A rustling outside the door warned him Sarah was home a second before her key turned in the lock.
“Hey, Dad,” she called, cheery but still not as happy as she’d been a few weeks ago. “Something smells yummy.”
She missed Lucas, of course, but he knew for a fact she also missed Erin and all the Finleys. She’d grown deeper roots in Heartache in a few weeks’ time than she’d put down in Florida in two years.
“We got a treat from your uncle Armand.” He lifted the pan to show her.
“Awesome. Too bad there are no lemon-berry cupcakes for dessert.” She hung up her keys on the daisy hook and moved to set the table. “I heard Ally’s Uncle Mack bought a spot for a restaurant in Heartache, by the way. There will be lots of cupcakes, I’ll bet.”
As if he didn’t miss the place enough on his own, he had Sarah to help him remember how much he was missing.
He tried to recall what his counselor said about doing the hard work. If he put in the hours of dealing with the setbacks, there was no reason he couldn’t emerge happy and whole. Ready to start over. If nothing else, he could always do like Scott Finley, who’d poured his heart out on six chalkboards when he couldn’t figure out how to make Bethany happy. At least the guy had shown he’d tried.
What had Remy done to show Erin he was trying? He’d been so busy fixing himself and trying to patch together his own issues, he hadn’t taken any time to show her he could make her happy. A damn shame since he loved her so much he thought he didn’t know how he’d get through another week without her.
He’d known it as soon as he’d left Heartache, but it wasn’t fair to tell her until he knew he could uphold his end of what that meant. But as he fried his fish and ticked through all the ways he’d failed her, he figured hemight have enough of his act together to try again. No, try his ass off now that he knew how far he’d fallen short.
“Maybe we’d better take a look at the place.” He slid the fish onto a serving platter and put it on the table in front of his daughter.
Sarah simply stared at him.
“Excuse me?” she said finally, eyes wide.
“It sounded to me like you want to check out the new restaurant. And I’m agreeing. Maybe it’s a good idea.” He was setting the pan in the sink when the tackle hug came.
It didn’t incapacitate him as much as the squeal that pierced his ear. Partially deaf but definitely pleased with himself, Remy hugged his daughter tight.
No matter what else happened, he’d made one special girl happy today. But he knew it would take a lot more than cupcakes to convince Erin to take another chance on him. For the first time, the words “hope springs eternal” didn’t tear him apart when he thought about them. If anything, he hoped that whoever said them knew what he or she was talking about because he needed Erin to have some small hope left. Some lingering faith in him.
Erin had everyfaith her highlights were going to look amazing.
She straightened from the wash sink at The Strand where Trish has just rinsed out the solution that would put ombré highlights in her newly caramel-colored hair. Of course, her hair was one of the few parts of her life that was working out for her these days. Well, that and her professional life.
Last Chance Vintage had just opened the new additionlast weekend with double the inventory. Heather was back in town splitting time with her, so she didn’t need to be there as often, giving Erin more time to develop her Dress for Success initiative. She was raising funds to buy a small bus to take their huge inventory on the road so she could bring the mini-shop to women in rural parts of Tennessee who couldn’t get to the store. The project had taken on a whole life of its own now that it wasn’t just about her making up for hurting Patrick’s family. Now, it was a way to help other women make their dreams come true. It fulfilled her on a soul-deep level.
Professionally speaking, anyway. The personal part of her life still missed a vital piece.
“Girl, you look smoking hot,” Trish observed as she blew out the damp strands, taking the time to curl the ends under with a fat round brush. “You were right about this color combination. I’m loving it on you.”
“It looks great, Trish. I really needed a pick-me-up.” Erin didn’t bother to hide her broken heart from her friends this time. With Patrick, she’d known he wasn’t worthy of her anyhow, so moping around and being upset afterward had felt wrong.
But who could blame her for wishing she’d worked things out with Remy Weldon? Half the female population had fallen for him while he’d been in Heartache.
“I can’t even watch another episode ofInterstate Antiquernow. OrAmerican Voice, for that matter. How could he just head back to Florida without a word?”
In spite of everything, she felt the need to defend him.
“He’s texted me a few times since he left.” Four short messages telling her he was trying to get his life together. She hadn’t responded as she couldn’t afford to take another chance on a man who hadn’t made anypromises.
“Humph.” Trish concentrated the hot air on the ends of Erin’s hair. “I really thought I could size a man up better than that. Everything I saw said he was crazy about you.”
As if her heart wasn’t tender enough, well-meaning friends poked at it regularly. She wanted to believe he’d texted her with some great purpose—that he had hopes of coming back one day.
But for all she knew, the only reason Remy was trying to work out his issues was so he could be a better father to Sarah. While she applauded that in theory, the reality was, it wouldn’t fix the ache inside her.
“He’s been through a lot.” Logically, she understood. Still, she needed to stop making excuses for a man who simply hadn’t been able to put the past behind him.
It was as straightforward, and as heartbreaking, as that.
