803 Wishing Lane by Shaw Hart
One
Caroline
“Don’t forget your backpack, bunny,”I remind Charlotte, my niece, as she climbs out of her car seat.
She smiles up at me, grabbing my hand as I help her out of the back seat. It’s then that I notice a stray smear of yogurt on her upper lip and I grab a baby wipe from the backseat, wiping it away before I take her hand and lead her up to the preschool.
I’ve been Charlotte’s legal guardian since she was just over three years old. My brother, Calvin, and his wife, Shelby, were killed in a car accident. They were headed for a short vacation, just an overnight stay, and were killed. It had been the first time they left Charlotte and I had promised to take care of her. I guess I should have been more worried about them.
My brother and I were always super tight. I was his best man at his wedding and the godmother of his kid. He supported me through college and I even moved back to New York and lived near him and Shelby, with my best friends, Sayler and Coraline.
Our parents had both died when I was young and it was just me and Calvin, so when he passed, I was the only option left for Charlotte. My brother was a few years older than me, and he had been the one to care for me when they died. It’s been a few years and I still don’t think I’ve got a handle on this whole parenting thing.
The first few months that I was her legal guardian were rough. We both cried all of the time. It was hard to explain to her what happened and why her mom and dad weren’t coming back. I took her to three different therapists before we found one that seemed to help her, and we did family therapy together, too. I was willing to do anything to help her but she was too young to really grasp the idea that her parents couldn’t come back.
The therapist told me that it would be better for me to wait until she was old enough to understand the concept of death before I brought it up to her again. Until then, I’m her mom.
“We’re painting today, Aunt Caro,” Charlotte tells me as she takes my hand and skips alongside me to the front door.
“What are you going to paint?” I ask her, holding the door open and leading her down the hallway to her classroom.
“Our family! And a castle. Oh! Or maybe a tent. It will be us this weekend when we go camping!” she says excitedly.
I smile down at her, loving her enthusiasm. Her teacher, Ms. Newton, smiles when Charlotte hops into the room, hanging her backpack up and running over to her friends who are already seated on the alphabet rug in the corner.
“Bye, bunny!” I call after her, waving at Ms. Newton before I hurry back out to my car.
Charlotte and I moved to Cherry Falls a few months ago after I bought the town diner. We both needed a change of pace and when I came by to see the Virgin Street Diner, I fell in love with the small town.
Charlotte loves it here, too, and that was the big selling point. I even took her house shopping and she picked out an old Victorian house that was painted a pale pink. There was a white picket fence and some chicken coops in the backyard.
That was another big selling point. Charlotte is obsessed with animals. She wants to adopt every single one that she sees and if she had it her way, we would own a dozen dogs and cats, chickens, geese, a random mean goat, some pigs, and about a hundred bunnies. I’m sure it’s easy to tell which animal is her favorite.
In the end, we just adopted two dogs. We went for one, but they were bonded and I just couldn’t separate them. I try to tell myself that it teaches Charlotte responsibility since she has to help me feed and walk them.
My phone starts to ring as I drive across town to the diner and I smile when I see Sayler’s name on my phone screen.
“Hey!” I answer with a smile.
“Hey, boo! Are you busy?” she asks and I can hear some dishes clinking in the background.
She must be at home with her boyfriend Rooney. I met him when he came to visit with her last month and he seems like a really good guy. He makes Sayler happy and that’s all that matters to me.
“I’m never too busy for you. How are things going?”
“Great! Rooney and I were thinking about taking a trip and renting a cabin somewhere next month. Since I know you could always use a break and Charlotte is obsessed with camping, I thought I would see if you wanted to join us.”
“Oh, I’d love to join you on your couple vacation,” I tease and she laughs.
“It’s not like that! I think Harvey is going to join us and maybe Gray and Nora,” she says, naming two other guys who work at Eye Candy Ink with Rooney.
“Where are you going and when?” I ask, pulling into the parking lot of the diner.
“We don’t know yet. We’re pretty flexible and I know with Charlotte you have more to coordinate, so if you want to come, we can work around you.”
“Can I think about it and get back to you tonight? I need to check our schedules.”
“Of course! I’ll talk to you later, Caro!”
“Bye, Say,” I say with a laugh.
I park in my spot next to the back door of the Virgin Street Diner and hurry inside. My employees, Ezra and David, are already inside, helping the early bird customers. Amelia, my last employee scheduled to come in, should be in just in time for the lunch rush.
“Morning, David!” I call as I head past where he’s busy cooking.
“Morning,” he grunts back at me, his familiar beanie on his head.
David is a bigger guy with a big beard. He should look out of place at the ‘50s style diner, but somehow he fits right in. He worked here for the old owner and I was lucky enough to convince him to stay and work for me.
I hang my things up in the back office, tying my black hair up in a high ponytail before I head out to the floor.
“Hey, Ezra,” I greet the young waiter.
“Hey, Ms. Park.”
Ezra dips into the kitchen to grab some more napkins for a table and I head over to the coffee pot and start making another pot since we’re low.
The Virgin Street Diner is already busy and I get to work, refilling drinks and taking the orders of anyone who sits at the counter. I make sure that the coffee pots never run out and check everyone out.
The Virgin Street Diner is a retro kind of diner with a red and white checkered floor and a jukebox on the back wall. There’s even an old-school cash register up front next to the dessert display.
Things start to take a lull around 10 am and I help Ezra refill the salt and pepper bottles on all of the tables and booths. Amelia comes in at 11:30 and things start to pick up again.
The Virgin Street Diner is one of the more popular places in Cherry Falls and we usually stay busy throughout the day. We’re in the middle of the afternoon lull when he walks in.
Heath Winters.
He comes in everyday around 2 pm and sits at the counter. Ezra is getting ready to leave for the day and Amelia is in the back, refilling the ketchup and mustard bottles, so it’s just me and him out front.
“Your usual?” I ask as Heath sits down.
He always orders the same thing. The Holy Roller Burger, medium well, with French fries, a glass of water, and a slice of cherry pie.
“Yeah,” he grunts, settling onto the stool at the counter. “How’s your day going, Caroline?”
He asks me this every day. Unfortunately, things usually spiral downward from there. I finish writing out his order on my pad and add it to the queue.
“Good. How about you?”
“Can’t complain,” he says, taking a sip of his water as I set it down in front of him.
Heath is a bit of a loner. He’s gruff and can be short with people. He and I got off on the wrong foot when I first got to town and we’ve never seemed to come back from it. I know that he tries to be civil, but it always seems to rub me the wrong way.
“Got any plans for this weekend?” Heath asks as I grab him his slice of pie.
“I’m taking Charlotte to Wild Ridge Mountain. She’s been dying to go camping, so we’re headed up there for the night.”
“Sounds like fun. Have you ever been camping before?” he asks.
“Um, no, but how hard can it be, right?”
“You should stop by the Trading Post. I can give you a discount on some of the gear and show you how to use it.”
His offer has me taken aback and feeling a little antsy. Normally this is about the time he says something to piss me off, such as he likes my hair better up because I don’t look so overheated, or that I should take a break and get off of my feet more.
I know it’s just me. Heath isn’t the type to be purposefully mean. It’s just that I was asked so many questions about if I could really handle caring for Charlotte before I was allowed to be her legal guardian, and now any hint of someone doubting my abilities has me feeling on edge.
I know what I’m capable of and I hate when people doubt me.
Plus, who tells a woman that she looks overheated? Alright, maybe it is a little bit Heath.
“Uh, thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”
His order comes up and I pass it across the counter to him, sliding his bill after.
“I’m headed to get Charlotte now but Amelia will help you if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Caroline,” he says softly and for just a moment, my walls start to crumble.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t attracted to Heath. He’s a good-looking guy. Tall with a stable job and a full head of thick brown hair. That’s practically a unicorn to a woman in her thirties.
I’ve been fighting my feelings toward him, though, because I don’t want to upset Charlotte. We’re still getting settled here and I don’t want to throw that off. Hell, I’m still figuring out how to be a parent and balance mom life and work life. Besides, I don’t want Charlotte to feel like she isn’t the most important person to me. I never want her to doubt how much she is loved.
Still, I can’t stop myself from taking one last look over my shoulder at Heath as I head to grab my purse.
He’s looking at me, those deep green eyes of his trained on my blue ones and I freeze, trapped in his gaze. There’s something in the way that he’s looking at me, but I can’t quite decipher it.
“Excuse me, Caroline,” Amelia says, breaking the staring contest that I was having with Heath.
I step aside, letting her carry out the tray of ketchup bottles before I head for the office and then out to my car.
As I back out of my spot, I know one thing for sure.
I can’t go to his shop for the camping gear. If I do, I just might lose my heart.
