About Time (Broken Vows #4)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Charlie Past- Age 36

I went home from the garage to shower and change, because Griffin insists that we have to go to Donovan’s tonight. I’m not really sure why. We’re both thirty-six, far too old to be partying mid-week when we have to be up early to do a physically demanding job all day. We’re not the college kids who come to town every so often to go wild outside of the prying eyes of other classmates and professors. We can’t spend our nights drinking and still expect to be able to function well enough to provide quality work.

I tried to point this out, but Griff told me to quit my bitching and meet him at the bar around seven tonight. I’m not really sure why I’m listening. What I really want to do is settle in at home, call Hattie, and convince her to come over.

We have some unspoken rules, like no meeting up more than a couple of nights a week, no random texts throughout the day, and no actual dates. She hasn’t even spent the night since she woke up with me wrapped around her.

These boundaries are in place to keep us from blurring the lines this time. At least they were supposed to, the only problem with that, at least from my side, is that I have never fallen out of love with her.

When I arrive at the bar, I don’t see Griffin’s truck in the parking lot. I take a cigarette from my pack, a bad habit I picked up after I pushed Hattie to leave, and call Griffin on my cell.

“You made me drag my ass out tonight, so where the fuck are you? I know you’re not here, because I don’t see your truck in the parking lot,” I grumble into the phone.

“Don’t act like such a grump, that’s my thing. Just go inside and wait for me. I’ll be there soon. Hopefully, you chill the fuck out after a beer.”

Griffin hangs up and I stub out my cigarette in the large ashtray by the door. There’s a large crowd inside, which would be odd middle of the week in most towns, but not in Harriston.

I start to move toward the bar when I see an old friend waving me down from a table in the back of the bar. I make my way over to her and join her.

“Whitney, it’s been ages. What brings you back to town?” I can’t be sure, but I think she went away to school right after graduation and never came back.

“You know I’m a teacher, right?”

I nod because it seems to be the polite thing to do, but I honestly have very little idea what she has been up to since she left. The only reason I know she went to college is because her grandmother brings her car to Hale Automotive for routine service, and she brags a lot while I check her out.

It takes me a couple of seconds of being zoned out to realize Whitney is talking. I lean close and whisper in her ear, “It’s really loud in here, what did you say?”

“I said that I got a teaching job in Pine Bluff, and moved back at the end of July. Well, to Pine Bluff at least.”

We were never really close, so I don’t have a long list of things to talk to her about. "What are you doing here in Harriston at a bar?"

Her forehead creases and she looks at me confused. I suppose that is a weird comment. I'm sure she wanted a beer and this is her hometown after all. “Well, I'm glad to see you here. I'm supposed to be meeting Griffin, but he seems to have blown me off."

"Griffin didn't say anything to you? He told me to meet you here." She pauses for a long moment. “Wow, this really is the most awkward blind date I've ever been on. Usually, the other person knows that they are on a date."

I sit up straight and lean away from her. I don't want Whitney to think that I am angry at her. All of my irritation is targeted straight at my best friend. I'm fully capable of finding my own women. Of course, he doesn't know about Hattie, but either way, he does not need to be setting me up.

Before I can think of what explanation to give Whitney, my eyes lock with Hattie’s. I can see the hurt from across the room. I rise from my chair so quickly it nearly falls over. Then I have to wade through the crowd in the bar to try and reach her. She has quite the head start on me. By the time I reach the exit, she is closing her car door and peeling out of the parking lot.

I know it makes me an asshole, but I don't go back inside to apologize to Whitney. Instead, I get in my truck and try to catch up to Hattie.

I break several traffic laws on my way to the Parker’s house and manage to pull in just behind Hattie. She slams her door and practically stomps her foot when she sees me get out of my truck.

“Was I too subtle? I thought that my speeding away would have told you I don't want to talk to you."

“Well, I need you to listen. You don't have to say a damn thing if you don't want to." I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that arguing with her won't get me anywhere. What it will do is make me stick my foot in my mouth. That certainly won't win me any points with her.

"I'm not really in the mood, Charlie. We aren't together so I guess you didn't do anything wrong. It shows me though that I'm not cut out for this."

"That's the thing, it's not what it looks like. I thought I was meeting Griffin," I try to explain.

"He's changed a lot since the last time I saw him."

I can tell she's already tuned me out. I try one last time, following after her as she moves quickly toward the front door. “If you would just let me explain."

"I really don't wanna hear it. We both knew this was temporary, and this is as good of a stopping point as any."

“It doesn't need to be. Things can be different this time," I argue.

This makes her stop. She turns to face me and crosses her arms. "Okay, I'll give you a second. What possible explanation do you have for being there on a date?"

It's a good sign that she is willing to talk to me. "Whitney is someone that we went to school with. She said Griffin told her I would meet her there. I think I need to discuss with him how a blind date actually works. It helps when both people realize they are on a date."

Hattie starts to tap her foot. “What would make him think you needed to be set up on a blind date?"

I shrug. "I honestly have no idea what that man thinks most of the time. I guess he thinks I'm lonely. Which is rich, considering the man refuses to move on from his ex-wife."

“Hmm,” she muses. "What would make him think you would be receptive to being set up is what I really want to know."

I can't help but feel like I am stepping into a trap, but the only option here is the truth. "I haven't told him about us."

She nods her head a few times like this is exactly what she expects me to say. She opens her mouth to respond, then closes it. After taking a deep breath, she exhales slowly. "That's what I thought. I don't see how we could ever work when you insist on hiding our relationship. What are you so afraid of?"

Now it's my turn to open and close my mouth in an impersonation of a fish out of water. The problem is, I can't think of what is holding me back. I know Martin would have been upset, but I don't think even he would have a problem with it now. It's not like she's a teenager anymore. I guess I just didn't want people to look at me like I'm doing something immoral. Worse, I don't want them to talk about her behind her back.

Now she holds up her hand and waves me off. "It doesn't matter. The fact is it will always be your instinct to keep me as your dirty secret."

Before I can argue any further, she opens the front door and closes it in my face. I hear the lock snick into place, and I know she is not going to answer it if I were to knock. I'll have to try and find a different way to talk to her.