“Sounds good.” Both men nodded at each other, and Rob headed up the stairs with Maverick close beside him.
Several hours later, Rob felt like he and Derrick had known each other for years. They’d polished off the perfectly cooked medium-rare steaks, grilled vegetables, and a six-pack of beer. They’d traded stories—Rob about his time in Afghanistan and the Marines; Derrick about his adventures traveling around the South Pacific and Southeast Asia after college. It was hard to imagine somebody that much into adventure had settled in Ridgeview.
“What made you come back and work in a small town?” He was curious about what would hold an adventurous guy like Derrick in a place with less than 15,000 people.
“I got sick of meeting strangers. Initially, it was exciting. So many new places, with different food, different music, cultures that were much more interesting than small-town Ridgeview, Tennessee. After a while, though, I missed the warmth and familiarity of this town. Now I think I’ve got the best of both worlds. I travel a lot, and visit other small and medium towns in the area, but I get to come back and have Ridgeview as my base.”
“Anybody special pull you back?”
“Not really.” Derrick shifted his eyes away as if he were hiding something. “But if I ever want to settle down, this is a good place to do it. People in small towns care about each other and look out after each other.” He looked over at Rob with a glimmer of a smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t have my eye on MJ. She’s a sweetie, but a bit too shy for me. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Not for the right guy.”
Rob started to deny that he wanted to be the right guy, but the minute he opened his mouth, Derrick burst into a laugh.
“Don’t deny it. I could see it written all over your face when I met you this afternoon. Your feelings were plain by how you snarled at me.”
Rob rubbed his face, sure that he’d turned bright red. “MJ was special to Trevor. He was my best buddy, and it doesn’t seem right to—I don’t know, try to have a relationship with her. Sort of like moving in on his territory. Goes against the code, you know?”
“I get it,” said Derrick. “But Trevor is gone. Wouldn’t he want somebody like his best buddy to take care of the woman he loved? Seems to me he’d want her to be happy. If he wasn’t around, wouldn’t he want somebody he trusted to be there for her?”
Rob shrugged. It made sense, but it still seemed somehow disloyal for him to move in on Trevor’s girl.
Derrick gave him a grin. “How long are you going to be around?”
“As long as it takes to get her comfortable with Maverick and able to handle him.”
“Hmm. Sounds like you may have time to see what develops between you and MJ. She has a choice in who she wants to have a relationship with too, you know.”
Hell, Derrick was right. Rob had been trying so hard to do the right thing, he hadn’t even considered what MJ might want. She’d loved Trevor, but she was still young. Too young to give up on future relationships. The thought of her in a relationship with another guy made his stomach hurt. He needed to think about this.
Their conversation lagged, and he felt relieved when Derrick begged off to pack for his upcoming trip. “I’ll be back at the end of the week. I’ll buy the beer next time.”
Rob carried the dirty dishes up the stairs and stacked them in the sink. Maverick had been chewing happily on a steak bone during their impromptu dinner. “Time to go to bed, Maverick.”
It had been a full day. Hopefully, neither he nor Maverick would be bothered by nightmares or flashbacks tonight. At least he knew what to do for the dog. It might take time, but with luck, they’d both get beyond the images that haunted them.
***
MJ looked around the room at the party her friend Meredith and her husband, Blake, had thrown in the private room of Boyd’s Steak House, one of the few places big enough to host a party this size. She knew many of the people, especially the women from high school. In a small town like Ridgeview, they’d grown up and attended elementary, middle school, and high school together. Meredith and Blake had been college sweethearts, and she’d roomed with Meredith in college at UT, so she’d gotten to know him well. She smiled at the way the two kept exchanging longing glances at each other whenever they got separated by party guests. Meredith’s baby bump was about five months along, and she kept her hands cradling her belly or rubbing it absently.
It was tough not to be jealous. MJ had dreamed of having her own children for years, but had always imagined Trevor would be the father. In her fantasies, they’d both be over the moon at sharing that special bond. Now, all that had changed. Would she ever have children? Would she ever have someone she loved as much as she had Trevor? A touch of melancholy ran through her, and she sighed, hoping nobody would notice her downer mood. Someone sat down next to her. Meredith.
“Are you doing okay?” her friend asked.
MJ forced a smile. “Sure. I’m so happy for you and Blake. I can’t wait to find out whether you’re having a little boy or a little girl.”
“It won’t be long.” Meredith nodded her head toward a large box that sat on a separate table against the wall. “I thought this might be difficult for you. I suspect you haven’t recovered from Trevor’s death.”
“You’re right, I haven’t. It’s only been nine months.”
“I haven’t seen you much
