Life Should Be Beautiful - Summer Lake Silver book 12 (ebook)

Davin’s job brought him to Summer Lake a few years ago. However, unlike so many of his friends, he hasn’t met the woman of his dreams and settled down. It’s not that he isn’t interested, it just hasn’t happened for him.

His last ‘relationship’, if you could even call it that, has come to an abrupt end when he meets Alexis. She’s just moved to the lake after extricating herself from a not-so-great relationship of her own.

Neither of them is particularly looking for love, but they’re smart enough to recognize it when it lands in their lap.

He’s former Special Forces, she’s a former spook. They each think that they’re set to live out a solitary retirement, but life has other plans for them.

With a little help from canine matchmaker, Echo, they’re about to embark on a journey that neither of them saw coming.

Pick up your copy of this heartwarming romance today and enjoy the ride as these two strong individuals learn not only how to become a couple, but also how to build a family;

Summer Lake Silver romances find happily ever afters for those who remember being thirty-something—vaguely.

Just because a few decades—or more—have skipped by since you were in your twenties it doesn’t mean you can’t find love, does it? Featuring couples in their fifties and older SJ McCoy’s seasoned romance series proves you don’t have to pack your heart away with the old photos.

Chapter One

Davin ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket. The room suddenly felt too small, too quiet, too … suffocating. He glanced at the security footage on the screens on the wall. Everything was quiet – it always was. He blew out a sigh and headed for the door.

“Are you okay?”

He spun around; he hadn’t realized that Alec was there. Had he overheard …? The look of sympathy on his face said that yes, he’d heard.

Davin shrugged. “Yeah. I’m fine. I should have expected it – should have seen it coming, I mean, what’s a girl like Zoe going to see in a guy like me?”

“She obviously saw something. She’s been out here to see you a few times now.”

“Only because she was already coming to visit Cassie. She didn’t mind spending the night with me while she was here – but this was the first time that I’d asked her to come.” He shrugged again, feeling equal parts disappointed and stupid – he should have known better.

“Maybe it’s just a timing thing?” Alec suggested. “She’s a busy woman.”

“She is, but it’s not that – she said so herself. It’s … It was fun while it lasted, but now it’s over.”

“Sorry, man.”

“Thanks. Me too. But it is what it is.”

“Do you want to go to The Boathouse later – get a beer?”

“No. Thanks, I appreciate the thought, but I’m fine. I need to run over to the grocery store and after that I think I’ll just chill here tonight. You go out if you like. It’s not like we both need to be here.”

“I might go. See how you feel when you get back from the store – you might change your mind.”

“Okay.” Davin agreed just to end the conversation. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the evening at The Boathouse. He’d no doubt run into friends. After living here for the last few years, he had a lot of friends in town – but they were all coupled up. “Do you need anything from the store?”

“I’m good, thanks. Take your time – go for a drive if you like. I’ve got things covered here.”

“Thanks. See you later.”

Davin sighed as he climbed into his truck. He shouldn’t be too disappointed; he’d been kind of expecting Zoe to turn down his invitation to come to the lake to see him. They’d spent a few fun weekends together whenever she’d come to visit her friend, Cassie. But as he’d told Alec, she’d only been interested in spending the evenings – or more honestly, the night – with him. She hadn’t wanted to hang out during the day. She’d said that it was because Cassie expected her to spend time with her, but Davin couldn’t help thinking that the real reason was that she only saw him as a booty call.

He chuckled as he pulled out onto Main Street, headed for the grocery store. As a man in his fifties, he should be flattered that a thirty-something woman saw him that way. His smile faded. He wasn’t flattered, he was disappointed; he wanted something more than that. That was why he’d asked her to come spend a weekend with him.

He’d forced her hand, and she’d told him the truth on the phone just now. She enjoyed his company, but it was time to move on. If he hadn’t wanted to rock the boat, he could have kept playing by her rules. But as much as it sucked to have her spell it out for him, he’d done the right thing. He knew it. It just didn’t feel like it right now. Rejection stung, no two ways about it.

When he arrived at the grocery store, he looked around. It was quiet – most people would be at home with their families at this time. Nope. He wasn’t going to go dwelling on that one. He didn’t have a family; he’d been divorced for years. He’d been okay by himself for the longest time but apparently, something had shifted. That was why he’d tried for more with Zoe, even though he knew deep down that she didn’t see him that way. It wasn’t so much that he was disappointed about her ending things. It was more that, now, he could no longer fool himself into believing that he had a glimmer of hope.

He parked at the far end of the lot and walked past the rows of cars. He’d never understood why people fought over the closest spaces to the doors; a little exercise never hurt anyone. He scowled when a car backed out and almost hit a woman who was juggling several bags, a large box, a soda with a straw sticking out the top, and her purse.

She dropped the box, and he was close enough that he heard her curse. He hurried over and picked up the box.

“Do you want a hand?” he asked. “I can carry some of this for you. Where’s your car?”

She gave him a harried smile. “Thanks, but I’m fine. If you could just …” She extended her arm and jerked her chin toward the box. “If you could just balance it there, I can manage.”

He was tempted to offer again, but after his conversation with Zoe earlier, he figured that he needed to set aside his desire to do more. She’d said no – end of story.

“Okay.” He balanced the box on her arm and smiled. “There you go. Are you going to make it?”

She gave a short laugh. “It was touch and go for a while, but yes, I think I’ll make it. Thanks.”

She nodded before turning and hurrying away. It was only after she’d gone that it hit him just how attractive she was. She had an accent too – British. Maybe that was his problem; he didn’t pay attention until it was too late.

He carried on into the store and grabbed a basket. He didn’t even know what he was here for. It’d just been the first place he could think of to use as an excuse to get out for a while.

“Hey, Davin!”

“Hey, Shayna.” He nodded at the girl who was manning one of the checkout lines. Shayna was a sweetheart. She was always friendly. He hurried past. She was another one who was far too young for him. He didn’t see her that way anyway.

By the time he’d marched up and down the aisles and selected nothing more than a six-pack and some nuts, Shayna had gone. Mrs. Pickles had taken her place and greeted him with her usual smile.

“Nothing else for you tonight? This looks like a party for one.”

He nodded. “You got me, Mrs. P. I’m partying all by myself.”

She shook her head. “That’s a waste if you ask me. There’s a woman out there somewhere who’s partying on wine and pretzels while you have your beer and nuts. I’ll add you to my prayers and hope you find her.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

He swung the bag as he walked back to his truck. He might be feeling sorry for himself, but it was hard to stay down for long in Summer Lake. It was such a great place. It was beautiful in the scenery department, and the people, in general, only added to the beauty. He wasn’t one for prayers, but Mrs. P. saying that she’d say one for him gave him a good feeling.

He frowned when he got closer to his truck. There was a piece of paper stuck under the windshield wiper. He took it down and unfolded it so that he could read it.

That was very kind of you and made
me smile on a miserable Monday.
Thank you.

He was puzzled for a moment, then it hit him – the woman who’d dropped her box. He looked around, but of course there was no sign of her. She’d be long gone by now. Still, her note only added to the good feeling in his chest. He might be alone, but life wasn’t so bad.
He folded the note up and put it in his pocket. It was a concrete reminder that little kindnesses could make a big difference. He needed to remember that.

~ ~ ~

When she arrived back at the house, Alma took the bags with her when she went to open the front door and left the box and her soda for a second trip. She’d known that she was juggling too much when she made her way out of the grocery store. She smiled. She might have been irritated by the idiot who backed out and almost hit her, but the guy who picked the box up for her had more than made up for it.

She unlocked the front door and left the bags on the kitchen counter before heading back out for the rest of her things. When she had everything inside, she slurped the last of her soda in a most unladylike fashion and threw the cup across the kitchen, punching the air in celebration when it landed in the trash can without even touching the sides.

Her smile faded as she lowered her arm. It was hardly a victory worth celebrating. She made a face and unpacked the few groceries that she’d bought. The wine and pretzels looked a lot like dinner.

When she was finished, she looked around the kitchen. The house was nice. It wasn’t exactly decorated to her taste – it was a bit frilly and feminine, but it was fine. The kitchen was white – very white – and that fact alone had her thinking that she’d have to find herself a less temporary place before too long. The chances of her marring the granite or whatever it was with a red wine stain, or something, grew with every passing day. She’d hate to make things awkward for Cal.

This was his fiancée Terry’s house. Apparently, she had a few rental properties, but this had been her own home until she and Cal bought a place together. From what he’d told Alma, Terry had been planning to rent it out, she just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Alma hoped that was true – she’d hate to think that this was a special favor.

She went to the window and looked out at the small but neat back yard. It was a perfectly lovely little house. She was more than grateful to Cal and to Terry, for allowing her to rent it until she decided her next move, but this all felt a little … flat.

She spun around at the sound of her phone ringing and approached her purse cautiously. It pissed her off that a phone call could have this effect on her. She was finally retired. She was out of the game. There should be no reason to feel wary about who might be trying to contact her. To be fair, she wasn’t wary in the same way that she used to be. She wasn’t on high alert for danger, she just wanted to be left in peace.

She took her phone out of the purse and relaxed when she saw Cal’s name on the display.

“Yes?” she answered with a smile.

Cal laughed. “You know, now that you’re out, you might want to get used to answering the phone like a normal person.”

“Really? And how exactly do normal people answer?”

“Hello usually works well.”

“Oh. Of course. I do say hello to regular people but … you’re you. We always used to get straight to business. Are you telling me that we need to do social chit-chat now? Would you like me to talk about the weather and ask after your family before you can tell me why you’re calling?”

Cal laughed. “No. Neither of us would last long with that. I was only calling to see how you’re settling in. Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine, thanks. I just got back from the grocery store.”

“Well, don’t keep anything out for dinner. Terry asked if you want to come over here. We’re going to eat at the lodge with Manny and Nina.”

“No, thanks.”

She smiled when he didn’t say anything. “Tell Terry that I said thank you, but I have other plans. And while you’re at it, you might want to explain to her how I work. Yes, I will come over and visit with you sometimes. Yes, I will even come out and be sociable occasionally. But no, I am not looking to get sucked into a whole group of friends and social commitments. And you can explain it to her however you like, but we both know that I’m not someone who needs any help – with anything.”

“For what it’s worth, I already told her all of that – pretty much word for word – and she understands, but she told me I should call and ask anyway.”

“Okay. Then, she knows how I operate, and hopefully won’t be offended. And I know how she operates.”

“You do?”

She chuckled. “I do. She’s the kind of woman who will extend an invitation even if she knows it’s not likely to be accepted. Tell her I appreciate that – and every now and then I’ll surprise you and accept.”

“Good. We all know where we stand then. And since you’re turning us down for dinner, what are your plans for the evening?”

Alma looked around the kitchen. “I’m going to eat something and then I might take a walk through town. I want to get a feel for the place.”

“You should stop in at The Boathouse if you do. Kenzie, the bartender, is a real character. I think you’ll like her. Although she might not be working tonight since it’s Monday. It’ll be quiet in there.”

“I might just do that. Today was a miserable kind of day. I could do with shaking it off.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay. You know where I am if you want me. Do you have any questions before I go?”

“Oh! Yes. I wanted to ask you about a gym. I haven’t had the chance to check yet, but I know you – if there’s a decent gym in town …”

Cal chuckled. “Yeah. I think you’ll like it in there. The guy who owns it is a former Marine, Russ – Russ Lloyd. The gym is called Guardian Fitness, it’s on Main Street, you can’t miss it if you’re going through town.”

“I like the name. And that’s where you, Ryan, and Manny go?”

“Yep, and a few other guys you’ll get to know as well. Damon is another former Marine and a friend of Russ’s. He’s a trainer, but I don’t imagine that you’re looking for one.”

She laughed. “No, I think I can manage by myself.”

“Yeah. Then there are a couple of former SEALs – Dalton and Lucky – they work with us, and their women are part of Terry’s group of friends. Oh, and there are a couple of guys from the unit, too.”

“Delta?”

“Yep. They run security for Clay McAdam. He’s a country singer.”

She laughed at that. “I’m aware. I’ve made my home in this country for the last twenty years now. I might not have lost my accent, but I have assimilated into the culture in many respects.”

“Right. I just couldn’t see you knowing much about country music.”

“Then you’ll be surprised to know that I love it. Learning that Clay McAdam lives here was quite a thrill.”

“I’m still never sure when you’re joking.”

She laughed. “I know. I like to keep you on your toes. However, in this case, I’m serious.”

“Okay. I’ll stash that piece of trivia about you away. Who knows, it might come in useful someday.”

“Possibly, though since we’re both retired, probably not.”

“You never know.”

“True.”

“You sure you don’t want to come to dinner?”

“Positive, but please tell Terry that I said thank you.”

“I will and I’ll warn you now that she’ll probably ask again at the weekend.”

“And perhaps at the weekend, I’ll say yes.”

“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” She chuckled. “I was about to end the call but am I supposed to thank you for calling and tell you that I’ll see you soon?”

“Something like that.”

“Okay. I’ll learn. Bye then.”

“See ya.”

She was smiling as she set the phone down on the counter. Cal was a good man. They’d worked together a lot over the years. He’d been a young analyst at Langley when she was first assigned to a post in DC. They’d become fast friends, and their friendship had only deepened with every op they’d collaborated on over the last … Her smile faded when it hit her that she’d known and worked with Cal for almost thirty years. She made a face. She didn’t feel old. She kept herself in great shape. But there was no denying that she wasn’t as capable as she used to be. She wasn’t old – she was in her mid-fifties – but everything was relative. She wasn’t as young, as strong, or as fast as she used to be. In some respects, getting older sucked, but it still beat the alternative, and having worked the career that she had, she knew that she was one of the fortunate ones to still be around to experience the aging process.

With that thought, she picked up the house keys and her phone. She didn’t like to be cooped up inside. She’d rather be out, exploring the town. She didn’t need to eat first; she could grab a bite at that Boathouse place after she checked out the gym.