Chapter 29
When Caleb’s alarm went off the next morning, he decided he’d died and was in hell.
No sound could be that painful anywhere else.
He was sure if he moved, his head wouldn’t stay attached to his neck, not when it felt so heavy and hurt so much.
And why did his mouth taste like he’d been drinking from a sewer?
As consciousness returned, he realized he was lying on the floor. Where the hell was he? Very cautiously, he opened his eyes again and saw a woman lying on the couch near him. Oh God, Marianne.
Bits and pieces of the night before flashed in his mind. Kissing Rhys at Frost + Foam, Tessa walking in. Marianne rescuing him with vodka. The empty bottle sat by the side of the couch. The light from his phone seemed to stab into his eyes, but he made himself read the time.
Apparently, he hadn’t snoozed his alarm in his sleep. He wasn’t going to be late to open Cloud Nine, assuming he was capable of walking there. He wasn’t entirely sure about that.
When he sat up, his stomach lurched, but he made it to Marianne’s bathroom before expelling some of last night’s excess.
At least now he felt slightly better. He found a pad of paper in the kitchen and wrote Marianne a note, letting her know he was okay and thanking her.
At least he hoped he’d actually written words and not illegible hieroglyphics.
He’d text her later if he could still see.
Somehow, he made it to Cloud Nine and only saw one other person who was out that early. A guy who worked at the hardware store had passed him on his morning run. Caleb managed to grunt good morning.
It took him a moment to remember how his key worked, but he succeeded in letting himself into the shop.
Then he dragged himself up the stairs. He wasn’t sure he could have climbed the stairs if he hadn’t needed to check on Mallow.
He’d stopped by to see her before going to Marianne’s, and he knew she’d been living on the streets just days ago, but he hadn’t intended to leave her for so long.
As soon as he opened his door, she came running, meowing loudly like she was scolding him.
She followed him into the kitchen and climbed up his leg as he tried to get her wet food into her bowl.
He scooped her up and set her on his shoulder as he got the last bit from the can, then he sat the bowl and Mallow on the floor, and she began eating like she’d been about to faint from hunger.
He refilled her water bowl, then, feeling queasy from the smell of cat food, he left her and went to the bathroom, where he shuddered through a cold shower that did less than expected to wake him up.
Once he was dressed, he made himself a cup of coffee.
He had to sip it very slowly for a few moments before he could find the willpower to walk back downstairs.
Mallow followed him to the door and meowed at him loudly, so he scooped her up and placed her in the pocket of his apron.
She could at least stay with him while he got the shop ready for the day.
A few hours later, Caleb was fighting nausea and a throbbing headache as he did his best to help with the morning rush.
Mallow was back upstairs, but every time he stepped into the back of the shop, he could hear her protesting her fate loudly at the door.
After he had to remake two drinks in a row, Natalie, his most reliable employee, pulled him aside.
“Go upstairs, take care of your kitten, and get some sleep.”
“I can’t—”
“We’ve got this.”
He glanced out front. The line was starting to shorten. “Okay. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Now, go.”
When he stepped into the apartment, he scooped Mallow up and brought her to bed with him. She curled up next to his head on the pillow, and they both slept away the morning.
He woke to a rough little tongue swiping his cheek. When he cracked open his eyes, he couldn’t help but smile at the tiny face right next to his.
“Meow,” Mallow said.
“Hungry?” She leapt off the bed and ran to the kitchen.
As he stood and stretched, he realized he was starving as badly as Mallow pretended she was. He fed her, then made himself some eggs, bacon, and toast.
She jumped on his lap and then onto the table to see if she could also get some of his food.
He felt a little better with each bite, and he found himself starting to tell his whole sad story to the kitten.
When he’d told her he thought he was in love with Rhys, but he didn’t know if they had any chance of being together, she rubbed her little face against his arm like she was trying to comfort him.
Then she fell asleep right there next to his plate.
He watched her for several minutes before cleaning up. Before he went back down to the shop, he made sure his chair was positioned where Mallow could jump to it and then to the floor. She wasn’t quite ready for the full table-to-floor jump yet, but he knew she would be before long.
Caleb returned to the shop for the rest of the afternoon, needing to distract himself with work. But once all his closing chores were done and he headed back upstairs, his mantra of “Everything is going to be okay” had long since stopped working.
Nothing about the situation with Rhys was okay, and he had no idea if it ever would be. He’d was rehashing everything he and Rhys had said the night before while pretending to watch a show when he got a request for a video call with his sister.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as he’d said hello.
He wanted to tell her everything was fine. He didn’t want to worry her, but he couldn’t hold up his easygoing front, not after the night he’d had. “I’m fucking miserable.”
“Oh my God, what happened? Is Mallow okay?” He’d texted Kate as soon as he’d taken Mallow to the vet because he knew she’d understand how much it meant to him to find a stray that he could keep.
“Yes, she’s fine. She’s right here.” He turned the phone to show Kate that Mallow was curled up and sleeping at the end of the bed.
“She’s so adorable. I can’t wait for a chance to pet her, but back to you. What’s going on?”
He sighed. Where did he even begin? “So… um… things have developed between me and Rhys.”
“Developed like you’re working on a drink or like you’re sleeping together?”
“Both, actually.”
“And?”
He didn’t want to talk about either one, but Kate deserved to know what was going on, and she usually gave good advice. “So you know I was hesitant because this is such a small town, and we both own businesses.”
“Yes, but I told you to take the risk anyway.”
“So I did. Rhys changed his mind about working together, and after a few nights, things happened.”
“You jumped him?”
He glared at her. “He kissed me.”
“So where does that leave things, and why are you miserable?”
“He wanted us to keep things secret, even the fact that we’re working together, so we wouldn’t be the center of town gossip.”
Kate narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like that. Is he ashamed of being with you?”
Caleb shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. Everyone here knows him, and anything that happens between us is going to be under a microscope. It’s not like dating in Boston.”
“I still don’t like it.”
Caleb both loved and hated how defensive Kate was of him. “He was scared, and so was I.”
“All right. Keep talking.”
“I really like him. I… I think I’m in love with him.”
“But you haven’t told him that?”
Caleb reached out to pet Mallow. “No, we’ve only talked a little about where this is going.”
“So everything is still a secret?”
“Not completely. He told our friends we were working together on our drink last night. We were at a birthday party for Jonah. He’s the one who owns the bookstore.”
She nodded. “I remember.”
“About half the town was there, so that information spread fast, and a few people said things to us insinuating we were closer than business partners.”
“Just because you’re working together?”
Caleb sighed. “This town will gossip about anything.”
“Who are these people?”
“The mayor’s assistant, Rhys’s second-grade teacher, and one of the regulars at Frost + Foam.”
“Tell me you’re joking.”
He laughed, even though it didn’t really feel funny. “I wish I was.”
“I told you to stay in the city.”
“Kate, I love it here.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know, and I’m happy for you, as long as the people there are treating you right.”
“No one’s done anything wrong, but Rhys was freaked-out by the things they said, so we took a break from working together.
I missed him, so I went to his shop last night.
We worked on our drinks, and things were going really well.
We were both really excited about finally having a truly viable entry, and he kissed me and—”
“Oh my God, right there in the shop?”
“Yes, but we did move into the back, so I thought we were fine, but Tessa came in. Rhys forgot to lock the door, so she caught us. It really shouldn’t be a big deal.
I’m pretty sure she knew anyway or strongly suspected, but Rhys ran out of there, and I haven’t talked to him since then.
He told me to just enter our drink as my own, but I can’t do that. ”
Caleb couldn’t stop his tears from falling. “I don’t know what to do, because I think I’m in love with him, and I think he feels something for me, but he’s just too damn scared to see me again.”
“Oh, Caleb. I’m so sorry. You are going to enter a drink in the festival, though, whether it’s what you’ve worked on with Rhys or not, and I’m coming to be there with you.”
He wiped his cheeks. “You said you can’t get away.”
“I’m going to make time for this. You need support.”
“Don’t compromise your job for me. I’ll be okay, and I will enter my own for the festival. I’m not going to disappoint the town just because Rhys and I are… whatever is happening.”
She nodded. “Damn right you’re not. Things are crazy at work, and I’ll only be able to stay for the day, but I’m going to be there for the start of the festival.”
“I’ll be all right. Really. I have friends here who support me. It’s just that they’re also Rhys’s friends, and most of them have known him since he was a kid.”
“Then you need me even more.”
He did, even though he didn’t want to admit it. “Okay. Thank you, Katie.”
She made her fiercest expression. “I’m not letting anybody mess with my little brother.”
“Rhys hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“He ran away from you instead of talking.”
“Talking isn’t easy for him. The same way it’s not for you.”
She huffed. “I can talk to people. I’m an attorney.”
“At a party? In a relationship?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“Kate.”
“All right. I’ll give him a chance if you still think he deserves one. I’ve got to go, but I’ll check in with you soon, and we’ll figure out details about me visiting.”
Caleb ended the call and flopped back onto the bed. He would never have asked Kate to come, but the idea of having her there made him feel so much better, especially if he and Rhys were still not talking or if things got even worse.