Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
With that thought maybe I should file a lawsuit against him to recoup the money he owes me. The only thing I hope is that when I do run into him, we can be cordial and there won’t be any awkwardness. It’s not like I still love him. I stopped a long time ago when he chose the city over me and decided that his job was more important than the love we had for each other.
I give Noelle a long look and then head upstairs to my apartment needing some space. In my living room, I go to the windows overlooking Main Street. I don’t know if I expect to see Zane on the street, holding a sign saying Here I am, Eve but I’m looking. And I hate myself for caring. He left me. Us. This town we both love. Well, I love. He abandoned me. Worse of all, he left his beloved dad. High and dry. And all alone.
People are below, walking along the sidewalk, some getting in line for Alma’s. Some walk into the café, the hardware store, and other businesses on Main Street. One man, with his wife and children trailing behind him, carries a tree across the street. It warms my heart knowing he bought it at Whitaker’s.
It hits me then that this man could be Zane, and I find myself leaning closer to the window as if I’m going to see better. He’s far enough away that I can’t see him clearly, but it doesn’t escape me that Zane could be married and have children. It’s not like he’s kept in contact with his father on a regular basis and even if he told Bernie, he wouldn’t tell me. Mr. Whitaker would do everything he could to protect my heart.
Staring out the window and looking in the faces of strangers to spot Zane isn’t how I should spend my day. I can either go through the day and the following days, knowing I’ll eventually run into him and care. Or I can go about my day not thinking about him. He stopped caring a long time ago so I shouldn’t care that Zane’s in town.
I only care about how Mr. Whitaker is going to feel when Zane leaves. I’ll be there to pick up the pieces when that happens.
Giving up, I go back downstairs to find Noelle on the phone. She holds her finger up, needing me to wait.
“Yes, I’ll tell her. No problem.” Noelle hangs up. “Well, I don’t know if this is your lucky day or worse nightmare.”
I stare at her blankly while she smiles. Not quite like the Cheshire Cat, but close.
“What?”
“That was Mr. Whitaker.”
Before she can even finish, my heart leaves my chest and crashes to the floor.
“He’s out of trees and wants to know if the. . .” Noelle picks her notepad up and clears her throat. “Beautiful Evangeline could bring me some trees today. They’ve been selling very well, and I’d like to buy a handful more.’”
Noelle puts her pad down and clasps her hands together. “Do you think it’s a ploy?”
“For what?”
“For you to run into his son?”
I shake my head. “Mr. Whitaker doesn’t have a devious bone in his body. Besides, Zane hasn’t been the best son since he went to New York. I don’t see Bernie playing matchmaker.”
“Then why did he call you and not your dad?”
Good question.
“Probably because I’m the one who brought him the trees to begin with? I don’t know, but I do know he wouldn’t try and set Zane and I up. Bernie knows how badly his son hurt me.”
If I didn’t love the old man dearly, I’d tell Jake or my dad to do it, but then Mr. Whitaker would wonder why I didn’t show up.
After going back upstairs to change my clothes, I tell Noelle to expect me back before she leaves for the day. She’s laughing as I leave the office. I take the back roads to my parents’ farm because I know they’ll be safe. There’s no way I’d see Zane walking along the road here, especially since his dad lives on the other side of town.
By the time I pull into my parents’ driveway, I’m on edge. A chainsaw sounds in the distance and after a quick perusal through the house, it’s clear my mom isn’t home. Not a big deal, other than I want to talk to her about Deer Ridge’s newest visitor.
I head right now to the shack and pull the first tree off the fence and carry it to the truck. I repeat the process, one after another, until a car pulls into the parking lot. Frowning, I look toward the rows of trees where my dad is cutting, wishing he’d come back in so I can get this delivery done and go back to work. Not that I have much to do. Noelle is efficient at her job and probably deserves a raise.