He finally spoke. “That’s great about the cottage, really it is. Miss G would be pleased.”
She held her breath, waiting for him to continue.
“But it really doesn’t change the fact that your first instinct was to run away. You chose to leave. You didn’t choose… me.”
His words stung, cutting deep into her heart. She’d been so focused on the practical aspects of staying—keeping the cottage and finding a way to make it work financially—that she hadn’t fully considered the emotional impact her initial decision to leave had on him.
“Randy, I…” The words caught in her throat. What could she say? He was right. Of course he was upset. His wife had left him, then she’d chosen to leave. It didn’t matter that she thought shehadto leave. It still hurt him.
She looked out at the waves, trying to gather her thoughts. The sun was sinking lower on the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant hues of orange and pink with just a splattering of purple.
It was the kind of dazzling sunset a person wanted to share with someone.
Turning back to Randy, she saw the hurt in his eyes, the rigid set of his jaw. She realized that her decision to leave hadn’t just been about the cottage or the job. It had been about him too, about the connection they’d made and the potential for something more.
“You’re right,” she admitted softly. “I didn’t choose you. I was scared and overwhelmed. I took… the easy way out. I’m sorry. But Randy, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”
She took a step closer to him, her heart pounding. “Can’t you forgive me?”
His face softened only slightly. “I forgive you. I know you did what you thought you had to do. But… it still doesn’t change things between us. I can’t…” He shook his head. “I just can’t.”
And with that, he turned around and walked away with the sunset flaunting its presence behind her, mocking her standing alone on the beach.
CHAPTER 19
Evie struggled through the next days, torn between packing up the cottage or not. Each day, she waited for news from Susan. Each day got closer and closer to the deadline to pay back Mr. Barlowe.
With the deadline approaching and no news from Susan, she finally got the boxes out and started packing. Soon she had a neat stack of packed boxes in the corner. Then another stack.
Her phone rang, and she snatched it off the table, seeing from the caller ID that it was Susan. “Hello?” Her voice was a mix of apprehension and hope.
“Evie, hi. I’m just checking in. My lawyer is working on it and still says it will be any day.”
Her heart plummeted. Not the news she was hoping for. “Oh… I only have two more days. I guess it might not come in time after all.”
“I’m sorry, Evie. I know my lawyer is doing everything he can.”
The thought of losing Nana’s cottage after she’d been so close to keeping it crushed her. She turned around slowly, taking in the tiny details. The ring holder by the kitchen sink where Nana took off her wedding rings to do dishes. The foldout stool in thecorner that Nana used to reach the higher shelves. The worn table where they had done so many jigsaw puzzles. She closed her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Susan’s voice interrupted her stream of memories.
“I will be.” Her voice caught. Though this time it would take quite a bit for her to recover—if she ever did.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll keep trying.”
Susan hung up and Evie turned to start packing more boxes as her heart clutched in actual pain from the knowledge that she’d lost everything. The cottage with its wonderful memories, a chance to stay on Belle Island, and… Randy.
Randy entered Magic Cafe, hoping that a good meal might improve his mood. But he doubted it. He took a table inside instead of one out by the beach like he preferred. But out there was where he sat with Evie. He needed a change.
Tally came out and set down a menu. Not that he needed one. He had the menu memorized by now. “Afternoon.”
“Hey, Tally.”
She looked at him closely. “I thought you’d be in a better mood when you heard the news that Evie might not have to leave.”
He let out a long sigh. “I heard. But it really doesn’t make a difference.”
“What do you mean? Don’t you want her to stay? I thought you two had feelings for each other. Or at the very least, the start of something.”
