MIRANDA POV
Istared over the top of my newspaper at Timothy, who was eating breakfast happily and smiling as he played with his toy. I was pretending to read the local news, but really I was checking that my son was okay. He seemed it, but I needed to be sure.
“So, Timothy, how was your first week at your new school?”
“Good. I made two new friends, Luke and Ben. I like them a lot.”
“Oh yeah?” That flooded me with relief. Because we had moved around so much for Brady and his “fishing”—which I was trying my best not to think about anymore now that I knew what that asshole was really up to—he struggled to make friends easily. I suppose there had to be a part of him that wondered if there was a point to making friends if we were going to be gone in a heartbeat.
But now that he knew we were going to be staying here for a while, it seemed that he had let his guard down and met some friends. Thank goodness. The more my son settled here, the happier I was going to be with everything.
He hadn’t asked about his father once. I hadn’t really said anything about why we were running off without Brady, but he just seemed to accept it. I thought it was weird at first, but as time passed, I realized Brady never really showed Timothy any love or attention. He was just there, not really in his life.
That was a shocking revelation for me. How the hell had I missed so many red flags when it came to the safety of my son? What did that say about me? That I was a complete idiot?
If I hadn’t tried to organize that picnic, I never would have known who Brady was deep down and then he would have become my husband. That scared me more than anything else. To think that I almost got myself really trapped, totally unable to escape. I might have even gone on to be one of his victims one day. Another she-wolf at the bottom of a lake somewhere.
Fuck, don’t get caught up in that, my brain screamed at me, and I automatically reached out for the soothing drink Simon had made for me. That man was a genius. The chamomile tea he made for me in the store was one thing, but this was something else. It was almost like it was created to suit me exactly. I wouldn’t put it passed that man. He seemed to have a special talent that he was really humble about. It was so sweet.
Because Timothy and I were here now, in Twin Lakes, and there was nothing left to panic about. Brady wasn’t going to be able to find me, I was sure of it.
I looked down at the newspaper and actually read the words in front of me. I couldn’t help but be surprised when I noticed bad news. I didn’t think Twin Lakes was the sort of place that could have bad news. It was so beautiful, so peaceful, and the people seemed extremely friendly. But no place was truly perfect, and I needed to know what was going on if I was going to live here.
There had been a string of burglaries near the lake. I wasn’t sure why, but that made my heart race. Maybe because I knew what happened in lakes. At least when my ex-fiancé was around. I tried to read the article without thinking about my ex, but picturing someone sneaking around a lake and behaving like an asshole just brought me back to that horrible moment. Me, sitting on the mountainside, watching Brady, the man who had wrapped his arms around me so many times and made me feel loved when no one else could, throw a body into the lake as if she meant nothing. As if she were worthless.
I knew I would never recover from that, because how the hell could I? But if this could trigger me, then who knew how long I would really need to be okay again.
I shouldn’t have been flirting with anyone, even if I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. First there was Cole, who I was supposed to be seeing tonight at dinner, who knew I didn’t want a relationship, but who had kissed me anyway. And then there was Simon. There had been no outright flirtation with him, nor had he asked me out on a date, just to do some yoga with him, but I felt the surging energy between us anyway. There was something so much more there and I knew we both felt it.
I hadn’t been here for a very long time, but I already felt like I’d dug myself a hole I wasn’t going to be able to get out of. As I glanced over at Timothy and noted again how happy he was, I felt terrible because he loved it here. I wasn’t going to allow myself to ruin a place he was really starting to see as home.
I would have to make sure I kept my distance from Cole and Simon, so they knew nothing could happen. And nothing could happen. Because I couldn’t trust myself and my judgement anymore. Plus, I still had a lot of healing to do.
* * *
I glanceddown at the red dress I’d decided on for dinner tonight, still unsure if this was the right thing for me to be wearing…or even doing. But I reminded myself it wasn’t a date, just two friends going out for dinner.
“I think I’m going to cancel tonight,” I muttered to myself. “I can’t do this. This is stupid.”
“No way, Mom.” I jumped as Timothy’s voice filled the room. “You look so nice. You have to go out. And Michelle is really fun, she has already played Snakes and Ladders with me.”
I forced a smile on my lips because I didn’t want my son to see how nervous I was. Michelle was a great girl. The neighbor’s daughter, who I was lucky enough to run into on my second day in Twin Lakes. She immediately offered up her babysitting duties should I need them. With her parents next door, I felt like I could really trust her with my boy. The fact that they instantly got along only made it so much better.
“Yeah, I know you guys are having fun. I’m just nervous.”
Timothy walked over to me and held my hand. The look he gave me was so sincere that I wanted to weep. “But, Mommy, if you’re going to live here, you need to have friends too. I have Luke and Ben. I don’t want you to be lonely.”
My heart sunk. Timothy really saw me in a way I wasn’t expecting. He noticed that I was lonely. Did he know I had been that way for a while? I kneeled down so I could be eye level with him and tried to smile. It was getting harder and harder the more choked up I became.
“I’m not going to be lonely, sweetheart. Not when I have you.” I grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. I so didn’t want any of this to have a negative impact on him, but it seemed like I couldn’t keep him out of it all. “You are my baby boy, and I will never be lonely with you by my side. I couldn’t be because you’re my whole world.”
“Mom,” he protested while wriggling away from me. “I’m not a baby anymore.”
I giggled, suddenly feeling a little lighter. “I know you aren’t. But you are mine.”
Excited to get back to his games, Timothy took off running, calling out to Michelle as he went. I guess there was no way out of it now. He wanted to spend the evening with the babysitter, which meant I needed to get out of here. Even if my heart was freaking racing, I had to make it out. If anything, it would give me another side of this town to experience. I really did want to get to know it better.
I said my goodbyes and headed out, the cool evening air whipping around me as I walked. I had to admit there was something even more beautiful about Twin Lakes when it was bathed in an evening glow. The trees seemed to stand a little taller, the houses glowed with more pride, the quaint, small town feel intensified in a wonderful way.