Chapter Twenty-Nine
AMARIE WOULDN’T ALLOW herself to think about how much she would miss Eli. How much she wanted him to be her one. A job interview awaited her. She had to leave now. Her very real heart barely held together with all the Calvarys rallying to comfort her.
She believed him when he said he was sorry. But she didn’t trust him to put her first. And she didn’t trust herself to resist him much longer. Love hurt too much and she couldn’t be disappointed twice in the span of a few weeks.
Eli and his brothers with Hiccup padding behind them had driven the truck over to the pavilion. She’d led them to believe she would meet them there. It was the first time she’d lied to them.
She entered the bedroom her mother had taken over in less than forty-eight hours. All these different suitcases hung open, each with a different season of coats, shoes, and jewelry.
“It looks like Saks exploded in here.” Amarie grimaced at the fashion chaos. She could actually tell her mother had left home with the intent never to return.
“Mom, why are you unpacking?”
“Because I’m staying? Oh, Russell left his sports coat. Take it with you.”
Amarie collapsed on the bed. “Look, Jennifer Holliday.” She raised up on her elbows, sitting up. “You don’t know anyone here. And I’m not going back to Russell.”
“I know Leah. One good friend is worth a dozen posers.”
“Mom, language.” Amarie shook her head. “Where did you learn that word, posers?” A slang term for imposters, had never entered Mrs. Reid Walker’s vocabulary before now. Perhaps her mom had made a change. “Not at the Hat Society club.”
“On TikTok.” She laughed. “Keep up, darling, because your mother is picking up steam. And of course you’re not going back to Russell. You’re in love with Eli.”
Amarie heard muffled conversations as folks walked past the house up to the festival grounds. Of course Bethany would be fine in Service.
“Lot of good that did me,” Amarie grumbled.
“Love is risky business, darling. But you have to admit when it’s right. It feels like sunshine on your face even when it’s raining. You’re a fighter, Amarie.”
“A fighter who suffered a blow to the head,” she huffed, standing.
Bethany stopped her fiddling, a behavior Amarie knew she did to hide her nerves. “It only takes one win at love, Amarie, and the pain of the bumps and bruises along the way vanishes.”
Amarie pulled her luggage from the closet, throwing her favorite purple bolero jacket in the case. “I’m leaving.”
“I won’t stop you.” Her mom smiled, blotting at her eyes. “I trust you to make the best decision. Though Eli makes a terrible first—and second—impression, he loves you.”
“He accused me of sabotaging him,” Amarie railed while raking what was left of her toiletries into her suitcase.
“We all make mistakes, especially when emotions are involved. I actually believed having your ex-lover come after you was a good thing. Russell and that awful Cara have enlightened this old woman. The sooner those two skedaddle, the better for all of us.”
Service would adore her mother, the same way they’d welcomed Amarie. Gracie Lou would give her a coalminer sandwich on the house. Lois Kline would invite her for lemonade and pie. Amarie still was on the hook for a visit.
“Mom, are you sure?” she whined, they were running out of time to vamoose. “I dumped her son. They might hold you captive until you surrender my whereabouts.”
Eli would forgive her abrupt departure… eventually. But she feared the heartbreak would truly be a permanent condition if she tried to build a life in his town. So, Amarie chose herself over love. Go, she told herself. She had a plan to keep herself in motion. The next step for her took her beyond Service’s borders.
“Don’t be dramatic.” Bethany swapped a blue bandanna for a red. “They can just ask.”
“Mom, you can’t be a grifter and a snitch.”
Leah walked into the bedroom. Amarie snapped the suitcase closed on the last of her books. The ones with Eli’s fly-footprint handwriting scribbled in the notes. No. Don’t think about him. She was doing what was best for her. She’d given her best to Russell, who she wasn’t going to track down just to return his jacket, and to Eli.
“Hey, honey.” Leah looked from Amarie to the spoils at her feet.
“Leah, thank you for allowing me to stay.”
She nodded, her eyes sad. “I see you’re packed.”
“Yes,” Amarie murmured, shifting her feet. Oh, this was hard. She didn’t want to leave, but how could she stay?
“It would be wishful thinking on my part to ask if you’re moving everything to Eli’s place, wouldn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so. I wouldn’t want to lie to you.” Amarie swallowed her tears, clearing her throat before she spoke again. “I have a job interview. It’s at a Virginia hospital. This is my chance to show the world what I’m made of.”
“Oh, you don’t have to leave home for that. I know how talented you are. So does Eli.”
Home. Service had become her home and it was breaking what was left of her heart to leave.
“I can’t stay here with him. And I don’t know what can make it better.”
“We Calvarys owe you gratitude, Amarie. Now, what can I help you with?”
“Nothing. I have everything I need.” But not the man she wanted more than her breath.
“You sure about that?” Leah gave a dubious smile before darting out of the room. “How about a goodbye kiss for your babies?” She beamed, walking back in holding out a familiar basket.
Raspberry, Dove, Formerly, Graffiti, and Artist meowed a melody that brought tears to Amarie’s eyes. “Aw, Leah you don’t play fair.”
“’Course not. I’m a mom. We play to win.”
Amarie plucked each one from the basket. “Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you,” she cooed to each kitty. They clawed at her hand when she settled them back in their nest for the last time. “Be good for Daddy. And Graffiti and Artist can’t eat too late at night, their poo is extra runny and smelly when they do.”
“Give me those little fur balls.” Bethany took the basket, handing Leah a brown bag and travel mug Amarie hadn’t noticed. “I’ll put your luggage in the car. Let you two say your goodbyes in private.”
“There’s enough biscuits in here to get you to Alaska.” Amarie took the cup from Leah’s hand. “The coffee won’t last as long. But it’s the good kind, from the computer.”
“Now how can I turn that down from one of my best friends in the world?”
“Oh, sweetie, you know we’re more than friends.”
Yeah, Amarie was hoping that they would be family. Leah opened her arms and Amarie walked right into them.
“The whole town is going to miss you. They’ll be sad they didn’t get to see you off before your big adventure.”
There was a hint of remorse in Leah’s tone, but Amarie steeled her spine. It would only get tougher if she stuck around. So, for the first time in forever, she scrapped her checklist. She’d have to wing it for today.
“I know. But I trust that Eli will explain it to everyone.”
“And who’s going to explain it to him?”
“It can’t be me. I wouldn’t know where to begin. Eli taught me so much about myself. I found I don’t need a man to be my meal ticket, even though he fed me.”
“That was true from the moment that you walked through our doors. Rattling off your credentials. Standing up to Eli with his policies and rules. Changing his life and ours for the better. We needed you, Amarie. Not the other way around, honey.”
“Since you put it that way, I sound pretty awesome. I don’t think I believed that when I got here. Everyone else with their accomplishments seemed so grand compared to mine. But I’m not afraid anymore to be who I am. And I know whatever it is life has in store for me, I can do it. And I’m thankful to have met you, Leah.”
“Come on,” she said, walking her out into the September humidity. Amarie was happy that Leah hadn’t pressured her to stay. She just spoke her truth. What did surprise her was that Leah had invited her mom to stay in the house with her. The two had really hit it off.
“Mama, I’ll call when I get where I’m going,” Amarie said from behind the wheel.
“Absolutely. You and Prince be good to each other, okay? And guess what? If it doesn’t work out, I’m gonna take a page from my daughter’s book. And I will try someplace new. Now, you get on down the road before it gets too late.”
“Yes, ma’am.” When Amarie pulled away from the curb, Leah and her mom were hugging each other. She selected her favorite playlist, ugly crying to Prince’s “When Doves Cry.”
“Oh gosh,” she sobbed. “I can hear my fur babies meowing for me to come back home to them.” Geez, she could actually smell them. And she gagged, her tongue extending from her mouth trying to expel an imaginary fur ball.
“Lawd, take the wheel. What is that smell?”
The funk permeated the car and bored into every crevice, Amarie’s eyes watered, and then her vision blurred. She swerved to the shoulder to avoid wrecking her beautifully polished car. She slammed on the brakes. Bags went flying, and out came Graffiti, paws extended, mouth open, eyes wide. A sleepy Artist right behind him, claws digging in for purchase. Rolling down the windows wasn’t enough to rid her nose of the stench. She exited the car, sucking in large volumes of mountain air. Billy, Jean, and Diana looked up from their grassy feast.
Hands balanced on her knees, she spoke to her confidants. “Hello, ladies and gent. Seems I’m back where I started.”
Rounding the car, Amarie snatched open the rear door to gauge the damage. There, in Russell’s Louis Vuitton tote bag, was his jacket covered in clay litter. Two wide-eyed screaming kittens, claws in leather as if expecting the next avalanche, and fragrant poop balls dotted her back seat.
“Mom,” Amarie screeched at the top of her lungs. Now she understood why Bethany seemed nonplussed about her departure. Amarie would not turn around, she would delay just long enough to clean up this—
“Need some help, darling?” Kanaan walked up, his tow truck blocking the one road out of town, sirens flashing.
This is Service, Amarie thought, hanging her head.