Chapter Twenty-Three

Peaches had moved beyond feeling miserable. At least, that’s what she told herself. She’d broken up with Colin. She’d get over it eventually, but she didn’t think there was anything she could do to hurry the process along, no matter how much she tried.

She’d spent a sleepless night after their fight telling herself she was definitely in the right, although she suspected she was definitely not. She also suspected her disappointment over Ruth and the business plan had played into her impatience with Colin. A perfect shit storm.

She woke bleary-eyed and headachy, in no shape to bake but also in no shape to stay home, since staying home meant being alone with her own gloom. Or alone with her gloom and Wiseass, which wasn’t much better.

She didn’t have more than a glimpse of Colin for several days. He stopped coming in for breakfast, and he arrived for work after she left. A dozen times, she wanted to search him out and explain herself. But she couldn’t do that, either.

She was stuck being miserable. And being wrong. And being unable to tell him.

Alicia didn’t say anything more about her bracelet, but Peaches noticed she wasn’t wearing it to work anymore. Probably a good idea.

She came back from the grocery one day with a load of lettuce, only to find Alicia erasing the whiteboard. She stepped back guiltily when she saw Peaches in the doorway.

“What’s up?” Peaches asked, although she was pretty sure she knew.

“It doesn’t look like we have enough chicken for pot pie. I was changing it to spaghetti.”

With her sauce, no doubt. “We’ve got enough chicken. I checked it yesterday. Spaghetti’s on the board for next week.”

Alicia’s expression was stony. “Just trying to help.”

Yeah, right. This had gone on long enough, and Peaches had enough on her plate already. “Stick around after lunch today. We need to talk.”

Alicia didn’t look delighted by that idea, but she couldn’t refuse. After lunch service, Peaches waited until Tug and Blanca had left. Then she tossed her dish towel into the laundry and turned to face her assistant, waiting with a stony expression on the other side of the kitchen.

“I’m only going to say this once. I like this job. I’m not going to quit. If you think you can convince Ruth to fire me, you’re wrong. Ruth likes what I’m doing. She’s the reason I’m in charge of the restaurant. So if you’re only sticking around because you think you can take over, you should probably move on.”

Alicia raised her chin. She looked like she was gritting her teeth. “I didn’t try to get you fired. I just talked to Ruth about the menu. You weren’t listening to my ideas.”

“That’s nonsense, and we both know it. I incorporated some of your ideas into the menu. I rejected some because they were too expensive or they didn’t fit the clientele.” She took another breath, pulling herself up to her full height. Alicia had a couple of inches on her, but Peaches never let herself be intimidated. “If you choose to stick around, you need to cut the crap. If you have a legitimate suggestion for the menu, I want to hear it. But you need to be aware of the budget and the kind of customers we draw. And if I tell you something won’t work, that’s it. Unless you can find a way to make it work, we’re not going to discuss it again. That’s a waste of our time.”

“Are you firing me?” Alicia stood very still.

“Not at the moment. I’m telling you to stop screwing around and get to work. You’re good at your job, and you’ve got an impressive skill set. Use it.”

Peaches turned on her heel, heading for the deli. With any luck, Alicia wouldn’t be around when she came back. She didn’t think she could do another set-down. One a day was pretty much her limit.

…

On Friday, Peaches found herself looking for Colin as she finished up for the afternoon. Based on what had happened all week, he wouldn’t come in until after she’d gone. Still, she’d like to at least see him even if they no longer spoke to each other.

Carol put away the cookie ingredients that afternoon without any prompting. Peaches wasn’t sure if Ruth had told her about the breakup or not, but she seemed to be particularly thoughtful, at least when Peaches was around.

“How did the peanut butter cookies go?” Carol asked as she helped Peaches load the dishwasher one last time.

“They sold pretty well. Chocolate chip is still our best seller, but peanut butter ranks right up there. Better than oatmeal, anyway.”

“Well, of course.” Carol slid one last sheet pan into the rack where they were stored. “We should try something more exciting sometime.”

“Exciting how?” Peaches tried to look intrigued. Not even baking seemed to get her pulses going these days. The “wow dessert” had pretty much fallen by the wayside.

“I found a recipe online for kitchen sink cookies. They’ve got oatmeal and chocolate chips and pretzels and potato chips. And some Reese’s Pieces for peanut butter. So it would be a chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookie. Everything we need.” Carol gave her a brilliant smile.

Everything we need? Not quite. “Print out the recipe and bring it in. I’ll take a look at it and see if I think they’d work for us.” Assuming she found the energy, of course.

“You’ll like it.” Carol nodded confidently. “It’s a cookie with everything.”

“Everything doesn’t always add up to a decent cookie, but I’ll look it over.”

“Okay. See you.” Carol grabbed a cookie of her own and headed out the door.

Peaches studied the cookies in the storage container. Sugar cookies with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sort of like snickerdoodles, but not exactly. If she’d been on top of her game, she’d probably have been able to tweak the recipe to make them more interesting. As it was, she’d been lucky they weren’t burned to a crisp.

After a long moment, she put some of the cookies on a plate then scrawled a note. If she didn’t think too much about what she was doing, maybe she could just do it and leave.

She gathered her things—her jacket and gloves, her purse and her tote—and headed toward the back door, pausing just once to listen. Maybe Colin had come in, but most likely he hadn’t. After all, the lights were still on, and he seemed to prefer the place dark and empty when he showed up.

She trudged through the melting snow toward home. At least the temperatures had begun to rise as they inched closer to spring. It still snowed every week, but the sun was bright and the ice was melting. Happiness everywhere. Except with her.

Having fun feeling sorry for yourself? She wasn’t, not really.

Time to pull herself together once and for all. She’d never been one for moping around. She’d had bad breakups before, and she’d survived. Of course, she’d never before experienced a relationship like she’d had with Colin. She’d never felt the bond as deeply before. But she decided that wouldn’t make any difference. She had to get herself back on track. She couldn’t let the loss of one man screw up her life. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as her father or Jerry Cox, but he wasn’t perfect. He’d still managed to hurt her about as badly.

She unlocked her front door and headed for the dining room, where she kept Wiseass’s crate. The dog was ecstatic to see her, as usual. She knelt down, wrapping her arms around Wiseass’s neck, burying her face in the dog’s fur. “We need to get you a new name, pup,” she murmured. “You’re really a sweetheart, not a Wiseass. Maybe we can call you Sweetie.”

Wiseass turned her head to lick Peaches’s nose enthusiastically. In spite of herself, Peaches giggled. “At least one good thing came out of this train wreck. I got you, didn’t I, girl? We got each other.”

…

Colin came late to the Goat again. He’d gotten into the habit of waiting until he saw the place was dark before he ventured inside.

Really mature. Maybe not, but he couldn’t face Peaches just yet. He still ached inside when he thought of her. He wasn’t sure how long that feeling would go on. Probably until spring. Or until he found a new place to work and live.

Working at the brewery during the day was beginning to cut into his cleaning time anyway. He usually did his mornings there then headed to the pub to check on the new brews he and Liam were working on in the afternoon. The space was smaller than the shed, but it was also warmer and more congenial. He’d made friends with a couple of the wait staff, and he’d even had a civil conversation with Wyatt about seasonal brews.

Amazing how his life had begun to turn around in the space of a week or so. Of course, the really amazing part was that even though his life was turning around, he still felt shitty.

Get over it, already. Time to move on. That was true. Unfortunately, he’d never learned how to listen to his own advice.

He pulled his cleaning supplies out of the closet, deciding he’d take care of the deli and the restrooms before he fixed himself some supper. The kitchen usually didn’t need much beyond a wipe down of the stove and counters and sometimes a floor mopping. He started to head back into the deli then paused.

There was a plate of cookies on the table, anchoring a note written on the kitchen notepad. He stepped toward the table, feeling a little as if it might be radioactive.

He picked up the notepad slowly. Peaches’s handwriting.

I never meant to hurt you. I’m so sorry. Peaches

He stared down at the paper, trying to sort through his tangled feelings. Still some anger and resentment, of course. Why should he let her off the hook? He hadn’t done anything wrong, dammit.

An image flashed through his mind. Peaches bending over him in the shed, helping him to his feet so that she could save him. Peaches’s miraculous smile. Peaches lying beside him, sleepy and golden.

Forgiving people can actually make you feel pretty good.

A lot better than resentment, probably.

He nibbled on a cookie. Not bad. Not bad at all.

…

Peaches got to work a little earlier than usual the next day. She had baking to do, of course. And there was always the chance that Colin might come down from his apartment while she was still around. That chance was pretty slim, of course, but she still hoped it might happen.

She’d left him the cookies, after all. Surely, that counted for something.

But the building was dark when she got there, and she was pretty sure he was already gone. She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension. She’d really hoped the cookies might make a difference, that they might be able to be friends at least. It was depressing to realize they hadn’t.

She hung up her coat and stuffed her tote and purse under the counter where she usually left them. Then she headed into the kitchen.

The cookie plate still sat on the prep table where she’d left it, but the cookies were gone. At least he’d eaten them, assuming she wouldn’t find them in the trash later. The notepad she’d used to write him still sat on the table where she’d left it.

Her note was still on the top page where she’d left it. I never meant to hurt you. I’m so sorry. She hoped he’d believed it, because it was nothing but the truth.

She picked up the pad, flipping up the page to tear it off. Colin had written something on the second page.

Thanks. Colin

She stared at it for a long moment, trying to decide if he was thanking her for the cookies or the apology. Or both.

Does it matter?

Maybe not. Whichever it was, he wasn’t here, and they still hadn’t spoken.

She closed her eyes. At least she’d made an effort. Whatever else happened between them was up to him.