Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 103119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Who am I to take on a job this size?
Did she really think she could landscape a town landmark? The woman who’d been stupidly impressed by her color-coding system of pink, light pink, and lightest pink? Because now she just wanted to laugh. I am such a fraud. Look at the destruction I cause.
With a permanent knot in her throat, Hallie put her head down and barreled into the small convenience store, hurtling herself toward the refrigerated aisle. She was being ridiculous, of course. The world wasn’t going to end if she ran into someone she knew. She’d gone through months of grieving for her grandmother, so she knew it was possible to act normal under bad circumstances. The reason she didn’t want to see or interact with anyone this time had more to do with self-loathing.
I can’t believe you did that.
I can’t believe you hurt him that way.
Hallie opened the glass door and took out a half gallon of milk, closing it again with a schnick. She move back up the aisle as quickly as she’d come, doubling back once to snag an unplanned jar of peanut butter—but she stopped on a dime about ten feet from the self-checkout register. Really? Really? She should have driven to the next town over to buy milk and impromptu peanut butter. Why did this town have to be so small?
Not one but two people that she knew were inside this shop. At eight o’clock in the morning on a Thursday, no less. What were the chances?
Natalie was leaning her hip against a shelf on the other side of the store, frowning down at the ingredients on the back of a cracker box. Despite liking Julian’s sister so much, the woman was literally one of the very last people Hallie wanted to see. Not after what she’d done to Julian, dredging up traumatic memories from a fire. And then there was Owen. He was inside the store, too, hunkered down in front of the candy display selecting a pack of gum. He’d called her a few days ago asking where she’d been and she’d texted back claiming to have a cold. She couldn’t avoid him forever, but was a few years of being antisocial and drowning her sorrow in Golden Grahams so much to ask?
“Hallie!” Owen said brightly, straightening so quickly, he almost knocked over the cardboard candy display. He steadied it with a sheepish eye roll before coming in her direction. Stopping a few feet away and raking his palms up and down the sides of his jeans. Grass-stained ones he obviously used for gardening. Over his shoulder, Natalie turned her head and surveyed the two of them sharply, her expression unreadable.
Drop the milk and run.
That’s what Hallie wanted to do, but she didn’t deserve to avoid this awkward situation. She’d made her bed and now she had to lie in it.
“Wow, must have been a hell of a cold,” Owen chuckled, before catching himself. “Dammit, I . . . I didn’t mean that how it sounded. You always look beautiful. I can just tell you’ve been sick, you know? Been through a few sleepless nights. No offense.”
Behind Owen, Natalie was listening intently.
God save me.
“No offense taken.” She forced a smile and sidled toward the register. “I’m sorry, I have to get home and walk the dogs—”
“Hey, I was thinking.” Owen moved with her. “Why don’t you take another few days to recover, then come with me to the home and garden show in Sacramento this weekend? I figured we could get an early start on Saturday and make a day out of it.”
Natalie crossed her arms and got more comfortable in her lean against the shelves, as if to say, Oh, I’m staying for the whole-ass show now. Hallie gulped. And she couldn’t help but search Julian’s sister’s face for some sign as to how Julian was doing. Was he totally recovered from his flashback? Was he writing again? Angry? Had he maybe even gone back to Stanford?
That last possibility had heat burning the backs of her eyes.
Oh God, she wasn’t ready to be in town. She should have stayed home.
Cereal with water was fine. More than she deserved.
“Um, Owen . . . I don’t think I can make it.”
He drew back, his smile tightening in a way she hadn’t seen before. “I’ve given you a lot of space, Hallie. Either put me out of my misery or . . . try.” The tips of his ears were turning red as a tomato. “I’m just asking you to try and see if we could be something. If we could work.”
“I know. I know that.”
Hallie was sweating under the fluorescent lights, black coffee burning laps around her stomach. Natalie, arms still crossed, was tapping a finger against her opposite elbow, shadows in her eyes. How many people had Hallie affected with her impulsiveness? First, her grandmother had rearranged her priorities to help manage Hallie’s. Lavinia had been dragged along into her nonsense, although she did seem to enjoy the mayhem on occasion, even if she disapproved. Hallie’s clients were always exasperated with her lack of reliability. She’d somehow managed to convince Julian she was worth all of the trouble she caused, but she’d blown even that. Lost him. Lost the man who made her heart tick correctly.