CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Natalie
I stood out on the deck wearing a new sweater, scarf, and hat Lynne and Pete had given me for Christmas.
They were warm and cozy, and I was enjoying the day after Christmas for once.
I’d always felt such a let down on this day.
There was always such a long build up before it happened, the day itself was wonderful, and then afterwards?
It sucked. It was like you were on a wonderful roller coaster for a month and then suddenly had to get off and immediately leave the amusement park.
But today wasn’t like that. I was glad to be on the other side of breaking up with Heath.
My God. That had been a whole strange fiasco that I wasn’t sure I’d ever fully understand.
Tim had told me the conversation he’d overheard between Heath and some friends of his.
I’d never make sense of it, I didn’t think.
Heath Reyes was handsome, successful, smart—it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to find someone who would have loved to marry him.
I’m not sure why he got focused on that person being me or why he waited so long to find someone to fulfill that little clause in his grandparents’ will.
But that’s what he did.
And now… he and his family weren’t exactly fond of me. I wasn’t sure how I’d be received at the hospital this morning, but I knew I needed to get going soon.
Lynne stepped onto the deck and handed me a travel mug of hot cocoa. “What are you doing standing out here in the cold?”
“Just taking some deep cleansing breaths before work. I’ve always thought winter air felt so… clean to breathe in. Summer air is so humid, breathing feels like you’re almost drinking some hot water sometimes.”
Lynne shuddered. “Okay, I like summer much better than winter, but you just made it weird for me. Listen, I wanted to talk to you before you left. I know Heath’s dad is the hospital director. If they try to make things difficult for you, we’ll help you get a lawyer.”
My eyes widened. “What do you think they’re going to do?”
“It might be nothing. But if they’re vindictive—and after their behavior at the Christmas Eve Ball they’ve proven they are—they might try to end your contract early. Just be ready for anything this morning.”
Now I was a little more apprehensive than I’d been before. After I’d turned Heath down, they’d basically kicked everyone associated with me out of the ball.
She gave me a hug. “Whatever happens, it will be okay. You have a contract.”
I just didn’t want them to try to fake a reason to fire me.
I didn’t think they would though. Half of Halliwell and a portion of Indigo Falls were at the party.
They’d seen what happened. It wouldn’t be difficult to prove they were making things up to get back at me.
I worried about it the whole drive to the hospital.
It turned out that Lynne had been right. There had been a definite reason for me to worry. I’d been scheduled in surgery, but someone else was in my spot when I’d walked in. That’s when I’d been told to report to human resources.
I was freaking out but trying to hide it. I didn’t want them to lie and say I was bad at my job or something that could end my career before it’d ever really gotten started. But then I was surprised.
I was let out of my contract with a severance package and a glowing letter of recommendation from Heath’s dad, the Chief of Staff.
I’d sat on a bench outside the hospital in shock looking over the paperwork and hoping I’d read everything correctly.
On one hand, I couldn’t believe that they’d get rid of me for embarrassing their son.
He shouldn’t have chosen to ask me in such a public place.
I think he knew I was leaning towards breaking up with him.
But on the other hand? I knew it could have been so much worse.
I sat there, bemused, for about fifteen minutes. Then I pulled myself together and moved on. I had realized over the past few weeks that Baltimore, while wonderful, wasn’t calling to me anymore.
I wanted to stay in Indigo Falls.
It hadn’t taken long for me to drive to Dr. Crenshaw’s office, where the doctors were thrilled to give me an impromptu interview.
They hired me on the spot. I would actually have a much better schedule that I’d had at the hospital, I’d make about the same amount of money, and they didn’t need me to start until after the new year.
I’d have time off. It was amazing.
I’d used the time to look at homes while Sabine was still in town.
I trusted her opinion implicitly. Before I knew it, I had bought a beautiful townhouse in a new neighborhood that backed up to the riverwalk they’d put in along the Indigo River.
I could walk there when I got off work—I’d never been someone who could exercise in the morning.
Sabine and I had spent a week furniture shopping and catching all kinds of post-holiday sales. It had been a great time to move, and it had felt great to make some very important decisions after feeling like I was going back and forth over them for months.
I planned to move slowly from my parents’ house to my new place, but Dad had left everything so perfectly organized and ready. Before I’d known it, I was putting their house on the market.
I’d been afraid that day would make me feel as if I was losing my parents all over again, but it had the opposite effect.
Instead, it was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders.
I was walking away from a haunted house—not literally, of course.
There were just so many heavy memories there, so much loneliness, so much sadness, and it felt freeing to walk away from it.
Standing outside my new place, I couldn’t help but feel that both of my parents would approve. And that meant a lot to me.
I was moving on. It wasn’t a new place, but it felt as if Indigo Falls had gotten a much needed makeover for me. It had become more than the place my parents had died, the place I’d grown up lonely off and on, and the place Tim had crushed my heart.
Instead, it had become the place I’d chosen on my own terms. And it felt right.
“I like that smile on your face,” Sabine said, walking towards me, heels clicking on the sidewalk.
We were both all dressed up. It was New Years Eve, and we each had a party to attend.
The older generation was going to Melinda’s parents’ house for a party.
The people my age were going to Tim’s house instead.
She wrapped her arms around me, and we stood like that for several moments. “I’m so proud of you, mon trésor. This has been a hard year. Really hard. But you’ve handled it so well.”
“Thank you. I had a lot of help.” I looked up at her. She was a few inches taller than me, but in her heels tonight, it was even more noticeable. “I’m going to miss you when you go back.” She was leaving in a couple of days, and I wasn’t ready for her to leave yet. I felt tears threatening.
She must’ve noticed. “No, no. No tears tonight. Your makeup is perfect.”
I laughed at that. It was a very Sabine thing to say.
“I’m glad you brought that up,” she said, and a serious look crossed her face. “I’ve been thinking about something for a while now, and I want to run it by you.”
My eyebrows lifted. “What is it?”
“I applied for a job with Delta Airlines, and, well, I got it.” Delta’s biggest hub was in Atlanta at Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
My mouth dropped open. Was she saying what I thought she was saying? “Are you…”
“Thinking of moving to America? Yes. What do you think of that?” She looked worried, as if I was going to say no or something. Spoiler alert—I wasn’t.
I threw my arms around her. “I’d love that so much!” I knew Sabine had dual citizenship, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to move to America. “But what about all your friends in France?”
“I’d miss them for sure, but it’s easy with my job to swing by and see them several times a year, and you, dear girl, are my family. I want to be closer to you.”
“That makes me so happy.”
She smiled. “We can talk all about it later, but for now we look too beautiful to be standing out here on New Year’s Eve. We need to go to our parties.”
I cocked my head at her. “Do you feel close to Mom’s friends?”
She looked startled by my question, and I could swear she blushed.
“Yes. Some more than others,” she shrugged. “But they’ve always included me over the years in their soirees and such.”
“I noticed you and Jack Crenshaw seemed pretty close,” I said off-handedly as the two of us walked to the parking lot. I would drop Sabine off at Melinda’s parents’ house before heading over to Tim’s.
I felt Sabine stiffen, and I looked at her in surprise. She recovered quickly, pasting a smile on her beautiful face. “Yes. Jack and I… we go way back.”
I studied her face for a second, then decided to let her off the hook for now. “Ah, Jack Crenshaw seems to go way back with everyone in this town. He’s such a great guy. I can’t wait to start working with him.”
Sabine patted my hand as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed out for the night. “He’s even better than you know,” she said quietly, looking out the window.
Okay. What the hell? There was a definite story there. Did Sabine and Jack have a fling at some point? Then I pushed the thought aside. There was no way. Jack had been so devoted to his wife Diane for years and years. They were the poster children for a perfect marriage in Indigo Falls.
She quickly changed the subject, telling me all about the new job at Delta on the short trip to Melinda’s parents’ house.
“Have fun,” I said, leaning in for a hug before she got out of the car.
“Don’t I always?” she asked with a wink.
***
“You look… amazing,” Tim said, pulling me into his house and into a hug. I was wearing a sparkly red cocktail dress and stilettos.
“Thanks,” I said, intoxicated by the familiar smell of him as I leaned my head on his strong chest for a brief moment. I stood back. “You look great, yourself.”