7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Hannah

I drove straight to Sugar Rush. It wasn’t as packed as it had been in the morning, but there were plenty of people getting their later-in-the-day dose of caffeine and sweets. Phoebe was floating behind the counter, looking pretty and put together even after working ten hours.

The shop closed at five, but Phe had trouble telling people to leave. Since I was here, I had no problem helping her with that.

I needed sister time—without all the nosy ears listening in.

Grabbing an iced coffee from Camille and a pistachio cream donut from Phe, I plopped down in one of the empty armchairs. I hadn’t gotten that dirty or sweaty at work, so I didn’t think my sister would mind me sitting in her nice chairs too much.

The relaxation I needed didn’t happen. As soon as my butt hit the chair, Teller McDonald and her sidekick, Tina Klem, turned around from their table for two to stare at me. They were blatant about it, but I ignored them until I’d taken a long drink of coffee and a hearty bite of my donut, then I raised a brow.

“Did you need something?”

Teller crossed her jean-clad legs and leaned her elbows on her knee. “I heard Remi Town is back. Is it true?”

I nodded. “It is.”

“Is he here to stay?” Tina asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know his plans.”

“But you’ve talked to him?” Teller pressed.

“Sure,” I replied.

Anyone else, I might’ve given them more, but Teller and Tina had been mean girls since elementary school, and at almost thirty, neither had grown out of it. They both lived by the motto “the bigger the hair, the closer to God,” but there wasn’t anything heavenly about the duo. Their fluffy blonde curls were all right, and I didn’t have a problem with their bedazzled jeans or heavy makeup. It was their above-it-all attitudes. Like we all hadn’t grown up in the same small town. Like any of us had forgotten Teller wiping her boogers on every hard surface all the way through middle school or Tina making out with everyone’s boyfriends in high school. Gossip spread like wildfire in Sugar Brush. If these two hadn’t caused the spark, they were fanning the flames.

“Well?” Teller’s eyebrows raised, yet her forehead didn’t move. “What did he say for himself?”

“Not much.” I sipped my coffee.

“Do you think he’s up for company?” Tina scrunched her nose at the massive bite of donut I took. “I could bake some muffins to welcome him home.”

Teller rolled her eyes. “Please. We don’t want to give the man food poisoning. I’ll buy him some muffins from Phoebe.”

“You can’t welcome him without me,” Tina blurted.

Teller cocked her head. “Were you planning to invite me along to deliver your atrocious cooking?”

Tina hmphed indignantly. “Of course. I would never go without you, Teller.”

If Teller ever found out Tina used to regularly have sex with Teller’s then-boyfriend, now-husband, Brady, back in high school, all hell would rain down on Sugar Brush. It had sort of been an open secret amongst our classmates and a wonder Teller had never caught wind. If there was any funny business still going on, I was not privy to it, but I wouldn’t doubt it.

“He’d probably love a visit,” I said, thinking how much Remi would truly enjoy these two.

Tina clapped her hands beneath her chin in excitement. “Oh, great. I was worried you’d try to keep us away from him.”

Teller tapped her long fingernails on Tina’s knuckles. “I had no doubt Hannah would see the good in our neighborly intentions. I’m sure Remi would love to catch up with us.” She poked her bottom lip out, and her eyes melted with faux sincerity. “Just like I’m sure he’s got the blues since he lost his father.”

“Oh, yeah.” Tina tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “We can cheer him up for sure.”

My smile was as real as it got. I only wished I could be a fly on the wall when they went knocking on Remi’s door.

“I would write him a nice condolence card too.” I brought my coffee to my lips, considering what other mischief I could layer on. “Plus, he seems really lonely after all that time on the road. I’m sure he’d love for you to stay and share everything he’s missed over the years—in full detail. And I remember Graham mentioning he adores listening to poetry. If you know any—”

Tina perked up. “I can take care of that.”

Teller shot her a sharp look. “You’ve never read poetry in your life.”

Tina wasn’t deterred. “I have, and anyway, I know how to Google. I’ll find the perfect poem to read to him.”

I didn’t know for a fact that Remi wasn’t a fan of poetry, but the idea of these two bumbling through a reading tickled me so much I had to bite my cheek not to laugh. “He’s so humble, he might try to turn you down—”

Teller took over. “Oh, I know exactly the type of man he is. I won’t let him turn us down.” She layered her hands over her heart. “I think he really needs us right now.”

Tina nodded enthusiastically. “He does. We’ll head out to the house first thing in the morning.”

They left quickly after that, forgetting about me in favor of plotting their impending visit. My perverse satisfaction was only tempered by the bubble of discomfort still lodged in my belly from my confrontation with Remi.

Unfortunately, Phoebe caught me smirking before I could wipe it away. She was too busy to ask me what I was up to, but once the shop cleared out, she approached my table, cloth in hand and question in her eyes.

“What did you do to Double T?”

I yanked the rag from her hand and hopped up to wipe tables. “What makes you think I did something?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Because I know you. I know your I’m-up-to-no-good face, and that was it.”

“They were asking about Remi, and I may have implied he would love their company…as well as a poetry reading.”

Her inhale was sharp. “You sicced those two on him?”

I looked up from the table I was wiping. “They were going to visit him whether I encouraged them or not. I just nudged them along.”

She swiped her forehead with the back of her hand and blew out a heavy breath. “That wasn’t nice of you, and you know it. The man is probably trying to get his bearings after losing Graham and being back here. The last thing he needs is a visit from the Terror Twins.”

I rolled my eyes. “He didn’t lose Graham. He left him and only came back to claim the house. Remi is doing just fine. Trust me.”

Phe’s gaze stayed on me as I wove around the tables, cleaning coffee rings and crumb piles. Her judgment was silent but rang out as if she’d spoken it. My sister had always been too nice and forgiving for her own good. On the flip side, once I made up my mind about something or someone, it was nearly impossible to change it.

A therapist I used to see had called it rigid thinking. Maybe that was true, but I didn’t think of it as a bad thing. I knew my own mind, and I wasn’t easily swayed by empty words.

Despite that, Phe’s unspoken disappointment weighed on me. I followed her into the back of the bakery, hopping up on one of her pristine stainless steel counters while she cleaned up. I knew better than to try to help her with this. She was laid back about a lot, but not her kitchen and there was no way I’d ever measure up to her standards.

I swung my legs, letting the rhythm of Phoebe’s fluid and sure movements calm me. The thing about being calm, though? My thoughts quieted, allowing room for the image of how Remi’s face contorted as I poured my low opinion over him like tar to come back full force.

He’d been stricken. Slapped into silence.

“I told him off.”

Phe looked up from the gleaming mixing bowls she was stacking, a puzzled frown tugging at her lips. “Who?”

“Remi. I told him off.”

Her brow crinkled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I let him know what I thought of him for not showing up for his dad. I told him he was heartless.” I rubbed my thighs, not meeting Phe’s eyes.

“Okay.” She took her time, precisely choosing her words. “Do you regret saying that?”

My sister and I were opposite in many regards. Where I let my mouth get away from me more than I should have, she weighed and measured every word she said, careful not to step on toes or be misconstrued. That meant people often spoke over her, or she’d miss her chance to voice her opinion. We both could have stood to take lessons from the other, but we were who we were.

“I was…harsh.” I sighed, scrubbing my palms harder on my thighs. “It felt good to get it off my chest, but the relief was only temporary. Getting mad at Remi didn’t make anything better. It didn’t bring Graham back or take away the hell he went through those last few weeks. But once I’d started, I couldn’t stop.”

“Are you going to apologize?”

“Nope.” I hopped off the counter and shoved my hands in my back pockets. “Even if I was harsh, even if what I said fell on deaf ears, none of it was untrue. I have nothing to be sorry for.”

Her brow winged, and the dubious look she gave me lingered long enough for me to squirm and throw out my hands.

“All right. Maybe I shouldn’t have called him heartless. I probably should have kept my mouth shut entirely, but once I started—”

“You couldn't stop. You don’t have to explain it to me, Han. I get it. It’s only been a month. You’re still grieving. Your emotions are raw, and seeing Remi in the house probably isn’t helping anything.”

I shook my head. “It’s not. If he was going to come back, why couldn’t it have been before Graham passed?”

It was a rhetorical question. Phe didn’t know Remi’s reasons any more than I did.

She put her hands on the counter and leaned toward me. “Did you think to ask him?”

“I—” My mouth opened and closed, nothing but a faint creaking sound coming out. “No. No, I didn’t ask. I just assumed it was because he’s a self-centered jackass.”

“Graham wasn’t mad at him for not being there.”

I hadn’t noticed I was pacing until I had to turn around to face Phoebe. “Yeah…well, he let me handle that. I’m plenty mad for us both.”

“I think you should ask him where he was over the last month and why he didn’t get here in time. So you know. So you don’t have any doubts.” Pushing away from the counter, she came to stand in front of me. “I’m all done here. Walk me home?”

My grin was crooked and didn’t last long. “You know it.”

Home was only a few blocks away. We shared a house that had been converted into a duplex long ago, my little apartment stacked on top of Phe’s. She’d lived there for a few years before the unit above hers had become available. I’d been reluctant to leave the ranch, but the situation had been right. I was a family girl. Being close to at least one member of the Kelly clan was imperative to my happiness.

Plus, our proximity meant I got first dibs on bakery leftovers—not that there were ever many. Our town might have been small, but when it came to Phe’s baked goods, we showed up big.

I paused outside Phe’s door, one foot on the stairs leading to my place. “Any plans tonight?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “As if you need to ask.”

I bumped her shoulder with my fist. “You could have plenty of plans if you wanted.”

“Sure.” She twisted the end of her ponytail around her fingers. “I could say the same to you. You could go out, meet someone…”

My stomach clenched at the very idea. “No thank you. I’d rather be a cool aunt to your future perfect little children.”

She laughed. “Crazy aunt, since these kids are very much imaginary.” Then she gave me a shove. “Go home. You smell like horse.”

I lifted my arm and gave myself a sniff. Sunshine and the tiniest bit of sweat. More times than not, I’d left work smelling far worse. “Shut it. I smell fine. Not all of us can smell like cupcakes and lemon bars.”

Her giggle and wave sent me off for the night, feeling a lot better than I had when I’d burned rubber leaving Graham’s driveway.

As soon as I had the thought, a wave of dread struck. Today was over, but tomorrow was looming. I’d have to go back to that house and bear Remi being there while Graham never would be again.

I let myself into my place, shut the door behind me, and leaned against it, my fist pressed to my gut.

A month.

I’d gotten through a month post-Graham. It had been the hardest feat of my life, but I’d done it.

Getting through Remi’s presence was nothing in comparison. All I had to do was wait him out. He’d be gone sooner than later. No doubt about that.