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“I’m just going,” he said, eyes still on me.
I smiled at Evelyn when she passed into the back to drop off her bag and get her apron, and she gave me the knowing smile I was afraid of. The worst part—well, maybe the second worst part—of all this was going to be everyone else’s expectations. It felt like the whole town was going to grieve the fact that Jude didn’t want me when they found out, and I wasn’t sure I could bear it.
“I’ll make sure Bessie gets there safely,” Jude slipped his hands quietly into his pockets. “Promise.”
There was something in the word at the end that made me want to hope. Instead, I smiled as best I could. “Thank you again. Call me if there are any problems.”
“I will.”
I turned, making a show of switching on the espresso machine. But I still felt Jude’s eyes on me, and I felt the look he was giving me change. It was heavier, more significant. Everything in me wanted to turn back to him and look—like he was giving some sort of silent command. But I didn’t. I didn’t have any idea what it meant, and I didn’t have any more strength this morning.
The chimes sounded again as Jude left, and I let out a breath in both pain…and relief.
Chapter 5
Jude
I called Daniel from the truck. He was free today and could help me with the car. I could do it myself, but Lena’s classic car was both heavy and a pain in the ass to deal with alone. I respected the fact that she loved it, and the car even made me smile at this point because she loved it so much. But it was still a menace to have on the road.
“Hey, Jude.”
“Feel like helping me tow a car?”
I heard his confusion. “Where?”
“Just outside town. Bessie broke down last night. Told Lena this morning I’d get it over to the shop.”
“This morning, huh? Did you tell her this after spending the night?”
There was a smile in Daniel’s voice, but not in mine. “No.”
On top of the guilt I felt for walking away, for leading her on when I needed something she couldn’t give, I was now going to have not one but two memories of pure hurt on her face.
When she’d come out of the kitchen, her eyes were red and the lipstick that had nearly put me on my knees when she’d opened her front door was gone. She’d cried, and I’d done that. Sickness had settled in my gut, and I already knew it was there to stay. For a long fucking time.
Daniel heard my tone and didn’t question. He was good that way, by far the most intuitive of all of us. “Okay, I’ll be there shortly.”
He met me at the car; it wasn’t exactly hard to spot. “How long has it been sitting here?”
“Since last night, and no, I don’t want any more jokes about it.”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he didn’t make any jokes. I already had my truck backed up to the front of Bessie, and it was far, far easier to get it hooked up to the truck with two. Modern cars were heavy, but old ones were monsters.
“You dropped Lena off at work?”
I nodded, silently begging him not to ask further. My mind was already a jumble of thoughts and emotions I hadn’t had a chance to pick through. I’d barely slept, knowing Lena was probably not sleeping either, wondering about me. And when I’d pulled away again, instinctually avoiding her touch, I saw her break.
“I’ll guide it.” Daniel spoke into the awkward silence. “Let’s get moving.”
He sat in Bessie’s front seat, “driving” the car in neutral while we took it across town. I’d drop him off back at his truck later.
As we pulled up, Ben Phipps, Garnet Bend’s mechanic, came out, and he was already speaking when I shut off the car. “No. You can’t bring this car to me again. It’s just going to be in here next week, and I’m going to feel bad about charging that woman for the work because her cookies are so fucking good. Take it somewhere else.”
“Hello to you too,” Daniel said.
Ben just rolled his eyes. “Any idea what it is this time?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no. Just got a call last night that it was dead again.”
