Stepping Up To Love (Lakeside Porches 1) by Katie O'Boyle Page B

in the likes of you. He’ll be wanting someone sophisticated and high-class for a serious relationship.”
    Manda didn’t think Joel was looking to seduce her. Or was he? Her experience with Kristof had really messed with her head. She needed to get a grip.
    She dug her cell phone out of her pocket and speed-dialed AA. “Hi, I need a meeting tonight. What’s scheduled in Tompkins Falls or nearby?” She had a choice of a big open meeting at the Lutheran church at seven or a women’s meeting at six o’clock in Clifton Springs. She’d find her way to the women’s meeting right after work, even if it meant she wouldn’t know a soul.
    She closed her eyes until a phone number came to mind, the one for Janine the therapist she’d been seeing since she got sober. Manda really needed to talk about the violence last night and Kristof’s mind games and the way it was messing with her head even now. She hated that she doubted Joel’s generosity and concern. She punched in the therapist’s number and left a voicemail requesting an appointment.
    As it turned out, the women’s meeting was eighty percent of what she needed.
    “I bounced from one empty relationship to another for a long time around these rooms,” the guest speaker told the women, “until I did a thorough fourth-step inventory and really cleaned house. Once I did, I learned how to be friends with a man, not jump into bed with him.”
    Manda laughed and heard several women around her do the same.
    “Sounds like a few of you identify with that!” the speaker chuckled.
    Manda thought the woman’s name was Gwen, and she’d seen her once or twice at the Tuesday night women’s meeting in Tompkins Falls. She really should get back to that meeting now that the semester was winding down. She could get a meal at home and study a couple of hours at the desk in her studio apartment before going to the meeting.
    Her whole routine could change now that she had her own place. She could put her meetings first since she wasn’t scheduling her movements to avoid contact with Stacey or with Kristof.
    But how could she possibly avoid Kristof if he was stalking her? Stop. You can’t solve that right now. Manda wasn’t sure where that thought came from, but it felt exactly right. For now, with help from Joel, she had a safe place to live and freedom to rethink her schedule.
    On the drive home she found herself thinking about other things that needed a fresh look. Had she made a mistake asking Barb to be her sponsor? She didn’t feel very supported in her efforts to work on the twelve steps, and she didn’t feel comfortable talking with Barb about the situation with Kristof.
    Her foot hit the brake before she realized there were deer on the road. Somehow she navigated through them and pulled onto the shoulder shaking. God, I’m glad you’re paying attention. All these obstacles. I need your help in so many ways. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel for a moment until her shaking subsided. At last she let out a long, cleansing breath, put the Beetle into gear, and continued on her way to her new little home.
    Joel arranged to meet with Manda the next afternoon at a coffee shop downtown. It was time to hand over the books that had been driving him insane for too long.
    He appropriated a meeting room off to one side of the coffee bar, opened his laptop, and smiled at the sound of Manda’s laughter. She was ordering the largest size coffee and joking with the barista about the stuffed Easter Bunnies that overflowed the display cases.
    When Manda found him, she teased, “Is this your office away from the office? You work too much, Boss.”
    “You have no idea how glad I’ll be to turn this work over to you.” Joel patted the chair beside him. “Sit here so we can look at this monstrosity together.”
    Manda raised her eyebrows. “How bad can a spreadsheet be?”
    “I’ll let you be the judge. Denise was conscientious, I’ll give her that, but I wouldn’t