Chapter 5
Blue had seen Jay. He looked good in those worn shorts and a T-shirt, like the Jay Haddon she knew and not the hot-suit guy she’d slept with in New York.
But there was a little something more when she looked at him now.
A sizzle between them that had not been there before.
Neither of them had acknowledged it, but it was there.
You didn’t have a night like they’d shared and walk away unaffected.
In the three months since she’d followed him into the hotel and hadn’t left until the sun was rising, Blue’s life had been flipped on its head.
She’d been ill, which was still lingering, and spent time with her brother Lynx, who was in a band and touring around America.
Blue had gone to see one of his shows. One had led to two, and she ended up spending a week with her brother before moving on again.
She had visited places she’d read about but not seen.
For the first time in years, Blue had drifted and understood what her parents had been telling their offspring for years. That stability was not always the best option. That stepping out of your life for a while was a good thing. It gave you perspective and made you reevaluate.
She’d sunk everything she had into her career. The studying, the long nights, and for what? Blue wasn’t even sure she could work in New York again.
Of course, there was also the money factor, and she knew she couldn’t float around for too much longer, but she wasn’t ready to face reality yet.
Her boss, other employees, and that shitweasel Sebastian Cavanagh had called her several times, and their demands that she return with her drawings had become more threatening. Blue had ignored them.
Cavanagh West would be scrambling without her, but no one was irreplaceable. Someone else would step in to save the day.
One of Blue’s biggest failings was forgiveness. If you wronged her, she walked away—unless the wrongdoer apologized and offered a good reason for what they’d done. No one had done that to date.
She’d sent Shannon’s last call to voicemail, having no wish to speak to her again. The panic had been clear in the woman’s voice. They needed her designs, and they needed them now. Come back at once, Blue, she had demanded.
But still, no apology. So she hadn’t bothered answering.
Looking around her as the late afternoon sun settled, Blue saw things she hadn’t in a while.
Saw the beauty of her hometown. There was a hint of winter still lingering in the air, even though spring was officially here.
It felt crisp, clean, and quiet. She passed the houses of some of the Dukes.
Four on this road, and the others had settled not far away.
Unlike McAllisters, Dukes had put down roots in Lyntacky, and those who had left had all come home, but only Birdie, Blue’s youngest sister, lived here, with Sawyer.
She shook her head. It was still hard to believe the big, tattooed, and gruff eldest Duke had married her sweet little sister. But there was no doubt to anyone who saw them together that it worked, and Blue’s little niece Sadie had only strengthened that unit.
She passed Brody and Phoebe’s place—they had two kids—and next came the farmhouse. This had been the first home built on this road, and where all five of the Duke siblings had grown up.
She hadn’t been close to Zoe, who was nearest to her age, but they’d run together in a pack. Phoebe Stanway, Brody Duke’s partner, had been her girl. They’d found their way back to each other in New York after they realized they were both working there and had been close ever since.
Veering left when she found someone running, Blue knew right off it was Bart Matilda because of the shorts he was wearing, which were made of flimsy material and cut high on the sides. They gave the town palpitations every time he wore them because they showed off way too much.
Ideas had been thrown around by the younger generation on how to get him into longer or more fitted shorts, but so far, none had worked.
Blue slowed and lowered her window.
“Hey, Bart. You all good there?”
“I’ve blown out another shoe, Blue.”
The man was one of the older members of the Lyntacky community.
In some towns, that meant slowing down a bit, but not here.
Here they walked about the place in groups, not unlike gaggles of geese, all talking over top of one another without appearing breathless, which Blue would be.
They threw around orders, gave their opinions freely, and pretty much ran the town and anyone younger than them.
“That’s no good. Need me to do something for you, Bart?”
“A ride home, please, Blue.”
Drat. She just wanted to head home and sleep. Blue had been exhausted lately for no apparent reason that she could think of except that she wasn’t doing enough and had nowhere to be at any set time.
She’d need to find a job soon, and that was a depressing thought, so she kept ignoring it. Living on her savings was taking a large chunk out of them, but she hadn’t realized just how much she’d needed this break.
The door opened, and in got Bart, his long, skinny legs sticking out of those pale blue shorts.
“I didn’t know you were back, Blue.”
“Just now, Bart. I went to see Mom and Dad and the others who are at Sawyer and Birdie’s, and now I’m heading home for a nap.”
Bart made a scoffing sound. “Napping at your age.”
“It’s a flaw, what can I say.” In fact, she hadn’t been a napper until she quit her job. Now she never got enough sleep and still hadn’t recovered from the virus she’d caught after leaving New York. Blue really needed to make an appointment with the doctor for a checkup.
“I wouldn’t mind a coffee, since we’re passing the coffee hut.”
She didn’t sigh out loud, but the urge was there. That was another thing about the elders in Lyntacky: They spoke, and you obeyed—even if you didn’t want to.
Bart hummed as she drove, his voice soothing, if she was honest. Why she needed soothing, Blue had no idea. Possibly because she’d seen Jay, walked out on her job, and then decided to travel.
Her parents would be happy she was going rogue on her life for a while. Blue wasn’t sure what she was feeling.
Unsettled. Angry with herself. Tired—so tired.
“So, why are you home and not working in New York?” Bart asked as she turned onto the main street of Lyntacky.
Home, she thought. With all its mismatched, quirky features, like a statue of Shelly Lyntacky, the aunt of Tripp, the current mayor of the town. She loved square dancing, so the entire town paid continual homage to her in various ways.
“I’m taking a break, Bart. I’ve been traveling around. I went to one of Lynx’s concerts.”
She hadn’t told her family yet that she’d quit, so it wasn’t right to tell Bart first.
“How did that go?” Bart crossed his legs.
Blue kept her eyes on the road.
“It was good—great, even. My brother is pretty awesome, and he has these fans now that scream at him when he’s playing. They even have security.”
She’d been proud of Lynx. Watching him perform and handle the fame now had had been amazing.
“I watched him on YouTube once. Clever man, that brother of yours. Not my kind of music, you understand. I prefer blues myself, but I can see talent when it’s in front of me.”
She turned into the street on which the Becker house stood in the more residential part of town.
“Do you think this is the first coffee drive-through in American history, Bart?”
“Has to come close. Are you well, Blue?”
“Ah—sure. Why do you ask, Bart?”
“You look a little pale.”
“I’ve had an upset stomach, but it’s settling now.”
In fact, she needed to go see Dr. Hannah. Blue had been feeling unwell for weeks now. She’d put it down to the hell her life had plunged into and then what she’d done with Jay.
“You young ones don’t tend to look after yourselves and then burn out.
I had a talk with Jay Haddon about this the other day.
That boy is always working. Even here, where he’s not doing all that secretive, important stuff, he’s constantly on the move.
It’s not healthy if you don’t counteract all the work with exercise, a good diet, and sleep. ”
She didn’t react to hearing his name. It was done now. They’d seen each other and could move on.
“What do you think Jay does, Bart?”
A flashing neon sign read “Coffee” in red, with an arrow beside it pointing into the driveway. As if no one in this town knew how to navigate to the Becker coffee hut.
Blue drove carefully past the gnomes that lined the drive. Her particular favorite, and most of the others in this town agreed, was the one with a raised middle finger.
“Did someone give that gnome a beard?”
Bart laughed. “I believe it was one of Red and Dee’s kids, but that hasn’t been confirmed.”
The hut itself was covered in flowers, as was the house not far from it. Tall, broad-shouldered, Mr. Becker was standing as he always did, leaning out the window, his bald head gleaming in the midday sun.
“Good day to you, Blue. I didn’t know you were back,” Klaus Becker said in a heavy German accent.
“Just today, Mr. Becker.”
“Klaus, dear.”
“So the time has come, then,” Blue said. “Is it an age thing, when we get to call you Klaus?”
He smiled. “I just make the call when the time is right, Blue. Hello, Bart. Why are you in Blue’s car and not running? You have that race soon.”
“I ruined another pair of shoes, Klaus.”
“What number is that?” Blue asked.
“Twenty,” Bart replied.
“You want coffee?” Klaus asked her.
Blue’s stomach revolted at the idea. “Not for me, thanks. But Bart wants one.”
“You look a little pale, Blue. An apple strudel muffin will help that.”
“Sounds good,” she lied. Only her bed sounded good about now.
“So what are your plans, Blue?” Klaus called from his coffee machine.
“Not sure yet, Klaus.”
“Have you left your job?”
“Ah, just evaluating.” Blue couldn’t outright lie.
“I thought you loved it there?”
“And I do, but I’m thinking it may be time for a change,” she lied.