Chapter 20
Kate
I’m leaving tomorrow, but I don’t want to go.
Just thinking about going back to my job, living with my parents, being back in the city with all the noise and the crowds, is making me feel sick.
My stomach’s been in knots for days. I haven’t eaten much and haven’t been able to sleep.
Feeling this way should be a sign that I shouldn’t do this, that I shouldn’t go back there.
But what’s the alternative? I can’t stay in Haydon Falls.
What would I do here? Hang out with Brody all day?
I’d love that, but I need to make money.
I need to have a job, especially now that I’m helping my parents pay for the lawsuit.
‘Before Jason gets here, I wanted to give you something,’ Brody says, coming into the bedroom, the one that used to be mine.
It looks so much better with the newly painted walls and new trim.
The worn out carpet is gone and the wood floors that were under it have been refinished and look gorgeous.
I couldn’t find curtains that fit within Brody’s budget so I made them myself using fabric I found at the craft store downtown.
Brody’s mom loaned me her sewing machine.
She’s a really nice lady. Brody’s whole family is great. I’m going to miss them.
‘What is it?’ I ask.
‘Come here. I’ll show you.’ Brody takes my hand and walks me to the kitchen. On the counter there’s a bouquet of pink roses in a vase and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
I smile at Brody. ‘This is for me?’
‘For Valentine’s Day.’
‘Today is Valentine’s Day?’ I pause, trying to think of the date. I’ve been so busy working on the house that I’ve lost track of the days.
‘You didn’t know that?’
‘No. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t get you anything.’
‘I didn’t expect you to. I know we’re not really dating so maybe it’s weird that I got you something for Valentine’s Day. If it is, consider it a going away gift.’
I tear up hearing him say that. I don’t want to say goodbye to him, or to his family, or this town. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve fallen in love with this place, and although I don’t want to admit it, I’ve fallen in love with Brody.
‘I got you this too.’ He hands me a small white box. ‘You were always looking at it when we walked by that store downtown so I wanted you to have it.’
Opening the box, I see the necklace that caught my eye the first time I walked by the antique store.
It was in the window, displayed on a mannequin dressed in a red velvet dress.
I instantly imagined who might’ve worn that necklace back in the day, like maybe the wife of a wealthy businessman or one of the town’s founders.
Or maybe it was a family heirloom passed down over generations.
Every time I passed the antique store, I stopped and looked at it, wondering how it ended up there.
The necklace is a silver heart with a scalloped design around the edges and a ruby-colored stone in the center. My friends back in Chicago would say it’s tacky or ugly, but I think it’s beautiful.
‘I love it.’ I hug Brody and don’t let go.
‘You want to try it on?’ Brody asks, pulling away.
‘Not right now.’ I look down at my shirt. ‘I’m covered in paint. I’ll wear it tonight when we go out.’
‘I was going to clean it, but I didn’t know how.’
‘I don’t want it polished. I like it tarnished. It makes it .?.?.’ I smile. ‘Not so perfect.’ I reach up and kiss him. ‘Thank you. This is the best Valentine’s gift I’ve ever gotten.’
‘It’s something to help you remember Haydon Falls.’
‘I don’t need the necklace to remind me. I’ll never forget this place. Or you.’
Our eyes meet and Brody looks like he’s about to say something. I wait for what seems like forever before he finally speaks.
‘Kate, I—’ He’s interrupted by the doorbell ringing. ‘That’s probably Matt,’ Brody says, going to the door.
Matt’s the real estate agent who will be selling the house. Brody and I met with him last week to tell him about the renovations. Today he’s coming over to see for himself what we’ve done so he can do an appraisal.
Brody decided to put the house on the market in March.
I tried to talk him into staying here, but he insists on selling the place.
He said he bought it as an investment and never planned to keep it.
But now, after all the work we did, I feel sad that he’s selling it.
This house feels like part of us now, a part of us I don’t want to see go.
‘Wow.’ Matt walks in, his eyes getting big as he looks around. ‘It doesn’t even look like the same house.’
Brody laughs. ‘It’s not that different, but it’s definitely a change from how it was.’
‘I like this paint color,’ Matt says. ‘That color is really in right now.’
‘That was all Kate’s doing.’ Brody smiles at me. ‘Pretty much everything we did was her idea.’
‘That’s not true,’ I say, going over to him. ‘You picked out the tile in the bathroom.’
‘You gave me two choices and I picked one,’ he says. ‘Either one of them would’ve looked great.’
‘He should be giving you a cut of the profits,’ Matt kids. ‘This place looks amazing, way better than I was expecting. I’m thinking we could get another ten thousand over what I told you last week.’
‘Are you serious?’ Brody says.
‘I need to check out the rest of the house, but yeah, we’ll definitely price it higher than I’d planned.’
‘Hey, sorry I’m late,’ Jason says, walking into the house. Since he owns half of it, he wanted to be here to see what Matt thought of the changes. ‘Did I miss anything?’
‘Matt thinks we can get a lot more than we were planning on,’ Brody says to Jason.
‘I’m not surprised.’ Jason walks over to us. ‘The place looks great. You guys did an awesome job.’
‘Let me see the bedrooms,’ Matt says .
We show him Brody’s room first, then the two smaller rooms.
‘Yeah, we’ll definitely be increasing the asking price,’ Matt says as we walk to the kitchen. He checks out the cabinets. ‘Are these new?’
‘No, I just painted them and Brody added new hardware,’ I say.
Matt smiles at us. ‘You two are a good team. You ever think of starting a business together? There’s plenty of houses in Haydon Falls that could use a makeover.’
‘Kate’s heading home tomorrow,’ Brody says. ‘Back to Chicago.’
Matt looks at me. ‘You really want to go back there with all the crowds and the noise? And the real estate prices are insane. I don’t know how anyone can afford it.’
‘I keep telling him he should run for mayor,’ Jason says to me. ‘Matt’s always trying to sell people on Haydon Falls so they’ll move here and he can sell more houses.’
‘That’s not the only reason,’ Matt insists. ‘Haydon Falls is a great place to live. It’s clean, quiet, safe, affordable.’
‘I love it here,’ I tell him. ‘But my job is in Chicago.’
‘She’s a financial planner,’ Brody says. ‘She’s really smart.’
‘How do you like it?’ Matt asks me.
‘The job? It’s okay, but I’d rather be doing something else. I just don’t know what.’
He motions to the house. ‘Do this.’
‘What?’
‘Decorating. You’re obviously good at it.’
‘It’s just a hobby. It’s not a career.’
‘It could be. People are always looking for help decorating. I just sold a house to a lady that hired a decorator in Madison because there wasn’t anyone here in town that she could hire.’
‘That’s only one person. That’s not enough to support a business.’
‘Why don’t you open a store?’
I laugh. ‘A store? What kind of store?’
‘One of those stores that sells home stuff. Candles, fancy bowls, dish towels. My wife and her friends love those places. Any time we pass one of those stores when we’re on a trip, my wife makes us stop.
I don’t get it. I tell her she could buy that stuff anywhere, but she insists it’s not the same.
She’s always saying we need a store like that in Haydon Falls. ’
‘I don’t think a town this size could support a store like that.’
‘It wouldn’t just be the locals going there. We get a lot of tourists coming through here, and in the fall it gets crazy. The downtown is so packed with tourists it takes 20 minutes to get down Main Street.’
‘He’s right,’ Jason says. ‘It’s crazy here in the fall. People go to the orchard, then go downtown to shop and eat at the restaurants. And what he was saying about the store is true. A place like that would do really well here.’
‘I don’t think I’ll be opening a store.’ I smile. ‘But it does sound fun.’
‘If you change your mind,’ Matt says, ‘I can show you what’s available for lease. There’s a space downtown that’s been vacant for almost a year. The guy who owns the building would give you a deal if you were interested.’
‘Thanks, but I can’t see myself having a store. I’ve never even considered that. ’
Matt shrugs. ‘It was just an idea. Hey, I need to get home. I’m taking Tess out tonight for Valentine’s Day and I promised her I wouldn’t be late.’
‘I need to get going too,’ Jason says.
‘You got a date?’ Brody asks him.
‘I wish.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘I have to chaperone the middle school dance tonight. It ends at nine and then I’m going to the brewery and meeting up with some friends.’
‘Don’t you work at the high school?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, but it’s connected to the middle school so the teachers end up sharing duties, and since I didn’t have a date tonight, I agreed to chaperone.’
Brody laughs. ‘You’re going to have teenage girls asking you to dance.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Jason mutters.
‘All the girls have a crush on him,’ Brody tells me.
‘I’ll see you guys later,’ Matt says, walking to the door. ‘Great job on the house. I’ll get back to you next week with the appraisal.’
‘Okay, thanks,’ Brody says.
‘You guys have a good night,’ Jason says as we walk him to the door.
‘You too,’ Brody says. ‘When the girls ask you to dance, let them down easy. Their hearts are fragile at that age.’
He sighs. ‘Believe me, I know. I’m dreading this.’ His phone rings and he checks it. ‘It’s Mom. Hold on.’ He answers it. ‘Hey, Mom.’ He nods, then smiles. ‘That’s great! Yeah, I’m with Brody. I’ll let him know. Bye, Mom.’
‘What’d she say?’ Brody asks .
‘Nash just took Callie to the hospital. She’s having the baby. Mom and Dad are on their way down there.’
‘Are Nick and Lyndsay going?’
‘I don’t know. She didn’t say.’ Jason looks at me. ‘See ya, Kate. Have a safe trip back.’
‘Thanks.’
I feel sad saying goodbye, knowing I’ll probably never see him again. I’ll never see any of these people again. Brody’s brothers. His parents. Gina and Lyndsay. The people I’ve met and become friends with in town. I feel like I have a whole other life here and tomorrow it’ll all just be a memory.