Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) (7 page)

"Did Kari say when this year's is happening?"   

"No, just that Bethany was planning. So more than likely soon. Couple weeks, tops." She sipped her tea, watched as Carter bit into his burger. "You plan on going?"   

"I try to make it every year." Carter swallowed, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Even when I have the boys, I try to go. They run around and play with the other kids, so we all have a good time." He turned questioning eyes to her. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm expected to show." Lynn smiled, held up her glass. "Kari is turning part of it into a Lynn-got-a-job celebration." Setting her glass down again, she picked up another portion of her sandwich. "Even without that, I'd still go."   

Carter polished off his burger, and with his plate now empty, pushed it off to the side as he checked the time.   

"Crap, I gotta get going." He took a quick drink. "Before I do, can I ask you a question?"  

"Fire away."   

"If I wanted to see you before the bonfire, as in on a date, would you be okay with that?" 

"A date?"   

"Yeah. That thing where two people get together, eat, maybe do some sort of activity." He gestured between the two of them, at the table. "Kind of like this, only planned."   

"Oh. Um. Sure, okay."   

"Friday night? Dinner and a movie?"   

"Sounds good."   

"Great, I'll pick you up at six-thirty."   

"Um, you'll need my address." She watched him glance up from reaching for his wallet. "I found a place, moved in over the weekend."   

"You don't waste any time."    

"No, not when it's important." She held out a hand, wiggling her fingers in a hand-it-over gesture. "Give me your phone. I'll put my number in so you can text me and I'll give you my new address."

While Lynn put her number into Carter's phone, he checked the ticket for their lunch, calculated a tip, and pulled the appropriate amount of money from his wallet. As she handed him back his phone, he tucked the cash under his plate before sliding out of the booth.   

"I have to run, before my boss has a fit." He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'll be in touch about Friday. Lunch is on me." With that, she watched him stride out the door. And through the window, continued to watch as he climbed into his work truck and drive away. Lynn's attention was pulled back inside when Kari bounced into Carter's now-empty seat.   

"Tell me." Kari leaned forward, pressing her palms on the table. "Tell me everything."   

"Anyone ever tell you you're nosy?"   

"All the time. Never stops me though."   

"I've noticed."   

"So? C'mon, spill it. I'm dying here!” Kari did a little wiggle in her seat.   

"Spill what?" Lynn picked at the bread on the last section of her sandwich. "We chatted about my new place, my interview. He told me about the boys and things with his wife."   

"Yikes. Like what?"   

"Like the fact he filed for divorce."   

"Wow." Kari, somewhat surprised at the news, sat up straighter. "Not that I blame him, 'cause the chick he’s married to is nuts, but I figured him to be a stick-it-out kind of guy."   

"He tried. For the boys, he said. And so he'd have no regrets about not giving his marriage his all."   

"Admirable."   

"Yeah."   

"Anything else?"   

"Why?" Lynn looked at Kari, who was the picture of curiosity.

"Oh." Kari made a show of studying her nails. "I saw him kiss your cheek, is all." She smirked at Lynn, quirked an eyebrow. "What was that about?"   

"He asked me out." Lynn blurted out, still stunned by this. "We have a date Friday night."  

"I 
knew 
it!" Kari, triumphant, stabbed her finger into the air.  

"We are supposed to be giving being friends a shot. Not going on a date." Lynn's eyes looked a little wild, a little panicked. "One minute we're talking about bonfires and the next I'm giving him my number so he can text me. How the hell did this happen? Is this crazy?"    

"No, but you will be if you don't calm down." Kari laid her hands over Lynn's on the table. "It's not like he's asking you to run away with him. You're just going on a date. What's the plan for Friday night?"   

"Dinner and a movie."   

"Perfect. It's laid back, relaxed. You'll be fine." After a quick pat on Lynn's hands, Kari drew her arms back from the table.   

"Kari?"   

"Yeah?"   

"Is it wrong to be scared?"   

"Scared of what, honey?"   

"Falling in love with him again." Lynn looked down at the table, ran her thumb over a worn spot on its surface. "Because I am. I'm afraid that I will get involved to the point where I can't help tumbling back into love with him. And that it will leave me even more shattered than before."   

"Lynn." Kari, her voice now holding a serious tone, waited until Lynn lifted her head. "You are never wrong in how you feel. You can change it, or it can change you. The choice is yours." With that, Kari took the money Carter had left, along with the check, and left her friend to her thoughts.   

* * * 

Friday night came and Lynn found herself in what southerners termed a tizzy. The butterflies in her stomach had morphed into full size birds, and her anxiety reached new heights when she decided that she had nothing in her closet worth wearing. She hadn't agonized over a date this much since she was in high school, she thought to herself as she flopped on her bed to stare at the ceiling.   

She could still recall her first date with Carter. Back then, they'd both worked at the same store, and he'd asked her to dinner and a movie. Much like what they were doing tonight. They had arranged for him to pick her up after work, and she remembered everything about the moment he pulled up to the curb. Lynn had worn a favorite black skirt, paired with a blue-striped shirt and black heels. She took great care with her hair and makeup, wanting to look her best. Carter had driven a little red Camry, which he had washed and polished to a high shine. He had given her that charming grin, complete with dimples, as she’d climbed into the passenger seat. She'd grinned back, clicked her seatbelt into place, and he'd taken off. One hand on the wheel, the other on the gear shift. That date was the beginning of a wonderful tumble into a relationship that would forever change her life.    

Lynn sighed and closed her eyes and tried to bring herself back to the present. She had about an hour and a half before Carter arrived to pick her up, and she was nowhere near ready to go. Lifting her hip off the mattress, she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out her phone, and sent out a call-for-help text to Kari and Bethany. Their kids were all at sleepovers, so she hoped they could get away long enough to come rescue her.    

Sure enough, her phone dinged as the text messages came back, both saying they would be at her house soon. Lynn closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to pull herself together. Thoughts kept running through her head, tripping over themselves, leaving her even more distracted and restless than she'd been before. She'd worked herself into a state of near panic by the time she heard her front door open, and Bethany calling her name.   

"In the bedroom!" she yelled back in reply.   

"Hey," Bethany said as she appeared in the doorway. "Kari's right behind me. Everything okay?"   

Lynn, her eyes still closed, shook her head.   

"No, not really. But I'll wait till Kari's here to go into it."   

"I'm here!" Kari rushed in, a little breathless. "So, go into it."

"Okay." She opened her eyes, and dragged herself back up to sit cross-legged on the bed. Her friends joined her, one on either side. "I've just freaked myself out, is all. I got thinking about the date tonight, and what I should wear, and got to remembering other dates we used to have back in the day. The memories all crowded together in my head, and I asked all the 'what ifs’ of things that could go wrong tonight. It all went downhill from there."   

"Yeah, I'd say 'freak out' is the term I'd use," Kari replied. "Honey, it's normal to be nervous and anxious about tonight. You and Carter have a long history, even if this is the first date you've had in years. Those memories will be there. Would you want to erase them if you could?"   

"No," Lynn admitted. "I wouldn't."   

"Well," Bethany said, rubbing Lynn's knee in comfort. "Learn how to separate the relationship you had back then from the now as much as possible. Give yourself, and Carter, a chance to get reacquainted with each other as the people you've become. Not the people you were. Once you do that, you'll be able to visit those memories again, and it won't be as painful to remember them."   

"You're right. I know you're right." Lynn acknowledged her friends advice as she squeezed her eyes shut. "But it's hard."   

"I know, sweetie. But we're here for you."   

"So here for you, in fact," Kari said, jumping off the bed. "That you no longer need to worry about picking out what to wear. I've got you covered. Literally."   

"Something simple and casual, please. We're just doing dinner and a movie."   

"Casual but sexy. Got it." Lynn laughed as her friend dug through her closet, sliding hangers across the rod, looking for just the right clothes for the outfit she had in mind.   

"How about I help out in the hair and makeup department?" Bethany asked. At Lynn's nod, she gathered the things she needed, and settled back on the bed in front of Lynn.    

"Where are you guys going to eat?" Bethany asked as she applied Lynn's make-up.   

"Corker’s.” The local bar and grill was popular for its casual atmosphere and fare.   

"Nice. They've got good food." Bethany swiped eyeshadow onto Lynn’s lids, nodded in approval.   

"Yeah, but I don't know how much I'll be able to eat. I've got butterflies the size of bald eagles, and my stomach is in knots."   

"Make sure you eat 
something
. Even if it's just a salad or breadsticks. Get some food in you."    

"Just as long as she doesn't get it on her!" Kari bounded back over to the bed, holding up the outfit she'd picked out. A long soft sweater with a cowl neck, the color of ripe plums, over a pair of dark skinny jeans. Silver hoop earrings and black knee-high boots with a short heel completed the style.   

"Kari, that's perfect. Thank you!"   

"Are you kidding? This is easy." She laughed, before stopping to study her friend. "You should wear your hair down, let it tumble over your shoulders. A very relaxed look."   

"I don't know...."   

"I do. You're going on a 
date
. You're not in the military and meeting with other officers, so there's no need for pulling your hair back. Down is casual, sexy. Relax. You'll look great."   

It was easier to go along than to argue. Lynn told herself it wasn't a big deal, seeing as how she carried elastic hair bands in her purse out of habit. She could always pull her hair up in the bathroom if really got on her nerves.   

Her friends finished primping and fussing over her and declared her ready with time to spare. Lynn looked in the mirror, not believing that it was herself that she was seeing. Bethany's deft and skilled hand with the makeup had made her already near perfect skin flawless, had made her eyes somehow wide and mysterious at the same time. Kari had nailed it with the outfit and her suggestion about Lynn's hair; she looked just as she had hoped she would, both beautiful and casual.    

"Wow," she breathed. "I look...."   

"Yeah, you do." Kari grinned.   

"You guys are the best." Lynn turned to face her friends again.   

"Well, we do what we can," Bethany sassed. Her expression changed to serious, concerned. "Do you need us to stay with you until he gets here?"   

"No. I think I've got myself under control now. Thanks for dropping everything to come help me out of my self-created crisis."  

"Anytime, honey," Bethany assured her as she folded Lynn into a hug.   

"As payment, we want full details of tonight," Kari teased, as she hugged her friend as well. Lynn laughed with her friends as she walked them to the door, promising to call them tomorrow as she clicked the door closed behind them.

* * * 

Lynn's butterflies were still in full swing as she rode next to Carter in the truck on the way to the restaurant, but she was feeling more in control. Though the place was busy, they were seated promptly at a plush booth and were soon sipping cold drinks and looking over the extensive menu.   

"I've never been here before," Lynn admitted. "What do they have that's good?"   

"Well, I guess that depends on if your tastes have changed. The chicken alfredo is pretty decent though I'm still a burger and fries guy myself. Or a big juicy steak, which is where I'm leaning tonight."   

"Steak sounds perfect, actually. With a baked potato and a side of broccoli and cheese." She studied the list of side dishes available before putting her menu down on the table.