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I spent a couple of days in Four Cups, prepping enough baked goods for the week I’ll be here. I bribed Candice to take care of my plants until early next week, and I visited the library and Agnes’s bookstore to stock up.
Turning my head to glance at my bags, I lift myself up onto my elbows. Might as well get started.
I’ve got research to do.
The first book I pull out of the bag is a thick hardback with a grizzled man’s face on the front. Life After Incarceration is emblazoned in bold, yellow letters, and I run my fingers over the text. It’s as good a place to start as any.
Curling up under the blankets, I read late into the night, using sticky tabs to keep track of insightful passages that I want to return to. I fall asleep for a few hours when dawn starts lightening the sky, then head to Four Cups for a croissant and some tea.
It’s not as good as Fallon’s tea, but it’ll do.
Then I’m right back at the guesthouse, dragging a chair to the front porch to sun my legs while I power through book after book on prison, the legal system, the psychological effects of incarceration, and how to care for someone once they get out of prison.
It’s been more than two decades since Fallon got out, but he still bears the scars. I intend to mend them for him.
A crow hops into view, its head tilting as if in question. Where’s my food?
“Well, lucky for you, crow, I came prepared.” Reaching down, I pull out a bag of bird seed. This is probably a bad idea—I can just imagine flocks of birds harassing tourists for food—but it makes me think of Fallon. For once in my life, I want to do something that might not be entirely logical.
So, I feed the birds. Sue me.
On the third day of my sabbatical, I get an email notification that my payment from the competition has been disbursed. Confused when I see the amount, I call Gus.
“Hey, champ,” he says. “Still basking in your win?”
“Uh, about that,” I say. “The email I just got says the full hundred grand was disbursed to me. Why wasn’t that split between me and Fallon?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Gus asks.
I frown. “Tell me what?”
“He insisted on a clause that gave the prize money to you before signing the contract. Everyone thought it was awfully romantic, and it was one of the reasons I was rooting for the two of you.”
I blink, throat tight. I remember his noncommittal response when I mentioned we’d get fifty grand each. Fallon never agreed with that. This whole time, he planned on giving me the prize?
Emotion swirls inside me. My eyes grow moist as my breaths turn sharp. Fallon never entered the competition just for the money.
He did it entirely for me.
“I’m not sure what to say,” I finally manage.
“I think you could start by thanking him,” Gus replies on a laugh. “Is he there with you? I’m assuming the two of you are still celebrating your win.”
“Uh…” I stare at the familiar walls of the guesthouse. “No. He’s not here.”
“Well, when he gets home, I’m sure the two of you can discuss it. I have to go now, but I’ll talk to you later.”
We hang up, and I sit on the bed, dazed. There’s a book sitting on my thighs, my cell phone still gripped in my hands.
Fallon participated in the Boss Baker competition for me. Entirely for me. Signed off on his prize money because he thought I deserved it more.
I don’t know whether to be upset or flattered. All I know is I want to see him. Kiss him. Talk to him—and tell him that he’s not a loser or an ex-con or a felon who doesn’t deserve good things. He’s Fallon, and he’s perfect.
But when my fingers hover over his phone number, I can’t quite bring myself to tap the screen. What would I say? How can you have a conversation like that over the phone?
Looking at my stack of books, I blow out a breath. I’ll finish my research, come up with an action plan, then I’ll call him—once I know how to approach things the right way.
Another few days pass, and on Sunday I end up heading into Heart’s Cove to visit with the girls. I spend the afternoon in the library above the Four Cups Café, laughing with my friends and feeling more at home in this town than I ever have. When the sun starts to set, I push myself to my feet and say goodbye to the girls.
