The Problem with Dating Page 2

  It’s been three years, but my life was finally looking to settle into something welcoming and warm. I had my own home, a good job, and even though I had no friends, I couldn’t wait to make some. My house was in a nice neighborhood, and, hopefully, that came with nice neighbors.

  I was also ready to date.

  Marco hadn’t turned me into a man-hater, and that was another good thing happening in my life. These past three years had been all about picking up the pieces, but now that they’d been picked up, I was ready for a full, happy life.

  And while I missed sex, I really missed the excitement of getting to know someone. I missed learning about a person and experiencing new things.

  Especially, in the bedroom.

  God, how I wanted to experience new things in the bedroom.

  Chapter 2

  Gideon~

  How early was too early to drink?

  “I’m just saying, Jake really does know how to put a nice wedding together.”

  I pulled the phone away and took a secret deep breath.

  I loved my mother.

  I did.

  She was the most important person in the world to me, even over my father and two brothers. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’d kill and die for any member of my family, but my mother was my heart’s home. With Sayer being the oldest and getting the oldest son treatment, and Nathan being the youngest and getting the youngest son treatment, I had fallen in the middle and had gotten the sibling treatment. That’s not to say I’d been treated badly, but Mom had always made sure I was just as visible as my brothers. And that was something I will always be grateful to her for.

  However, Mom was also batshit crazy.

  Granted, that wasn’t anything I’d admit to Sayer or Nate, but she really was a piece of work. She didn’t think I was aware of how much she manipulated me, but I was.

  I was very aware.

  But I fucking loved the nutjob, so I played my part and harassed my brothers on her behalf and forced my dad to leave the office when he started losing track of time.

  “Yes, Mom,” I agreed. “Jake definitely knows how to plan a beautiful wedding.”

  “I mean, who would have thought,” she tittered over the phone.

  Not me, that’s for sure.

  Sayer was the oldest at thirty-seven and was a firefighter. He was one of the best, and two years ago, he had fallen in love with his neighbor, and they had gotten married a year later. Jake was one of Sayer’s fellow firefighters and good friend. And while I still wasn’t sure how it happened, Jake had ended up planning Sayer and Monroe’s wedding, and it had been beautiful.

  Nathan was the youngest at thirty-three and was a retired professional baseball player. He had played the hell out of the game and was destined for the Hall of Fame. Last year, he had fallen in love with his neighbor, or well…more accurately, he had hijacked Andie’s son, and then Andie. And after a year of dating, they’d gotten married this past May, and Jake had planned their wedding, too. And, again, he had done a great job. I swear, if he ever got tired of fighting fires and posing for calendars, he could totally become a party planner.

  So, now, Mom was on the phone, and her hints were not subtle at all. “Well, if I ever plan on getting married, I’ll be sure to ask Jake about it.”

  Mom cleared her throat. “You know, Gideon…” God, save me now. “…how do you expect to find a wife if you don’t even date? Your dad says you’re at the office before he even gets in and you’re still there when he leaves. That’s not healthy, son.”

  The middle child at thirty-five, I was a contract engineer. I had chosen to follow in my father’s footsteps because creating things had always fascinated me. I enjoyed getting lost in my visions of what something could become and making it happen. My father had taught me all he knew, and it was a lot.

  When I had graduated from college, Dad had been working for a huge engineering firm, and the pay had made it possible for him to put three sons through college. But Dad had been too talented and knowledgeable to be working for someone else. So, upon graduation, I had put together a business proposal that would make us partners in our own engineering firm. Dad had jumped onboard before I had even finished my pseudo-professional presentation.

  We were small, but we were happy with not having to answer to anyone, and happiness trumped money any day of the week. Of course, that was easy to say when your brother was worth millions and you knew you’d never go hungry. But while Nate had paid off all of our parents’ debts, Sayer and I had bought our own homes and paid our own bills.

  Granted, Sayer and Nathan had new homes since getting married with their instant families, but I never lost sight of how much easier it was to take risks when there was always a safety net. In my family’s case, Nathan’s money was our safety net because we knew he’d never let us ever go without. And his generous nature was the very reason I was so happy that he’d found Andie. The last thing Andie wanted from Nate was money. She loved Nate for Nate, and I loved how she didn’t care for sports in the least. It kept my brother humble.

  “Mom, I like working,” I said-for the millionth time. This was a conversation that was as annoying as a record being left on the turntable to skip for-fucking-ever.

  “There’s more to life than work, Gideon,” she chastised, and I wanted to bash my brothers’ heads in for falling in love and getting married. Talk about putting a bullseye on my single back. It didn’t help my case either that Monroe had come with a daughter and Andie had come with a son. My mother had gotten instant grandchildren, and that just made her itching for more.

  “Mom-”

  “You know, there’s this nice girl who volunt-”

  “Nate’s calling,” I lied-lied straight to my mother’s face. Or ear, I guess. “Can I call you back?”

  She let out a deep sigh as I crossed my fingers. “Okay, son,” she said. “We can talk about this later.” Fuck, no.

  “Sure, Mom.”

  “I love you, Gideon.”

  My heart warmed. “I love you, too.” As soon as we disconnected, I called Nate.

  He answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”

  “If Mom asks, you called me,” I said.

  The asshole laughed. “Is she trying to set you up again?”

  “It’s not funny, dick,” I grumbled. This wasn’t the first-or last-time my mother’s set me up on a blind date. And a couple of times, she’s even been sneaky enough to disguise the blindsiding as fake appointments or whatever. The woman was ruthless on top of being batshit crazy.

  “Who this time?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “A volunteer somewhere, but you were calling, so I had to go.”

  “You so owe me,” he cackled. Actually fucking cackled.

  “I don’t owe you shit,” I argued. “If it wasn’t for me, you never would have gotten your head out of your ass to patch things up with Andie. So, by my count, take your wife to the bedroom and knock her the fuck up already, so Mom can focus on something else besides my dating life.”

  Sayer’s wife was older than Sayer and already had a grown daughter, so they had no plans to have any more children. They were happy with their dogs. So, that left Nathan and his swimmers to save the day. I didn’t have time to wait until Sayer’s stepdaughter got married and popped out great-grandchildren for my mother. The girl was only seventeen. And never mind Nate’s stepson, Grant. That kid was only nine. So, he was no use to me, other than to piss Nate off because Grant loved football and hockey more than baseball, and I was a hockey guy. I absolutely loved the kid.

  “First of all, I get my wife into the bedroom plenty-”

  “That’s not the point, Nate,” I growled.

  “And second, how do you know I’m not already trying?”

  “You guys got married in May, Nate. It’s already the end of July,” I pointed out. “Is your shit broken or something?”

  “Hey! Lay off my swimmers, you asshole,” he exclaimed.

  “Get her pregnant, Nathan,” I commanded like a man on the edge. In my defense though, Mom was no joke.

  “I’m trying, jackass,” he fired back. Then he added, “Why don’t you just go out on one date? She backs off when you do.” If my brother had been standing in from of me, voicing that suggestion, I would have punched him.

  “Did you forget the last blind date Mom set me up on?”

  A few seconds of silence went by before Nathan started laughing his ass off.

  I hung up on him.

  Asshole.

  The last woman Mom had set me up with had been Mindy Albright. As a single blonde who was nice to look at, she had been a convalescent nurse who had spent the entire dinner telling me how the only good thing about her patients dying was all the inheritances that the children were able to cash in on.

  Yeah.

  I had called it a night when she had asked me who I planned on leaving my money to, my wife or my children. Because it should go to the wife, you know. That was the last blind date I’ve been on, and I didn’t need Mom recruiting again.

  I could get awful dates on my own.

  Chapter 3

  Echo~

  As I glanced around, it was hard for me not to feel discouraged.

  Or, maybe, I was just untrusting.

  Sure, no one would blame me. I mean, I married a man who turned out to be an abuser. If that didn’t shake your faith in your judgement, I didn’t know what would. I had believed in the person Marco had presented to me enough to marry the façade. Talk about rusty instincts.

  And now, I stood inside MacArthur’s Hardware Store, looking at a community bulletin board that advertised contractors and handymen. The only problem was picking the right one.

  I could have easily gone the internet route and gone through o
ne of those sites that help you pick out someone for your specific needs, but I liked the idea of helping someone small and local. Maybe it was because I had no friends or any family left, but I liked the idea of knowing my contractor might be the same man who coached kids’ sports, or something like that. If I could find a good, honest contractor from the bulletin board before me, I’d rather do that than go big business.

  “My car is parked in the back, Roddy,” I heard a voice say. “We really appreciate your help, honey.”

  “Anything for you Mrs. Hayes.” I looked over, and a young twenty-something kid was beaming up at a petite brunette. I was guessing he was Roddy.

  She chuckled. “You might as well get to calling me Louise,” she replied. “Now that we got two other Mrs. Hayeses running about town, you might start getting confused.”

  The kid knew his stuff, because he said, “The two new Mrs. Hayeses could never compete with you Mrs. Hayes,” Roddy flirted. “I could never confuse them for you.”

  Mrs. Hayes leaned in, and I stifled a laugh as she narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m going to tell them you said that Roddy,” she informed him.

  The kid just laughed. “Let me get you loaded up, Mrs. Hayes,” he replied before throwing her a saucy wink. I did laugh then.

  Mrs. Hayes turned her head to look at me, and her smile was as bright as the sun. “Goddamn kids these days,” she chuckled. “No ounce of respect for their elders.”

  “Looks to me like he was respecting you just fine,” I laughed.

  “Mr. Hayes wouldn’t see it that way,” she said before throwing me a wink, very much like Roddy’s.

  “And what would Mr. Hayes say?” I could feel the smile on my face stretching. It was cute to see an older couple still in love. Mrs. Hayes looked to be in her early sixties, maybe.

  Her brows shot upward. “Believe it or not, my husband would storm down here and lecture poor, young Roddy on flirting with married women. Specifically, his wife.”

  “Good for Mr. Hayes,” I remarked.

  With that, she walked up to me, and introduced herself properly. “Hello, dear. My name is Louise Hayes.” She stuck her hand out and I took it. “I prefer Louise, even from people who are trying to steal me away from my husband.”

  I laughed again. “It’s nice to meet you Louise. I’m Echo Woodward, and I promise you, I will never try to come between you and Mr. Hayes.”

  “Robert,” she said, supplying the name of her husband.

  “Robert,” I echoed.

  She cocked her head. “So, Miss Echo, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around. Are you new to town?”

  “Echo is fine,” I told her. “And, yes. I am new in town.” I gestured towards the bulletin board. “I’m actually moving into my new home on Saturday, but the previous owner had warned me of some possible flood damage, and I was looking for a local contractor or handyman to maybe assess what I might be dealing with.” I gave her a sheepish grin. “I prefer to hire local and small, if I can.”

  Her entire face lit up even more, and I didn’t think that was possible. She’d already looked and acted like goddamn sunshine. “Oh, my,” she rushed out. “You are in luck, dear.”

  My brows rose. “I am?”

  “You are,” she insisted.

  “Oh, do tell,” I teased. I really liked this woman. She had good juju vibes.

  “My husband and middle son own their own contractor engineering firm, and I just know Gideon would be more than happy to give you an honest estimate.”

  “Oh, no, no, no,” I quickly rushed out. “I don’t want to bother-”

  She quickly waved away my objections. “Oh, nonsense, dear,” she said, cutting me off. “It’s not that big of a deal. Really. Even if Robert or Gideon can’t find the time to fit your project in, Gideon will give you an honest price range to help you interview other contractors.” She smiled. “He might even recommend someone for you if he’s unable to do the work himself.”

  I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth but asking for favors or help still felt a little foreign. “Are you sure he wouldn’t mind?” She seemed like such a nice woman, but I’ve met people whose parents were awesome, but they were assholes, or vice versa. “I don’t want to take advan-”

  “Nonsense, Echo,” she said, cutting me off again. “I wouldn’t have offered if I thought Gideon would get upset.”

  I let out a deep sigh. “That means a lot,” I told her. “I’ve been standing in front of this bulletin board for a bit, hoping not to make a bad choice.”

  Her face softened, and she really was a beautiful woman. “Trust is probably the most fragile thing out there, isn’t it?” She didn’t let me comment. “Lots of people think its love, but it’s not. Love is strong, you know. While I don’t think it conquers all, it does conquer a lot. Your love for someone can do amazing things. One mistake doesn’t make you fall out of love with a person. Even if it’s infidelity or abuse, you might be strong enough to walk away from those two situations, but that doesn’t mean you still don’t love that person. It just means you recognize you deserve better.” Her words were direct darts to my chest, but I knew she couldn’t possibly know that. “But trust? While love can still exist, even after mistakes have been made, trust is gone the second it’s broken. Trust is the most delicate and powerful thing you can give a person,” she continued. “So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not handing that out freely.”

  I was choked up. “How…I…”

  “You have to remember something, Echo,” she went on as she gestured to the bulletin board. “Not only are you choosing someone who won’t rob you blind, but this person is going to be inside your home. They are going to know the layout of your house and see all your belongings and know if you live alone.” She gave me a wise nod. “This is bigger than just getting overcharged for a service. You better hope whoever you hire isn’t a deranged member of society and doesn’t come back and kill you in your sleep after developing an unhealthy obsession over you.”

  The tender emotions vanished. “That got dark rather quickly.”

  She ignored me. “And all because you don’t want to feel like a bother to my son?” she chided. “Nonsense, Echo.”

  I stared at this…different, yet remarkable woman. “Well, you’re right,” I muttered. “I don’t want to get killed in my sleep for being stubborn.”

  Louise cocked her head. “Well, I would think you wouldn’t want to get killed in your sleep for any reason, dear.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Uh, well, yes…of course.”

  Louise brightened as I agreed with her. “Okay, so give me your phone number, and I’ll set it all up.”

  I gnawed on my bottom lip. “Are you sure he won’t mind-”

  “I told you,” she interrupted. “It’s not a thing for him to fit in an estimate. If he can’t do the work, I’m sure he’ll recommend someone to help you.”

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” I told her honestly. “I was hoping that I made the right decision in moving here, you know.” Louise smiled. “I wanted to move to a place where I could meet nice people, and meeting you, I think I made the right choice in coming here.”

  The woman hugged me.

  After she stepped back, I immediately got my phone out, so we could exchange contact information. She promised she would be in touch soon, and before I could thank her again, Roddy was coming to escort her to her loaded up car.

  Making my way to my car, I couldn’t help but think of Louise’s take on trust and love. Up until she had me murdered in my sleep for trusting the wrong person, while she had spoken, for a small moment in time, I had felt like she was a person who could see me. Like she could see all the things I wasn’t ready to talk about yet. I knew she couldn’t possibly know what I’d been through, but she had spoken like someone who would understand if I ever decided to share that part of me with her.

  I liked Louise Hayes.

  Even if she seems a little off her nook.

  Chapter 4

  Gideon~