16
Audrey turnedoff the lights of Brewed Awakenings and sighed with contentment as she locked up the back door. She was proud of her business, and she knew that her late mom would be, too.
Cora Wells was a vibrant, full of life, force to be reckoned with. She’d done everything she could to instill in Audrey and her sisters that life was for living and each day was a gift. Before she got sick, no matter how bad things were, and as a single mom of four daughters whose husband left when the girls were five, four, three, and two, making her a single parent, things were not always good. But Audrey remembered her mom always said, “If you’re breathing, have a roof over your head, and food in your belly, you had it better than a lot of people and should be grateful.”
Once she got sick, her mom didn’t lose her positive outlook. Instead of giving up, she focused on preparing the girls for a future without her. She did everything she could to instill in them that there was no use feeling sorry for yourself under any circumstance. “Life doesn’t owe anyone anything, it’s up to you to make your life what you want.” She wanted her daughters to be fearless. To go after what they wanted. Not to take the future for granted.
Professionally, that’s exactly what Audrey had done. She’d wanted to move to Hope Falls after graduation, and she had. She wanted to own her own business, and with the help of her sisters she’d opened a coffee shop without having any experience in food service or running a business. She’d gone after the life she wanted.
Personally, however, was a totally different story. She’d let eight years go by without telling Josh how she felt about him or what she wanted, and she knew that her mother would be so disappointed in her. She could join the club because Audrey was disappointed in herself.
But just like Carly’s poem said she’d taken steps in the past week. She’d told Josh that she wanted him to be her first. She’d kissed him. Twice. Once had just been on the cheek, but the other had been smack dab on the mouth.
Sure, things hadn’t exactly played out how she’d wanted them to. When Braydon woke up the mood was sort of shattered. She’d stayed and made a bottle for him, but then she’d gone home. She’d gone back the next day to help with the kiddos after she got off work, but she’d left when Josh had put them to bed.
Partly because he looked as exhausted as she felt, and partly because she’d been too chicken to be alone with him. She knew the next time they were alone together, she needed to lay all of her cards on the table. And that’s exactly what she planned on doing…tomorrow.
She’d do it tonight, but she had to go see a man about a cabin. That wasn’t a euphemism. Viv had asked her to go meet with the owner of a new spa retreat called Moonlight River Lodge. They wanted to offer several packages as part of a raffle during singles week and Viv had asked Audrey to go. Tonight, her sister had a very legitimate reason for not being able to go meet him herself. Viv was speaking in front of the city council to ask for more funds for singles week. She’d made a power point presentation and everything.
Audrey had gladly agreed to do the errand for her sister when she asked. Moonlight River was about an hour north of Hope Falls and Audrey was actually looking forward to getting out of town for the evening and clearing her head. She planned on listening to some podcasts on the drive and not thinking about Josh or the fact that they’d shared a kiss that would forever be branded on her soul.
Or at least that was the plan, whether or not she’d be able to keep her thoughts from drifting back to the hottest kiss she’d ever had in her life was anyone’s guess.
When she walked out to the back parking lot, she intentionally did not look to her left. If she did, she’d be able to see if the bay door on the auto shop was open and if Josh was working. She knew that Claire had picked up the kids that morning, because Nonna had told Viv who told her. And she knew that Josh came in to work today because Tessa Maguire, who was married to the fire chief Jake Maguire, had stopped by and waited while he changed her oil.
Audrey kept her face intentionally staring straight ahead as she walked to her car. It was a small rebellion, but she just wanted one Josh-free night. She didn’t want to catch a glimpse of his muscular arms as he bent over a car under the hood. She didn’t want to gaze at his muscular frame beneath the thin cotton shirts he wore whether it was ten degrees or a hundred and ten degrees. She didn’t want her eyes to linger on his perfectly rounded backside showcased in jeans that were worn in all the right places.
An overwhelming sense of undeserved pride flooded through her when she made it all the way to her car and got inside without sparing even a single glance in his direction. It wasn’t something she should feel good about, but she had to admit, she did.
She was riding on that cloud of self-satisfaction when she put the car in reverse and started to back out. That’s when her cloud evaporated. She felt and heard a loud clunking. She turned off the engine and got out to see that her passenger side back tire was completely flat.
She wished that her mom had taught her how to change a tire but unfortunately that wasn’t one of the life lessons Cora Wells had given her. Audrey liked being independent and hated asking for help. The book that Carly had told her about sprang to mind. Audrey thought about the second parable where the horse said that sometimes asking for help isn’t giving up, it’s refusing to give up.
And thankfully, she knew a mechanic. It looked like it wasn’t going to be a Josh-free night after all.
* * *
Josh was in the zone.It didn’t happen often. But today the parts that had been on backorder for his late father’s ’67 Chevy Nova had come in. It had taken him nearly a decade to finish this restoration. Mainly because he’d had to put so much money into the shop to get it back in the black that he hadn’t had anything to put into the car. But after he installed the carpet kit and headliner he just had to put in the seats, radio, and gauges. After that he had the wheels and tires and then his baby was ready for the road.
When he thought back to the beginning of the project, he couldn’t believe how far he’d come. He’d dismantled it, done all the body work, reinstalled the large components, then replaced the axles, and worked on the suspension, brakes, and fuel system. And he was finally at the finish line.
He was glad for the distraction. The last few days with the kids had been a lot of work and he hadn’t slept that well thanks to the kiss that he and Audrey shared. He wasn’t even sure how it happened. He was pretty sure she kissed him, but there was a chance his aim could have been off and he missed her forehead and hit her mouth. All he knew was one second he was leaning down and the next her lips were pressed against his.
It had taken him a full minute to get his bearings but once he had, he’d definitely been the one to take the kiss further. He’d never experienced a kiss quite like the one they’d shared. He’d forgotten where he was, who he was, and what he was doing.
If Braydon hadn’t cried, he had no idea what would have happened. He could have easily gotten swept away and then what? What about the next day? Or the day after that? He couldn’t lose Audrey, and that’s what he feared would happen if things went too far.
His mind had just started falling down the what if rabbit hole as he reinstalled the scuff plate on the driver’s side when he heard the faint sound of a quiet voice that washed over him like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.
“Hey.”
He lifted his head and saw Audrey standing by the bay door. The sun was setting behind her giving her an ethereal glow. Just like the first time he’d seen her, she looked like an angel.
“Wow. This was your dad’s, right?” she asked as she entered the garage and walked around the front of the car, her hand gliding over the sideboard.
“Yep.”
“It’s...beautiful,” she breathed.