Carmen let out the breath she was holding once they finally reached Rachel’s house. The ride home in the tiny cab of the truck had put her on edge. Rachel had chattered endlessly as her father drove silently down the road, and it had taken everything she had for Carmen to keep her eyes to herself.
She hadn’t been expecting Rachel’s father to be so attractive. The way Rachel spoke about him, she’d been under the impression he was just a typical nerdy dad with a lame sense of humor. But that’s not the impression that Carmen got at all. In fact, he was no-nonsense, completely serious, and fiercely protective of his child.
Carmen pitied the man that went too far with Rachel. The way Rachel’s father had handled himself against the three creeps that had been trying to harass them at the train station had really impressed her. What else was Mr. Thomas capable of?
“Let me give you the tour of the house!” Rachel exclaimed, rushing to the door.
“All right,” Carmen said, following her. It was a lot nicer than the other houses she had seen as they drove through the neighborhood. Rachel’s father clearly kept everything well-maintained, and she paused, watching as Rachel’s dad left the truck and crossed the lawn, settling in front of the spot where he had a beautiful, glittering motorcycle sitting propped up on a couple of cement bricks. Carmen couldn’t even begin to imagine what he would look like on that motorcycle, and the thought made her cheeks grow hot. But what did it matter what he looked like on it? He was Rachel’s dad for crying out loud.
“Nice bike, right?” Rachel said, interrupting her thoughts. “Sometimes, I think he loves it more than he loves me.”
“That’s not true, honey,” Clark called in a dull voice, without looking up from his work. Rachel grinned.
“Whatever you say, eavesdropper,” she called.
Clark didn’t acknowledge them, and Rachel led Carmen into the house.
“This is the living room and kitchen,” Rachel said. “Upstairs is my bedroom and my dad’s room. There’s a guest room but if you ever get lonely you’re welcome to my room. We can share. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Thanks,” Carmen said. It had been kind of Rachel to invite her to stay with them for the summer. Things hadn’t been great at home, the same old issues with her dad, and fortunately her friend had known just how hard it would be for Carmen to stay composed if she were forced out of the dorms for the summer.
But if Carmen had known a man like Rachel’s dad was going to be there, she might have had some second thoughts. He seemed dangerous, somehow. Almost as if she would have to watch herself every second. But was it because she was scared of him or scared of herself?
Rachel disappeared into her bedroom and then re-emerged with a handful of clothes.
“I’m going to shower,” she said, walking down the hallway and opening a closet door pointedly. “This is where the towels are when you need them. The guest room has its own bathroom attached, though, so there might be stuff in there you can use.”
“Thanks, Rachel,” Carmen said, holding her friend’s gaze. “For everything.”
Rachel grinned brightly.
“Don’t mention it. It’s always nice to have someone else around when I’m at home. My dad is always on the go. It’s nice to have company once in a while.”
Carmen nodded and Rachel disappeared down the hall. A few moments later, the comforting sound of the shower running filled the upstairs and Carmen got settled into her new room.
It was fairly large, and she was surprised to find that on the night stand, there was a picture of Rachel and her mother. Rachel never spoke much about her mother. She had mentioned that she had died when she was very young, and that her father hadn’t been the same since then.
Carmen lifted the frame and studied the picture closely. The resemblance between Rachel and her mother was striking. She had none of her father’s darkness about her except his dark, nearly black hair. Well, Carmen assumed that his had all been black once. Now his thick black hair was flecked with silver strands, lightly salt and peppered. The color seemed to suit his face. Carmen found herself wondering if he had been the one who had taken the picture. How handsome he must have been then.
“Ugh, get a grip,” she grumbled to herself. It was as if she was a little kid with a crush or something. But that wasn’t even close to appropriate. Even if he wasn’t old enough to be her own father, he was also her best friend’s dad. There were so many things she could find wrong with it. Besides, she was a virgin. There was no point in having these silly little crushes. She was saving herself for the right man. There was no point in working herself up over nothing.
But it was just a little harmless interest, right? There was no way anything would ever actually develop between them. She was just being uptight, probably because the ride to Stonybrooke had been incredibly stressful. Her mother had been texting her the whole way, complaining about what an asshole her father was being. It had been a lot to handle, and she’d done her best not to think about how awful life was when her father was drinking again. It was hard though, especially when her mother was caught up right in the middle of it. She’d feel a lot better once she finally freshened up.
And so, pushing thoughts of Rebecca’s father out of her mind, Carmen headed to shower and change. They had planned to surprise their host by serving dinner. But that was before she had met him. Something told her it would take a lot more than a well-intentioned meal to make the smile reach that man’s eyes. Maybe it would be better not to even try at all.