The waitress brought lunch to the table and set the sandwich-to-go in the empty chair next to them.
“I think I’m going to need mine to go too,” Merry Anna said. “I’m sorry, Tara. I can’t eat right now. My stomach is in knots over this.”
“I understand. I’ll keep an eye on your place. If he shows up again, do you want me to call the sheriff?”
“Yes, please do.” She’d be sure to tell Krissy about the incident as soon as she got back to the store. Maybe Grady could be on the lookout for Kevin and find out what he was doing in town.
The waitress brought a box. Merry Anna put the box in the bag with the other sandwich and laid a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “That should cover it. I’m going to get back to work.”
She left the coffee shop, her head on a swivel. Did Kevin know where she worked too? She walked back to Hardy House and stepped behind the counter. She busied herself while Krissy helped a customer, which seemed to be taking forever.
Once the customer left, Merry Anna pulled her aside. “Krissy, I just found out my ex-husband has been here looking for me. I have no idea why, but Tara saw him coming out of my house yesterday when I wasn’t there.”
“That’s odd.”
“Has anyone been in here asking about me?”
“No. I’d have told you if anyone had, and I certainly wouldn’t have given out any information.” Krissy raised a finger and made a call on her cell phone. “Hey, Grady, whenyou’re out this way, would you stop in?” She nodded. “Thanks, darlin’.”
“Thank you.” Merry Anna swallowed hard.
“We’ll let Grady handle this. He’ll know what to do.” She led Merry Anna to a chair. “Honey, you’re shaking.”
“I had this weird feeling this morning when I was walking to work. Then Tara told me that Kevin had been in my house. Oh, and he told her we’re still married and that he was here to take me back home. I almost forgot about that part. I’m livid. Freaked out. Confused. Something.”
“You have every right to be hopping mad over that. Take a breath.”
Merry Anna inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. “When I left DC, the divorce was final. He was fighting for more alimony, so I told him that if I couldn’t live on what I was paying him, then I’d pay him more. Well, of course I’ve done it just fine. I was more than generous with him in the settlement, but he’d almost had me convinced it wasn’t enough. I’ve learned a lot about myself through that wager too.”
“I knew you were going through something.”
“I should have been completely up front with you, but I had no idea I was going to stick around. I thought I’d work here a couple of weeks and move on. Then I fell in love with this town, and you, and started going back to church. Everything changed.”
“So you moved after the divorce?” Krissy asked.
“We had to sell the house and split the profits. I’d gotten a condo, but then I decided to take a sabbatical to discover who I really am. I was married to my high school sweetheart, and I’ve worked in my family’s business my whole life. I didn’t even know myself anymore.”
“That sounds rather isolating.”
“I guess it was. I knew divorcing Kevin was the right thing, but I had this need to be away and unbraid myself from my past to figure out my future. I packed one bag, locked up the condo, and tried to tender my resignation, but my family wouldn’t accept it. So I took the leave of absence, and here I am.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do back in DC?”
Merry Anna felt ashamed to tell her. She knew most of the people around here had thought she was going through a rough patch of the financial variety, and she had just let them believe it. “I’m the COO of the Supply Cabinet.”
“C…Oh? You mean the biggest chain of office supplies in, like, the whole United States?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“No wonder you’re such a powerhouse here.” Krissy put her hands over her eyes. “You must have thought I was nuts to offer you this little job. I feel like such a fool.”
“No!” Merry Anna’s eyes teared up. “Please don’t feel like that. You rescued me. I love this job. I can’t even begin to tell you what this job and your friendship mean to me.”
“I rented you abunkhouseto live in.” Krissy sounded embarrassed.
“I love that place. I believe it’s where I was supposed to be. You and I becoming friends—meeting Adam, Tara—all of it. I’m so grateful I landed here. Please, please, forgive me.”
“Oh, Merry Anna. We’re friends,” Krissy said. “I felt that from the first moment we said hello in this store. There’s nothing you could do or say to change what I think of you.”
