Stormy Surrender - By Nicole Andrews Moore Page 0,55

Hope House.

“Well, look at you!” Keely exclaimed when she saw her. “Hot date?”

She laughed. “In jeans?” She shook her head. “No, I’m just going to meet Joe over at the house, check the progress. That kind of thing.”

Keely had been dusting the parlor. She set the Swiffer duster on the end table and walked over to Marti with a serious expression on her face. “Listen, I love Joe, but be careful.”

Letting out a hollow laugh, she replied, “I’m married.”

She nodded. “Yes, but not for long. Rumors swirl in a town this small. There’s not much going on to discuss but the people. And you’re new, which makes you the topic of discussion. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that you aren’t wearing your rings and that you are spending so much time with Joe.”

Marti opened her mouth, but Keely just raised a hand to silence her. “Now, hear me out. I love Joe. I call him my doll baby, but honey, he’s broken. And though you strike me as someone who loves a good project, I’m afraid that trying to fix him would only end up hurting you. I think he likes his life the way it is. I think he has decided that this is the way to protect his heart.” She sighed. “He does have a big heart, the dumb oaf.” The way she looked at her, Marti knew she was supposed to reassure her.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I have enough projects right now. The house and the divorce are quite enough, thank you. And really, Joe is just my contractor.”

“Well good. I just don’t think he’s capable of more than fun these days.” She smiled warmly.

That statement only put ideas in Marti’s head. Fun sounded like a nice change about now. It had been a long time since she had done anything fun. Fun is not a word she would use to describe Blaine. And because she had been with him for so long, she didn’t know if it was a word that would be used to describe her anymore either. Ah, but people change. And she could change. No one knew her here. This was her chance to be anyone she wanted to be, live any life she desired. There were no predetermined expectations. For once she could do what she wanted. And all she had to do was figure that out first. Unfortunately, she had no idea where to begin.

By the time she reached her house, the only thing she had decided was that she was too worn out to make any decisions. She prayed this would not be one of those impromptu days where Joe tried to take her shopping for the house. Her confidence had been shaken as of late. The clothes and hair helped, but the closer it came to the time she would have to return to Vermont, the worse she felt. She pulled into the driveway and Joe walked right over to the vehicle.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” he began. “Can you back in?”

“I suppose so. I’ve never really tried. Why should I back in?” She hadn’t been here for more than thirty seconds and already he was annoying her.

“Well, see those overgrown bushes and foliage at the end of the driveway?” He paused and she could see that he was waiting for her to nod or react in some way. She moved her head slightly, deciding that would have to do.

He looked at her and then continued. “There is just enough traffic on this road that you could get into an accident backing out. You really should back in and then you won’t have that problem.”

Stepping out of the vehicle, she all but growled. Instead of taking his commentary as concern, she was feeling controlled and her natural instinct was to dig in her heels. “What if I get a circular driveway, or maybe have the area landscaped, or just not drive? I could get rid of this stupid ugly vehicle and then all my problems would be solved!”

Her hands were waving about dramatically. Years of being told what to do and how to do it by Blaine had finally taken their toll on her. She would be happy if no one ever presumed to tell her what to do ever again. And here was this stranger, this man who barely knew her who always seemed to be bossing her around. Instead of taking a step back, Joe took a step forward. Instead of