Loathe at First Sight: A small-town enemies to lovers romance: The Lawsons: Book 1 (The Lawson's)

30. Shit Happens

thirty

Liz

“Back again, Mr. McAuthur?” I ask as he stands at the counter.

“Yep,” he replies, setting a small briefcase down.

“What did you do to make your wife mad this time?”

“Would you believe me if I told you she’s just having a bad day?”

I stare at him while he hands me his credit card until he finally says, “Okay, okay, I bet on the ponies and lost.”

“How much was it this time?”

“Only fifty dollars, but she told me she’s tired of my shit. Told me to come here while she cools off for the night.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I have no idea how the two of you have stayed married for over forty years.”

“Well, darlin’, I come here. I think that has saved our marriage more times than I can count.”

I hand him over his key. “Room seven. As usual.”

“You’re a doll.” Mr. McAuthur is old enough to not have any idea about me or who I am. He knows my parents, but he’s beyond the stage in his life that involves caring about any type of drama.

Besides the few long-term guests this place has, he’s the only ‘regular’ that I’ve encountered.

I just finish up the paperwork when Esther comes walking in. She may be nearing ninety, but man, the woman still moves as though she’s much younger. She is in incredible shape. I’m tempted to ask what her secret is, but I don’t want it to come off as rude or intrusive.

“Hi there, Liz,” she greets with a warm smile.

“Hey, Esther.”

“I don’t know about you, but I could use a cup of coffee.”

“Of course.”

We walk into the kitchen, and I pour us two mugs. I take a seat at one of the tables in the dining room, but Esther walks around looking over everything.

“You’ve done a great job around here, Liz.”

“Thanks. It gives me something to do with my time.”

“The place looks great,” she says. “It should help it sell quicker.”

There it is. There’s what I was afraid of hearing during this meeting.

“Esther, I have to ask, why are you wanting to sell? I can keep running the inn if it’s too much work.”

She sits down across the table from me. “Full disclosure, I had a health scare not too long ago. I’m fine, but it just made me realize that I’d like to start getting my affairs in order. I have three kids, and none of them want a single thing to do with this place. I’d rather go ahead and sell it now so that when I do pass, they don’t have to mess with any of it.”

“Makes sense I guess,” I mumble as I sip my coffee.

“Plus, this place isn’t what it used to be to me. I loved it when I was here every day, running it. Now, it just needs so much work and upkeep, and people just aren’t coming in like they used to.”

“Have you thought about doing any type of advertising? Or putting it on some rental websites. This place has so much charm that I’m sure it could attract quite the crowd.”

Esther cuts me off. “Liz, while I appreciate your enthusiasm, my mind is made up. And I know I’m leaving you in a bit of a lurch, so I promise that once the place sells, I will give you one heck of a severance package.”

While that is a little reassuring, it doesn’t help me feel any better. Somehow, this place that started as just a temporary job has become a home to me. Although it’s normally mostly empty, I enjoy it all the same. It became a constant in a time when my life had none. And now, I have to start all over again.

Just when I think I’m getting ahead, life pulls me right back down into the trenches.

After my shift ends, I decide to go for a drive. I still want to go see Jack, but he said he had paperwork, and I don’t want to rush him.

Besides, I can use a little quiet time to think.

I drive my little car up and down the streets of Lilly Leaf Falls as the rain falls steadily, hoping that no one sees me. People will probably jump to the conclusion that I’m spying on people or casing their houses.

The radio hums in a soft volume as I weave my way through town, trying to decide what I want to do. I really don’t want to have to move back in with my parents. That sounds awful, and I don’t want to take a step backward…again.

I love my parents.

But no.

Maybe with my severance package, I can find a new place around town to rent. But I’ll probably need to find another job first. Who the hell is going to rent to someone who is unemployed?

Ugh, this whole thing is giving me a headache.

My phone starts ringing, and I figure that it’s probably Jack wondering where I am. But when the name pops up on the screen, I see that it’s Veronica.

“Hi, Ronnie,” I answer.

“Hey, gorgeous. What are you up to?”

“Not much,” I reply, not wanting to let her know about my crap show of a day. I don’t want to talk about it right now.

In typical Ronnie fashion, she doesn’t dwell on it and quickly changes the subject. “I have a question for you. Well, it’s more of a favor.”

“Okay?” I brace for impact.

“I’m coming into town tomorrow, but Mom and Dad will be out of town. I thought it would be fun for the five of us to all have a little sleepover at their house.”

I’m not even sure how to reply to that.

“Ronnie, I’m thirty-three years old.”

“Liz, you and I just had a sleepover last week, remember?”

“Yes, but all five of us at our parents” house just seems different,” I retort.

“Come on,” she pleads. “It will be so much fun. We can all just hang out together without having Mom and Dad being around. I just suggested their house because it’s big enough…and well, it has the nostalgia factor.”

“What’s all this about, Ronnie? Do you have some horrible news you need to give us or something?”

“No, everything is fine. It’s just that we never get the chance to do this. I’m always traveling, and we couldn’t do it for years…you know, since you were in LA.”

Man, my sister knows how to lay on the guilt as thick as she can.

“Please, Lizzie,” she whines. “I promise to make it up to you. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“So, you’ll come?”

“I guess,” I reply with the heaviest sigh I can muster.

She practically squeals. “Yay! Thanks, Lizzie! You’re the best!”

My car suddenly starts making a God-awful noise as though something is grinding that definitely shouldn’t be grinding.

“What’s that noise?” Ronnie asks.

“Something is going on with my car.”

“I thought your hot boyfriend fixed it.”

I groan. “He did, but this sounds like a whole different issue than before. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When I hang up the phone, I pull over to the side of the road to park so that I’m out of the way. Once I shut the car off, I bang my fists against the steering wheel and let out an angry scream.

I could call Jack and have him tow me back to the shop, but honestly, right now, I don’t feel like dealing with this car. I have too much other shit on my mind.

But I’m not far from the shop, so I decide to walk.

I step out into the rain, which of course, seems to be falling harder now that I’m not shielded by my car. When a crack of thunder fills the air, I can’t help but laugh.

And not just a small giggle.

I start full-on belly laughing.

What else can I do about the situation that I’ve found myself in?

I’m about to have no job, no money, no place to live, and apparently, no car…again.

Maybe God hates me.

Or maybe I’ve just had a really shitty year.

But isn’t that why they coined the phrase, “Shit happens”?

Ever since the fallout with my company happened, I’ve been taking every minor inconvenience as a sign of some invisible force trying to ruin my life. I’ve taken in all of the anger and sorrow and let it fester within me instead of just letting it roll off my back.

Moving back to Lilly Leaf Falls wasn’t on the Bingo card of my life, but maybe I should be grateful that I had somewhere to come to. I have parents who would do anything to help me and siblings who still want to do things like have sleepovers.

And I have a man who is waiting for me to call to spend time together. A man who once irritated my soul but now occupies my thoughts.

It’s taking me over a fucking year to get to the point where I can laugh about my car breaking down rather than have a complete meltdown over it.

But here I am. Cracking up in the middle of the street.

Everyone goes through periods in their lives where things aren’t the way that they want. In the middle of a metaphorical storm, I have just waded in the water, standing still and waiting for it to pass rather than moving forward in an attempt to get to a place with sunny skies.

So now, I will wade through the literal storm and make my way to go see Jack.

Fuck the rest.

It can wait until tomorrow.