Derailed (Clayton Falls #1)(22)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“Whoa, I never promised to be an open book.”

“Come on, do you like kids?” he asked.

“Sure. Who doesn’t?”

“Some people don’t.”

“Are you an uncle?” I turned the conversation back on him. I was beginning to feel like we were locked in a fencing match, pushing the conversation back and forth between us.

“Yup, I have two nephews and three nieces.”

“Wow. Quite the uncle Gavin.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but they always ask me when I’m having my own kids.”

I didn’t like the way he looked at me when he said the last part. It was like he was sizing me up for the position of having his kids.

“Well, hopefully that girl you were telling me about likes kids,” I said playfully.

“She does. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like kids?”

I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “I still don’t know why you’re wasting your time hanging out with me when you could be spending time with her.”

“I still don’t know why you’re wasting your time screwing around with Mathews when you could be dating me. But you know what? Tonight you’re with me and not him, so I can’t complain.”

The waiter came over to see if we wanted to order any drinks. Gavin tried to guess what my drink of choice was and got it on the first try. “Vodka cranberry?”

The waiter took our dinner orders and left. I’d gone for the manicotti. I was totally craving something with ricotta cheese. Thankfully, Gavin hadn’t tried to order for me too. It would have weirded me out if he’d gotten that right.

“Lucky guess.”

Gavin snorted. “No, I just know you.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Oh, I will.” He smiled in a way that let me know he was really just joking around. I’d bet I wasn’t the only girl with that drink of choice.

The rest of dinner passed pleasantly once we got on to the topic of sports.

“So, did you become a Red Sox fan after so many years in Boston?”

I took a moment to finish a bite of my manicotti. “Not really. My friend Becca is a diehard fan and took me to a few games, but I’m really not a baseball fan. Are you?”

“You can say that.” He smiled.

“Okay, what aren’t you saying?”

“I played in the minors for a while after high school.”

“Really? Any team I’d know?” I may not have been a baseball fan, but I still thought playing professionally was pretty cool. I could definitely see Gavin as an athlete. He was in incredible shape and just had that look.

“The Durham Bulls.”

“Oh, I love that Bull Durham movie.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t play with Kevin Costner.”

“Oh, that’s disappointing.” I fake pouted. “I’m not sure if this is a sore topic, but why did you stop playing?”

“Rotator cuff tear—destroyed my pitching arm.”

“Oh, I’m really sorry. That must have been awful.” I imagined giving up baseball couldn’t have been easy on him.

“It was. I had just signed a new contract to move up to the majors—I thought I’d made it. But what can you do? You move on.” He shrugged.

His positive attitude impressed me. “So how’d you go from baseball to being a cop in Clayton Falls?”

“I needed to find something else to do, and I had a friend who suggested I try the academy. I met Tom there and he took me home with him to visit once. Clayton Falls seemed like as good a place as any to move, and I love the beach.”

“And you like it here?”

He smiled. “Most of the time. I like my job, and I’ve got some great friends. Now all I’m missing is the right girlfriend.” He winked.

I shook my head. “Good luck with that.”

When the check came, I tried to grab it first so I could figure out what I owed.

“Nope, I’m treating, remember?”

“Let’s split it.”

“How about this; I’ll pay tonight and you can get dinner next time.”

“How do you know there is going to be a next time?”

“Exactly. There’ll have to be if you want to call it even.” He put a credit card down, letting me know as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.

“Well then, thanks for dinner.” I hoped he wasn’t holding his breath on there being another dinner. He was a nice guy, but we were never going to be more than friends, and I didn’t want to lead him on.

“My pleasure.”

***

“Good morning, sleepyhead, we’re almost back,” Gavin said as I tried to wake up. I must have nodded off on the way back from dinner.

It took me a moment to realize where we were. The thick woods on either side of us could have been anywhere, but not the old run down gas station. “You can’t take this road!” I shouted. “You have to turn around and go the other way.”

“Why? It’s faster this way and closer to your house.”

“Please, just turn around. Please.” I started to panic, ready to beg him if necessary to avoid the railroad crossing.

Gavin looked spooked. “Seriously? Okay, I’ll turn around and go back around the long way.”

“Thank you.” I let out a deep sigh once he had us headed around and back on the highway.

“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

I didn’t want to tell him, but I also felt that I had to explain my behavior. “It’s not a pretty story.”

“I’m a cop, Molly. I can handle it.”

“I can’t drive over that railroad crossing. I haven’t in five years.”

“Why?” he asked gently.

I breathed in and out a few times, preparing myself. “It’s where my dad died.”

Gavin slowed down the car, pulling off into the dirt on the side of the road. “Your dad died at that crossing? That cross is for him?”

“Cross?” I’d never actually gotten the nerve to visit the spot. Even though I hadn’t gone to see the accident scene, I could picture the mangled metal of his car. My chest tightened at the thought of looking at the crossing.

“Have you never seen it?”

“No.”

Gavin unbuckled his seatbelt, turning to look at me. “I’m really sorry to hear that. You said it was five years ago, so you were in high school?”