Kaitlyn awoke the next morning with mixed emotions. Mitch was no longer in the space beside her like he’d been for the last few weeks. Along with the empty space in her bed was a void in her heart. She’d never been in love before so she guessed she’d also never felt the full extent of a broken heart.
It hurt. A lot.
After dragging herself out of bed, she went to the bathroom and then retrieved fresh clothes from her chest of drawers. A few minutes later, she walked into the kitchen to get started on breakfast: a sunrise frittata. She wanted to start off her parents’ day with the full bed-and-breakfast experience. After that, she planned on giving them a tour of the inn. She hadn’t gone into detail last night about what had happened with Bradley but she suspected they’d have questions. They told her they believed her story though, and would stand beside her no matter what she decided to do.
Honestly, she just wanted to let the past go. It was a mess but everyone had messes. Some weren’t as easily forgotten, like Mitch’s. She understood that. What she couldn’t come to grips with was the way he’d treated her when he’d ended things the other day. She wanted to believe he thought he was doing her a favor by being such a brute but maybe that was just the real him, the Mitch she’d first met two months ago, standing in the front room and adamantly stating that he wouldn’t be agreeing to the stipulations of Mable’s will.
But he’d changed his mind. And after a while, he’d changed. She’d watched the transformation. He’d become happy here. At home here.
Unwilling to waste a moment more dwelling on something she couldn’t change, Kaitlyn carried the breakfast plates to the table and greeted everyone, playing the part of the happy hostess. Since she’d arrived, she hadn’t had to pretend that was true. Today, however, it took effort.
“Good morning, dear.” Her mom beamed from the table, sitting beside her father. As usual, her mom was perfectly put together. Her hair was already styled and her makeup applied tastefully.
“How did you sleep last night?” Kaitlyn asked, joining her parents after all the guests had been served a plate.
“Like a baby,” her father said with an appreciative nod.
“Oh, the bed was so soft. And it’s amazing how quiet it is here. You’d think being in a house full of people would be dreadfully loud but it wasn’t.”
“Well, you’re used to being in a home smack-dab in a city full of millions, Mom. Sweetwater Springs is a small community.”
“It is. And it’s a nice change of pace.” Her mom forked a piece of her frittata into her mouth and closed her eyes. “Oh, George. You must try this food our daughter has prepared. It’s so good.”
He dutifully took a bite, and Kaitlyn couldn’t help the satisfaction mounting inside her at impressing her parents. “Delicious,” he affirmed. “She definitely didn’t get her cooking talents from you, Marjorie,” he told Kaitlyn’s mom, whose mouth popped open before laughing.
“No, I’ll admit that’s true,” her mom said.
After breakfast, Kaitlyn took them through each room of the inn while her mother oohed and aahed at all the furnishings.
“You always did have so much imagination,” her mom commented.
Kaitlyn ended the tour of the house in the ballroom and told them about the movie nights they’d had here and her plans to possibly hire someone to teach ballroom dance lessons in the future. “It really has been so magical seeing this place come alive. I know exactly why Grandma Mable loved this B and B so much.”
“Your grandparents didn’t buy this place until after I left for college,” Kaitlyn’s father said. “I never spent enough time here to really fall in love with it.”
Kaitlyn’s mom placed a hand on her shoulder. “I might not have supported you coming to stay here at first but I was wrong, honey. If this place makes you happy, then your father and I will just have to plan on coming down here every couple of months to see you. An added bonus is we can stay in a different themed room every time we visit.”
Kaitlyn’s father chuckled. “You’ve been saying we need to have more romantic getaways. I hear this is one of the most romantic towns in the country.”
“For the holidays, at least.” Kaitlyn grinned. “Sweetwater is planning their annual Sweetwater Festival this spring. I hear it’s an amazing time. You two should come down for that.”
“Maybe we will,” her mom said, casting a glance at Kaitlyn’s dad.
Kaitlyn hoped they would as she led them toward the back door. “Do you want me to show you outside?”
“Sure,” both her parents said with what sounded like sincere excitement.
“We’ll have to get our coats,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s freezing out there. But I’ve started making plans for the landscaping once it warms up.” She’d be carrying out those plans on her own, however. From here on out, she and this inn were on their own.
* * *
Mitch nearly missed the turn into his mom’s driveway. With his cloud of thoughts hanging heavily on his mind, he was on autopilot, driving toward the B&B and Kaitlyn. But he’d broken up with her. It was for the best, he kept telling himself, even if he couldn’t seem to convince his heart. It felt like someone had used that vital organ inside his chest as a punching bag over the last four days.
After parking, he walked up the driveway carrying a treat for the two women inside.
His mom and aunt Nettie were sitting at the dining room table playing a game of Rook when he walked in.
His mother immediately lifted her head and sniffed the air. “Dawanda’s fudge,” she said, her eyes rounding like a five-year-old child’s.
“And you’re excited to see me too, right?” he asked, dipping to kiss her temple. As he did, he scrutinized the color of her complexion and the skin under her eyes. She really was doing better these days. The symptoms she’d had when he’d first come to town had been alleviated with rest and supplements. That would make leaving for his security job so much easier.
“Of course, I’m excited to see you,” she said. Mitch turned to his aunt. “Hey, Aunt Nettie. Is Mom behaving?”
“What do you think?” Nettie asked.
“I think I’d be worried if you said yes.”
Nettie emptied the bag of fudge onto a paper plate at the center of the table. “You were always my favorite nephew. And if you keep supplying us with this stuff, you always will be.”
“You plan on staying awhile?” he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from them.
Nettie looked up at him and then flicked her gaze to his mom.
This tripped his gut’s radar. “What?” he asked, looking between them.
“I haven’t told him yet,” his mom said, looking a shade guilty.
“Told me what?” He sat up straighter, suddenly going through the worst-case scenarios of what she would say. Maybe he’d let his guard down too soon. Maybe she wasn’t doing better after all.
His mom frowned. “Stop your worrying,” she ordered. “It’s written all over your face. What I have to say is no big deal. Nettie is just moving in with me, that’s all.”
He raised an eyebrow as his thoughts caught up to speed. “Why? I thought the doctor said you were just exhausted. You just need to slow down, which means not taking on more jobs,” he said, reminded that his mom had been helping Kaitlyn at the Sweetwater B&B a lot these days.
His mom raised a hand. “The doctor says I’m fine, yes. But my small health scare got me thinking that I’m tired of being alone. What if you hadn’t shown up when I collapsed?” She shook her head. “Not only that, with you here, I realized that I’m lonely in this house all by myself.”
“And I’ve been lonely living in my RV,” Aunt Nettie added.
“We’re not getting any younger,” his mom explained. “People need someone to grow old with, and, well, we’ve decided we want to be that for one another.”
“Sure beats waiting on another loser to break my heart.” Aunt Nettie laughed as she licked remnants of a piece of fudge off her fingertips. Mitch’s aunt had never married. Growing up, he’d watched her get close a time or two but it had never worked out. “An added bonus is that I get to see my nephew from time to time.” She winked. “If you come around,” she added, and then took another bite out of her fudge square.
“He will. Mitch has a girl here,” his mom shared.
His mom and aunt really were like two best friends when they got together. Mitch almost felt like a third wheel in this conversation.
“Actually, Kaitlyn and I have decided it’s best if we end things. I’ve been staying with Alex for the last couple of days.”
“What?” His mom was visibly upset.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back to visit you and Aunt Nettie.” And Alex, Tuck, and Dawanda. He had family here. Friends. This was his hometown. “I’m happy for you two,” he told his mom and aunt. “I think this is a good thing.”
“It is,” his mom agreed as he reached for a piece of fudge himself. Both his mom and Nettie swatted at his hand.
“I thought you brought this for us,” Nettie complained.
“Word of wisdom,” his mom offered. “Never come between a woman and her chocolate.”
Mitch chuckled. “Noted.”
“Another word of wisdom. Whatever noble reasons you think you have for cutting things off with Kaitlyn, forget them. Those are in your head. You need to listen to your heart.”
“Mom, I’m going to Northern Virginia. I have a job lined up. One that will pay enough to let you stop working for good.”
His mom put her fudge down—the first clue that he was in trouble—and narrowed her eyes. “Mitchell Douglas Hargrove, I never said I wanted to stop working. I love working. Go to Virginia if you must but I’m going to continue exactly what I’m doing. I’ll slow down, maybe. Nettie is going to help me clean houses. We’re going to be a team, right, Net?”
Aunt Nettie licked the sticky fudge residue off her index finger with a loud smack. “That’s right.”
“And stop sending me money. I don’t need it. I never have,” she said, reaching a hand out to rest over his. “The only thing I need is for you to be happy.”
That’s all he’d ever wanted for her as well. “Ditto,” he said, unable to say anything more for a moment.
“Seeing you happy is what makes me happy, son,” his mom said, offering his hand a little squeeze before reaching for another piece of fudge.
Mitch swallowed past the melon-sized lump in his throat.
“Fine,” Aunt Nettie said, lightening up the sudden heaviness in the room. “I’ll share a piece of my fudge with you.” She broke a piece off and handed it to him. “But just this one time.”
“Thanks.”
Nettie shrugged a shoulder. “I just want you to be happy too.”
After leaving his mom’s house, he climbed into his truck and leaned back against the headrest. Without Kaitlyn, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever feel true happiness again.
His cell phone dinged in the center console, and Kaitlyn’s name lit up the screen and everything inside him for a moment. “Hello?”
“Hi,” she said in a flat voice.
“Hi.” He wanted to tell her that he missed her. That he was sorry. He was a fool. Nothing had changed between them though. Even though he had Brian’s contact information in his phone, he hadn’t called. And there was nothing to indicate that Brian would welcome talking to him any more than Frank Everson had.
“I need you,” Kaitlyn said, igniting hope in a spring he’d thought had dried up. His heart responded with a hard kick. He didn’t deserve to be needed by her but it felt good. Like air at peak elevation.
“Mr. Garrison called. He’s stopping by for breakfast one last time tomorrow. He wants to make sure we’ve met our end of the deal. You weren’t there last time,” she pointed out.
“I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Good.” With that, she hung up on him.
* * *
Kaitlyn had set up Mr. Garrison’s spot at the table beside her. She’d intended for Mitch to sit on Mr. Garrison’s other side but somehow he’d moved to sitting across from them.
She kept her gaze down on the food in front of them.
“This is delicious. Who made it?” Mr. Garrison asked, looking between them. “Kaitlyn or you, Mitch?”
Mitch had only walked in the door five minutes before Mr. Garrison arrived. And in those five minutes, Kaitlyn had successfully avoided looking at or talking to him.
She hated him.
She loved him.
She hated that she was in love with him. So in love that she couldn’t taste the food she was chewing because it hurt to be near Mitch. Hurt to be around him after he’d broken her heart into a million little pieces that she feared would never reassemble.
“Kaitlyn cooked this morning,” Mitch said. Then he rattled off several stories about their time together here at the inn. How he’d helped her master Grandma Mable’s made-from-scratch biscuits. The repairs he’d done. The tree they’d put up right after Thanksgiving.
Kaitlyn didn’t say a word. She was barely listening because she didn’t want to revisit the time they’d spent here together. Whoever said it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all was wrong. Shakespeare? She guessed he would’ve liked this story because the ending wasn’t a happy one.
“Sounds like Mable was right. You two have been a good team,” Mr. Garrison said.
From her peripheral vision, Kaitlyn saw Mitch nod. She didn’t move. They had been a good team. They really had.
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I know you had a plan to sell your half of the B and B to Kaitlyn at the end of the timeline, Mitch.” Mr. Garrison reached for his cup of coffee. “Is that still what you’d like to do?”
Kaitlyn swallowed painfully, waiting for Mitch to respond, but it seemed to be taking forever. Finally, she looked up. “Yes, that’s what we both want,” she blurted out.
Mr. Garrison looked up from his coffee. Then he turned to Mitch. Kaitlyn finally looked at Mitch too. It was hard to hate him when she met his eyes. There was so much to find there: pain, sincerity, warmth.
Not love for her though. They were business partners, and even that relationship was ending tomorrow.
“Yes. I’m not cut out for running a bed and breakfast. This is what Kaitlyn was born to do. She takes after Mable in that way. She can make anyone feel at home. She’s smart, creative, and tireless in the work here.” His gaze slid to hers and stuck. “She’s pretty amazing.”
Fresh pain poured through her. How could he be so nice after the way he’d walked out the other day? After the way he’d turned off the feelings they’d shared so easily?
Mr. Garrison took one more sip of his coffee and scooted back from the dining room table. “Okay, then. I’ll need each of you to stop by my office anytime tomorrow or thereafter. You’ll both have papers to sign.”
“Do we have to come together?” Kaitlyn asked, standing from the table as well.
Mr. Garrison frowned. “No. I know you’ll have your hands full here at the inn, and Mitch has obligations elsewhere with his new job. Just anytime you’re free. I can even swing by here with the paperwork if that’d be easier for you, Kaitlyn.”
“Thank you.” She walked Mr. Garrison to the door.
“I know I’ve already said it but your grandparents would be proud. They’re probably smiling down on this inn right now.”
Kaitlyn hoped that wasn’t true. They’d done well with the inn, yes. But Kaitlyn wouldn’t wish for Mable to see what a mess her attempted matchmaking had made.
Mr. Garrison shook Kaitlyn’s hand and then reached for Mitch’s, who was standing right behind her now. So close she could smell his familiar pine smell, like a freshly cut Christmas tree. Kaitlyn squashed all the attraction that buzzed to life inside her.
After Mr. Garrison descended the porch steps, she closed the door and addressed Mitch, keeping her back to him. “Your job here is done. You can go.”
He didn’t move.
She turned and walked past him, back into the dining room to clean up the dishes.
“I meant what I said. You’re in your element here. And you are amazing,” Mitch said, following her.
Her jaw tightened. “So amazing that you can hardly wait to leave.” Her eyes darted to his. “So, get on with it. Leave.”