signal the angst was ready.
She
was never supposed to see him again. And then ten years later, right on cue,
as if she had been planning on a reunion, he popped up in a restaurant. But
she’d escaped that. She didn’t have to talk to him or look at him or admit she
knew of his existence long before now. She’d survived that. Ahh, but the
universe, her very best friend, had better revenge than that. She couldn’t
escape acknowledging him now. Now that they were linked with a big ampersand
between Mr. and Mrs. – Decade-Ago-Faith still living down an abominably bad
mistake.
“Morning!”
Faith practically jumped at the cheery male voice breaking into her reverie.
She closed her eyes, counted to three, and turned, hoping she looked a hell of
a lot better than she felt.
“Morning.
Coffee?”
Trevor
beamed. “Yes, please. I have become way too accustomed to good coffee in the
morning, and Mady banned the really good stuff when she had to stop drinking
it. If she had to grow a human without caffeine, then I could manage fixing
computers without it.”
“Am
I going to get in trouble for fueling you?”
“Nah.
You saved us from temporary homelessness; you get a pass.” Trevor’s eyes twinkled
with easy comradery. Faith turned away to get a mug and blanched – where was
the sunshine and unicorns now?
“I
didn’t stop you from getting turned out on the street, you know, so you can
stop pretending like I’m your savior. I belong on no pedestal.”
“Well,
if we stop pretending that, then I have to stop pretending the real reason we
took you up on your invitation was Sophie’s termites. Sometimes denial is
useful.”
“When?”
she asked as she returned the coffee pot to the counter.
“All
sorts of times. Denial can make things seem less monumental, insane situations
a little easier to handle. Denial kept me from freaking out when I fell in
love with a famous movie star. It was a little less useful when I met my
childhood hero, but it’s not duct tape, can’t fix everything.”
Trevor
paused for a moment and took a sip of his coffee. He smiled in appreciation
before his face became more serious. “If we spent all of our time obsessing
over all the bad things that could happen, no one would ever get up in the morning.
Or leave their house. Or go to work when people are following you around
hoping they can get a picture of a baby bump and not caring who they put at
risk to do it.”
Faith
took a sip of her own coffee, the conversation veering into territory she didn’t
expect. “Madison told me about that.” About being followed all the time
because pregnancy shots sold tabloids. About being hounded anytime she stepped
out of a building. About her bodyguard almost hitting a guy with the car.
Madison had looked so shaken up about having to spend the next few weeks in a
hotel that Faith had offered her house on the spot.
Trevor’s
irresistible smile was back in place. “I know. And I’m going to put you on a
pedestal, as big as I like, for as long as I want, for opening your home to
us. Just you try and stop me.” He winked, and Faith couldn’t stop the laugh
from coming. “Now I need to go get to work on your home studio to show my
gratitude before I head out to the office. A tech guy’s work is never done.”
He
was almost out the door before she asked, “You really think denial is good?”
“I
think denial is a good thing to have in the toolkit. You should never
underestimate the ‘run straight at the problem and damn the consequences’
maneuver though. Always produces immensely interesting results.”
Dustin
parked his truck behind the stables and jumped out, grabbing his baseball hat
and sunglasses from the glove compartment. He had tried to work on his
remodeling project but was having trouble with his concentration. He’d checked
in at the other worksite, made some notes on old invoices, and even
She
was never supposed to see him again. And then ten years later, right on cue,
as if she had been planning on a reunion, he popped up in a restaurant. But
she’d escaped that. She didn’t have to talk to him or look at him or admit she
knew of his existence long before now. She’d survived that. Ahh, but the
universe, her very best friend, had better revenge than that. She couldn’t
escape acknowledging him now. Now that they were linked with a big ampersand
between Mr. and Mrs. – Decade-Ago-Faith still living down an abominably bad
mistake.
“Morning!”
Faith practically jumped at the cheery male voice breaking into her reverie.
She closed her eyes, counted to three, and turned, hoping she looked a hell of
a lot better than she felt.
“Morning.
Coffee?”
Trevor
beamed. “Yes, please. I have become way too accustomed to good coffee in the
morning, and Mady banned the really good stuff when she had to stop drinking
it. If she had to grow a human without caffeine, then I could manage fixing
computers without it.”
“Am
I going to get in trouble for fueling you?”
“Nah.
You saved us from temporary homelessness; you get a pass.” Trevor’s eyes twinkled
with easy comradery. Faith turned away to get a mug and blanched – where was
the sunshine and unicorns now?
“I
didn’t stop you from getting turned out on the street, you know, so you can
stop pretending like I’m your savior. I belong on no pedestal.”
“Well,
if we stop pretending that, then I have to stop pretending the real reason we
took you up on your invitation was Sophie’s termites. Sometimes denial is
useful.”
“When?”
she asked as she returned the coffee pot to the counter.
“All
sorts of times. Denial can make things seem less monumental, insane situations
a little easier to handle. Denial kept me from freaking out when I fell in
love with a famous movie star. It was a little less useful when I met my
childhood hero, but it’s not duct tape, can’t fix everything.”
Trevor
paused for a moment and took a sip of his coffee. He smiled in appreciation
before his face became more serious. “If we spent all of our time obsessing
over all the bad things that could happen, no one would ever get up in the morning.
Or leave their house. Or go to work when people are following you around
hoping they can get a picture of a baby bump and not caring who they put at
risk to do it.”
Faith
took a sip of her own coffee, the conversation veering into territory she didn’t
expect. “Madison told me about that.” About being followed all the time
because pregnancy shots sold tabloids. About being hounded anytime she stepped
out of a building. About her bodyguard almost hitting a guy with the car.
Madison had looked so shaken up about having to spend the next few weeks in a
hotel that Faith had offered her house on the spot.
Trevor’s
irresistible smile was back in place. “I know. And I’m going to put you on a
pedestal, as big as I like, for as long as I want, for opening your home to
us. Just you try and stop me.” He winked, and Faith couldn’t stop the laugh
from coming. “Now I need to go get to work on your home studio to show my
gratitude before I head out to the office. A tech guy’s work is never done.”
He
was almost out the door before she asked, “You really think denial is good?”
“I
think denial is a good thing to have in the toolkit. You should never
underestimate the ‘run straight at the problem and damn the consequences’
maneuver though. Always produces immensely interesting results.”
Dustin
parked his truck behind the stables and jumped out, grabbing his baseball hat
and sunglasses from the glove compartment. He had tried to work on his
remodeling project but was having trouble with his concentration. He’d checked
in at the other worksite, made some notes on old invoices, and even
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