“In the meantime, he asked me to meet with his team,” Rocky said. “I spoke with Whitley, but Knox is working on the project with Ryan, so it’s hard to get on his schedule. But I’m persistent. I’ll wear them down.”
Jo laughed at that. She loved his optimism.
Then, from the edge of her vision, she saw Blue walk in.
He was off duty, in jeans and a T-shirt, but his expression was mission-focused. He sat on a stool at the other end of the counter, far from Rocky.
Jo grabbed the coffee pot and a cup and made her way to him.
“Hungry?” she asked while she poured his coffee.
“Not really. This won’t take long.”
“I have a couple of minutes. What’s up?”
He gazed into her eyes as if to memorize her face, and touched her hand. “I need to tell you something before you hear it from someone else. It’s very important.”
From the look on his face, Jo couldn’t imagine what was so dire. She put the pot down. “Are you…are you ill?”
Surprised by that, Blue shook his head. “No, but Commander Jackson from my old precinct called. He has an opening for me.” He paused. “I’m leaving for an interview.”
The diner noise seemed to fall away, and Jo stared at him. “That’s in Chicago. When?”
He lowered his eyes and nodded. “Soon.”
Her world seemed to tilt off its axis as Jo absorbed the impact of his words. She stared at him across the counter, in the same spot where she’d served him his first cup of coffee.
“Are you moving?” She managed to squeak out the words.
Blue held her gaze. “I don’t know yet.”
Behind them, the bell over the door chimed, interrupting them. A family of four walked in, sunburned and cheerful. One of her servers hurried to greet them and lead them away to a booth.
Jo blinked. “Is this why you…” She couldn’t finish her thought.
Wouldn’t answer me at your house, she screamed in her mind.
“You knew,” she said instead.
“No, this is new. I just found out.”
“But you told me to sell the diner.” She shook her head, feeling angry and confused. “How long have you been planning to move to Chicago?”
“I wasn’t. Not really, not until we…”
Jo backed up and raised her finger. “Don’t put this on me, Blumenthal. Let me know what you decide. Or don’t, since you’re making decisions without me now.”
Blue left without a word, while Maileah and Rocky watched.
Every limb in her body was weak with shock. It was over…they were over.
Jo made it through the rest of the day by sheer force of habit, counting the minutes until she could leave. She didn’t tell Maileah and Rocky what Blue said because she didn’t want to break their flow. More than that, she was afraid she’d break down.
The nerve of him delivering that kind of news while she was at work.
When Candy arrived, Jo told her she needed to leave early.
She stopped by the seafood market and bought some fresh catch for the jambalaya. Junie had told her she’d leave vegetables on her doorstep.
