“Of course I remember,” he grumbles. “But this is kind of important. Did you see the Charleston one? Glenna can’t handle them. I’m in Colorado, so I have my hands full. We need you, Nora. You’re the only one who can fix this right now.”
My blood runs cold. All affection toward Denver has vanished. I see it more than ever. The kind of love Grandma waxed on about is so clearly missing from my life.
“Denver?” I say, voice calm. “I’m going to say this once and it’s final. There is no arguing. And when I get it out, I’m hanging up.”
“Nora—”
“I am breaking up with you. We’re done.”
He starts to argue but I cut him off.
“And I quit. I can’t do this. I’m being split in two and I hate it. I should never have had to choose between work and my family. I refuse to do it again.”
“Nora—”
I end the call and shove my phone into my purse as Hattie shows up with a chocolate-drizzled flaky croissant the size of my head on a cute plate. Beside it is a small cup of melted chocolate for dipping. She sets an iced coffee down beside it.
“Let me grab Huck from the back to take over so I can take a break,” she says and then hurries off.
The boy from the other day, who I almost ran over on my rush to the post office, saunters out of the back as Hattie says something to him. Then, she pulls off her apron, grabs a coffee mug, and joins me.
“Figured we could share this,” she says as she plucks off a piece of the croissant.
“Who’s the kid? I should apologize to him. Nearly ran him over the other day.”
Hattie dips the croissant in the chocolate and laughs. “That’s my son. He never pays attention where he’s going. He’s fine. I’ll accept the apology for him.” She groans happily and her lashes flutter. “I am so good. Bet you don’t have croissants like this in New York.”
Curious to see if she’s right, I tear off a piece, dunk it in the chocolate, and then shove it in my mouth. The rich, chocolate goodness combined with the butter croissant is an explosion of deliciousness for my tastebuds. I also groan. She’s right. She’s totally right.
“How’d you know I was from New York?” I ask as I tear off more of the dessert.
“Everyone knows Sandy moved to New York.” She sips her coffee and then flutters her fingers at me. “How long are you staying?”
“The plan is a month…” I trail off. “But we’ll see.”
She leans in, eyes flickering wickedly. “Is it because you’ve fallen madly in love with Budgie Bay or a certain grumpy guy who lives next door to your grandma’s house?”
“I broke up with my boyfriend and quit my job. Literally five minutes ago. My life is in limbo at the moment.”
“Did you break up with him and quit your job because you’ve fallen madly in love with Budgie Bay or a certain grumpy guy who lives next door to your grandma’s house?”
“Stop,” I say with a groan.
We both giggle. It feels nice. Makes me miss Kayla. I decide she’d really like Hattie.
“I’m currently trying to rehome her budgie rescues. Do you know any legitimate people who might be in the market for a new pet?” I lean in and whisper, “No Harkers.”
She nearly chokes on her next sip of coffee. “Oh my word. You sound just like him. Elias infected your brain.”
“Grandma didn’t seem to like them either. I found a letter to my grandfather where she called them diseased apples.”
“Goldie has always carried a grudge against them. Elias learned it from her. Apparently, so did you.” She shakes her head and juts a thumb next door. “Give Clementine a chance. She’s sweet and nothing like her grandfather, Wayne.”
“The bookstore girl?”
“Yup. And that grudge will keep you from the best bookstore on the west coast. Trust me.”
“I’ll give her a chance,” I promise. “Can’t say the same for Elias.”
