There was no doubt in my mind the only place I was going this morning was next door.
An hour and a half later, showered and fueled with breakfast, I made some small talk with my parents, answered their questions with some vague noncommittal answers and then finally headed out.
The drive was so short I really didn’t want to even bother warming up the car. But if I didn’t, I’d get a lecture from my father, who was no doubt watching out the window.
Why did I still live with my parents again? Oh yeah, that’s right. The free rent.
I sighed and forced myself to sit in the driveway with the engine running for the entirety of the Christmas song playing on the radio. I waited right through to Mariah Carey’s final note before I threw the car into gear and sped down our drive.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours I steered into the driveway of William Hatchett’s place. Or, what I suppose I should now start thinking of as the Nunes place since Christopher had inherited it.
That thought—that he was now tied to this town, that he might be around more because of that—had my mood soaring.
A nervous excited fluttering in my belly only increased the closer I got to the house. I saw his car parked there in front just where it had been when I’d left him last night. He’d promised he’d be here today, that he wasn’t leaving until later this afternoon, or possibly tomorrow morning, but I guess a small part of me was afraid to believe him.
But the big black SUV was proof. He was here. And did I smell bacon coming out of the exhaust fan in the wall of the kitchen? That settled it. This man was perfect.
With a huge smile on my face, I swung open the car door and stepped out, looking down to make sure to avoid an icy patch as I did. When I glanced up again, it was to see a car pulling into the drive.
I frowned, wondering who it could be. Dee Flanders, maybe? When we’d actually taken the time to talk last night, after the incredible sex, Christopher had told me about having to sign papers for the inheritance. But as the car got closer I could see clearly the young attractive woman behind the wheel was not Dee.
Curious, and yes, feeling a bit jealous that a young gorgeous woman was visiting Christopher, I waited for her to park behind his vehicle and get out.
“Good morning.” She beamed me a smile and strode forward. She extended her hand but it wasn’t to shake, it was to hand me a business card. “Are you with a real estate agency, as well? I know Mr. Nunes said he’d be getting at least two appraisals before listing the property for sale.”
Listing the property for sale? I glanced down at the card she’d handed me and sure enough, she was indeed an agent.
He was selling. He was leaving again. My stomach churned around the breakfast I’d eaten.
“Do you have a card?” she asked.
Her question brought my gaze back up. I swallowed hard as I felt sick. “Um, no. I’m not an agent. I’m just a friend. And actually, I was just leaving.”
“Oh, okay. I’m glad I didn’t block your car in then. Nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you too.” I delivered the mindless rote reply as she smiled and flounced away toward the door.
The thought of Christopher opening that door and seeing me, when I didn’t want to see him, was the only thing that forced me into motion. Otherwise, I might have still been there, frozen with shock and sadness, when the agent came back out again.
I spun toward my car and got out of there as fast as my four-cylinder engine could take me.
Was he even going to tell me he was selling? Granted, we’d been occupied doing other things last night but we did talk a little. Not once had he mentioned putting the farm up for sale. Or an appointment with a real estate agent.
He was going to do it again. Leave. And with no house to come back to, why would he ever come back at all? He wouldn’t.
But this time, I wasn’t going to sit around and wait and hope. Hope was a four-letter word as far as I was concerned. So was love.
I was done with both.
SEVEN
ELIZABETH
I didn’t go home. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to my parents. I didn’t go to the farm market either. I was feeling like too much of a Grinch to be around all the merry people at the Winter Wonderland.
Instead I headed for Main Street and parked, not sure what I was going to do with myself.
I sat until I’d calmed down enough to stop shaking. I sat and turned over in my mind again and again the idea that Christopher was selling the farm.
The more I thought, the more I realized I couldn’t fault him for that decision. What was a man who lived and worked in Manhattan going to do with a farm in upstate New York? But my understanding his motives didn’t make me feel any better. Or feel any less abandoned as I remained stuck here in Mudville.
I glanced up and found myself in front of the bank, which was conveniently located next to the bakery. My plan was laid out right in front of me. Cash, then cupcakes.
Striding inside, I stopped in front of the ATM and shoved my card in the slot. Two accounts popped up. One savings. One checking. I was only going to grab a twenty from my checking account and go next door. But seeing the savings account listed on the screen had me pushing the option for a balance inquiry.
I waited for the little white slip to slide out of the machine. When it did, I glanced down. The total had my eyes widening.
My pay checks from the school were direct deposited into the savings account. I also had the accounts set up with a recurring monthly transfer of a few hundred bucks from savings to checking. Just enough for spending money and to cover my modest monthly bills.
I hadn’t checked the balance on the savings account in quite a while. It had grown while I’d been ignoring it. Grown to be six figures. I blew out a breath and squinted at the receipt again, just to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong. Maybe missed a decimal point. But nope. I’d been right the first time.
Letting out a breath, I considered what this meant. For me. For my future. For the pursuit of that dream I’d sidelined so long ago.
The familiar doubts niggled at me. Was I good enough to make it as a designer in the city? Was I too old and I’d just be laughed out of any interview by a manager a decade my junior?
Similar fears had kept me here in Mudville. Kept me from taking a chance.
I wasn’t going to let doubt and insecurity control me any longer. The balance in my account gave me freedom. Bought me time to explore the dream I’d sidelined.
Of course, I was still the same practical person who lived with my parents at almost forty years old to save money. I wasn’t going to quit my teaching job until I knew I could make a living doing something else, somewhere else. Positions in our school district were too hard to come by in a town this small. But I was allowed to take a sabbatical for a semester. I could see if I could make it in the city before cutting ties here.
The idea frightened me as much as it excited me as I pushed out of the bank and headed down the sidewalk to the bakery. I’d initially planned on wallowing in my heartache with some sweets. But now, with at least a bare bones future laid out in front of me, perhaps it would be more of a celebratory pastry.
I stepped up to the glass display case and gazed at the seasonal offerings. Cupcakes ranging in flavors from bourbon-spiked eggnog to candy cane white chocolate twist were tempting. But it was today’s special, Red Velvet decorated to look like a Santa suit, that had my heart clenching.