Changing Dreams (Bear Lake Dreamers Book 1), Page 2

  When he got to the job, the lady of the house was waiting for him. “Good morning, Nick. What’s on the agenda today?” She was wearing a skimpy nightgown, as she had every morning to see him. It was still winter, and she had to be freezing. He was sure she wore normal clothes while her husband was there, and then ran off to change as soon as the man left. He couldn’t imagine why she did the things she did.

  “Just finishing up the new flooring in the bathroom, and I’ll start on the tile around the tub tomorrow. I think you’re really going to like that new bathtub I just put in.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke.

  Mrs. Simmons took a step closer to him, trailing one finger down the front of his shirt. “I’m sure I will. It looks big enough for two.”

  “I’m an engaged man, Mrs. Simmons.” And there. That’s why he couldn’t break off his engagement for another week or two. He had to have a reason to get away from her.

  “And I’m a married woman. I don’t mind if you don’t mind.” She smiled up at him in a way that made his blood curdle. The woman wasn’t the least bit attractive to him, because he hated cheating so much.

  “I mind.” He stepped back from her and turned toward the bathroom. “I need to get to work.”

  She sighed, obviously annoyed he wouldn’t capitulate. He wasn’t quite sure why she kept trying every single day, but she did.

  By lunchtime, Nick had worked out a plan. He would finish the job he was working, and then he would let Kami know that he was breaking things off. He’d take a few days between jobs to help her pack up her things and get settled somewhere else. It was only right that he at least tried to help her start a new life without him.

  Having a plan in place helped him know that he was doing the right thing. Soon she’d be out of his hair, and he was sure she’d be in someone else’s pretty darn quick. It was just the kind of woman she was.

  When he got home from work that day, there was no supper cooking—as usual—and Kami was waiting on the couch for him, already dressed for supper in a short skirt and low-cut blouse. How he’d ever thought he wanted to marry someone like her truly escaped him.

  “Hurry and change. I made reservations for supper at six-thirty, and you’re going to make us late.”

  Not wanting to start an argument, he went into the master bath to shower and change. He put on jeans and a polo, knowing she wouldn’t find it dressy enough, but it was about as dressy as he got, except for special occasions. She’d just have to learn to make compromises until he ended things with her. Just a couple more weeks.

  He walked into the living room and smiled to himself. He was counting down the days.

  Three

  On Saturday morning, Alyssa did her usual weekend errands, hitting the grocery store first. She knew she was going to have a rough weekend, so she grabbed two tubs of Junior Mint ice cream, having no problem envisioning herself eating it straight from the carton.

  As she walked up and down each aisle of the store, she longed for a quieter life. When she’d been a girl, she had spent two weeks every summer and every weekend of the summer at Bear Lake, which was on the border of Utah and Idaho. Her parents still owned a lake house there, and she briefly wondered if she should go and spend some time there, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she received a phone call from one of her favorite clients.

  “I have some free time today I didn’t expect. Do you have time to take me to a few more houses I found?” Karl Schmidt asked her. He was one of her biggest clients and was looking for a vacation home that was a little closer to the Park City, Utah area. Normally she didn’t go that far out, but she was happy to do it for such a good client.

  “I always have free time for you,” she answered automatically. “I can meet you at my office in an hour.” Alyssa would have to cut her shopping trip short and finish up buying what she needed later, but she’d have enough time to check out, get home and put her groceries away, and change into work clothes before meeting him.

  “That sounds good. Thanks, Alyssa.”

  She hurried toward the front of the store, knowing she wanted the commission he’d be bringing in. As she stood in line, she bought three more boxes of emergency Junior Mints to put into her glove compartment. With the way things were going with Tim, she knew she’d need them.

  An hour later, she was dressed and at her office. Thankfully, Mr. Schmidt wasn’t there yet, and she had time to just sit for a moment, reflecting on her terrible night on Thursday. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into Tim lately, but she knew that he wasn’t the man he used to be. Or maybe he just wasn’t the man he used to seem to be.

  She spotted Mr. Schmidt walking toward her, and he got into the passenger side of her car. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me. I know you probably had other plans for your weekend.”

  Alyssa genuinely liked the older man. He wasn’t as snooty as most of the rich people she knew were. He was actually always thankful when she took him around.

  “I’m so happy to do it. Which houses do you want to look at this time?” This was their fourth trip to the Park City area, and he always had a specific house or two in mind when they went to look.

  He gave her the addresses, and she plugged the first into her GPS. She knew the houses had come from listings that she’d sent him for the area, and she hoped this time they’d find the one he considered perfect for his family. He was in his late fifties, a widower with several grandkids. He wanted a place where his entire family could spend a couple of weeks together every summer. Just like she’d had with her family growing up.

  As she drove, he regaled her with tales about his twin grandsons, who were apparently perfect in every way, and she listened and laughed at the funny parts, even though she had no desire to laugh. Being a real estate agent meant that she needed to be on whenever she was with a client.

  The first house they looked at had Mr. Schmidt excited. “This is what I’m looking for.”

  Alyssa pulled up all the information she had on the house and told him what she could as they walked. “The house is only five years old. The people who owned it before have decided they want to be at a lake and not the mountains. So, you benefit from their mind change.” She led him up a flight of stairs. “This is the master suite. It has a huge bathtub with separate shower. There are four other bedrooms on this level and two on the main level. You have three children?” she asked.

  He nodded. “That’s perfect, too, because then each of my children can have a room with their spouse, and the grandkids for each family can have their own room.”

  “Sounds smart to me.”

  They looked in closets and cabinets as they moved along.

  When they were finished looking at the downstairs rooms and the kitchen, he grinned. “I don’t even need to see the other place. The hot tub out back is staying, right?”

  “Yes, it is. So is the sauna.”

  “I’m taking it. Where do I sign?”

  Alyssa smiled, pulling a contract out of her purse. She kept one on her at all times for just such an occasion. “Let’s get this filled out. Do you know what you want to offer?”

  In less than thirty minutes, they were back on the road and headed to her office in North Salt Lake. She lived and worked out of North Salt Lake, but most of her business tended to be in Salt Lake City. It was also where she worked out.

  “Thanks for sticking with me through all of my shopping,” he told her. “I think I would have driven anyone else crazy. I hope I’ll be given a chance to review my experience with you.”

  “I have honestly enjoyed it, Mr. Schmidt. You made it easy for me.” And he had. Very easy.

  After Alyssa dropped him off, she went into her office and did the paperwork on the sale, wanting to dance a little jig. The commission on the house would be good, but better than that, she’d found a vacation home for a wonderful man who would use it to make special memories for his grandkids. Memories like the ones she had of her family’s lake house.

  When she’d finished
filing the paperwork, she went back to the grocery store to continue her shopping trip. She didn’t use a list and couldn’t remember what she’d purchased, and she knew she would be doubling up on a few things. It was all right, though. She knew it would get eaten or donated. She often bought things she never ended up using, but food pantries were there for a reason.

  She bought all the stuff she needed to make her recipe for shepherd’s pie for supper. She had tried dozens of recipes, and what she’d finally kept was parts of about six of them plus her own twist.

  The woman at the checkout was familiar to her, but not someone she knew by name, or who knew her by name, which had her once again thinking about the simpler lifestyle in Richland, where she’d spent lots of time every summer on Bear Lake. A couple of years, she and her sisters had spent the entire summer at the lake, and her father—a dentist who specialized in TMJ—would spend four days a week working, and then he’d join them Friday through Sunday. Those had been the summers she’d liked the best. She treasured the memory of them.

  On her way home, she ran through Chick-fil-A for chicken nuggets and a frozen lemonade. It was what she needed—along with her Junior Mint ice cream—to make it through the weekend. She had some serious thinking to do about her relationship with Tim and decisions to make about what she wanted to do.

  She plopped down on the couch and reached for the remote, planning to watch some of her favorite rom-coms on her large flat-screen television. The walls were a pale blue, and the décor was different shades of the same color, with some white thrown in for accents. It was a cozy, feminine room which she always felt comfortable in. Spending time there and eating Junior Mints were always her solutions for having hard days. And they always seemed to work.

  She had her remote in hand and the ice cream and a spoon on the coffee table in front of her when her phone rang. Glancing at the display, she saw that it was Hannah, her childhood best friend who had been raised in Richland, right there on the lake.

  “Hello!” Alyssa hadn’t realized just how much she needed to hear her friend’s voice until that very moment.

  “Hey, you!” Hannah’s voice sounded as sweet as ever. “I hadn’t heard from you in a while, so I figured I’d catch up. I have about thirty minutes between jobs today.”

  “I’ve been busy,” Alyssa said by way of apology. “Tell me what’s going on in your world.”

  Hannah sighed. “The usual. I’m working days at the grocery store. Nights at Coopers over in Fish Haven. And weekends are spent cleaning houses. I’m going to have that bookstore saved for in another thirteen months. Do you believe? It’s almost time. And I’m going to run the best bookstore the Bear Lake Valley has ever seen! Just you wait.”

  “I know you will. You’re amazing.” Alyssa couldn’t imagine working all those menial jobs simply so she could open a bookstore, but she’d been raised very differently than Hannah had. Her friend had always had to work for everything she wanted, while Alyssa had been handed the world. She wasn’t sure which was better, but she wished her friend would allow her to invest in her business so she could slow down a little.

  “Well, thank you very much. No one can make me feel quite as good about myself as you do.”

  Alyssa smiled. “That goes double for me. Are you seeing anyone?”

  Hannah laughed. “Like I have time to see someone. I work a ridiculous number of hours and never take a day off. Who would I meet working so much? And where would I find the time to date him?”

  “Just asking! I think it would do you good to slow down a little. Remember, I’d love to invest . . .”

  “Nope. Thanks, though.” The answer was quick. “So, how’s it going with Tim?”

  Alyssa didn’t miss the annoyance in her friend’s voice when she said Tim’s name. “He’s . . . strange.”

  “Always has been in my opinion . . . but what makes you think now is any different from always?”

  Alyssa laughed a little, shaking her head. She needed some face-to-face time with Hannah, and not the kind that came from Skype or Facetime. Real friend time. A short conversation was all she needed to know that. She missed her friend. “He’s just acting oddly. He kissed me goodnight the last time I saw him, and he didn’t put any real . . . feeling behind it, if that makes sense. It was just a cursory kiss because he was supposed to. And I asked him what he was doing this weekend, and he’s spending the weekend with guy friends, because he wants to ski, but he told me it was a men’s only weekend, like I was going to try to infringe on his plans.”

  “And who is paying for this ski weekend? Isn’t he still unemployed?”

  Alyssa sighed. “He said he’d pay me back . . .” She was tired of the constant drain he was on her finances, just like her friend, but . . . she had so much time vested in the relationship. She couldn’t give up on Tim now, could she?

  “Of course, he did. He always says that.” Hannah sighed dramatically, and Alyssa could just picture her rolling her eyes. “I wish you’d dump that jerk and just move on with your life.”

  “Would you be able to give up a seven-year relationship just like that? I feel like I should stay with him just a little bit longer. I’m sure he’ll get a job soon, and he’ll be back to normal.”

  “Alyssa, you know as well as I do that the man is not normal. Not even one little bit. He loves himself, and there’s no room for him to love anyone else. He’s using your money to go on a vacation that he told you you’re not allowed to go on. He’s got you all messed up in your thinking about your weight—which is perfect, by the way. It was perfect before you started dating him!”

  “I know. I know.” But she didn’t. She looked in a mirror, and she could see that she needed to lose weight. A significant amount of weight actually. And Tim told her the same thing, so he had to be right, didn’t he? “I’m just not ready to make any drastic changes to my life.”

  “I understand that. I also know it’s time. And I don’t need to yell at you about it. You’ll figure it out on your own soon enough. And I have to go. Third housecleaning job of the day. Just remind me one more time that I’m doing this for all the right reasons. I’m going to be surrounded by books!”

  Alyssa laughed softly. “That’s been your dream for as long as I can remember.”

  “It really has. And I’m going to make it happen. Bye. Love you, and I want you to come stay in your parents’ lake house soon! It’s been forever.” With that, Hannah ended the call, and Alyssa sat staring at her phone for a moment.

  Was Hannah right? Was it really time to end a relationship that she’d had forever? How could it be time? After seven long years, she should get something out of the relationship, shouldn’t she? They’d talked marriage. A little voice asked her if she wanted to raise children with someone like Tim, but she didn’t let herself think about it too much. She couldn’t. Not yet.

  Alyssa shook her head. She was being melodramatic and silly. Reaching for the remote, she switched on Notting Hill before reaching for her ice cream and a spoon. She was sure the ice cream would make everything clear, and she’d know exactly what she needed to do. Junior Mints fixed the world, and when they were in ice cream, their power was multiplied.

  She dug her spoon into the carton, not bothering with a bowl, as she watched Julia Roberts walk into a bookstore in Notting Hill. She sighed as she lost herself in the romance of the movie. She’d figure things out later.

  Four

  Friday afternoon, Nick left work a little early, hoping to be able to fix supper himself and save a little money. Besides, Mrs. Simmons was coming on stronger than ever, and he needed to stay away from her. There was no excuse for cheating. Ever. He wasn’t going to be the one to help her cheat on her husband, and he wasn’t going to cheat on Kami, even though she already had a foot out the door without knowing it. He would stay true to her until the day he officially broke it off.

  He stopped at the grocery store—another household chore that Kami avoided like the plague—and grabbed some ground beef, som
e spaghetti sauce, a loaf of garlic bread, and a bag of spaghetti noodles. He knew Kami would complain if wine wasn’t involved in their meal, but he didn’t like wine, and he wasn’t about to buy it if he didn’t like it. He was finished pandering to the girl.

  When he got to the front, he smiled at the checker at the register he chose. “Hi, Hannah. How’s things?”

  “Oh, busy as usual. How’re things with you? And Kami?”

  He shrugged. “Mostly okay. I’m staying busy, and Kami isn’t.” He hadn’t meant to say the words, and he wanted to clamp his hand over his mouth as soon as they escaped, but he didn’t. They were true.

  Hannah just grinned as she quickly rang up his purchases. The store was small and fit the town perfectly. He could walk in, go exactly where he needed to go, and buy everything he needed in five minutes flat. A full-on grocery trip took a little longer, but only about fifteen minutes. There wasn’t a huge selection, but there was food, and he could get it quick. That made up for the lack of selection in his eyes. Besides, if he wanted a bigger store, he could drive over to Montpelier or even to Logan in Utah.

  She gave him the price, and he pulled out a debit card.

  “How are your parents?” Hannah asked as he swiped the card and went through the questions the card reader asked.

  “They’re good. They’re in Tuscon now, living the retired dream.”

  “Sounds like my folks. Mom is pestering Dad to get a condo in Florida, and Dad thinks it’s a waste of money. They argue about it constantly.” Hannah handed him his receipt. “I’d say ‘Come again,’ but I know you will.” She winked at him. They both knew they were friendly and there would never be anything more between them, and they were both happy with that fact.