He missed her. Missed the rituals they’d fallen into by sharing their day, talking about everything and nothing at all. He missed her bawdy laugh and the energy that shimmered from her. When she had been in his house, it had felt full. Content. Now his house felt flat and empty.
He glanced in her direction. It was hard to miss Laura, and not just because her bright red hair clashed with the green apron she was required to wear. She flitted from one table to another, making the customers feel welcome. But she wasn’t paying attention to him. In fact, she had ignored him when he’d headed straight to the counter.
That had hurt. Laura had never ignored him. He wanted to throw his arm around her shoulders like old times and listen to how her day was going. Hell, that wasn’t completely true. What he really wanted to do was take her back to his home and let her know that his heart belonged to her. It always had.
But she didn’t want his heart or the responsibilities that came with it. Connor took a deep breath and drank his coffee. He was just about to get up when someone sat down next to him. He wasn’t up for conversation. Connor glanced up and saw Doris Brown watching him intently.
“Good morning, Miss Doris.” He hadn’t really spent a lot of time with the town’s gossip. The most he’d ever said to her was “hello” and “it looks like rain.”
“Connor Adams, correct?” she asked as she plopped her giant purse on the counter. “You’re the one who maintains the gardens and parks.”
He nodded, his lips twitching as he noticed her use of “the one.” Apparently labels weren’t exclusive to the Dawson daughters.
“Laura’s neighbor,” she said.
“I used to be.” He used to be many things to Laura. He wanted to be something more. Something permanent. “I moved into a house on Cherry Lane.”
“The old Pratt residence.” Her wrinkled face lit up as her eyes took on a faraway look. “That was such a great house to visit when I was a child. Full of laughter and warmth. But it’s been abandoned for years. You have your work cut out for you.”
He nodded. “I’m not afraid of hard work.” Unlike his father, who bolted at the first sign of trouble or resistance.
“I was always a bit sad when I drove by the Pratt house,” Miss Doris chattered on. “It was meant to have a big family.”
Connor gave her a curious look. That was exactly how he felt.
“It must be lonely there right now, with just you. Much quieter than when you lived next to Laura.” Miss Doris leaned forward as if she was imparting confidential information. “I heard about the late-night scene with Valerie. She thought Laura was hooking up with her man. Ridiculous.”
“I agree.” He was surprised Miss Doris hadn’t automatically accepted the rumor to be true.
“But Valerie says you’re dating Laura.” Miss Doris gave him a speculative glance. “In fact, the whole street heard you say it. Not really big gossip, though, since everyone is still trying to figure out who John is sleeping with.”
He glanced in Laura’s direction. She was at the cash register giving a big smile to an elderly man who wore overalls and a faded baseball cap. The man gave a toothless smile in return. Connor found that he was smiling, too. Laura had that kind of magic, that aura, that pulled people in.
“But this is what doesn’t make sense to me,” Miss Doris said. “Why move away from the woman you’re dating?”
“Laura and I are fine.”
“Then why move away while everything is going great?”
“You leave while it’s good,” he blurted out. “You leave before you mess it up.”
He froze as the words echoed in his head. Where had that come from? Did he really believe that?
“That’s no way to live,” Miss Doris declared. “You’ll miss out on something wonderful.”
Was he doing that? Was he walking away from the possibility of something great so he didn’t have to see it fall apart? How long had he been doing that? The truth pierced him. Laura had been right. He’d been dating the wrong women, putting enormous expectations on all of his relationships because it had made it easier to break things off. And when he’d been with the right woman, he’d cut and run. He turned and stared at his coffee mug. “Would you excuse me, Miss Doris?” Connor was already getting up from his seat.
“Of course,” she said with a knowing smile. “Say hello to Laura for me.”
He walked to Laura as if he were in a trance. Why hadn’t he noticed this pattern of behavior? He’d thought he was taking action, getting the house he’d saved up for, taking the next step and putting down roots.