Page 9 of Careless Hope
“Thanks, Walker,” she said, holding my gaze for an extra second or two, and I could feel something shift between us, like the click of a lock opening. Maybe we weren’t exactly friends before, but we could be now.
“Anytime, Doc.”
She chuckled at the nickname, but her eyes shifted to the window, staring at nothing in particular. “It’s strange, being back here. I thought people would be more supportive, but it feels like . . . ” Caroline trailed off, her brow furrowing just so.
“Like what?” I prodded gently, leaning forward on my elbows.
“Like they don’t trust me. Don’t want me.”
“Hey there, Walker,” a syrupy voice cut in, drowning out Caroline’s words. Aimee Baskin sauntered up, her hips swaying like she was walking to a tune only she could hear. She didn’t even glance at Caroline. “Haven’t seen you at the Dusty Barrel lately. You hiding from me?”
I felt Caroline stiffen, and I caught the flicker of embarrassment in her eyes before she looked away. Something inside me clenched tight—a mix of annoyance and protectiveness I hadn’t expected. I knew Aimee had been a mean girl in high school. The kinda girl who would’ve bullied Caroline back in the day. I couldn’t remember witnessing any of it to be sure, but the look on Caroline’s face said it all.
Suddenly, Aimee’s flirtatious grin wasn’t nearly as charming as she’d hoped it to be; it was intrusive, unwelcome.
“Been busy,” I said, keeping my voice neutral as I turned my body slightly towards Caroline, a silent message that I wasn’t here for Aimee’s games.
“Too busy for a drink with an old friend?” Aimee pouted, her hand landing on my shoulder, but it might as well have been a leaf for all the attention I paid it.
“Actually, yes, for some of them,” I said firmly, shrugging off her touch. “Caroline and I were discussing something important.”
“Caroline?” Aimee finally looked at the woman across from me, her eyes squinting as if trying to place a half-remembered dream. “Oh! From school, right? Wow, you’ve changed!”
“Have I?” Caroline’s response was polite but cool, and I couldn’t help but admire her poise.
“Interesting.” Her voice was dripping with sweetness now, and even I wasn’t dumb enough to fall for it. “Anyway, I’ll leave you to it,” Aimee said, though her expression looked less than thrilled about it. She tossed a final, flirty smile my way—which I pointedly ignored—before sashaying back to her table.
“Sorry about that,” I muttered, feeling the need to apologize for the interruption, for Aimee’s obliviousness, for the town’s underestimation of her.
“Nothing to be sorry for. Not your fault Aimee can’t recognizea familiar face,” Caroline quipped, but her green eyes were still shadowed by the moment.
“Anyway, you were saying about the town?” I urged, wanting to steer us back to the comfort of our conversation, away from stray interlopers and the prickle of unease.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nah, don’t do that. I wanna know.”
Caroline sighed, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee mug. “It’s just hard, you know? Stepping out from beneath a legacy and trying to build one of your own.”
And damned if I didn’t know exactly what that felt like.
“Yeah, I get that,” I said softly, thinking of my own struggle for recognition and respect, of the dreams I held close, waiting for their chance to take root and grow.
“It’s just that everyone still sees me as Dr. Cressley’s little girl. They come in looking for him, and I’m there instead. It’s like they’re waiting for me to mess up, to prove I’m not cut out for this.”
“Can’t be easy,” I said, feeling the thread of connection tighten a stitch. My own ambitions had been met with similar skepticism. Folks around here had a hard time seeing you as anything other than what they’d always known. “Trying to make your own mark.”
“Exactly.” She nodded, her hair catching a glint of light like fire. “And it’s not that I don’t respect everything he did—the man’s a legend—but I’m not him. I have my own way of doing things.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her passion, the kind of spark that drew folks together around here, even if it was sometimes buried under layers of expectation. “Yeah, I know all about living in a shadow. My brother runs the ranch, and everyone assumesI’m just along for the ride. But I’ve got ideas, plans of my own. If he’ll agree to let me try,” I added under my breath.
She cocked her head, ready to call me out on it, but I pushed forward.
“What’s important is what you’re doing now. Sounds like you’re exactly where you need to be, regardless of what the town thinks.”
She eyed me, clearly not wanting to let me off the hook for my comment about Gray, but doing so anyway. And I appreciated that. I didn’t want to get into all that, especially not in the diner, where any number of neighbors could overhear.
“Thanks, Walker,” she finally said, her shy smile warming me better than any whiskey could. “That means a lot, coming from you.”
