The moment Becca collapsed onto her bed, the floodgates opened. She cried into her pillow, wailing like a newborn baby until her eyes were red and swollen. The night had turned into day by the time she’d cried herself out. As much as she wanted to just go to sleep and never wake up, she knew she needed to get to Cathy’s to help finish the orders that had piled up. With both of them taking yesterday off, their little business would be swamped.
With a pounding head, raw nose, and upset stomach, Becca forced herself to shower and dress. Pressing cold compresses to the bags under her eyes helped somewhat, but she had to resort to concealer to hide the redness.
She reached for her makeup bag and cringed at the sight of her ringless finger. Why had Rusty done that? They’d sworn to work together, regardless of what obstacle came their way. Didn’t he understand that she was happy to stay with him, even if it meant giving up her dreams? Her dreams didn’t mean anything if he wasn’t in her life to share them.
But he’d been so cold and distant. Nothing like the Rusty she’d fallen in love with. She knew that he’d been through a lot, that it could have just been the stress talking. But how could she trust him? If he didn’t want her around now, what about the next time?
Emotions whirled through her mind, but she did her best to stifle them before heading downstairs. She could handle Julia Cramer’s well-meaning concern, but her six-year-old son, Ryan, was a different matter. He wouldn’t understand, and he’d already been through a lot in the last year with his father’s death overseas.
Stepping quietly, she left her room and made her way to the foyer closet to get her coat. She opened the door and slipped her arms through the puffy coat she’d bought from the thrift store and stretched a knitted hat over her head.
“You goin’ to see Rusty?”
Becca jumped then turned to see Ryan standing there in his Transformer pajamas.
“He said he’d fix my train set, but he hasn’t come by yet.” Ryan held out a small electric engine.
Becca knelt in front of him. “I’m sorry, buddy, but he has some things he’s dealing with right now. But I’ll try to get Mr. Eric or Mr. Devon to stop by. Would that work?”
His shoulders rose to his ears. “I guess so.”
“Ryan, you need to get ready for school,” Julia, called from her room. “Let Ms. Becca get to work and stop bothering her, please.”
He about-faced and trotted back to the end of the hall to his room.
Becca opened the front door to a world of sparkling ice and snow. She had forgotten there was a possibility of snow. She’d imagined Rusty and her sitting by a fire, watching the snow fall this weekend, celebrating Valentine’s Day together. But that was no longer possible.
Sighing, she trudged down the sidewalk toward Cathy’s house. The four blocks seemed longer than usual in the biting cold and with her lack of energy, but she finally made it and rapped on the door. Wind swept through the street, finding a direct path between the fence posts to her back. She shivered and held her coat tight.
The door swung open. “For goodness sakes, why didn’t you let yourself in?”
Becca bolted through the door and stopped in front of the heater vent, scanning the room for her father. “I didn’t know if you’d have company.”
Cathy slapped her hands to her side. “You’re being silly. We’re not married yet.”
Becca smiled. “I still don’t want to take any chances. I’d be scarred for life.”
Cathy marched to the kitchen. “I guess I need to get you something warm to drink and a tablespoon of castor oil to smooth that evil tongue of yours.”
“Is that even a real thing? I mean, I’ve only heard of it in old movies.”
“Oh, it’s real, all right. I drank half a bottle of that stuff with my second child. I was so ready to have that baby and he was late.” She shook her head. “That boy was always late. Guess that’s why he’s five years late on visiting.”
Becca rubbed her hands together and trailed after her. “Well, I’m here to keep you company, so let’s get to work. Those orders must be piling up.”
“It’s not so bad. I was awake last night anyway, so I finished up Mrs. Larkin’s hem and let out Mr. Maroon’s pants.”
“So, then we have two dresses to hem, a blazer to tailor and a Valentine’s dance dress to finish by tonight, right?”
Cathy handed her a warm mug, but didn’t let it go. “You okay, honey? Did you sleep last night?”
Becca tried to smile. “Not so much, but I’m ready to work. It’ll be good to keep my mind off things.” Before Cathy could ask anymore, she went upstairs and set her coat down on the table then pulled out the green dress that needed hemming.
Cathy retrieved the jacket from the rack and sat down beside her with a quizzical look. A moment later, the navy blue material flopped down on the table in front of Becca. “Okay, spill it. You look like you just buried your favorite pet in the back yard and its come back to haunt you.”
Becca placed the bobbin on the top of the machine and wound it with the fern green thread. “It’s nothing.” When she retrieved the dress from the table, Cathy gasped and caught her arm in her iron grip.
“Wait. Your ring. Where is it? Did you lose it?”
Becca tugged her arm away. “No, of course not. I gave it back.”
Cathy grunted, her hands on her hips. “Why’d you do that?”
Realizing the sewing machine pedal was tangled in the power cord, Becca bent over to unwind them. “Because Rusty doesn’t want to marry me.” Just saying the words threatened to open the floodgates again, but she swallowed hard, closing the door on her emotions. “He said it’s my fault the fire happened and that we don’t belong together.”
“What gave him that fool idea?” Cathy’s face turned all shades of angry.
Becca swung around in the chair. “You did. You told him about my offer to be the intern for Devine Simplicity.”
“I did no such thing. The only one I told was…” Cathy froze before her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. Becca didn’t know who crossed her, but she certainly didn’t want to be them right now.
“This is a bunch of nonsense. I’ll straighten it out. Don’t worry.”
Becca sighed and lowered the dress to her lap. “No. Let it go. He hates me, blames me for his house burning down, and honestly, I don’t want to marry a man who leaves at the first sign of trouble. He promised me he’d never leave and now, look.”
Cathy tossed the blazer aside and helped her untangle the cords. “Oh, child. He’s not your mother. You can’t think he’d run out on you. Rusty’s a good man. I don’t know why he said the things he did, but I know there’s more to this story and I’m going to find out what.”
Becca slid the dress onto the machine and lowered the presser foot. “It doesn’t matter. We’re through. I’m not going to spend my life worrying about whether he’ll walk out on me. As you told me, I should make a future for myself, so that’s what I’m going to do.”