Page 57 of Passion in Bloom

If I tried to stay. If I eked it out and gave Eric’s theories a chance—that people in town wouldn’t judge me forever based on what they saw and experienced when my parents were alive.

Am I too stubborn to want to leave again?

Am I clinging to a fantasy that life has to be better elsewhere because it wasn’t so great here?

On that train of thought, I was hard-pressed to admit that life was bad here. Last night was fun and amazing, full of sex, cuddles, and vaguely talking about the future with Roarke.

It hasn’t been that bad staying here...

Except for David.

Him showing up in town was the dark mark on my life.

Another job somewhere else would be a means to get away from him again.

But I couldn’t tell if that would last. I didn’t want to stay on the run forever. I wasn’t sold on the concept of putting roots down, but I didn’t look forward to being adrift.

Maybe I’m wrong about waiting him out. My “plan” to not engage with David and ignore him might not work after all. He was still here, as far as I knew, plotting and watching.

What’s to say he wouldn’t move to another place and follow me and stalk me again?

I rubbed my face, tired of all these thoughts and worries. Too many questions to field this early. The glow of last night with Roarke slipped away from me, and I sighed heavily as I headed to my desk, granted an easy out of replying to what Janelle told me. She’d gotten a call and hustled to her office, calling out over her shoulder that we could talk more about this job idea later.

Before I could get going on work, Nance popped up at my door. She knocked a couple of times, but that was pointless since I already saw her smiling at me.

“Hey,” she greeted. “I couldn’t help but overhear all that.”

I nodded. “Wisconsin Dells,” I confirmed. “That’s a surprise.”

“It’d be a heck of a move.”

“Yeah. But maybe it’s one I should make.”

She surprised me with how adamantly she shook her head. “No. No, girl, no.” After furrowing her brow, as if searching for the words she wanted to use, she smiled again. “If you want my unsolicited advice, I say you stay.”

I smiled slightly, touched that she’d want me to be here. We’d become fast friends, and I valued that connection.

“You are welcome here, Heather. I see it. I know it. You shouldn’t have to feel otherwise just because some old-timers were too quick to judge years and years ago.”

“I know.” Or I was trying to open my eyes and mind to that notion. I couldn’t properly guess or gauge how people in town felt about me because I didn’t go out. Other than at the food mart, where I saw Ashley, I didn’t know how people were changing their views of me. I made it a mission to mind my own business and keep to myself, and that was what I did. It didn’t give me many opportunities to see how people perceived me.

“I’ll think about it,” I told Nance, not in any position to commit to any sort of strong answer.

She seemed satisfied with that and left me to work, but not before saying we’d chat more at lunch.

Janelle was done with her call sooner than I thought she might be. I stalled before getting busy, making a coffee for myself in the breakroom and saying hi to Fergus. I’d just sat in my chair again when Janelle stepped into my office.

“I forgot to ask about the project. The toy drive and charity donations?”

I nodded. “Yep. It’s going.” She wasn’t a micromanager, but the officials in charge of the effort in the county offices seemed to be epic micromanagers. “I have the drive documentation on here,” I said, patting my laptop I had yet to pull out of the bag I’d taken home yesterday. “I’m collecting it all and getting it ready for the due date you gave me.”

She exhaled with exaggerated relief. “Good. Good. Thank you. They have been nagging me daily about it, as if we’d forget.” She rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure they have to follow up with lots of towns,” I said. “I’ll make my rounds again today since I paused yesterday. It’s all here.” I slipped my laptop out of the bag now, ready to open it and show her.

“Oh, no. No need to show me now.” She waved her hand at me as if she was putting out a fire. “I saw the files updated on the shared drive. I know it’s there. I merely wanted to check in with you about it so I can mentally cross that off my to-do list.”

“Got it.” I saluted her. “It’s all going well,” I told her.

It was funny how I almost could have said that about my life.

That all was going well with me. Having a sexy, strong man shouldn’t have made me consider a one-eighty on staying in town, but it wasn’t just the orgasms we shared. It, somehow, wasn’t just sex between us.

I didn’t know what to call it or how to define us. I didn’t want to label or define us at all, but I couldn’t deny that I wasn’t eager to leave.

Him.

This job.

Or this town.