Free Learning to Breathe Again by Kelli Heneghan

fading.
    Her car’s engine revved in
the parking lot and he moved to the window in time to see her pull
out of the lot. Shit. Should have gotten
her number.
    He stood there, the clock ticking off the
passing seconds, and he wondered if Jason would give him her cell
phone number. Without asking any probing questions. Somehow, he
didn’t think so. And not a can of worms worth opening. Glancing at
his watch, he set an alarm for 3:30 pm and headed for his office.
No way was he going to be late for his date tonight. Now to get
through the next six hours, without reliving the last twenty
minutes in his fantasies all day.

 

     
    FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS HE’D written out for
her, Bayleigh found herself in the town square within minutes of
leaving Jack’s office. She wandered around the square for a bit,
doing some window shopping, getting a feel for the town. The wind
had picked up, the strong gusts bringing the promise of the cold
front. She was glad she’d grabbed her wool coat before leaving
London. Too bad she hadn’t grabbed a few dresses. A simple jade
dress in one window caught her eye. She entered the store and was
able to locate the dress, and the salesclerk walked over to her as
she was studying it on the hanger.
    “ We have a dressing room in
the back, if you’d like to try it on.”
    “ Oh…thanks,” Bayleigh looked
up from the price tag. “Do you sell shoes, as well?”
    “ Oh, yes, we sell
everything!” the clerk laughed. “I don’t recognize you, are you new
to town?”
    “ Sort of. I mean, I’m just
visiting my brother.” She followed the clerk back to the
shoes.
    “ Sorry. I don’t mean to be
nosy. But I’ve lived here every one of my fifty-eight years, and my
parents lived here their entire lives, and their parents. Well, you
get the picture. I may not know all the names, but I remember
faces.” She studied Bayleigh’s. “And you do look familiar. Who’s
your brother?”
    “ Jason Morrow.” Bayleigh bit
back a smile. Typical small towns. She wondered how long it would
be before everyone in town knew she was here now.
    “ Oh, how wonderful you came
to visit! Are you staying with Nicole’s family until they get back,
then?”
    “ Mm-hmm” she made a
noncommittal sound. Hadn’t Jack said he and Nicole were like
family? She wasn’t sure he’d want the whole town knowing she was
staying at his place. Not that anything was going on between them,
well, not yet. WHOA…where had that thought come from? She sat down
on a bench with a thump.
    “ Honey, you ok?” The clerk’s
concerned voice broke through her fog and she shook her
head.
    “ I’m fine.” Smiling, she
held up the shoe she still had in her hand. “I like this one.” The
clerk ushered her into a dressing room and within minutes, she’d
tried on the dress and shoes, deciding in an instant to buy both.
The clerk was able to talk her into buy into buying a wrap to go
over the dress, reminding her of the dropping temperatures outside.
Blocking out the endless chatter of the clerk, Bayleigh looked
around the shop while everything was boxed up.
    Only two hours after leaving his office, she
was parking her car in front of his house. Alone. She found the
spare key he’d told her about and let herself inside. She giggled
as she lifted the gnome to remove the key. Jack did not strike her
as the garden gnome kind of guy.
    Carrying her bags into the living room, she
shut the door, relocking it. The silence unnerved her. Even from
here, she could hear the hum of the refrigerator.
    She made her way over to the stereo system
and studied it. With a push of the button she had it on and the
music blaring. Better. Smiling, she recognized the music. So Jack
liked country music. She would have pegged him as a classical kind
of guy.
    The framed photographs on the bookshelf next
to the stereo snagged her attention. Jack in a tux, with her
brother, and that must be Nicole. She picked up the frame and
studied the woman. She was radiant,