Chapter 25
Cavin stood at the door as frozen as the top layer of the ice-skating pond he visited last December around this time.
He wished he could teleport back there right now as the shadowy figure moved through the darkness toward him.
Cavin thought about running even though all the person said so far was, “Hey, Cavin.” The tone of voice used, however, instantly made him realize the intention behind this surprise visit didn’t seem in his best interest.
Cavin recognized the individual immediately. “Hey,” he replied sheepishly.
“I want you to see my face and hear my voice, so that you won’t have to wonder who did this to you,” the person scowled.
“Did what?” Cavin questioned.
At that moment a fist flew through the air at Cavin’s face.
He didn’t have time to duck or dodge or even step back.
Four hard knuckles connected with his left eye socket, the force of the punch sending him backward into an unforgiving porch wall.
His whole face immediately began to throb, and he figured blood must be rushing to the site of impact although he wasn’t yet sure whether it would pour out of a cut or fill a bruise.
Cavin instinctively braced himself for what might come next.
He wished he felt ready to strike, but he had never been in a fight nor been punched.
Geez, his face hurt although the adrenaline running through him temporarily camouflaged the extent of the pain.
Golfers and tennis players didn’t usually run into these situations nor did businessmen, at least not until today for Cavin.
Nonetheless he felt his defenses rise and after a moment considered swinging back at the perpetrator as he raised his hands to guard his face from another blow.
“I do not want to fight you,” Cavin announced, his voice as shaky as the rest of his body.
“I just came here to give you a one punch warning.”
“What?” Cavin asked, somewhat relieved yet still on edge.
“You need to leave Beaufort, or there will be more,” the individual promised before walking down the steps nonchalantly.
On Monday morning with an unmistakably swollen black and blue eye, Cavin walked into Beaufort Candy Company with a Santa hat in his hand.
He iced the eye last night and this morning, and although it helped the swelling go down some and tempered the pain, neither vanished.
He also took over-the-counter pain medication from the local pharmacy he visited after the incident.
The pharmacist warned him he would probably wake up in the middle of the night to a throbbing sensation requiring more treatment, and he had.
Surprisingly Noel was behind the front counter rather than Mrs. Madelyn, and while part of Cavin hoped he would see Noel here, another part of him hoped to avoid her because looking into her eyes only reminded him of whom he was walking away from.
Noel never saw Cavin walk in although she heard the bell jingle. When she finished ringing up the customer in front of her, Cavin stood across from her. Noel’s mouth immediately gaped open as he began to speak.
“I thought you might want this,” Cavin uttered, placing the Santa hat her parents gave her when she was a kid onto the counter.
“Oh my God, Cavin,” Noel stammered, noticing the hat but not looking down at it. “What happened?”
Cavin grinned, let out a faint huff, and shook his head.
He thought about saying, I got what you thought I deserved or you won’t ever have to see me again or maybe even the truth: I only wanted you, Noel.
Instead, he turned and walked out the door, thankful that neither the kids nor Mrs. Madelyn were anywhere in sight.
Cavin’s feet moved quickly as he passed Noel’s display window without looking in. He marched toward the parking lot where his rental vehicle sat fully packed although he had no idea where he was going when he left Beaufort.
Without thinking twice Noel raced around the tall counter with customers watching her just as intently as the congregation at church watched her storm out yesterday.
She wasn’t sure why she chased after Cavin Dawson—maybe because she felt responsible for his black eye or perhaps because she appreciated him bringing back an item that meant as much to her as nearly any material possession this world offered.
With all that happened yesterday, she couldn’t figure out where she left it.
However, in the short time she had to process her thoughts, she figured that in addition to both of those considerations something about the genuine look on his face spoke volumes to her, saying, If you let me leave Beaufort, you will never see me again.
“Cavin,” Noel shouted, his back to her as he turned the corner and disappeared behind the brick building.
Noel knew he heard her, but he never looked back.
She jogged past the gingerbread house display window with everyone inside still watching her.
She cut the same corner as Cavin, and just before he made it to his vehicle, she caught up with him, close enough to tag him if they were playing the game.
But this wasn’t a game; this was real life, and real life was messy sometimes.
“Cavin,” she called out again trying to catch her breath as she reached for his arm.
“What?” he replied somewhat harshly as her momentum twisted him harder than intended. “Do you want to punch my other eye?” he barked.
Noel instantly let go of his bicep and took a couple of steps back. “No.”
“Then just let me go, Noel, so you can go back to your life the way it was before I showed up in Beaufort.”
Noel ignored the comment. “Who did this to you?” she questioned, staring at his eye.
“Why don’t you ask around?” he snapped. “I am sure you can figure it out pretty quickly since you seem to be so good at coming to conclusions.”
“What does that mean?” she retorted.
“It means I am leaving Beaufort,” he informed her, “just like you and everyone else wants.”
“Did you call the police?” Noel asked.
“Did I call the police?” Cavin quizzed with a furrowed brow. “Why?” he questioned. “Why do you want to know? Are you afraid that you or someone you know might get into trouble for this?” he asked, pointing at his aching eye.
“No, because I want whoever did this to you to be held accountable.”
“You did this to me, Noel,” he declared.
“Me?” she asked with a puzzled face.
“Yes, you. So I am not calling the police. I am just leaving,” he reminded her.
“Cavin, I was upset with you yesterday, but I have never punched anyone in the face.”
“We both know you did not physically punch me in the face,” Cavin clarified.
“I didn’t want you to get punched in the face,” Noel explained. “Well, that’s kind of a lie, but I quickly came to my senses, and I certainly didn’t ask anyone to hit you.”
“Well thanks for telling the truth,” Cavin retorted.
“By the way, I told you the truth, too,” he decided to add.
“For the record since I now seem to have your undivided attention, I will tell you the whole truth. When I met Georgia and a bunch of her friends at the restaurant the weekend I came to town, she invited me to church, and the mayor and his wife invited me to their party that Saturday night. I told Georgia I would probably see her at both, but neither was ever a date. I was just trying to get to know people in Beaufort. I ended up forgetting all about the party because I spent that Saturday evening with you, and I loved every minute of it,” he declared.
“Well, that is kind of a lie,” he clarified just as she had a few moments ago.
“I almost turned around and brought you home by the time we reached the Beaufort line because even though I tried to be as nice as possible to you, you snapped at me several times those first couple of days and blamed me for things that were not my intention.”
Noel thought about responding but decided to let Cavin continue because he seemed to have a lot to get off his chest. That’s when she noticed that for the first time since she met him, he wasn’t dressed up. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a hoodie.
“Then things shifted when you were transparent with me that evening when we went to Swansboro, and I am not going to be all cliché and say I started falling in love with you, but I could definitely see why someone would. I can imagine why Fletcher did. I loved every moment I spent with you and the kids this week, and I second-guessed nearly every decision I have ever made to this point in my life.”
Noel didn’t know exactly when she started crying, but she felt tears sliding down her face one by one as she stood there with her arms crossed while listening to this man pour out his heart.
“Yesterday I went back to the church service, but I did not sit with Georgia. After service, she randomly kissed me on the cheek. I was not even talking to her; I was chatting with some guys I played golf with. I do not like her, Noel. I like you!”
“Stay then, Cavin,” Noel demanded surprisingly. “Let’s get to the bottom of all of this nonsense like mature adults.”
“I cannot stay,” Cavin answered, wondering if her comment was an apology. “I quit my job which means between that and this black eye, I no longer have any reason to be here.”
“But you work for your dad, for the family business. Why would you quit? It’s obvious that you all are doing well.”
“There is more to my story, Noel, and you are not going to want to hear it,” Cavin acknowledged.
“I do,” Noel reassured him calmly.
“I met a man yesterday who rocked my world,” Cavin shared. “And you, you have been rocking my world ever since I stepped inside your candy shop. I decided I no longer want to work for my dad; I want to do what I am passionate about.”
“Golf?” Noel queried, genuinely interested.
“Maybe, but I do not know for sure,” Cavin replied. “I just do not want to do what I came here for anymore.”
“What did you come here for?” Noel asked curiously.