He stepped out of the truck and waved at Matt, Amy and the twins before heading in through the back door, which was unlocked. He’d tried to convince Nonna that she needed to start locking her doors, but she just ignored him. Which was another reason he wanted her to move into Golden Years. Her safety. Nonna was old school and hadn’t ever locked her doors in the sixty plus years she’d lived in Hope Falls. She said that she didn’t see any reason to start now. But things were different now. Especially with the influx of tourism.
Thankfully, Matt and Amy were right next door, and they kept an eye on her. They came over and checked on her when Josh couldn’t get a hold of her which usually ended up being because her hearing aid wasn’t turned on so she couldn’t hear her phone. And she went next door when there were any emergencies, like when her pipe burst at three in the morning. As much as he appreciated Matt and Amy’s help, he didn’t like that responsibility falling on their shoulders.
“Nonna, you need to lock your door.” Josh knew that he was wasting his breath, but he still had to try.
Nonna completely ignored his comment as she stood at the stove stirring the sauce. “Did you see Audrey today?”
Josh checked his watch. “Wow.”
“Wow?” Nonna’s brow furrowed. “What is wow?”
“That’s a record for you.”
“What record for me?”
“It took you less than three seconds to bring up Audrey.”
Nonna loved Audrey and was convinced that she and Josh would end up together. It was her favorite topic of discussion. That and which Kardashian she liked best on any given day; the top spot changed on what felt like a weekly basis. The last he’d heard it was Kim. Nonna was impressed by the fact that she was working on prison reform and pursuing her law degree.
He had to admit, he was too.
“Well?!” Nonna’s skinny arms flew in the air. “Did you see her?”
“No, I didn’t.” Josh bent down and kissed Nonna’s cheek.
That wasn’t completely true. Josh had seen her this afternoon when she’d arrived at Brewed Awakenings, but he hadn’t talked to her. He’d almost gone in for an afternoon coffee, but he did his best to limit exposure to her. The more time he spent with her, the harder it was not to do something stupid. Something that he couldn’t take back. Something that might ruin the most important relationship he had in his life, besides Nonna.
Audrey Wells was one of his closest friends. He wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened. When he’d gotten medically discharged from the Army and came back to Hope Falls, he’d been in a dark place. A very dark place. And the death of his father hadn’t helped. Then, within six months of moving home, Audrey had moved to town with her sister and opened Brewed Awakenings.
He would never forget the first day he saw her, she was standing in front of the empty storefront that would end up being Brewed Awakenings with Lauren Harrison, who was his friend Caleb’s cousin and was a realtor in Hope Falls. He remembered he was in excruciating pain that day from his injuries, and he’d just untangled the financials of the business and realized just how badly his father had run Pine Auto Shop into the ground. He was in crippling debt and in crippling pain physically, emotionally, and mentally.
He’d been having some pretty dark thoughts when he’d walked out of the garage and saw her. Her long silky dark hair was shining in the sun and her full ruby red lips drew him like a moth to a flame. He’d stood there completely awe-struck by her beauty. He forgot where he was or what he was doing. Nothing else existed in that moment but the dark-haired goddess standing on the corner. Obviously, he’d been attracted to women before, but he’d never had such a primal, visceral reaction to one like he had that day.
When Lauren left, he watched as the brown-haired beauty lifted her hand over her eyes to shield the sun as she turned her head in his direction. He’d never forget the moment their eyes met. There’d been a spark of recognition in her gaze and then it happened. Those full, ruby red lips of hers pulled up into a wide smile and his entire world shifted on its axis. But instead of it being off balance, her smile made everything feel right. For one glorious moment, he didn’t feel the searing pain of his back. The world wasn’t closing in on him in crushing anxiety. He felt light. He felt free. He felt safe.
His first thought was that she must be an angel. A heavenly being. He’d grown up in church and he’d heard of people seeing celestial creatures.
He never expected the angel to walk toward him and say, “It’s Josh, right. Do you remember me?”
He was sure she must have mistaken him for someone else, because he would never have forgotten the stunningly beautiful woman who was standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
But then she continued, “I’m Audrey Wells. I used to vacation here with my three sisters and mom. You fixed my mom’s flat tire the last summer we were here. But that was like fifteen years ago.”
Then it all came back to him. He remembered Audrey and her sisters Grace, Ava, and Viv and their mom Mrs. Wells. But would never have expected the cute little girl in pigtails that had followed him around like a puppy to end up being this goddess with pinup worthy curves and a smile that caused his heart to expand in his chest to twice its size.
He’d spent months recovering from his injuries and battling a fairly serious depression. He’d suffered from a lot of flashbacks, especially at night. Night terrors his therapist called them. Then his dad died, and he inherited a business he’d never wanted in the first place, and to add insult to injury it was in a dire financial place. He’d felt like he’d been living his own personal hell. Seeing Audrey that day was the first ray of sunshine he’d seen. She was like his own personal angel and still was.
Once they got reacquainted, he’d found out that she truly was an angel. She was the sweetest, kindest, most honest and caring person he knew. And she was his friend. He didn’t have very many of those.
The last thing he would ever do was jeopardize that relationship by doing something stupid like telling her how he felt about her. That he couldn’t go one day, one hour, even one minute most of the time without thinking of her. That she was the light in his darkness. That she’d saved him when he thought that there was nothing left to save.
“That girl isn’t going to wait around for you forever.” Nonna wagged her finger up at him.
Josh grinned and turned on the charm in a way that never failed to make Nonna smile. “Why do I need a girl when I have you, Nonna?”
“Pssh.” She waved him away, fighting the smile he saw was pulling on her lips. “I’m not going to live forever, you know.”
He hated when she talked like that, even if he knew it was true.
Josh walked over to the pantry and checked Nonna’s pill box to make sure that she’d been taking her medication. He refilled it every Sunday for the week ahead but if he stopped by midweek, he liked to double check that she hadn’t missed any days.
She’d called him over tonight because she said that her internet wasn’t working so she couldn’t watch her shows. “I’m going to reset your router.”
“You need to ask that girl on a date.” Nonna ignored what he’d said and returned to her original topic. Audrey.