Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
My heart swelled. “How sweet of your father to do that.”
“Yeah, he really loves Mom. He was a firefighter, so he just transferred and started working for the park.”
“Is that why you do what you do?”
He shrugged. “I guess it has something to do with it. But I’ve just loved that park for as long as I can remember. We would go for hikes all the time. I probably know that park better than I know my way around town.”
We both laughed.
“I knew from an early age I wanted to be a cop. I almost joined the Marines but ended up not taking that path.”
The bowl I’d just picked up fell from my hands and dropped to the island. I jumped at the sound.
Aiden swung around to face me. “Hey, you okay?”
My entire body began to tremble as the image of Ben in his Marine Corps uniform filled my head.
“What’s wrong?” He cupped my face in his hands and bent his head to look at me. “Talk to me, Emma.”
Pushing the memory away, I looked into Aiden’s eyes. An instant feeling of safety swept over me when our eyes locked. “I’m so sorry. I’m fine! Totally fine.” I forced myself to smile. “Clumsy is all.”
His hands fell to my upper arms while his eyes swept over my body, checking to make sure I really was okay. “Are you sure? You seemed scared to death there for a second.”
A nervous chuckle escaped my lips. “No. No. The bowl slipped and I guess the sound scared me because I wasn’t…um…expecting it.”
He studied me in that way of his, knowing I wasn’t telling him the truth, and that made my chest tighten with anxiety. How was he so in tune with my feelings when I hardly knew him?
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
With a slow nod, Aiden dropped his hands, and I instantly missed the warmth of his touch.
After finding my voice, I asked, “Why didn’t you join the military?”
“What?” he asked in a confused voice.
“You said you wanted to join the Marines but didn’t.”
“Oh, right. Lisa got pregnant, and her parents didn’t want her to be raising a kid all alone, and I agreed. She lost the baby not long after we got married. It was hard on her, she blamed herself because she didn’t want the baby at all. She was also angry that she’d been forced to marry me and give up her plans to leave Estes Park, all for nothing.”
My head jerked up at that. He must have felt my eyes on him, because he met my gaze. I could see the sadness clearly. Surely, he couldn’t really believe she felt that way? Or…did she actually say those things?
I broke eye contact. “And Lisa didn’t enjoy the park?”
Aiden laughed. “No. She wasn’t the outdoor type. She had plans to move to New York after graduation, but the pregnancy changed all of that. I knew she had regrets. That was part of our marriage troubles.”
“Did she ever go to New York?” I asked as I pulled the lasagna out of the oven.
“I took her once for our anniversary. She said it wasn’t what she thought it was going to be. I think in her mind, she had some sort of big fantasy about it. Still, she wanted to travel more, and I was trying to move up into the position I have now and taking time off wasn’t something I could do. She was pretty angry at me for picking my job over her, even though I promised we could travel more after I got the promotion. It was just hard, ya know? We got married young and, well…I don’t know. It was hard.”
After cutting a small piece of lasagna for myself and setting it on a plate, I looked at Aiden. “Marriage is very hard.”
He nodded. “Emma…do you mind if I ask why you got divorced?”
I could actually feel my face drain of color. I cleared my throat and faced him. “If you don’t mind, Aiden, that’s a part of my life I’d like to forget.”
He frowned.
“Let’s just say I was in a marriage that wasn’t healthy at all.”
“How bad was it?”
My gaze fell to the floor.
Aiden’s cell phone rang, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello? Oh, hey, yeah.” He turned and walked toward his office. “Sherry, yes, I remember you.”
A heavy sensation hit me square in the chest as I realized he was speaking to a woman. It was like someone had taken a piece of granite and dropped it into my body.
Jealous much, Emma?
I sighed and shook my head. “You vowed to start over, and falling for a guy was not part of the plan,” I whispered to myself.
Trying not to think too much about it, I finished my plate, grabbed my freshly made salad, and headed into the family room. I would probably end up spending the evening alone, and I was okay with that. It was for the best, if I had to be truthful with myself.