~{Chapter 6}~

"Hello, Ms. Garner," Mr. Parker says as he walks into the diner and over to where I am.

I stand and shake his hand. "Welcome to South Hart."

He smiles and gestures for me to sit down. I take my seat, and he does the same. We both order food and chat until our food comes. Once our food comes, he steers the conversation to business. He talks about how everything is going in New York, and I listen intently. Soon, he starts talking about more "personal" things.

"So," he begins, "Where are you living?"

"I'm staying at South Hart's Bed and Breakfast."

"You don't have your own place?"

I laugh nervously and shake my head. He clucks his tongue and sips his drink. I nervously tap the table, waiting for him to say something.

"You know, I have an excellent architect that could do more than just one project while he's here."

"What do you mean, Mr. Parker?" I ask.

"Ms. Garner, I am always trying to provide for my employees, and it looks like you need a home. I don't want to hear any arguments from you. After all you've gone through, it's the least I can do," he calmly explains.

I take it all in and then say, "I appreciate it, but I don't think I can agree to that. I'm not a charity case."

"Think of it as something that will be useful to the whole company. Most likely, you're going to be hosting parties for book releases and other things at this house. If it makes you feel any better, I'm going to have to take a little money out of your salary while working on this project."

Even though I knew he could afford to build a mansion without taking money out of my salary, it still made me feel a little better. "I guess you win."

He laughs and takes a bite of his burger. "I always do."

I give him one of my rare smiles and ask, "When are you going to start building?"

"Hoping to start on Thursday."

"Really? That soon?"

"I've been working on all the plans back in New York. I've already looked at land and picked which land I want for the office. I have even bought it. I need you to pick land for your house, though."

"Where are you building the office?" I ask before taking a sip of my water.

"At the end of the street. It's going to be spacious and modern but not too modern. I know that the people want to keep the town looking..." he trails off at the end, unsure of what to say.

"Historical," I finish for him, knowing that it is hard to describe South Hart.

He laughs and says, "Perfect word. Thank you!"

We talk and eat until we are finished, and I lead him to the bed and breakfast. When we get in there, I go to the back to get Mrs. Parker. She had told me to go to the back if I ever needed anything. She said that she would happily help me in any way she could. I have decided to take her up on that offer. I look around the room but don't see her.

"Mrs. Parker?" I call out.

I hear something being moved and then a voice say, "How many times have I told you to call me Violet?"

I turn around and see Mrs. Parker, excuse me, Violet standing with a grin on her face.

"Um, once?" I say in a questioning tone.

She laughs. "What can I do for you?"

"I have my boss here. I was wondering if you would like to meet him? He needs a room as well."

"Of course, just show me where he is."

I nod and lead her out of the back room and into the lobby. All of a sudden, I hear a gasp from behind me. I turn to see Violet with a shocked look on her face. I then hear someone say her name. I turn back around and see Mr. Parker looking at her with the same shocked look. I am softly pushed to the side by Violet. She rushes up to Mr. Parker and throws her arms around him.

I watch this exchange carefully. How in the heck would she know Mr. Parker? Wait a second. Her last name is Parker. I feel like smacking my face. Either she is his sister and is not married, or she is his ex-wife that seems overly excited about seeing him again.

I step forward and carefully ask, "How do you know Mr. Parker, Mrs. P- Violet?"

She pulls out of Mr. Parker's hug and says, "He's my brother-in-law."

I feel like smacking my head once again. How could I have not come up with that possibility?

Mr. Parker asks her, "I can't believe you're here, Violet! If I had known you lived here..."

She shushes him and says, "There was no way you could have, and I didn't want to go back to that horrible city."

"I wish you would have called or something to let us know you were alright."

"I did."

Mr. Parker's face goes from sadness to shock. "You did?"

"I called your sister to let her know I was okay. She said she was going to tell you, but I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't."

He shakes his head. "She never told me anything."

It was getting too much for me to take, so I blurt out, "What are you talking about?"

Both their heads snap towards my direction. I snap my head down and mentally smack my face from embarrassment.

Violet laughs and says, "It's natural for you to be curious, Kate. I'll explain it to you later, but right now, I have a meeting that I am late for."

I look up and see her eyes sparkling with amusement and happiness. Mr. Parker gives her one last hug before she walks away. He sighs and sits down on a nearby chair. I follow him and sit across from him. I am greatly intrigued by this whole exchange.

"I never knew you had siblings," I say.

He gives a sad smile and says, "It's not something that most people know. They're all dead. Violet is the only sister-in-law I ever had."

I do not know what to say to that. All of his siblings are dead? That is so weird. I relax and close my eyes for a few minutes. Mr. Parker sounds like he has an interesting story.

~-~-~-~
I feel the soft wind blowing my hair as I walk through the field. I open my eyes and take a look around me. I was in a field right outside of town, but it was not the field where I had had my first date with James.

The field had tall grass that swayed in the soft breeze. There were a number of trees, which was rare in South Hart. From where I was standing, I had a perfect view of the sun setting.

I wanted to build my house right here. It had a beautiful view of the sunset. It was also affordable and not many people drove by this road. It was close to town but not too close. I would have a good amount of privacy.

I turn around and call out, "Mr. Parker?"

In response to my call, I see him walk out from behind some of the trees. I beckon for him to come stand by me. He walks over to me without speaking. I signal for him to watch the sunset.

"This is it," is all I say.

"Good choice."

I give a small smile. As the sun continues to set, the small breeze turns into wind. I wrap my sweater around me tighter.

Mr. Parker must have noticed because he says, "We should get going."

I nod and follow him back to the cars. He rented cars for both of us, which is a little weird because you can walk everywhere in South Hart.

Before I get in the car I am driving, he says, "I'm going to go see if I can buy this land immediately. I'll be flying back to New York City on Wednesday, so you'll have to be in charge of making sure the construction is going well and such. I'll give you all the plans tomorrow and explain them."

"Sounds good, Mr. Parker. I'll see you tomorrow."

He smiled and gets into the car. I also get in my car and quickly turn on the warm air. Instead of driving back to town, I take a little drive. I roll my window down and let the wind blow through my hair. After about ten minutes, I turn on my radio.

"Maybe we found love right where we are," Ed Sheeran's voice croons right as I turn the radio on.

I quickly turn the radio off and do a very sloppy u-turn, almost running into a passing car. The person in the car honks their horn at me. I yell and drive back towards South Hart. They are going the same way I am going, so I drive behind them.

I follow them all the way until they drive up to Mrs. Tucker's Diner and park. I turn and park my car in front of the bed and breakfast. I then turn my car off and quickly get out and head towards the bed and breakfast. I stop when I am on the porch and turn my head and get a good look at the person I was behind. I see the same brown eyed guy from the night before!

One of the street lanterns shines on him as a girl comes up to him and throws her arms around him. I see him look a little hesitant as he hugs her back. She kisses his cheek, but he immediately, but gently, pushes her away. Why I noticed this is a mystery to me.

Unexpectedly, he turns his head in my direction. That is when he sees me staring. I quickly turn my head and hurry inside. Even though I was quick in turning my head, I still somehow ended up meeting his eyes.

~-~-~-~
The next day, I met up with my boss and went over all the construction plans. I also ate lunch with Beth and Josh.

After eating lunch, I go to my room and start editing a book. At around 6:30, I leave to go for a little drive to the next town.

When I get there, I step out of my car and walk to the sidewalk. As I walk down the street, I look through the windows. I begin walking by the bookstore when a magazine stops me in my tracks. It had Mr. Parker's face on the front.

I hurry inside the store to take a look at the article. As I begin to read the article, I see that it is about something that has to do with his son.

"Kate, is that you?" I turn and see a guy with hazel eyes and a red shirt staring at me.

"Um, yes?" I say in a questioning tone.

He holds his hand out for me to shake, but I decide not to shake it. I leave him hanging, making him a little uncomfortable.

He awkwardly withdraws his hand he wanted me to shake and asks, "You don't recognize me, do you?"

I shake my head and try to place him.

He gives a nervous laugh before saying, "I'm Jake Simpson from high school. I was friends with James."

I just nod my head. He tries to search for something to say, but I just turn to leave. He stops me by gently touching my arm. I turn back around and give him a glare. He swiftly takes his hand off my arm and steps back.

He asks, "Are you okay?"

I bite my lip and ignore his question. "Kate, is something wrong? Back when I knew James, he always talked about you being happy and stuff. You seem different, though."

I feel tears coming, so I angrily say, "You said you were friends with James." He nods his head, and I continue. "Okay, since you were his friend, then wouldn't you know that he is dead?"

His face turns white, and he tries to speak. I hold up my hand to stop him. I shake my head at him before turning and leaving the shop. I drop the magazine by the door. I rush to my car, get in, and speed off. I speed back into South Hart and to the field where my house is going to be built.

Tears are rolling down my cheeks, and I am hiccuping and almost wailing. I turn the car off and sit in my seat. I run my hands through my hair as tears continue to pour.

My life was never meant to be like this. I was supposed to be getting married. I was supposed to be happy. I was supposed to have James beside me.

"Why is my life like this?! Why God? Why me?!" I scream into the car. "Is it ever going to be okay?!"

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