Mama,” she said.

  “You know your stuff,” Olivia said, taking the shoes from her daughter and stepping out of her heels. “These will be perfect. Thank you, sweetie.” She sighed and slung her purse over her shoulder. “I guess it’s time for me to get out of here.”

  Squatting down, she wrapped Molly in a tight embrace and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back later. Be good for Mr. Trent.”

  “Love you.” Molly tightened her hold on her mother and nuzzled her face into the crook of her neck.

  “I love you more.” With one final kiss, Olivia stood and walked toward the door.

  Trent held the screen door open for her, and he and Molly followed her onto the porch. “Have a safe trip,” he said.

  “Thanks.” She glanced down at Molly and then back up at him. “Thanks for everything.”

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  With one arm draped around Sport’s neck, Molly called out goodbyes to her mother until the truck was out of sight.

  A cool gust of wind blew in from the direction of the gulf. Trent closed his eyes and filled his lungs with the fresh air. He had to regain his focus. He’d completely failed on the Olivia front. Not only had he failed to d
istance himself from her, he found himself craving a relationship with her more now than ever.

  His eyes shot open when a tiny hand slipped into his. He looked down to see Molly’s round blue eyes looking up at him.

  “You color with me?” She was the very image of her mother, and she was beaming.

  “I wish I could, but I don’t know how to color.”

  Molly laughed. “Yes you do.” She ran into the house and returned a minute later with a coloring book and a box of crayons. She sat on the wood planks of the porch and pointed beside her. “You sit here.”

  Never one to disobey an order, Trent sat beside his mini-sergeant and watched her little fingers work to open the box of crayons. She selected a picture for them to color and assigned Trent to work on the princess’s hair.

  He found a pleasant shade of brown, but before he could put a single mark on the paper he was scolded.

  “That’s not a good color.” Molly searched the pile of crayons and gave him a few shades of pink and purple. “She wants rainbow hair.”

  Trent couldn’t hold back his smile. “We’ll make it happen.” For the first time since he was in grade school, he was coloring—and he loved it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Olivia turned off the radio and clamped her hands down on the steering wheel. It wasn’t working. No amount of channel surfing was enough to get Trent off her mind. They hadn’t dated since college, so why was it that even when he wasn’t with her, he was still with her?

  She couldn’t get the image of him and Molly from earlier that morning out of her head. They were such a perfect contrast. He’d stood next to her with his burly muscles and military-style high and tight haircut while she’d danced circles on the porch in her butterfly wings and glitter-covered ballet flats. The memory was enough to melt her heart.

  Her eyes welled up. What she wouldn’t give to spend the day with the two of them. She’d fallen for Trent all over again. There was no denying it. But no matter how much she loved him, no matter how good of a father he seemed like he’d be, there was nothing she could do about it.