Indomitable Spirit (14 page)

“Good. Don’t go hurting yourself.”

“I won’t.”

John stood there looking down at her. This was the part about falling for someone that he didn’t do well with—the separation. He had work to do and he’d goofed around all morning. But seeing her nose grow pink in the cold, he didn’t want to leave her. He just wanted to wrap her up in his arms, warm her, and kiss her for the rest of the day.

But that wasn’t going to do.

“When is your last class?”

Kym hunched up her shoulders as if to have them shield the cold from her neck and ears. “At eight. I close up the school after nine.”

That would complicate things a bit. “I’ll come and pick up Jacob and Abby.”

“If you ever need them to stay…”

“Thanks.” Wasn’t that like everyone else? Always thinking that was the most helpful way? “I’ll be here.”

“Thank you for taking me to see Wil.”

John took a step back and scanned a look over her with a smile. “Oh, hell, you’re really stuck here now aren’t you?”

“Why?”

“You just called her Wil.”

Kym laughed. “So I did.” She stepped up closer to him. “I guess this town and its citizens are growing on me.”

John forced down the knot in his throat. “I’ll see you later.” He kissed her on the cheek.

There was a bit of disappointment in her eyes, but she smiled as she walked past him and into the building.

He was going to need to have a long talk with his kids. The aching in his chest wasn’t from the cold. It was from the warmth that surged through him every time he thought about spending time with Kym. That was a warmth he never thought he’d feel again after Abigail died.

How was a man truly supposed to move on from that?

How did Abigail feel?

John dropped his shoulders, shut the door on the truck, and walked to the other side.

Certainly he was losing his mind if he wondered how his dead wife felt. He climbed into the truck and backed out of the lot.

The leak at the flower shop, that’s what he needed to focus on.

Maybe when he was done he’d take some flowers to Abigail. On more than one occasion over the past few years she’d helped him with some decisions. He guessed that if she didn’t like his seeing Kym she’d somehow let him know.

But that thought scared the hell out of him. What if she really didn’t want him to see her? He wasn’t sure he could deal with that.

Chapter Thirteen

That stupid bell over the door rang again announcing his presence. John closed the door behind him as Heather walked out of the back room, an enormous smile plastered on her face ready to greet her customer. But the moment she saw him her eyes turned hard and the smile was only a memory.

“Didn’t think you meant today,” she growled.

“It shouldn’t wait.” He walked over toward the cooler. “Nothing leaked behind here did it?” He couldn’t see any damage, but he thought it was safer to keep her talking than for her to come up behind him and stab him in the back.

“It’s dry.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll get it fixed up.” He walked back to the door and with his hand on the knob and his back turned to her he said, “Can you make me up a little bouquet, you know…her favorite.”

He didn’t say anything more and he didn’t wait for an answer.

The wind had picked up in the valley making the chill in the air burn his skin and freeze him through to the inside. Fixing the drain wouldn’t take too long and he could see Heather inside making up the bouquet he’d requested.

He despised this anger that wouldn’t settle between them. It had almost been three years and still the woman would rather hate him than be his comfort.

Before Abigail died, he and Heather were good friends. He’d chased off the bad guys and he’d set her up with a few good ones. They had each other’s back. And the moment Abigail took her last breath he’d been banished from her family.

Of course she’d remained civil enough around the kids, but usually when he walked into the store the curses flew and her voice teetered on the brink of breaking the sound barrier it was so loud and high.

But he’d continue to suffer her wrath for his children. They loved her and their grandmother. By the time Cody was eighteen, John wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. The kids would be on their own to socialize with Abigail’s family, but that wasn’t really how he wanted it.

John had been right about the job, it hadn’t taken long. He was a big believer in fixing it early so there wouldn’t be bigger problems. The building was old and he’d nearly replaced every part of it over the years. He was proud of the little shop. They’d worked hard to make it what it was and Heather took great care of it.

When he’d tucked his tools away in his truck he headed back into the store.

Heather leaned against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest. The anger had diffused from her eyes, which he’d known would happen too. He’d come to learn that the spark of anger was when she saw him and that raw nerve of missing her sister hit her. Eventually the acknowledgement that he’d lost someone very important too broke through. It usually didn’t make her any nicer to him, but perhaps a little quieter.

“I added a candy cane lily. You know how she liked the holidays,” she added as if maybe he’d forgotten.

“She’ll enjoy that.”

“The kids are going to be able to come over for Thanksgiving dinner, right?” She was biting down on her lip.

“Of course.”

“What about you?”

That one threw him for a bit of a loop. “Me? We’re eating early at Mom’s. I’ll have had my dinner.”

She shifted her eyes away from him. “So what’s with you and that woman you brought in?”

There it was. This had nothing to do with Thanksgiving at all. She was teetering on that fence of irritation with him over Kym. This was more comfortable.

“We were headed to see Wil. She wanted flowers.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to bring her here?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “I told her they had nice arrangements at the store too.”

“Those aren’t my arrangements.”

“She still would have gotten quality.”

Heather narrowed her eyes. “You’re seeing her?”

“I’m trying.”

“Trying? What does that really mean?” Her voice was rising. “Either you are or you aren’t, John.”

“Then I guess I am.”

She slammed her hands to the counter. “And what about my sister?”

John usually would turn and walk away, but he knew Heather and somehow she’d take it to Kym. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Well, if you must know I was headed up to have a conversation with your sister about this.”

“Funny. Real funny.”

“I’m not laughing.” He said with his eyes focused on her.

Her wall of anger visibly diffused. “It’s too soon.”

“It’s almost been three years.”

“She loved you.”

“And I still love her.” He moved closer to the counter. “I’m not trying to move on and forget her. I’m not even trying to replace her in my kids’ lives. But Kym happened into my life and I like her. I really like her. When I’m with her some of the pain goes away. But it will always be there.”

Heather was battling her emotions behind her eyes which were now filling with tears. “Don’t forget my sister.”

“How can I? I have four children with her eyes. One with her name.” He reached his hand out and covered hers. “There will never be another Abigail.”

“I can hardly turn around during this time of year without thinking about her.”

Now John smiled. “The shop looks great.”

“She loved Christmas.”

“She sure did. You do a great job keeping that part of her alive.”

Heather sucked in a breath and her eyes dried quickly. She pulled her hand away from John’s and took a step back. “Go have your talk then. Maybe you’ll fall off the side of the mountain if she doesn’t like your idea.”

And she was back. John gave her a nod. “Better make sure you stay in town for the next hour. If someone sees you up there they’ll think you pushed me.”

She let out a snort.

“How much do I owe you for the flowers?” he asked.

“You own the damn store. You don’t have to pay for them.”

“I have to cover the cost of the product.”

She shook her head and walked away from the counter and back to the room where she created the masterpieces.

John took a twenty out of his pocket and threw it on the counter.

He turned and left the small store his wife had wanted so badly and had spent so many hours of her short life building it to be perfect.

The frozen layer of snow crunched under John’s boots as he walked toward Abigail’s grave high above Aspen Creek. The cemetery dated back to Aspen Creek’s beginning. There were mothers and fathers of John’s friends. His own grandparents, on both sides. There were the rich and famous. There were John and Jane Does. Among them was Abigail Larson.

John knelt down in the snow and brushed off her headstone. He’d known it was hers by the flowers that still jaunted up from the ground which were now frozen and muted in color.

He removed the old flowers and set new ones in the vase. In the cold, without water, they surely would freeze in a day as well. But it helped his heart to visit her and bring them.

A chilly breeze blew through the cemetery and he knew she was there with him, in her own way. He laughed as he stood against the wind. It hadn’t knocked him over the cliff.

“Heather decorated the store just like you liked it. Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet and it looks like a winter wonderland.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his Carhartt. “I think today might have been a civil conversation between us. She misses you terribly. Well, we all do.” That pang of guilt squeezed at his heart. “There’s this woman—a new woman in town. She’s teaching Abby and Jacob karate. They’re really good at it.”

John stood alone in the cemetery and let the bitter cold eat away at him.

“She’s really nice.” The breeze kicked up and the frozen bits of snow began to circle around him. “I suppose you could say we’ve been seeing each other. Or better yet we’ve kissed a few times and want to see each other.”

The chill made him ache all over and the sun began to duck behind a cloud dropping the temperature even further.

If this was her sign, he wasn’t liking it at all.

“I think it’s time for me to move on and find someone. I think maybe that someone is Kym.”

The wind whipped up harder and John hunched his shoulders to keep the coat around his neck and ears.

“Heather is worried I’ll forget you, but that will never happen. Never. You were the first love of my life and you don’t forget that. You’re the mother of my children and they adore you.”

The wind began to die down.

“I just want to feel again.”

The air became still.

“I want to live again. I want my kids to know me as something other than a grumpy old man.”

The bitter cold didn’t burn through him anymore.

“I want to know you’re okay with this.”

John stood in silence for a moment. The world around him seemed to settle. And then the sun came out from behind the cloud and warmed up the cold which the wind had kicked up.

He inhaled a deep breath of cold into his lungs. She’d heard his plea and she’d shown him the warmth. This was her way of agreeing with him.

He knelt down again next to his wife’s grave. Pressing a kiss to his fingers he then traced them over her name.

“I’ll love you forever.”

Chapter Fourteen

The door to the school opened as Kym limped across the floor setting up stations for the kids to work. She smiled as she saw Jacob and Abby walk in from the cold.

She stood erect. “Good afternoon.” She said and both of the kids stopped, put down their backpacks, and bowed to her. “I have something for each of you.”

“Like a present?” Abby asked with her eyes sparkling.

“I suppose you could look at it like that.”

Kym walked toward her office slowly and they both followed. On her desk were two uniforms with the name of the school printed across the back.

“You’ve been such a big help around here I thought you should have a uniform to go with your belt.”

Abby snatched hers off the table. “Can I go change into it?”

“Of course.”

Abby ran out of the office and toward the changing room, but Jacob stood there with his hands at his side.

“Is there something wrong?” Kym asked trying to read his expressions.

He didn’t look at her, but kept his eyes on the uniform. “Are you giving that to me because you’re dating my dad?”

Kym hadn’t quite been prepared for that.

“No. I hadplanned to give this to you all along.”

He still didn’t look up at her. “So you are dating my dad?”

Why hadn’t John talked to him about this? It wasn’t her responsibility.

“Your father and I have decided we like each other and perhaps we’d like to spend some time together.”

He nodded, but his body was still very tense. “I have a mother. She’s dead.”

Kym could feel her heart clench so tight it had to have stopped beating. “I’ve only heard good things about her too.”

“Would that mean you’ll be my mother?”

She stepped toward him. “Jacob, I’ll never be your mother. You have one who loved you with all her heart. What I would always like is to be is your friend. And that invitation stands even if things don’t work out with your father. I’d always like to be your friend.”

He nodded again, but still kept his eyes from hers. “Do I have to wear this?”

She pushed her shoulders back. “You don’t like it?”

Finally he looked up at her. “I like it a lot. I don’t want to mess it up.”

Kym smiled. “You’ll outgrow it long before you could possibly mess it up. You earned this uniform, Jacob. I’d be happy if you wore it with great pride.”

He moved toward the desk and picked it up. “Thank you, Miss O’Bryne.”

“You’re most welcome, Mr. Larson.”