Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“Is that everything?”
MacKenzie nodded. “It is.” And the sad part was, the contents of her car represented her entire life.
Everything.
She sighed.
They were standing in Devin’s driveway early Tuesday morning and she had been waiting for him to stop her, to ask her to stay again. But he hadn’t mentioned it since the night they got home from Jade and Levi’s barbecue.
And that left her completely confused. Why?
Because he showed her in a dozen different ways that he cared about her.
They had spent every minute together for the last two days laughing and talking and having mind-blowing sex.
They’d talked about a hundred different things–except their feelings–and all that time she kept waiting.
And it wasn’t as if people weren’t nudging him along. It seemed as if the entire population of Sweetbriar Ridge had stopped in at the shop to inquire about when MacKenzie was leaving. And every time she said Tuesday, they all just smiled and wished her luck.
After giving her the proper directions to get out of town.
And Devin had remained quiet.
Damn him.
So here she was, standing in his driveway, preparing to leave the first place she had ever really felt connected to in her entire life.
The Mustang drove like a dream–they had even taken it out for a long drive yesterday after the shop closed and Devin showed her all the sights of Sweetbriar Ridge she hadn’t been able to see during her stay.
She knew he’d done more work on it than they’d agreed upon and when she’d argued it, all he said was “Just say thank you, MacKenzie.”
So she did.
It didn’t make her feel any better, though. The man had done nothing but give since the moment she met him, and what had she done? Nothing. Well…actually…she took.
A lot.
Time and time again.
Maybe that was why she’d felt so strongly about needing to leave–so she’d have something to contribute if she came back.
Something more than a carful of her lifelong possessions.
Although…she’d been too much of a coward to mention the possibility of coming back because she kept waiting for him to ask first.
Turning to face him, she sighed but tried to put a smile on her face. “So…”
“So…” he replied, smiling back at her. With his hands in his pockets and relaxed posture, MacKenzie was pretty sure he wasn’t feeling any of the turmoil she was.
Swallowing hard, she said, “So I guess it probably won’t hurt to hit the road now. I know we talked about waiting until the afternoon, but…”
“I thought you promised the girls you’d stop in at Books & Beans for breakfast?”
Had she? She vaguely remembered having a conversation with them yesterday at lunch, but for the life of her, MacKenzie didn’t remember committing to coming back in for breakfast. “I…I don’t think so.”
“Well then, you better call Ashlynn and let her know you’re not coming.
I know she wanted to see you one more time.
Well, her and everyone else. You know, because her shop doesn’t open until ten and all, so she has the time.
She texted last night to make sure I didn’t mind that they wanted to steal you away one more time. ”
“Oh…well…”
Devin looked at his watch and then back at her. “I think everyone’s planning on meeting around nine and if all goes as planned, you should be on the road by noon. That’s not too terribly late, right?”
It meant she wasn’t going to get as far as she wanted on her first day of driving, but…how could she say no to her friends? And after all the ways Ashlynn had befriended her, how could she possibly bail on her?
“You’re right,” she agreed. “And maybe you and I can grab some lunch together before I go?”
He gave her a doubtful look. “Since Will opened the shop for me this morning, I figured I’d take the opportunity to run over to talk to my accountant. I’ve been putting it off for far too long, but I’m sure we’ll have a few minutes so we can say goodbye.”
Nothing. Not even a hint of remorse in his tone!
“Well, I wouldn’t want to pull you away from such an exciting appointment.” There was humor in her voice that she totally didn’t feel. “We could say our goodbyes before I go to meet up with Ashlynn.”
And in a move she never saw coming, he leaned forward and picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “Or…we could spend the next couple of hours forgetting about saying goodbye.”
MacKenzie couldn’t help but giggle.
And for a little while, she let herself forget that her heart was breaking.
“So…wait. We all said our goodbyes yesterday and it sucked. And I have to meet her for breakfast…why?”
“Ash,” Devin whispered into the phone. “You said you’d help.”
“Yeah, I know I did, but you could have given me a little more of a heads up! I actually have a client coming in early! Isn’t there something else you can do?”
“Do you have suggestions, because I’m freaking out here?”
Silence.
“Ashlynn?”
“No.”
“Great,” he murmured. “Just great. Now what am I supposed to do?”
“Okay, okay, okay…just…stall her for an hour. Then send her over to Books & Beans. I’ll call the girls and together I’m sure we’ll think of something.”
“You’re the best, Ash. Seriously. Next tune-up and oil change is on me.”
“My next new car should be on you,” she grumbled. “It’s a good thing you’re so damn sweet or I’d be tempted to kick your ass.”
“You’re a scary woman, Ashlynn.”
“And don’t you forget it.” And then she hung up.
Devin switched his phone off and stepped back into the bedroom with the glasses of juice he told MacKenzie he was going to get. She was sprawled out across his bed, her eyes closed and so damn beautiful he could only stop and stare.
“Did you squeeze the oranges yourself?” she teased.
Chuckling, he put her glass down on the bedside table. “Sorry. I got a text from uh…Levi. The town’s already working up a proposal for next year’s festival and he wanted to know if I wanted to be on one of the committees.”
For a guy who prided himself on honesty and never lying, his pants should be on fire right now.
MacKenzie opened one eye and looked at him. “Why is he so involved with all of this? I thought he was in advertising, but it seems like whenever anything comes up about the town or even the resort, they all defer to Levi.”
He shrugged. “He’s kind of responsible for all the new life that got breathed into this town–including the ski resort. He handles all the advertising, but he also works with all the departments to make sure everything stays cohesive. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ran for mayor next year.”
Nodding, MacKenzie sat up and reached for her juice and took a long drink. When she put the glass down, she looked at Devin and blushed. “Thanks. I was really thirsty.”
He loved that blush. “Well…that was rather…acrobatic. I know I downed a glass before coming back in here.”
“So that’s what took you so long…”
Rather than answer, he nodded and drank his juice.
Devin watched as MacKenzie stretched–the sheet dropping to her waist and baring her breasts–and he almost climbed back in the bed with her. He was just about to reach for the button on his jeans when she kicked the blankets off and rose from the bed.
Spectacular.
Before he could form a simple word, she was picking up her clothes and putting them back on.
That was a damn shame.
Shaking his head to clear it, he turned and went in search of his own shirt and finished getting dressed again. When he turned around, MacKenzie was fully dressed and re-making the bed. “You don’t have to do that.”
She shrugged. “I know. But I made it earlier and you know I hate leaving an unmade bed behind. Now I can relax.”
Laughing, he walked around the bed to her and hugged her. “Yeah. I do know that about you. And as much as I want to say it’s weird, I can’t because I feel the exact same way.”
“You’re the first guy I’ve ever met who feels like that,” she said softly, her arms around his waist, holding him just as tightly as he was holding her.
The alarm sounded on her phone and he silently cursed it. Slowly, he disentangled himself from her and took a step back. And hated the sad look on her face as he did it.
“So…yeah,” she said, smoothing a hand over her hair. “That was my reminder to get on the road.” She laughed softly. “Of course, I set that before you reminded me I’m having breakfast with the girls. I still can’t believe I forgot about that.”
“You’ve had a lot on your mind,” he said solemnly before letting out a long breath. “Why don’t we look around and make sure you didn’t forget anything?”
And now she looked even sadder. “Oh. Uh, sure. Okay.”
Reaching out, Devin cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly before stepping away again. “It’s all good. I’ll go meet with my accountant, you’ll go meet Ashlynn, and then you’ll come and see me before you get on the road. Right?”
Her eyes shone brightly with unshed tears and Devin’s heart actually ached. She didn’t say a word, just nodded.
It took all of five minutes to walk around and confirm that she hadn’t left anything behind. And as much as it killed him, he had to leave before he made a complete fool out of himself. Turning, he walked to the kitchen and grabbed his keys. “Tell Ashlynn and everyone that I said, hey!”
And he was out the door without waiting for her response.
“Surprise!”
She had a vague sense of déjà vu. “Um…”
Ashlynn walked toward MacKenzie looking frazzled and completely not like herself. “Good morning! Are you all ready to hit the road?”
Frowning, she glanced around. “Um…yeah.” Then, because she was thoroughly confused, she asked, “I don’t understand what’s going on. I honestly don’t remember us making breakfast plans like this. It feels like we did all this yesterday.”
“We did,” Jade confirmed. “But we realized we did it all wrong.”
“There was a wrong way to say goodbye?” MacKenzie asked, confused.
Avery walked by with a platter of baked goods. “It would seem so.”