5. Evangeline

FIVE

EVANGELINE

T he sound of the heat kicking on has me jumping for joy and Noelle yelling hallelujah. After two days with no heat, we’re both beyond excited to have something spurting out of the radiator. George, our local repair man, laughs from the other room. Whatever he’s done has fixed the issue which means I’ll be able to sleep in my bed. I love my parents, but I’ve missed my own space and my office.

George comes out of the backroom with a big, cheesy smile on his face. He winks, causing Noelle and I to giggle. George may be our go-to for repairs, but he’s also our town Santa, and he’s always flirting with us.

“To avoid this next year, I’ll have the missus remind me to come out in September or October to bleed the lines.”

He said this last year, but I don’t bother to remind him. The furnace is old and if I want to avoid this in the future, I should buy a new one.

“Sounds good, George. I’ll see you on Saturday? ”

“I’ll be there with bells on.” He laughs and holds his hand over his belly, even though he’s not sporting the traditional Santa belly. The last I knew he stuffed his red pants with one of those fake stomach paddings. That’s how serious he takes being Santa.

“Will I see you at the tree lighting on Friday?” he asks.

“I’ll be there,” Noelle says.

“Of course, I’ll be there, too. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I just thought with Zane back . . .”

Hearing the words Zane and back in the same sentence shakes my foundation. Not much, but enough to make me pause and question whether I heard George clearly.

“What do you mean?” It's the clarity I need.

“I stopped by Bernie’s this morning. He said Zane is here for Christmas.”

“Oh.” I haven’t seen this man since I left him on the train platform, with stupid promises of how we’d make the distance work. The first weekend he was supposed to come home, something came up. And then something else. And something else again.

“Well, it’ll be good to see him.” It won’t be but I refuse to let him ruin my holidays. The past is the past, water under the bridge. It was clear then as it is now, Zane was meant for whatever he found in New York City. I’m not going to let his return take up space in my head.

As soon as the door closes, Noelle slams her hand down on her desk. I glance at her, unprepared for her wide eyes .

“Girl!”

I shake my head.

“Did Bernie say anything about Zane coming home?”

Another shake. “No, and I think he would’ve mentioned it to my dad or me. We’ve been sending staff over there to help because Bernie can’t do it alone.”

“Do you think Zane is in trouble? That’s why he just showed up?”

Unfortunately, the idea of Zane being in trouble makes me smile. It’s evil, I know. And not very much in the spirit of the holidays, but I can’t help it.

“You know, all those big city attorneys are always getting in trouble with drugs and . . . stuff.”

“Stuff?”

Noelle shrugs. “You read People magazine. You know what stuff I’m alluding to.”

Sadly, I do and am very thankful I chose to run a small-town practice. I’d rather help people and see the good I’ve done on a daily basis versus having a client who is nothing but a number and paycheck at the end of the day.

I can’t imagine Zane being in some type of trouble, but then again, I haven’t seen him in ten years. Who knows what kind of man he is these days. All I know is, I’m not the same person I was when he left for his fancy internship.

Or maybe I am.

“The stuff, as we’re calling it, I don’t see someone like Zane doing anything to hurt others. But yes, I’ve read a ton of stories where corporate law has some shady characters and are often arrested for drug possession.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s back. He needs to visit his dad before he goes to the big house.”

I roll my eyes at Noelle’s drastic assumptions. Whatever the reason, my ex is back, and his timing couldn’t be worse. If this were any other time, I’d take vacation and let Zane be here without me being in his face. As it is, chances are, as soon as I walk outside, we’ll run into each other. Unless he’s not planning to work at the store while he’s in town.

Noelle gives me a smirk and I shake my head. The best thing for me to do is ignore what George said and if I run into Zane it might be wise of me to pretend I don’t know him. Although, I suspect that won’t go over very well. But then again, maybe he doesn’t care to see me because he’s the one who left and never returned. He didn’t even bother to come and clear out his stuff from our Boston apartment and left me to deal with the lease that I couldn’t afford by myself.

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.

The car door slams and footsteps follow. I’m adjusting the trees when I yell out, “Have a look around and let me know when you find the tree you want.”

“Hi, Eve.”

His voice still gives me shivers, even though it should make me feel nothing but rage. I lean away from the tree I’m holding to find Zane standing there with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He looks nothing like the Zane I fell in love with many moons ago.

Much to my chagrin, he looks better. Hotter. More handsome. He’s grown, physically matured, and filled out. Zane wears his dark hair short on the sides and a little longer on top. It’s not that much different from when we were together, but something I notice easily.

He’s paired his favorite cable-knit sweater with his jeans, and I’m glad that part of him hasn’t changed.

I open my mouth to say something, but words fail me. For years, I used to run through a monologue of things I would say to Zane if I ever saw him again. It would be nice if those words would come to me now, so I could say them.

Yet, there is nothing.

“It’s good to see you,” Zane says with a tilt of his head.

“What are you doing here?” My question is barely above a whisper.

By the look on his face, he understands the underlying message of my question. “Reindeer Ridge Farm is the best place to get a tree, if I’m not mistaken.”

“You know what I mean.”

Another door slams shut, pulling me from this stupor. I don’t bother to look at Zane. I can’t. Having him here now is doing a number on my nervous system. Not to mention my tongue feels thick. I have anger boiling in my blood. And my damn palms are sweaty like they did when I had a crush on him back when I was in middle.

I step around him and stop in my tracks when a woman comes near. She’s wearing high heels to buy a damn tree. Not only the shoes, but a damn pencil skirt.

Freaking city people .

“Welcome. Have a look around. Let me know if you find something you like.”

“Babe, did you find out?”

I turn slowly as she makes her way toward Zane. Only, he’s not watching her. He’s watching me. I shake my head and start to turn toward the shack, but not before I see her stumble and fall. His whatever she is, screeches as she hits the mud-covered ground.