Our Kind of Love (30 page)

“She’s sleeping in today,” he mutters, not
looking back at me.

I pace over to him at the stove, asking, “Is she
okay?”

He shrugs. “She’s fine, just wanted to stay out
of Dean’s way while he and his designer make decisions about the restaurant.
And she’s trying to think of her next step, you know?”

“Oh, I was thinking maybe I shouldn’t go to work
there anymore, since she sold it.”

“Nonsense,” he retorts, turning off the stove.
Dad scrapes out two big pancakes, handing one of the plates to me. “You should
go, work until you leave for your trip at least. Dean’s gonna close down for a
week or two to make changes he says, so no need to stop before then.”

I bob my head slowly and turn my attention to
the pancakes. “Looks good,” I say, walking over to the table to sit down.

“Cranberries inside,” he chuckles, “Your
favorite kind.” He didn’t get it wrong.

“Thanks, Daddy.” I pour a glass of orange juice
for us both before cutting into the juicy pancake waiting to enter my stomach.

“So, is Mom gonna open a smaller restaurant?” I
ask as he takes a bite of his own.

Dad swallows what’s in his mouth before
answering, “I don’t think so. She doesn’t have the love for it anymore. You
know, I think she was happier working at that youth center in Providence.”

“Hmm…maybe she should consider doing that
again.”

“Maybe,” he mutters and drinks some of his
juice. Setting the glass down next to his plate, he switches the conversation
to me. “So, how are things with you and Micah? Why’d he have to leave, anyway?”

“Oh, um…” I drink my juice before I answer
truthfully, because my parents are going to find out sooner or later. “Dad,
Micah’s been in juvie.”

His eyes widen as he peers up at me. “What?”

“It was an accident, something that he’s
completely sorry for, and the guy involved asked to see him so that’s why he
went home, to apologize face to face.”

“Well…” Dad rests both hands on the table, his
hazel eyes piercing mine. “I can’t say I’m okay with you dating him after
hearing this.”

“Dad, please don’t be upset,” I implore, looking
at him dolefully. “It was an accident, a terrible mistake, and Micah’s making
up for it.”

Glancing at his plate, he pinches his elongated
nose, exhales deeply, and then looks up at me. “You’re a smart girl, and I know
you wouldn’t keep someone in your life that wasn’t good for you so, I trust
that you’re making the right decision where Micah’s concerned. But, promise if
anything goes wrong you’ll back out of it; that you’ll let me know if there’s
trouble.”

“Dad,” I smile at him. “It’s okay. I’m safe with
him.”

He nods, taking my word for it. “If you say so,
Reign.”

After breakfast, I shower and get dressed. I
peek in on Mom before leaving for work. The drapes are drawn and the room’s
dark. She’s cuddled up under the covers, sleeping peacefully. I decide to leave
her be and head out.

Pulling into the parking lot at
Captain’s
Choice
, I decide to stop worrying so much and give Micah a call. The reason
I didn’t sooner is because I wanted him to focus on why he was there and have
room to breathe without me bothering him.

He answers on the third ring.
“Hey,
babe.”

My heart begins to thump because as pathetic as
it might be, I’ve missed him in the past few hours he’s been away from me.
“Hey,” I manage to say. “You didn’t call.”

Micah sucks in air before speaking again. “I’m
sorry, it completely slipped me.”

“Oh…” That kinda hurts; sounds like he’s
forgetting about me already. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “How’d it go with Lewis?”

“It went fine, better than I’d expected. But
something else has happened.”

I perk up in front of the steering, curious.
“What happened?”

“Well, for one, my dad’s been living at my
grandmother’s house and he claims that he’s sober now.”

“Oh wow,” I mutter. I’m actually happy to hear
this. I know deep down that even though Micah’s been hurt by his father
dropping in and out of his life, he really wants him there. “That’s good.”

“Yeah, that’s not the only thing though,” his
voice comes out low and he sounds troubled.

“What else happened?” I ask, hoping he’s all
right.

“My mom wants to see me.”

“Oh. My. Gosh! Micah...”

“Yeah, that was my reaction too,” he chuckles
flatly. “Guess she’s reached out to my dad.”

“Well, why now? Why after all these years she
finally wants to meet you?” I ask without thinking.

Micah pauses for a beat before he answers, “I
don’t know, Reign.”

“Are you gonna meet her?” A part of me is
selfishly hoping he won’t, because with both parents back in his life, he might
decide to hell with Newport and break up with me. My heart’s pounding more than
ever now.

I’m so scared.

“I don’t know that either,” he says, “I haven’t
made up my mind. What do you think?”

What do I think?
I
can’t tell him the honest truth, that I want him to yell at them and ask where
the hell they were when he was growing up, and that I just want him to come
back to me.

“I…um…I think that decision should be your own,”
I manage to say. “Maybe you should take some time to think about it?” I
suggest, hoping he’ll come back here while he’s making up his mind.

“I feel like I shouldn’t leave yet, that I
should just meet her and find out why, you know.”

His words crush any hope I have of seeing him on
Sunday. I guess I won’t be picking him up at the transport center tomorrow
after all.

“Oh, okay, so when will you be back then?” I
ask, seeming selfish.

“Probably in a few days, I just want to settle
everything here and move on without regrets,” he says.

I’m still stuck on the word
probably
.
“Okay, well, you let me know then. I actually just pulled up at work so I’ll
talk to you later. Call me, okay?”

“Okay,” he replies, and I suspect he wants to
say more but doesn’t. I want to say more too, but I can’t, especially since I’m
not sure if he’s even coming back.

We hang up like that, not saying anything else.
I push back the tears threatening to fall, then walk inside the restaurant.

Dean’s here with his overly eclectic designer.
She’s making suggestions about painting over the light blue interior with more
earthy colors like brown or orange. And they want to update the rustic cedar
bar to something more modern and funky. My dad built that bar. Ugh!
The nerve of them.

As I walk out on the deck where Aislin is
cleaning the tables, I leave them discussing how to replace the aquatic mural
on the wall behind the bar.

Jeez. I’m glad Mom decided to stay away while
this is taking place, because it obviously hurts to have someone come in and
change everything you worked hard on building. Then again, she sold
Captain’s
Choice
, so there isn’t anything she can do or say.

“What’s your mom gonna do after summer?” Aislin
asks as I take up one of her towels to wipe off the chairs.

“She’s still making up her mind,” I tell her.
“What about you, are you gonna stay and work for Dean?”

She stops what she’s doing and walks over to the
railing. “John is, but not me. Dean rubs me the wrong way. I can’t work for
him.”

I meander over and rest my hands on the railing,
peering out at sea. “Yeah, I heard him mention something about hiring new workers,
anyway.”

“Huh,” she scoffs. “What a douche.”

We stand quiet for a minute before she asks, “Is
Micah gone for good? I thought he was gonna work here till August. Is something
wrong with him?”

Her question stirs up the worry again. Suddenly,
my tears sting my eyes and I have to glance down at my fingers to keep her from
noticing how scared I am of the fact that he might not come back to Newport.
Ever.

“Um…he just had something to take care of in his
hometown,” I mutter. “He’ll be back soon.”

When I manage to suppress the tears, I look up
at her. Aislin twists her mouth and bobs her head slowly, studying my face.

A moment later her dark red lips coil into a
smile and her brown eyes light up.

“Your birthday’s coming up, right? I almost
forgot. I heard Clark going over ideas for your cake with your mom. I think
you’ll love it.”

I feign a smile. “I’m sure I will. They did a
great job last time.”

“Yeah,” she smiles back. “Listen, I’ve been
meaning to tell you something. I didn’t before because you were still with
Nate, but now that you guys have broken up…”

“Just say it,” I urge her, more than curious
now.

“Well,” She glances at the wooden railing,
inhales and exhales, and then turns back to me. “The reason why I don’t like
Nate is because, he and my roommate hooked up. She went to a party a few days
after you guys graduated and he happened to be there. She said he kept flirting
with her and she’d had too much to drink. One thing led to another and
they…ended up sleeping together.”

 I can’t help but laugh short. “You should
have told me sooner,” I say, not in a way that I’m upset with her, because I’m
not.

“Sorry, you seemed like you wanted things to
work with him so I thought I’d keep out of it.”

I shrug. “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter anymore.
I would have broken up with him, anyways.”

A smile peeks at the corner of her mouth before
she asks, “Can I tell you something else?”

Dropping my hands to my hips, I giggle at her.
“You’re all for confessing today, huh? Go ahead.”

Aislin glances across at the bar and eyes John.
Looking back at me, she combs her fingers through her pixie cut and says in a
girlish way, “I’m scared I’ll lose him to Claudia.”

I narrow my eyes, cut over to John, and then
carry my gaze back to Aislin. “Oh my, how did I not see it before?” The soft
glances, the way she’d defend him to Mom when he was late for work, the way
she’d smile for no reason when she walks by him at the bar, and the way she
watched him with Claudia at the barbecue like a jealous girlfriend.

Aislin likes John.

“Aislin, you have to tell him,” I urge her.

She fidgets and bites on her bottom lip, rocking
back and forth on her heels.

“I can’t,” she says. “I’m scared. What if he
doesn’t like me in that way? What if I ruin our friendship by confessing? And
Claudia’s really hot, I’m sure he’ll go for her—”

“Okay, first of all, Claudia’s not interested in
John. She’s already preoccupied with trying to win back a previous boyfriend.
Secondly, how will you know that he doesn’t feel the same, if you don’t make a
move?”

She twists her mouth to the side and glances
over at him again. As if he senses her watching, John peers up from the drinks
menu in time to catch her gaze. Aislin glides back to me fast. I want to laugh.
She’s so cute, so vulnerable, so not the tough girl she’s used to portraying.

“I can’t,” she muttered, “I’m not that brave.”

“Neither am I,” I tell her.

Aislin lifts a brow as if I’m full of shit.
“Yeah right, you dropped Nate for Micah.”

Something plunges in my stomach. I want Micah
here with me so bad. I want him to hurry and make up his mind, take care of all
this and return to me.

“Yeah, well…” I mutter under my breath. “I
didn’t want to stay unhappy with Nate. I made a choice, and I don’t think I’ve
made the wrong one either.”

“Good for you,” she says with a smile. “I hope
I’ll find my courage, too.”

“You will.”

I glimpse Dean at the corner of my eye. He
starts out to the deck. As he draws closer, he says, “Ladies, how bout we save
the girl talk for later and actually get some work done?”

Aislin looks over at him with a scowl. The tough
side I’m familiar with resurfaces as she parts her lips to say something.

“Listen, you—”

“Sorry,” I cut her off. “We’ll get back to
work.” I know her remark would have been snarky so I’m probably saving her from
being fired.

She flashes him a fake smile before turning to
go back to wiping off tables. I do the same.