For maybe the first time ever, Katelyn wasn’t desperately unhappy that the kids were with Steve. She was on a mission that she wouldn’t have tackled with them in tow. She skipped down the porch stairs, inhaling deeply as a stomach rumble inducing aroma of pumpkin pancakes, fresh bacon and espresso kissed her senses. It was as if River’s Sigh’s dining hall itself was trying to lure her to breakfast. Like she needed another lure! She practically sprinted down the trail.
When she opened the hall’s heavy door, she hesitated. It was full of chatting, laughing bodies. Katelyn recognized a few guests from the other cabins, but lots of people had come from town too, as was the Saturday custom. She steeled herself. It didn’t matter. If it was too loud, they could sneak outside. Katelyn felt like a bouncing ball of happy nerves as she walked into the crowded room. It had been weeks since she’d taken part in one of the breakfasts—Jo and Callum were giving her and the kids a good enough deal as it was without feeding them too—but she’d noticed Brian’s jeep, miraculously still present in the parking area. She couldn’t wait another minute to talk to him. She was desperate to say that if he wanted to start officially seeing each other, to see where things might lead, she was in—and that she had asked for a divorce to prove it. Marilee would have the documents prepared by Monday, and Steve would be served his copy early the next week. Her glee ratcheted up a notch to something closer to anxiety—
No, she commanded herself. Worry about how Steve will react when the time comes. For now, just be happy. Focus on the moment.
She spotted Brian by the coffee island. As if feeling the heat of her gaze, he turned and broke into a welcoming grin. But wait. What the—? The happy ball of emotions playing through Katelyn hit a wall.
Who was the cute, athletic blonde standing close to Brian, one hand possessively on his arm? Wow . . . that hadn’t taken him long at all.
What did you expect? she asked herself. You told him flat out that you guys could never be a thing. He respected that and he’s moving on. You can’t fault him.
Still, she was hurt he’d shown up here with a date. And so soon.
Brian’s smile faltered and his expression changed from welcoming to questioning. She shoved her stupid disappointment away and pasted a smile back in place.
Brian leaned in and whispered something to the woman on his arm. She darted a look Katelyn’s way, then chuckled lightly and released her hold on him.
A second later, Brian was by Katelyn’s side, two mugs in hand now, one of which he passed to her. Unfortunately, the blonde had come with him.
“Um, thanks,” Katelyn said, and for the first time in ages, she felt a bit shy with Brian. Thank goodness she hadn’t texted him the “exciting” news. This was bad enough. How awkward that would have been!
“So how are you? How was your week?” he asked.
“Great, great. And yours?” She groaned inwardly the minute the words left her suddenly dry mouth. Really? This was what they were going to become? Acquaintances who sucked at small talk? She wished she hadn’t accepted the coffee. Now she’d have to drink it or it would be obvious she was fleeing. If she hadn’t taken it, she could have made an excuse, said she’d come to talk to Jo or something, and left right away.
“Yeah, mine too. Great.”
Well, at least he was doing no better with small talk than she was. At a loss for anything else to say, but desperately needing to do something, Katelyn extended her hand to Brian’s friend. “Hi, I’m Katelyn.”
The woman smiled and, of all the slightly weird ways to respond, nodded before she shook Katelyn’s proffered hand. Then, seeming to realize Katelyn was out of the loop, she added, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Naomi. I’ve heard so much about you, I just assumed Brian told you about me too, especially since he’s moving in.”
What? Katelyn’s head reeled and she tried to hide the hurt shock ripping through her by taking a big gulp of coffee. It was scalding hot and burned all the way down, but she kind of relished the pain. It gave her an excuse for the tears that sprang to her eyes. “Ouch, sorry,” she coughed. “That was stupidly hot.”
“Are you all right?” Brian rested a concerned hand on her shoulder.
Katelyn pushed him away. “I’m fine. Fine.” She coughed again. “Just surprised.” Shocked was more like it though. How could he move in with someone a mere week after telling her she was the first person to make him believe two people could be meant for each other? Was it just a line he used? Maybe she’d misread him from the get-go. Maybe she was the queen of not being able to tell a good guy from a bad one. She closed her eyes. No, Brian was a good guy. Just one she had rejected and who was moving on.
When she opened her eyes, Brian was staring at her pensively. “Well, it’s not a sure thing yet—”
“No, Brian. Don’t worry,” Naomi interrupted. “We have a history and I want to make this work. Just let me settle a few things.”
Jo took that moment to burst through the swinging kitchen doors with fresh cinnamon buns. Katelyn could’ve kissed her.
“Oh, I want one of those!” Katelyn pivoted toward the kitchen, eager to escape. “Nice to meet you, Naomi,” she chirped over her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, Brian.”
He caught her arm and she looked down at his fingers on her flesh, trying to ignore her racing pulse. “What?”
His face was full of something intense, but he shook his head and his next words were out of sync with the raw emotion burning in his eyes. “Nothing, not really. I just wanted to know . . . are we still on to run together tomorrow morning before you get the kids back?”
Katelyn’s gaze crept to Naomi, standing a few paces behind Brian, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Brian followed her look, and one of his eyebrows lifted in confusion—then smoothed as he apparently arrived at a moment of clarity. He nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Katelyn wanted to reach out and clasp his freshly shaved jaw in both hands. She wanted to plant a kiss on him that would loosen all the tight, disappointed, frightened places in both of them. She wanted him to read her mind, pull her body to his, then lift her up and swing her around in joy-filled excitement. She wanted—
But then Jo was greeting a new family of guests who were just entering the hall, Brian was reaching for a cinnamon roll, and Naomi was chattering about how “amazing” the coffee was and how she was “dying” for a refill—and Katelyn was slammed by just how alone she really was.
She leaned toward Brian, head bowed, and whispered, “Are you really thinking of moving in with her?”
“Yeah, but it’s not—”
Katelyn raised her hand to stave of explanations. He didn’t owe her any and she couldn’t bear to hear them. A burning lump threatened to close off her throat and it was work, hard work, to swallow it.
“That’s great,” she said weakly. “You’ve been looking for a new place to call home and now you’ve found it. I’m happy for you.”
She turned and dashed away before he could utter a word of the regrets she saw so clearly in his eyes.
Maybe he’d been about to follow her because she heard Callum stop him. “Brian, wait up. I’ve been trying to catch you all week. There’s something Jo and I think might interest you.”
It’s for the best, she told herself sternly. You can’t stay in Greenridge, and Brian loves it. His whole life is here. Why shoot for something you can’t keep?
So why’d you even bother with divorce papers then? a little voice nagged.
Katelyn slammed the dining room door harder than she intended. Jo’s wiry mutt, asleep in a patch of sunshine on the porch, lifted his graying muzzle and gave her a very odd look.