“Indeed, I am,” she said proudly.
A flicker of surprise crossed the man’s face. He looked at her, then down at her tools, then back up at her.
“All right then,” he said. “Well. Good luck with that.”
Why did that sound like he thought she would be needing luck? Her house was fine! No, it was great. It washers.
He finished ringing her up with brisk efficiency, packing the tools neatly into a sturdy brown paper bag.
“Thank you,” she said smartly. She found herself oddly determined to prove him wrong, to show him that she could fix things that needed fixing. This was silliness, of course. What did she care if this man, handsome or not, thought she wasn’t good at home repairs? The proof would be in the pudding, so to speak. She’d make her house wonderful, and her victory would come from living in it.
Although, she thought to herself as she got back in her car and headed home, hehadknown about her house, had known that someone had moved in. So maybe he saw the place often.
Well then. She’d just make it as spectacular as she could, she thought smartly.
That would show him.
CHAPTER NINE
Izzy was bouncing on her toes with excitement as she rang the doorbell at her grandparents’ house. Cadence had always felt lucky to have her parents close by and happy to help, but it felt like an unspeakable blessing ever since she had separated from Tyler. Not only was their help even more important now that she and Tyler were trying to balance schedules across two households for Izzy, but a fun afternoon with grandma and grandpa provided some much-needed normalcy for Isabelle during this tumultuous period.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my two favorite girls,” Cadence’s mom, Alicia, said as she opened the door.
“Grandma!” Izzy cried, throwing herself into her grandmother’s arms. “Hi, hi, hi! You’ll never guess what happened at school this week!”
This was, Cadence knew, the kind of story that could go on for a while, so she gently interrupted before Isabelle could get started.
“Hang on, Izzy. Hi, Mom.” She leaned in over Isabelle’s head to give her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for hanging out with this squirt today. You know I really appreciate it, right?”
Alicia brushed the thanks off. “Nonsense, Caddy,” she said, using Cadence’s childhood nickname, which only her mother used these days. “I won’t be thanked for hanging out with the very best granddaughter in the whole wide world.”
Isabelle swished her skirts happily at the compliment.
“Okay, well, tough luck,” Cadence said cheerfully. “I’m thanking you anyway. Izzy, be good for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”
Isabelle shot her a look as if to say,aren’t I always?
Cadence raised an eyebrow, struggling not to laugh.
“I know, Mommy,” Izzy said, her own look breaking into a smile. “Grandma said she’s going to teach me how to make dumplings for soup today.”
“We’ll pack you some chicken and dumplings for dinner too, so you don’t have to cook after work,” Alicia said warmly.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Now what did Ijustsay about that?”
With a laugh, Cadence got back in her car and drove to work. As soon as her daughter was out of sight, however, her mood deflated a bit. She never knew what to do with herself in the moments where she found herself missing Tyler. She wasn’tsupposedto miss him, was she? She honestly didn’t know. Their separation felt like this horrible way station, where she didn’t know what to think or feel about her marriage… or if she even stillhada marriage.
It just made her feel lost. And a little like she wanted to cry.
But she had work, so she couldn’t indulge in her feelings. She shook herself briskly as she pulled into the gallery parking lot. It was Sunday, and the gallery was only open in the mornings, so she didn’t have very much to do. Even so, she puttered around, straightening some already straight paintings, wiping invisible dust from surfaces.
Anything, she admitted to herself wryly, to avoid her own thoughts.
Although she helped a few errant customers who wandered into the gallery, Cadence found her morning mostly quiet, as was common for Sundays when it wasn’t tourist season. When noon hit and she closed up shop, she confirmed with her mother via text that Isabelle was still having a blast with her grandparents, and that neither adults nor child were ready for Cadence to come retrieve her daughter.
Facing a couple of free hours, a rarity for any parent and especially now that Cadence was single parenting, she decided to treat herself to lunch at the Main Street Diner. When she walked into the bustling restaurant, she immediately spotted Eleanor, who was nibbling on some fries and reading a book.
