“You hurt my best friend, Griffin,” she sighs, softening just a hair, “even if you never meant to.”
“This is business,” I mutter. “Why can’t anyone in this town understand that?”
“We all understand business,” she says. “I run a café. But business without heart is just an empty shell. And if you truly had no choice but to close it, you should have found a better way to let her know.”
She leaves me standing there, feeling like the biggest jerk. I head back to the store, clueless about what to do now. Ruby’s gone, the shop dark and cold.
I can’t stand the idea of it sitting here empty. Without her.
I take a steadying breath.
Fine. If I can’t find Ruby, at least I can take care of the place she loves. Which means I need to get inside. Which means I need bolt cutters. I turn and head down the street toward the hardware store, moving fast.
Because whatever mess I’ve made, I’m darn well going to fix it. Starting now.
I spendthe rest of the day filling the few recent orders that were still pending. Busy hands, quiet mind. That’s the hope, anyway.
I’m in the back when I hear the bell jingling, my heart leaping.
“Yoohoo!”
Yikes. Mrs. P. If I could slip out the back I would, but the old hinges would creak like a tattletale.
“I’ll be right with you,” I call, aiming for Ruby-style pleasant. When I step out front, judging by her heavily-lined lifted eyebrow, I missed by a mile.
“I heard you drove Ruby clean out of town,” she says. It’s hard to look her in the eye. She’s dressed like a cabaret dancer. Huge feathery hat, clunky heels, fringe swinging beneath her coat’s hem.
I blow out a lungful of air. “How can I help you today, Mrs. P.?”
“It is how I can helpyou, young man.” She taps her cane twice, the universal signal for incoming judgment. “You had better make up with Ruby. She is a gem of Silver Pine. Town treasure. If she leaves for good, you’ll have thrown the town’s entire emotional ecosystem off balance.”
There’s a sarcastic laugh stuck in my throat that absolutely should not escape. “I don’t know where she is. Do you?”
She shakes her head. “I would tell you if I knew.”
For a town with the best gossip chain in the entire Western hemisphere, they are suddenly as tight-lipped as CIA field agents.
I rub the back of my neck. “I stillcan’t believe she just left without a word. Not even a goodbye.” My voice dips before I catch it.
Mrs. P. meets my eye. “You broke her heart, dear. Ruby’s not a runner. So if she is gone . . .” She lifts her brows pointedly. “You must have upset her pretty good.”
That goes down like a stone.
“Where should I look?” I ask quietly.
“If I knew,” she says, tightening her feather boa, “I would already be there coaxing her back.”
When she leaves, I am alone again. My chest tightens. There is nothing left to do. If Desiree won’t talk and Mrs. P. doesn’t know where Ruby is, then there’s no one else to ask. I feel truly helpless. Ruby is gone.
One thing I know for certain is that I need a solution. One that saves the shop and maybe saves us, too. But for now, all I can do is wait and hope she comes home.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ruby
Two Weeks Later
I’m perchedat my favorite spot by the overlook in Silver Pine. As a long-time resident I’m tuned into the subtle shift in the air. Spring will not be here for a while yet, but the sun feels stronger, the snow falls lighter.
