Restoring His Heart

“A senior center. A place for them to gather, share their experiences and their life skills with others.”

“Interesting.”

She shrugged, a small smile on her lips. “I like older people. They are so wise and knowledgeable about life. They have so much to teach us. But most people today are too busy to listen, let alone pay attention.” She took another piece of pizza from the box. “As long as we’re sharing, it’s my turn to ask a question. Why do you do the crazy, risky stunts you do? I don’t understand.”

“For the thrill. You never feel more alive than in that moment when you plunge down a hillside.” He looked into her eyes and the skepticism and disapproval in them pierced his spirit. She’d just told him about wanting to save an old building for senior citizens and he talked about jumping off a cliff. Suddenly his lifestyle felt petty and insignificant.

“Is that the only time you feel alive?”

He didn’t know how to answer that, so he fell silent, and took another bite of his pizza, hoping she would move on to another topic.

“Is that all you do? Drift from one adventure to another? You don’t have a real job of any kind?”

Adam grew uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going. He didn’t like talking about his personal life and Laura Durrant had a way of making his love of extreme sports seem trivial. “I have a few endorsement deals.”

“So, people pay you to wear their clothes or use their gear?”

“That’s the general idea behind endorsements.”

Laura wiped her hands and took the last swig of her drink. “I thought so. I recognized your type right off.”

“Oh, really? What type would that be?”

She counted them off on her fingers. “Never done an honest day’s work in your life. Only concerned with your own life. No thought of anyone else. No idea how to love anyone but yourself.”

The fierce tightness in his chest made it difficult to breathe. She’d seen through his shield with the precision of a surgeon. When had he become so transparent? He’d have to be more careful. Keep his guard up. He couldn’t give her a chance to see any more. “You don’t pull your punches, do you?”

“Let me ask you, do you have one close friend? Someone who would stick by you no matter what?”

Adam ran down the list of people he knew, the guys who followed him around. Could he count any of them as a true friend? The truth hit him like a shard of ice in his heart. “No.”

“I rest my case.” Laura slid off the tailgate and closed the box of pizza. “Time to get back to work. We can’t rebuild until we take it all apart.”

Sucking in a breath, Adam tried to ignore the sting of his new realization. He had no real friends because he’d never wanted any. Casual friendships were easy to walk away from. Anything more was messy and complicated. But now he wondered what his lack of relationships had really cost him.

Chapter Three

Laura Durrant pulled the truck to a stop in her parents driveway, keeping her eyes straight ahead. Adam reached for the door handle at the same time she started to talk. “We got a lot done today. I couldn’t have gotten this far without your help. Thanks, Holbrook, for being so cooperative.”

She braved a look in his direction. One corner of his mouth was hooked up into a grin.

“That wasn’t cooperation. That was fear. You scare me.”

A chuckle escaped her throat. “I doubt anything scares a man who can swim with sharks and run with the bulls.”

He leaned forward slightly to look at her. “How did you know about that?”

Warmth infused her cheeks and she shrugged to hide her discomfort. “I looked you up on the internet.” Now he would think she was interested in him. No way.

Adam sighed and shook his head. “Ah. A man can’t have any secrets anymore.” He started to get out of the truck, but when she didn’t move he glanced back at her. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“No. I need to check on my other jobs.” Gripping the steering wheel, she gathered courage. “Holbrook, I want to apologize to you.”

“For what?”

“I shouldn’t have said those things to you—about you being selfish. That was unkind and judgmental. You worked hard today and you didn’t deserve my nasty comments. I’m sorry.”

It was clear from his expression her apology had caught him by surprise. He held her gaze a long moment then rubbed his forehead. “It’s all right. You weren’t wrong. You hit the nail square on the head.”

Remorse flooded her conscience. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. As a matter of fact, it’s nice to hear the truth for a change.”

It’s not what she’d expected him to say. “What do you mean?”

“Most people I know tell me what they think I want to hear. They don’t want to offend the hand that drives the adventure train.”

She’d never thought about that side of things. It must have cost him to admit that. What would it be like to know people didn’t really care about you, only what you could do for them? “I’m sorry, Adam. I have a bad habit of speaking my mind. It was one of the things my...some people don’t like about me.” He smiled over at her, causing a small skip in her heartbeat.

“Really? I think it’s one of your more interesting qualities.” He climbed out of the truck, offering a little salute before shutting the door. She waited while he took the steps to the back porch before backing out of the driveway. Every time she thought she had the guy figured out, he threw her a curve. No one liked her forthright attitude. Why did he?

* * *

Adam knew Laura was watching him as he climbed the back steps to her parents’ home. She probably wanted to make sure he didn’t bolt. Or else she was feeling sorry for him. He hadn’t intended to speak the truth but something about Laura made him want to. He was glad to be away from her penetrating assessment.

He reached for the door knob and hesitated.

But he wasn’t sure he wanted to be back at the Durrants’ either.

Adam grew uneasy at having to walk back into the Durrants’ home. Since coming to Dover, nothing he’d experienced was familiar. He didn’t like that. He pushed open the back door, stepped into the kitchen and froze.

The air was warm with rich delectable aromas. A woman he’d never seen before stood at the stove. For a second he wondered if he’d returned to the wrong house.

“Oh, hello, Adam. I’m Angie Durrant. Sorry I wasn’t here this morning to greet you, but Tom thought it might be more comfortable for you with only him. Sort of a man-to-man thing.”

Adam stared at the scene in front of him, trying to process it all. Mrs. Durrant was an older version of her daughter. Slender with short dark blond hair turning gray. Her smile was like her daughter’s, as well. It lit up her eyes.

“Oh, don’t forget to call the station. Use that phone over there. The number is beside it.”

Her thoughtfulness caught him off guard. She’d actually tried to make things easy for him, acting as if she cared about what happened to him. He moved across the kitchen to the desk, noticing the table was set with colorful dishes and bright placemats. This wasn’t normal. He placed his call, then turned back to Mrs. Durrant.

“I hope you’re hungry.”

His stomach answered for him. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“Good. You have time to clean up if you’d like. Tom will be here in about twenty minutes. Come on down when you’re ready.”

Fifteen minutes later Adam returned downstairs certain he’d been mistaken about the warm welcome to find only one thing had changed. Tom Durrant was home. They sat down at the table, and after Mr. Durrant had offered the blessing Mrs. Durrant passed the food. He’d never tasted anything so good. Tuna casserole, she’d said. Nothing fancy. But it was definitely on par with some of the haute cuisine he’d tasted in his travels. The conversation revolved around various events in Dover. He answered questions put to him, but offered nothing more. He made his escape as soon as he could without appearing rude, explaining he was tired from the day’s work.