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I smiled. “I’m glad you’ll be with your family.”
“I didn’t want to just disappear on you. You and Ash have been such incredible friends to me, and I didn’t want to worry you, not while you’re going through so much.”
“And we still will be,” I reassured her. “Trust me—I know Ash. I didn’t speak to her for ten years and the first time she saw me again, she plopped down next to me and hasn’t left me alone since. She’s like those limpets in the rock pools, but in the best way.”
Steph finally laughed, swiping a tear away from her right eye. “Most definitely. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise I’ll keep in touch.”
“You better.”
“Besides, you and I are practically trauma bonded at this point,” she joked.
“I know you’re joking, but you’re not exactly wrong.” I laughed, hugging her again. “Do you want me to tell Ash?”
“No, I’m going to stop by her shop later. I plan on leaving in the morning, and I know she’ll shout at me if I don’t tell her myself.” She pulled back with a smile. “Oh, also, this is for you.” She reached into her bag and held out a small envelope.
I stared at it. “I’m not taking that. I know what a Tierney puts in those envelopes. The last time I took one, I was almost arrested.”
Steph laughed and dropped her chin for a moment before shoving it at me. “It’s not a lot, and I want you to consider it an investment for the bed and breakfast.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“Yes, you are. Either now or when you’re open and I book a room just to leave you a monster tip,” she retorted. “Everything you’ve been through is because of Declan, and then because you saw someone who needed a friend.”
“Steph, I thought you killed him. I was literally at your house to accuse you of murder.”
“It was a fair assumption. I sometimes wished I did, and your theory was right—I benefitted far more greatly from his death than I would have from a divorce. I don’t blame you for coming to the conclusion that you did. Just kind of wished you’d called me instead.”
“Yeah, well, you and me both.” I snorted, then pushed the envelope away from me. “I’m not accepting that.”
“Take it,” she insisted. “Money can’t fix everything, and it can’t take away what Shane put you through, but it can help you get this place back up and running again.”
I was not winning this fight.
Reluctantly, I took it. “I’m not happy about this, but I also know you won’t leave me alone unless I take it.”
“Correct.” She smiled and stepped back, then picked up her bag and looped the strap over her shoulder. “Thank you, Lottie. For seeing past the man I married and reminding me what it was like to have friends. Hopefully, if I come back, we’ll both be a little happier.”
“I’m sure we will.” I returned her smile. “And you’ll come back. You have to, now that you’veinvestedin the bed and breakfast.”
Steph walked towards the door, her lips curved to the side. “I expect an invite to the grand re-opening, you know.”
“You’ll be the first on my list with the best room in the house.” A little pang of sadness hit me as she opened the opened. “Steph? Look after yourself. Let me know when you get home.”
“I will. I promise.” She flashed me one last smile before leaving, and the click of the door as she closed it was momentarily deafening.
Wow.
Holy crap.
That was all I could think. I’d never felt so sorry for anyone as I did for Steph right now. Her entire adult life she’d been groomed and abused, and right as she was trying to escape her marriage, the person she’d trusted to help her had violated her in the most abhorrent way.
I walked back over to the kitchen and put the mop bucket in the sink so I could fill it. I couldn’t begin to imagine the turmoil she was in right now. It was clear that she was struggling with the prospect of not going through with the pregnancy, but I understood entirely why she thought it was the best option.
At the end of the day, it was her body, and it was her heart that needed to heal.
I couldn’t blame her for not wanting Shane’s baby.
Steph needed time to heal, to grow, and to find out who she really was, because I didn’t think she knew that. I had faith that she’d figure it out, especially now that she could reconnect with her family and rebuild those relationships.
