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Chapter 17
“Iknow you won’t be far, but it feels like you’re moving across the country.” Eleanor Prescott wiped a tear from her eye before hugging Rory close. “Henry and I are already hoping to come up next weekend. I can help you decorate.”
“You mean you can’t wait to decorate for me.” Rory tightened her arms around her mother, battling back her own emotions. “Just please don’t bring me any houseplants.”
“Okay, but I’m definitely bringing framed family photos, and at least one wooden sign painted with a positive-thinking quote.” Eleanor released her and stepped back, squeezing her hands. “Something likeNever Give Up.”
“Mom, she’ll just hang that in the bathroom.” Callie shook her head in amusement and embraced Rory. “Don’t take any crap. Don’t back down. And call us if you need anything.”
“These are for the trip.” Eleanor handed Rory a bakery box containing enough Sugar Joy cookies to last a week. “Let me know as soon as you arrive.”
“I will. Thanks, Mom.” Before she started getting choked up, Rory left the bakery and returned to the Mousehole, where, under Aria’s direction, Grant and Hunter were loading her boxes into the back of the truck.
“There’s room here for more.” Hunter tightened the bungee cord and nodded to an empty space.
“That’s everything.” Grant hefted his duffel bag into the truck and dusted off his hands. “Rory doesn’t have much stuff.”
“She’s a minimalist,” Aria corrected.
“Good spin.” Rory hugged her little sister. “Be good, okay? I’ll keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they could use a cat companion.”
“Like you?” Aria tightened her arms around Rory, her words clogging with tears. “Make sure you see some sunlight at least twice a day. We’re going to video chat every other day so we can talk face-to-face instead of through texts. Here’s some stuff you might need for your new place. I’ll put it in your car.”
She picked up a floral box with a lid and set it in the backseat of Rory’s car.
“Thanks.” Rory turned to hug Hunter. “I’ll keep you posted if I find anything more about the software.”
“I’ll do the same. Good luck to you, Rory. Thanks for everything.”
A few minutes later, she was in her car, following Grant as he headed north on the coastal highway toward the Bay Area. She almost couldn’t believe it had been less than a month ago when they’d traveled this exact route on the way to Nathan and Alice’s wedding. Then, Grant had been her contentious but ever-present friend, the man she counted on to be there all the time.
Not once had he let her down.
Before long, they were pulling into the parking lot of a beige stucco apartment building. After getting the keys from the manager, they hauled her boxes up to the third-floor apartment—one room with a window overlooking the back alley.
It actually wasn’t all that different from her Bliss Cove apartment, though there she’d had a view of the park behind the building, but it couldn’t compare to the Mousehole cottage with its wood-burning fireplace and bed just big enough for the two of them. Or to Grant’s house, which had felt so much likehome.
He stayed with her for the afternoon, helping her shop for actual furniture and making several trips to transport it all back in his truck. They ordered out for pizza and ate it at her new little kitchen table, where she lit a tapered candle she’d found in Aria’s box. The box also contained a number of other items that Rory would never have bought for herself—cat figurines, decorative bookends, flower vases, throw pillows, and a “healing crystal.”
After putting the leftover pizza in the fridge, Grant turned to face her. Though he smiled, regret darkened his eyes. “Even though it’s not long distance, I’ll still miss you.”
“Even if we hadn’t…you know,this…” Rory gestured between them and swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “I’d still miss you, too.”
“Come here.”
She closed the distance between them, tucking her head under his chin. He tightened his arms around her. The heavy thump of his heart echoed through her. Constant and steady.
“You can stay the night.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest.
“If I stay the night, I might not leave.”
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“It would be a great thing, if we both didn’t have to work.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “With tomorrow being your first day, you don’t need any distractions. I do have something for you, though.”
He eased away from her and unzipped his duffel bag. He pulled out Bob the Singing Fish and handed it to her. Rory took the mounted monstrosity with a laugh.
“You don’t have to give him to me.”
