Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Thea
Thea had a hard time containing her frustration and annoyance as she marched over to the door. Who was knocking before opening time? Didn’t they realize she had important things to do before she opened?
They didn’t need to know that today, the important thing was kissing Nathaniel.
She opened the door, prepared to let her frustration loose, but it faded when she saw Guinevere’s smiling face on the other side.
“I have exciting news,” Guinevere said, marching in and closing the door behind herself. “I found someone who needs a job, and I think she would be perfect to come and help you.”
Thea opened her mouth to say that she didn’t need help, but then she glanced back at Nathaniel.
It would be nice to have some time with him without having to worry about the café.
Hiring an assistant, though…that seemed like far more trouble than it was worth.
“I don’t know,” she said slowly.
A noise came from the kitchen, and Guinevere looked into the back. “Oh, no, did I interrupt something?” she asked, her eyes widening with a big grin on her face when she noticed Nathaniel. “You should’ve ignored me.”
“You know I can’t ignore people,” Thea said. “Come say hello.”
Guinevere’s smile stretched from ear to ear as she followed Thea back into the kitchen.
“Hi, Nathaniel,” she said as she perched herself on Eugenia’s chair. “Were you helping her with something?”
Thea didn’t dare look at Nathaniel. She could only imagine what he would say if she did, because he’d never been one to shy away from making cheeky statements. It was one of the reasons her father had loved him so much.
“You could say that,” he said. She didn’t have to look at him to know what the expression would be—one of pure merriment at her discomfort, the vaguest hint that the two of them had been in an improper situation. She knew from memory the twinkle in his eyes and the self-indulgent grin.
She had missed it for far too many years.
“I can leave,” Gwen said, her eyes twinkling much like Nathaniel’s.
“There’s no need,” Thea said, even if she desperately wanted to be left alone with Nathaniel. She had work to do, and if she kissed him once, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop—not after ten years of waiting to kiss him again.
Thea pointed Nathaniel to the bowl of muffin mix and handed the grater and a handful of carrots to Guinevere. “If you’re sitting here, you might as well help. Now, tell me about this person.”
Guinevere lit up. “Her name is Linnea, and her cinnamon rolls are to die for.”
Before recent events, Thea might have turned down Linnea simply because she didn’t want to see cinnamon rolls again, or deal with the memories they brought up.
But now…perhaps having cinnamon rolls at the café wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Thea closed the door behind her and flipped over the sign saying that she would be back shortly.
She had to go shopping.
She tried to go at the same time every week, but she’d been sick and now she’d run out of coffee, which wouldn’t do.
Nathaniel and Guinevere had left a couple of hours ago, which meant there was no one to mind the café for her, so she’d have to hurry.
She picked up her basket and hurried toward the general store.
She could perhaps save money if she dealt directly with Montgomery, who supplied the general store, but it was worth the slight upcharge to not have to deal with him.
She had never much liked Beatrice’s father, and the more she’d grown to know Beatrice, the less she liked him.
Besides, the shopkeeper’s nephew would help her carry her basket home if it was too heavy, which was very nice of him, and she would rather her money go to nice people.
Darian reminded her of a young Nathaniel, which at times felt rather like picking the scab off a wound that had barely begun to heal, and at other times, was simply a reminder of the good times they’d shared.
Today, it felt like it would be a good thing.
Thea hurried through the streets, looking up at the sign to make sure she was at the right building, as if she hadn’t been here hundreds of times before. She could probably make her way through the store blindfolded.
“Good afternoon,” Darian called as she entered. “We were wondering where you were.”
“I was ill,” she explained, “and now I’m out of coffee and couldn’t wait until next week.”
And since she was delayed, she was almost out of a couple of other things.
Fortunately, her coin purse was heavy, and soon, her basket would be also.
She began her shopping, filling her basket quickly and efficiently. She knew where everything was, and the convenience of having it all in one place made up for—and was worth—the extra coins.
“I hope you’re having a pleasant day,” Darian said as she brought her basket to the counter, and he began to jot down the items she purchased, along with the tally of how much she owed. “Business going well?” he asked cheerfully.
“It is,” she said, smiling up at him.
He began to whistle, and Thea smiled at the merry tune. Nat had always favored singing over whistling, but she couldn’t help remembering how much it had annoyed her when he first joined them.
As he finished doing his math and told her the total, she began counting out coins.
“Do you need help carrying it home today?”
“No, she doesn’t,” a familiar voice said behind her.
Thea turned halfway, looking over her shoulder at Nathaniel, who was smiling down at her as if everything was right in his world now that he had found her. Her heart quickened, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Of course. Thank you, Mr. Alder,” Darian said.
“I would be happy to carry your basket for you,” Nathaniel told Thea, who shook her head at him.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to sing at me while you do it?” she said.
“Would you like me to?” he asked, all too quickly. “I have a tune I have been saving just for you.”
“It’s not necessary,” Thea said, even if part of her wished to hear him sing again.
“If you say so,” Nathaniel said, taking her basket and offering his arm.
Thea stared at it before gingerly taking it. He hadn’t offered his arm to her since Riyel, and she wasn’t sure if she should take it or not. If anyone in town were to see them, they would tell Eugenia, and Eugenia would tell everyone else in town.
But as she placed her hand on his arm and felt the warm solidness of it beneath her fingers, she couldn’t help relaxing, as if everything was right in the world again. And the satisfied grin on Nathaniel’s face as he began to hum a merry tune said that he felt the same way.
He walked her home, carrying the basket into the kitchen and setting it on the counter.
“You want me to stick around?” he asked.
Thea paused, but before she could answer, the door opened, and a customer walked in.
“I think you’d better go,” she said, resting her hand on his arm. “I’ll see you tonight?”
He looked down at her with a smile. “Absolutely.”
Later that day, Eugenia swept in the way she always did—with aplomb.
“Hello, dear,” she called out as she approached the counter. “I need to have a word with you.”
Thea sighed but began to pour herself a cup of tea as she made Eugenia’s favorite drink.
This could take a while.
“How can I help you?” she asked with a smile on her face. As much as Eugenia made things difficult at times—even if she had good intentions—she always wanted the best for Thea.
“No, no, no, come sit with me,” Eugenia said, as if Thea hadn’t known that was exactly what she would do.
Eugenia made her way to the fireplace and settled in one of the cozy chairs there. Thea followed her, handing Eugenia her drink before she settled on another.
Ginger stretched, then sauntered over to Eugenia and jumped up into her lap.
“You know the café is supposed to be open right now?” Thea asked.
Eugenia waved her away. “This is more important,” she said. “I have to talk to you—”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes. No. No, nothing’s wrong,” she said. “But I’ve heard a rumor, and I needed to speak to you about it.”
Thea sat back, fighting the urge to smile. Eugenia was always hearing rumors. All she did was hear rumors. The library may have been full of words, but only half of them were written. The other half were Eugenia’s.
“You,” Eugenia said, leaning in conspiratorially, “have been seen spending time with Nathaniel Alder.”
It only made sense that she’d hear about it after Nat and Thea had been seen walking through town…though she hadn’t expected Eugenia to close the library to come and talk to her about it.
As far as she knew, no one knew she was the reason Nathaniel Alder had remained single for so long, despite being a good catch—or so she had been told many times.
“I know that most people think I’m just a gossip,” Eugenia began.
“But I wasn’t always. I used to be a wife and a mother who had far more important things to do.
But I don’t have that anymore,” she said softly, the words catching in her throat.
“And I know what it’s like to be alone in your old age. ”
She leaned in, catching one of Thea’s hands in hers.
“And Thea… if you think Nathaniel Alder could be the person for you, don’t let him go. I sense that you and he have been dancing around this for quite some time now, and I don’t want to see either of you floundering the way I am.”
Her voice broke a little. “You deserve to find happiness, and I wanted to come and speak to you in case you decided to start overthinking things again.”
“Again?” Thea asked, the word slipping out before she could stop it.
Eugenia’s eyes twinkled at her. “You may have everyone else fooled,” she said, “but I can tell there’s something there. The two of you better figure it out and figure it out fast—before I have to come knock some sense into the both of you.”
The elderly woman’s eyes filled with tears.
“You remind me of the woman my daughter was becoming. And I hope you don’t mind that I wanted to talk with you, but… I only want the best for you. And Nathaniel.”
“Thank you,” Thea said, her voice suddenly thick with unexpected tears. “You remind me a little of my mother, too,” she admitted. “She also wanted to see me with Nathaniel.”
Eugenia’s eyes lit up. “So there is something between you!” she exclaimed triumphantly.
Thea let out a groan. She hadn’t planned on revealing that much to Eugenia.
“I don’t want everyone in town to know,” she said, her voice almost pleading. “I don’t need it getting back to Roan.”
Even though Roan had apologized…she didn’t want to cause any more issues.
“I won’t say anything,” Eugenia said with a sigh, patting the back of Thea’s hand. “I am capable of occasionally not saying anything, you know.”
“Are you?” Thea teased. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you keep a secret since I came.”
“You have no idea how many are trapped in this old noggin,” Eugenia said, tapping her finger against the side of her head. “There are many things that I don’t share with the town. Of course, there are many things that I do,” she added with an impish grin. “So perhaps it’s best to not believe me.”
Thea laughed, and they both stood as the door opened and another customer walked in.
“Thank you,” Thea said, impulsively leaning over to give the old woman a hug. “It means a lot to me.”
“I know,” Eugenia said with an airy smile. “That’s why I came.”
“Thea,” someone called, and Thea laughed as she made her way back behind the counter to serve her next customer.
If Eugenia was taking the time to tell her this…perhaps it was another sign that she should give into her feelings for Nathaniel.
She watched pensively as Eugenia left, heading back to the library where she should have been all along.
Maybe it was time to take her place where she should have been all along, too—with Nathaniel.