Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

NOVA

“We watched Matilda today,” Ben said while we were walking home from school. “The class read it together before we got here.”

“Did you like it?” I asked, smoothing my hand over his messy blond hair.

“Yeah.”

“Well, we can read it together,” I offered.

Ben looked up, making my hand fall. “Really?”

“I want to read it!” Alice said.

I glanced down at her. She would probably love it too. “There’s a book shop on Main Street. Do you guys want to go check it out and see if they carry Matilda ?”

My kids chorused a resounding yes, so we slipped down an alley to get to the right side of the buildings and walked toward Baker Books. Tucker’s fiancée, June, was sitting behind the counter, working at a laptop. Her blonde frizzy hair was wild and long. She lifted her gaze to us and smiled widely. “Welcome! This is a treat.”

“Hi, June,” I said. “We’re looking for a book today. Do you carry Matilda ? ”

“Of course I do!” She hopped down from her stool and came around the counter, leading us to a corner strung with twinkle lights over a beanbag chair and an array of children’s book characters in stuffed animal form. “It’s a classic.”

“Ben’s class just finished reading it, so they watched the movie today. We’re doing things a little backwards.”

“That’s how it goes sometimes.” She pulled the book from the shelf and presented it to me. I was taking it when the bell jangled above the door again, and Brody walked in.

“Coach said you have books for the fundraiser,” he said.

“Can you give me a minute?” June asked me. “Don’t go anywhere.”

I nodded, and she hurried toward the front door. “Come with me, Brody. I have a few bundles for you.”

“Mom,” Alice whispered, dragging me closer to the bookshelf. “Can we look at the other books?”

“There’s a deal,” Ben added, pointing at a sign taped to the shelf. “Twenty percent discount if you buy three books! That’s perfect. Matilda and one more for each of us.”

“I don’t know, bud.” Mental math wasn’t my forte, but I tried to do some to see how much money I’d have to part with.

“There’s a deal,” he reiterated, pointing to the sign like I hadn’t seen it.

“Right, but you still have to buy three books.”

Both of them looked up at me with round pleading eyes, and I was having a hard time reasoning my way out of this one. I mean, we were talking about books .

“Okay, fine. But they have to be under ten dollars each.”

They cheered. Ben dropped his backpack at my feet and started browsing small chapter books, and Alice went straight for the pink section.

I took both backpacks to the wall and set them out of the way, then sat on a small armchair near the beanbag, Matilda on my knees. I didn’t want to browse the books or I’d end up spending even more money, so I pulled out my phone instead. Trish had sent me a text, so I opened it.

Trish

Heard the news. Sending my love.

If she wanted me to ask her what the news was, she was going to be disappointed. Probably. I opened Instagram instead and went straight to Carter’s page, but his photos were all pretty typical. Black and white, him at events, leaning on bars, holding drinks, looking for all the world like he wasn’t a dad or a husband.

Well, he wasn’t a husband anymore, but he was still a dad.

The ring around his profile photo was colored in, indicating he’d posted a story—a photo that would disappear in twenty-four hours. I was tempted to look at it, but he would be able to see that I’d seen it. Oh, gosh. This was childish. Who cared if he knew that I watched his story? I’d muted his account when he left because I found myself watching it for updates to an unhealthy degree. Now I didn’t see his posts unless I sought them out, and he was none the wiser.

Trish’s text left me uneasy, though, so I pressed the button. The first photo was almost expired, Carter holding a drink beside another lawyer from his firm. Total East Coast bros. Then the second one popped up and my stomach fell clear to the floor. It was a selfie of Carter with a red-headed woman. No, girl? Could she be considered a woman when she hardly looked old enough to be in college? She was sitting on his lap and the dancing words in the corner of the screen said moving day .

Oh, no. I was gonna hurl.

I dropped my phone like it was made of lava and sat back, my breaths coming rapidly.

Carter was living with someone else already. Another woman—yes, I believed she was at least eighteen—was going to live in my home, cook with my things, sit on my reupholstered armchair. I could see the rust-colored brocade of the chair they were sitting in, and that seemed like the worst thing of all.

Maybe my brain was snagging on that detail because I needed something to focus my confusing whirl of feelings on, but it felt really important to me. I didn’t even know this person, and now she was living with my things.

No, not my things, not anymore. The settlement stating all those things were now his had happened so fast. We’d managed it out of court with a mediator and our own lawyers. My brother’s friend had stepped up for me and I’d thought he got me a good chunk of money. Now I wondered if going through the courts would have gotten me more. Now I didn’t care as much about being amicable and wished I would’ve fought a little more.

Now I wanted to throw this book at Carter’s face.

“Coach!” Ben said, jumping up and running across the room.

I looked for Dusty, but it was just Brody looking ready to leave with a bag of books in his hand. His posture was a little bent and a yellowing bruise was spreading across his cheekbone. “Hey, little man.” Brody put out a fist for a bump. “You been working on catching?”

“My mom tries to help me.” Translation: my mom does her best, but it’s not very good.

“Right on. We can work on it more at practice tomorrow, too.”

Ben beamed at him. “Thanks, Coach.”

Brody’s shoulders straightened a little, his smile growing. He ruffled Ben’s hair and left.

Would anyone notice if I dropped my head between my knees just to help me breathe evenly? My chest was rising erratically. I leaned over to pick up the kids’ backpacks and focused on slowing my thundering heart rate. “Let’s go, guys,” I said softly.

The bell rang again, and a short older woman walked in, her eyes scanning the bookstore before landing on me. “Nova Walker!” she called, like she’d come here just for me.

I’d never met this woman in my life.

“Flora, you’re back,” June said. “I thought you were moving to Florida.”

Flora shot her a disgusted look. “I’m back, and I need to welcome our newest residents.” She bustled toward us and put her wrinkled hand on my arm. “Your aunt is one of my most favorite people in the world. You are lucky to have her.”

“We are,” I agreed, a little startled by her vehemence and her cloud of overbearing perfume.

“Now, my salon is just across the road there.” She pointed through the window to the pink door on the other side of the street. “You come on by and see me, okay? First haircut is free.” She glanced at Ben and Alice. “All of you. I’d love to have a chat.”

Well, that was weird. I didn’t know how to respond—or identify if I was feeling off about what I’d just learned about Carter. Was the ickiness bleeding into my other interactions, or was this interaction organically weird on its own? Either way, it was probably better to get more information from Gigi before making any commitments. “That is so kind. Thank you.”

Flora blinked a few times before smiling at all of us. She squeezed my arm again, then bustled to the door. “Have a blessed day, June,” she said as she let herself out.

I felt like we had gone through a low-key tornado. Not that I knew what tornados felt like.

“Sorry about her.” June cringed as I made my way up to the front desk. “Her salon is straight across the street, and sometimes I think she sits at the window and watches my store to see who is coming by, just so she can ambush them.”

I glanced out the window at the short woman bustling across the road .

June gave a little laugh. “She means well, I think, but the free haircuts are a scam.”

“What’s a scam?” Alice whispered, putting the fairy book she’d chosen on the counter. Ben slid a book with a dragon on it beside hers.

I honestly didn’t know what she could mean by a haircut being a scam, so I had no answer ready.

June started ringing up the books. “She expects an enormous tip, so you still pay for it. I’d be careful what you say around her, because it’ll end up making its rounds by dinnertime.”

“I got that impression,” I said. Why else would Flora want to chat? She’d blown in here knowing my full name already and, apparently, what I looked like.

June rang up our purchases, then slid the bag over and pushed her long hair behind her shoulders. “Hey, I heard you make pretty cookies.”

How? Who would have told her?

“Dusty might have mentioned it,” she said apologetically, like she’d read the confusion on my face and wanted to explain. “I’m supposed to have a bridal shower this weekend, so I was wondering if you make them for events. It’s totally fine if you don’t. It’s super last minute.”

“Oh, I used to,” I told her. “Mostly for friends or family. They aren’t professional, but I can do most shapes.”

“What about sunflowers?”

“I could definitely do those.” I actually had a set of flower cookie cutters that had come with a sunflower. I’d never done it before, but it shouldn’t be too hard. “What are the colors? Would you want anything else? Like a badge that says ‘bride’ across it?”

“Oh, cute! Yes, something like that would be fun. How much do you charge for…like…two dozen cookies?”

I had no earthly idea. Trish had overpaid, or so I imagined, so I wasn’t going to charge June the same rate .

“Three dollars per cookie? Four?” she asked.

“Forty dollars per dozen,” I said, feeling a little like I was overpricing, but also they took so much time to decorate. Days of layers to get the right detail.

“Done. Two dozen then? For Saturday morning. I’d love to have you stay, too.”

“That’s not necessary.” There was nothing worse than a pity invite.

“No, I mean it. It’s a great way to meet more people in town. You don’t have to bring anything—except the cookies, of course.”

“I don’t know.”

“Here. Give me your number, and I’ll text you the details.” She opened her phone and slid it across the counter.

I liked June. We hadn’t been around each other much, but she seemed down to earth. Part of me wanted to spite Carter and allow myself to fall fully under the small-town spell of Arcadia Creek, making friends and building a life that didn’t make me miss my home so much. The other part of me wanted to go home and let the kids play on their devices while I curled up in a ball and cried.

I put my number in her phone, took our bag of books, and ushered my kids outside.

“She’s nice,” Alice said when we left.

“I agree.” I pulled her to me while we crossed the street and made our way down to our apartment. Ben was reciting the Texas pledge he’d been learning in school as we went. When we reached our place, there was a large, heavy rectangular box leaning against the door. I tried to move it aside, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Guys, I think your bunk bed arrived.”

They hollered and cheered, but I groaned. We were blocked. At least the delivery guys had brought it up the stairs.

Five minutes and some sad attempts at shoving later, I got the bed to move enough for us to unlock the door and slip inside.

“Will you set it up now?” Alice asked.

Fresh on the heels of learning how fully and quickly Carter had moved on, I was determined to do this on my own. This wasn’t going to be like the jar of unopened jam sitting in my fridge—a sign of my defeat. I was going to be champion. I sucked in a breath and looked at the heavy box. “Yes. I’ve got this.”

Ben didn’t look convinced. We’d see who was right.