Chapter Eleven
Aaron leaned over the table and poked Lucas’s tablet.
“Dammit, Walker. Let me finish,” Lucas growled.
The night was quiet at Barley ‘n’ Hops, making it an ideal place to brainstorm a wedding…for whenever the bride arrived. It’d been six weeks since he’d flown home. It was after the new year, and he and Daisy were in constant contact. She still worked at the internet café. He’d either stay up late to talk with her, or rush home to be by a computer. There were other ways to talk besides Skype, but it was their routine and Daisy insisted on using her discount and not wasting money on anything else.
Each chat was its own torture. Because now he knew her—what she felt like, the sounds she made when he was inside of her. They’d disconnect, and he’d be left with a sense of emptiness, like he wanted to crawl out of his skin and dunk himself in the snow to numb his nerves.
She’d been through her visa interview; they were just waiting for the word. When she was notified, she’d call or email and he’d make her flight arrangements. He’d been meticulous, following each instruction in the application process to a T. Daisy had done the same on her end.
Just the wait was left.
To cheer him up and bribe him into going to the bar with him, Lucas offered to help start planning the wedding. Aaron didn’t want to do much without Daisy, but it felt like progress. And Lucas had risen above his own misery to help.
Lucas pulled up the website of the dance hall to search for openings. “Ninety days from when she lands the clock starts ticking right?”
“Yep.” And they wouldn’t rush. He wanted her to use as much time as was allowed to acclimate.
He rubbed his hands along his thighs. What if she hated Moore? What if she hated his living situation? He hadn’t been honest on how his family lived with him. There always seemed to be a better time to tell her.
With the way Mom was acting and the three feet of snow outside and below zero temperatures, he didn’t want to bring up the topic of them moving out after Jackson graduated. If Daisy was okay with it, he wouldn’t push the issue until after Nicolas graduated next year. A year and a half of one big semi-happy family.
As long as Daisy didn’t mind.
Lucas squinted at the online calendar. “Looks like you have the pick of weekends until April hits. Every weekend in April is already booked.”
Their drinks were delivered. Aaron glanced up to thank their server. Trina smiled back at him, a little less hostile than the last time he’d run across her in the bar.
“What’s this I hear about weddings? Who’s getting married?” She slanted a look at the tablet.
Lucas didn’t tap out of it but rolled his gaze to Aaron.
Hell, he and his entire crew of relatives hadn’t spoken outside of the family about Daisy. When someone had asked about his trip, he couldn’t hold back his smile, but he’d kept his private life private. He wanted his fiancée by his side before he told anyone.
Aaron scrolled through his brain for an excuse. The four cousins he farmed with were married, but there was Travis’s brother Justin, who’d recently moved back to town. “We were teasing Justin about settling down now that he’s come back to farm with us.”
She nodded and shrugged. “That’s right. I didn’t believe it until I saw him driving a fancy-ass truck around.”
Yeah, Justin had returned with a healthy bank account.
Lucas took a swig from his beer bottle. That was a good sign. He wasn’t hitting the hard stuff—yet. “When do you get off work, Trina?”
Her eyes narrowed. “When do you go home to your wife?”
A muscle clenched in Lucas’s jaw, but he covered it with a cavalier tone. “Uh, never. The divorce papers arrived last week.”
Trina’s eyes flew wide. “I’m so sorry.” She blinked again. Aaron knew how she felt. Lucas hadn’t said a thing.
“Surprised? I didn’t quit farming, and she didn’t leave Dr. Do-me, so I filed. She still thinks I’ll move to town and woo her back. Not gonna happen.” He took another drink and swayed toward her. “Does that change anything?”
Not all of the sympathy drained out of her face, but she did smile. “No. Sorry, again. That baggage hasn’t been unpacked.” She switched her gaze to Aaron, a hint of suggestion in her eyes.
He looked away. A nice corner he painted himself into.
Lucas swiveled his gaze between the two of them until he settled on Aaron and cocked a brow.
Aaron’s choices were to sidestep the conversation and let Trina think he passed because Lucas had hit on her first, or to be honest without throwing his privacy away and hope she didn’t inquire further. “I’m seeing someone, Trina.”
She recoiled. Did she have to look so surprised. “So that’s why you haven’t been in here in a while.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to not spill every detail about Daisy, from her laugh to how much she loved her mom’s cooking. A sense of betrayal plagued him, but it was for Daisy’s benefit. Her new start couldn’t be shadowed by opinions and speculations.
“That’s awesome,” Trina said. “Holler when you two want a refill.” She wandered away without looking at either of them.
Lucas glared at his beer.
Interpreting Lucas’s behavior was becoming another task on his never-ending list. “If you have a thing for her, why did you keep pushing her and I together?”
“Cuz I was married, jackass.” Lucas tapped his tablet screen back on. “And I didn’t think she’d be so hung up on you.”
“She’s not. I’m not the reason she’s been averting you for months.”
“I know,” Lucas growled. “I should’ve told people I was divorcing sooner, but I’m like you with Daisy. I don’t want people in my business.”
“Maybe you should quit women for a while. You know, to give yourself time to deal.”
“I’d love to deal all by myself while coming here to drink alone because you’re stupid over your fiancée.” Bitterness dripped from his words. Lucas was the only non-relative Aaron had told and when the dam broke, well, he’d gushed about Daisy.
The tablet screen blinked off again. This wasn’t the time to talk about wedding plans. He hunched over his drink. Someday he could shout out his good news. “Tell me about the divorce.”
***
Dalisay disconnected the call with Ina. Two months had passed since Aaron had left and five weeks had passed since Ina had moved into her work place as a live-in housekeeper.
She looked around the empty room. She’d downgraded to a room with only one bed after Ina moved out. Aaron covered the cost and she’d chosen a hotel that was safe and clean, but plain and not expensive. The commute to work was farther, but there was nothing else she had to do with her time other than sleep.
Checking her email, she frowned as she stared at the lack of notification that her visa packet was waiting for her. It could take up to three months. One more month to go crazy.
Killing time on the computer only helped it pass a microsecond faster. She’d scrolled through every webpage about Moore, her soon-to-be new home. Aaron had said it was smaller than Solano, but Moore didn’t even top out at ten thousand people. And he’d said it was close enough to larger cities, but they were kilometers away.
Miles. She had to get used to miles and pounds now.
She’d get her license and drive, but commuting that far to another town each day boggled her mind. But he’d said the time to get from Moore to a larger town probably wasn’t much different than when her trip to work was delayed due to extra-congested traffic. Only a fraction of that number of vehicles are on our roads. The only time we’re bumper to bumper is during a parade.
Unless, he’d said, the weather was bad.
Snow! A new experience, if she got to Moore before the thaw. It can snow as late as April, sometimes even in May.
So many new adventures waiting for her, and she was stuck in a hotel room. She’d finally put up the Do Not Disturb sign so she’d have something to clean to get a break from watching TV.
She had the night off, and she wanted to scream in frustration. When was the last time she’d been alone like this? In university, she’d had classmates and roommates. She’d met her ex. After leaving, her friends had moved on, her fiancé had found someone else, but Ina had moved in. Still, she’d been alone before. Why was this different?
Because she and Aaron had made memories and she couldn’t escape them. Didn’t want to escape them, but she could no longer go anywhere without thinking about him.
Go to a restaurant: What’s new that Aaron could try here?
A gift shop: Does Aaron need any more souvenirs for his brothers?
Look out the hotel window—well, that made more than her heart ache. The last night they’d spent together had done more than create a memory. It had cemented their relationship. It was real. They were real. A couple engaged to be married. And they were living apart.
Ugh. If she was going to be pathetic tonight, she might as well crawl between the covers and turn the TV on.
Settled in for the evening, she skimmed through channels and watched a few shows. Her eyelids grew heavy. On compulsion, she reached for her phone and checked for messages and updates.
She bolted up with a gasp. A wide smile broke out.
Finally!