Page 91 of Hearts on the Mend

It was a good day. A really good day.

I peek behind me at the lit windows, voices carrying outside as they argue over UNO again. I think about Nolan, always leaving, and the way his whole family is holding their breath, hoping this time he won’t.

And if I’m being honest, me too.

Chapter 29

Nolan

“Happy for you, son. We’ll be fucking glad to have you back,” Lethbridge says over the phone. “Bit relieved. Shit’s tricky with half the team gone now.”

I scratch my jaw, my eyes fixed on the spring wreath Cassie and Ruby made last night hanging on the front door. I’m going to miss Easter after all.

“Yeah, excited to be back.” It’s cold in my truck. I’ve been parked in the driveway for fifteen minutes, stalling before I head inside after my drive back from Boston.

Not sure that’s how I would describe the sinking feeling in my stomach, but I know that’s what he wants to hear. Hell, the “yes” I heard this morning was all I’ve been working toward for months, but it didn’t land right.

Felt a lot like when I was up on that anchor point with Jared and the fire was spotting—embers raining down the mountainside in a fiery red shower as the winds picked up. One problem quickly spurred into a hundred different problems.

The kitchen still smells of fresh paint when I finally walk inside. A soft wheat yellow like she asked. I put on the last of the brass hardware this morning and hung a new pendant light over the farm sink I bought.

I couldn’t help myself. Cassie had been talking about an extra-big sink for weeks.

I swallow back the sharp, metallic tang in my mouth. Never been so nervous, so…

Cassie is arranging a vase of bright-yellow daffodils. Her eyes light up as soon as she sees me.

“Hey.” I stuff my hands into my pockets.

I wish this were easier.

That light of excitement fades in her eyes. She braces her hands on the counter, studying me. “You got cleared?”

I nod.

“So what’s the timeline?”

“I need to leave tomorrow so I can report back to base for the end of the week.”

Her silence is enough to gut me, but I stand there. She gathers the clipped stems from the countertop and tosses them in the trash, then wipes the counter off. Her hands are busy, but I can tell her mind is busier. Then her jaw stiffens, her shoulders straighten, and any expression drops.

She’s back behind her wall, and I’m shut out. It took months to get her to open up to me, and seconds for that to end.

“It’s a lot sooner than we talked about, I know. But we can… are you⁠—”

“Don’t,” she cautions quietly. “You must be happy. Excited.”

That’s the fucking worst of it. I am, and I’m not going to start lying to her now. “Yeah.”

Cassie tosses down the sponge, then peeks back up at me. “If you’re going to crush our hearts, then you deserve to feel it too.” She motions toward the hallway. “You tell Ruby.”

The brutal New England winter doesn’t fade, it melts. And the vicious cold edges become brown and muddy. It’s ugly.

I guess the same is true about hard decisions. And this? Fuck, this isn’t easy.

Cassie stayed back to do the dishes, and I volunteered to take Ruby for a walk after supper.

“They’re so loud. Don’t they know it’s bedtime?”