Discovering You

“That should help.”

He leaned over to check her speedometer. He felt he could push the damn car faster than she was driving. “You realize you’re ten miles under the speed limit.”

“I’m a little rattled.”

“Why? I’m the one who got into a fight.”

She gave him an exasperated look. “Which proves there’s no telling what you might come across out here!”

He chuckled. “This is a quiet area. I think you’re safe for the rest of the night. And I would like to get home before morning,” he added, just to rib her.

Her jaw dropped open. “You have no shame,” she said. “Here I am, being a good citizen and helping you out, and you’re criticizing the way I do it.”

“Nope. I’m only suggesting you make more of an effort.”

She hit the gas, and the car surged forward. “Happy now?”

“Happier.”

“I aim to please.”

He studied her profile. “India’s a different name. You’re the first India I’ve ever met.”

“My mother loved Gone with the Wind. Named me after India Wilkes.”

“Shouldn’t it be Scarlett or something like that?”

“India was a secondary character.”

“I guess I skipped that book,” he joked. He’d skipped a lot of books, hardly ever shown up for class. It was surprising he’d graduated from high school. He wouldn’t have, if his big brother had been willing to accept anything less. “Where does your mother live these days? She still in Oakland?”

“She died when I was eighteen.”

She’d had to deal with two family deaths? “I’m sorry. So it’s just you and your father now?”

“No, my father died before she did, but I didn’t know him very well. They were divorced when I was three. He was an alcoholic, wasn’t part of my life.”

He could relate to her situation there. His own father had turned to alcohol. “So neither of your parents knew Charlie?”

“No, we were only together the last six years.”

“Where did you meet?”

He expected her to say college. The timing would’ve been about right. But she didn’t. “I was waiting tables at a restaurant near the hospital where he worked. He and some of the other doctors used to come in quite often.”

“Doctors.”

She nodded. “He was ten years older than me.”

“And he was a doctor.” Rod repeated that because it wasn’t good news. It confirmed that she was, indeed, way out of his league.

“A heart surgeon,” she said.

Shit. Just what a guy wanted to hear when he’d never even attempted college.

“If he’d had another fifteen or twenty years, who knows what he might’ve accomplished,” she said softly, almost reverently. “I believe he would’ve made a real difference in the world.”

Rod knew then that it didn’t matter if Charlie was six feet under. An auto body technician couldn’t compare with a renowned heart surgeon, even the memory of one.

“Was it a car accident that killed him?” Rod hoped it wasn’t a heart attack. That would be too ironic.

“Please. Like I said, I’d rather not talk about his death.”

He didn’t understand why she had to leave him wondering. She’d told him other things, like how long Charlie had been gone. Why couldn’t she say it was an accident or an illness or whatever?

“I shouldn’t have asked again,” he said. But his curiosity couldn’t be entirely unexpected. Someone dying that early was unusual.

They were silent for a moment. Then Rod spoke again. He didn’t want his question about her late husband to be the end of their conversation. “Can’t be easy to work on art with a child underfoot. Is that part of the reason your in-laws are keeping your daughter? To give you a chance to get started on your pottery?”

“Not really. Having her around helps fill the hole Charlie left behind. They have a daughter, but her job took her to Japan two years ago. They don’t see her often.”

“A family of high achievers, huh?”

“Yes. They can be a bit intimidating.”

“You didn’t feel you fit in?”

She hesitated. “They were fine. Anyway, for the record, I’d never choose to be without Cassia.” She sent him a grim smile. “When she’s gone, I hardly know what to do with myself. I can’t work all the time.”

She’d recently lost her husband, and she was new in town. He could see why she’d want her daughter to keep her company. But at least the kid had grandparents who cared about her. Rod hadn’t been lucky enough to get decent parents, let alone anything more. If not for Dylan, his oldest brother, who’d raised him, he would’ve been put into foster care when he was in middle school.

Now that they were older and able to take care of themselves, life was easier. Rod was glad of that. He was also determined not to do anything that might make it hard again. Intrigued though he was with his new neighbor, he’d be better off moving on to other prospects.

“You’ve been through a lot of changes,” he said. “But I’m sure things will eventually improve.” That was a throwaway statement. He was backing off and letting her have her secrets and her space. Considering what his mother had done and how it had affected his whole family, he had no desire to get involved with an emotionally inaccessible woman. He wasn’t about to try to break down what he considered a locked door.

When India glanced over, he could tell she’d noticed the change in his tone. That glance was filled with uncertainty, and maybe a tinge of regret. She understood that he’d disengaged; he could see it in her face. It surprised him that she didn’t seem completely convinced she wanted that. But what else could he do? She was the one who’d thrown up barriers.

“You’re quiet,” she said at length.

Now that he no longer had any romantic interest to distract him from his injuries, he discovered that his leg, his mouth, his hands—almost every part of his body—hurt like hell. He needed to take a shower, swallow some pain pills and fall into bed. “It’s late. I’m not in the best shape. And there’s not much to say.”

“I may not be open to a relationship. I’m still in love with Charlie. I hope we can be friends, though.”

That was direct, but he’d been direct with her. He preferred open communication, didn’t see any reason to play games. “Of course.”

“I’m sincere. I could use a friend.”

He shrugged. “Sure, we’ll be friends and neighbors.”