“You seem so short with me. We used to be buds. I miss those days.”
“We weren’t ever buds. Not really. I was a child and you were an employee of my parents.”
She sounded ridiculously rude, but she couldn’t seem to shove the words back in.
Pam looked hurt but she nodded. “I remember those days with fondness, when you used to come into the office and tell me about your friends and the boy you liked and your latest book obsession.”
“That was a long time ago.” Before, when Emma had been young and innocent and stupid.
“I suppose it was. Well, I’m glad you’re back. Your mom has been terribly worried about you over the years. She missed you so much. It’s great to have you back in town.”
“Thanks,” she said, through lips that felt numb. Emma didn’t bother telling Pam thatshewas one of the reasons Emma had stayed away so long.
“I’m about to close the store,” she said when Pam made no move to leave. “You’re my last customer of the evening.”
Before Pam could answer, the bells on the door chimed.
She felt a rush of relief and something deeper when she saw Bryce come in, pulling the hood back on his raincoat and shaking drops off on the mat.
His expression brightened when he saw Pam.
“Hey there, Pam, how are you?”
“Fantastic,” the other woman said, beaming back at him.
Emma ground her teeth, fighting the urge to pull Pam awayand shove her out the door. She didn’t want her anywhere near Bryce, which Emma knew was a completely irrational reaction.
The two of them worked together at Lucas Construction. Of course they would be friendly. Her parents had always fostered community and connection, treating their coworkers more like family than employees.
“How’s your mom?” Pam asked, her features the very picture of concern.
“About the same,” he answered. “She’s back at her care center, where she’s already started physical therapy for her hip.”
“And how did things go with the Pine Beach project today? You’re nearly done, aren’t you?”
“On the home stretch. They’re supposed to close on Monday.”
The two of them worked together daily. They were part of a club where she didn’t belong. As she listened to them talk about the ins and outs of things at Lucas Construction, things she would have known had she been working there since high school, Emma could feel the tension seething beneath her skin.
If she needed any kind of reminder about her own mistakes, this was it. She and her dad had always talked about working together some day. Even after his death, she could have been helping her mom run the company if she had not made the choices she had.
What was done was done. She could not change the past or the decisions she had made. That didn’t stop her from resenting a woman she held responsible for so much of her pain.
“I better take off,” Pam said after looking at her watch. “I’m already late. I told my friend I would stop by to see her a half hour ago.”
“I’ll see you later,” Bryce said.
“I love what you’ve already done to the place,” Pam said. “I can’t wait to see the rest. I’m sure it will all be fabulous when you’re finished. Everything you touch ends up so much better.”
“Thanks,” Bryce said, clearly pleased.
Emma again fought the urge to punch Pam in the face. And Bryce, too, while she was at it. Hewasdoing a great job here but Emma had certainly helped. She had come up with most of the ideas and she was spending plenty of her free time after hours helping where she could.
After Pamfinallyleft, Emma went to the front door and turned the sign to Closed, then locked it. If she used a little more force than usual, who could blame her?
When she was certain Pam couldn’t somehow sneak back in, she finally turned to Bryce. “I wasn’t sure if I would see you here today.”
“I did say I would be here when I was done at the other project, I just wasn’t sure what time.”
