Chapter 53

fifty-three

ANDREW

By Wednesday afternoon, I was exhausted. But that didn’t stop me from coming into The Welcome Center.

Tonight, I was on dining room duties. It was just as well Jenny hadn’t asked me to do anything more strenuous. With the way I was feeling, setting the tables was the best job for me.

“I’d know that look anywhere,” Elijah said from beside me. “We’re having Mr. Jessop’s meatloaf for dinner, aren’t we?”

I forced a smile. Mr. Jessop’s one and only attempt at cooking had ended in disaster. His secret meatloaf recipe had burned in the oven, sending the volunteer fire department hurtling toward the church. Instead of finding the building in flames, they’d poked and prodded the charred remains of ten meatloaf pans. From then on, Mr. Jessop had stuck to his vegetables, finding new and inventive ways of encouraging the children at the center to eat their greens.

“No meatloaf tonight,” I told Elijah. “Jenny’s cooked chicken pot pie for everyone.”

Elijah frowned. “That’s one of the most popular meals. Why are you looking so worried?”

“I’m not worried about dinner. It’s Jacob. This is going to sound really pathetic, but I haven’t seen him in three days. He won’t even return my calls.”

“I thought you were getting along really well.”

“So did I.” I took a deep breath. It wasn’t like me to fall apart. I was a strong, fierce, independent person. If Jacob didn’t want to be part of my life, then it should have been his loss. But his silence cut deeper than telling me why he didn’t want to see me.

“Was it because of what happened at the concert?”

“I think so. I asked him if he wanted to talk about his panic attack, but it was like a heavy metal door slammed shut between us. I thought he trusted me.”

Elijah placed his hand on my arm. “It can’t be easy living with PTSD. Have you talked to Pastor Adam? He might be able to give you some advice.”

I’d thought the same thing but had quickly discarded the idea. “Adam has enough to do without me adding to his troubles. Besides, I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to him without Jacob knowing.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

Elijah took a knife, fork, and spoon out of the cart I was pushing. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think. He could be busy setting up the medical clinic or working on the next two tiny homes.”

I appreciated Elijah’s optimism, but if Jacob was doing either of those things, he would have called me. “It’s probably just as well I’m going to Boulder tomorrow. Helping Mr. Costas set up my exhibition will be a good distraction.”

“I can’t come to the opening, but I spoke to Riley yesterday. He promised to take lots of photos. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the canvases sell on the first night.”

I hoped so. Half the sale price of each photograph was going toward the tiny home village. If the exhibition was as popular as Mr. Costas anticipated, I’d be able to donate enough money to build another home.

“I’ll call you on Sunday morning and let you know how it went.”

“That’d be awesome.”

I checked my watch. “We’d better get a move on. Jenny will be serving dinner soon.”

Elijah looked over my shoulder. “Don’t look around.”

“What’s—”

“Jacob’s heading this way.”

My heart pounded. Instead of doing what Elijah suggested, I turned around. My breath caught when I stared into Jacob’s worried face. Whatever he was here for, wasn’t good. And given that he was walking straight toward me, I guessed that I wasn’t going to be smiling anytime soon, either.

“Hi, Elijah,” Jacob said in a low voice. He turned to me, and I wished he hadn’t.

It was one thing imagining the worst. It was something else entirely when you saw the truth on someone’s face. Jacob wasn’t here to apologize for not returning my calls. He was here to say goodbye.