29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter 29
Preparing to leave her job with Grady occupied Linda’s mind from sunup to sundown for two more weeks.
Mason had called her every day since Laurel’s wedding, but recently the calls were hardly over five minutes.
He was moving to Springfield next week, and she was excited that he would be only an hour away. Her fears that his focus on her time zone could land him twenty hours away by car had not been realized.
He was flying home today and would stay with Erin for a few days. On Saturday, once Linda wrapped things up for Grady, the two of them would drive to Springfield to get Mason settled before his first shift the following Monday.
Linda offered to pick him up at the airport but he said he’d take a rideshare to Erin’s and pick up Linda to have dinner.
She freshened up and put on makeup before Mason arrived. She’d cleared her work papers off the dining table and tidied up the apartment. Sorcha had gone to Chicago to visit the Art Institute and wouldn’t be home until late.
When he knocked, Linda leaped off the couch and rushed to the door.
“Hi!” she said, throwing the door open.
Mason wore black slacks and a red short-sleeved polo shirt. Somehow, he looked relaxed and excited at the same time.
“Hello,” he said, stepping through the door.
“You were vague about plans for this evening.” She looked down at her pale blue sundress. “I wasn’t sure if we would go out for dinner, or order in…”
“We’re going to dinner. We have a stop to make on the way. Shouldn’t take too long.”
“Okay. Let me give you a quick tour of the apartment, then we can go.”
She led him on the ninety-second tour of their humble two-bedroom apartment—not showing him Sorcha’s room prevented the tour from going to ninety-five seconds.
Mason had rented a car but admitted he felt a little weird driving. “I’m looking for a car to purchase,” he said, driving down Veteran’s Parkway. “Springfield is not as large as most of the cities I’ve lived in, and besides, I’ll just be an hour away. I don’t want to rely on Amtrak to visit you, though that is an option.”
“Really? I never think about taking a train.”
“Not even going to Chicago?”
“Well, I’ve thought about it but never done it. Sorcha took the train to Chicago today, actually. I would have gone with her if you hadn’t come in.”
“We’ll have to do that. Soon.”
Linda loved his enthusiasm. “Sounds fun. I’d like that.”
She was confused when he pulled into a flower shop parking lot a few minutes later. The shop didn’t appear to be open. She was further surprised when he pulled up to the portico in front of the building.
“Mason, this place doesn’t look open…”
It was nice that he’d thought of flowers, but shouldn’t he have brought them to her door?
“The surprise is here. Come on.”
He bounced out of the car and rushed around to her side. Taking her hand, he led her around the building.
“Are we trespassing?” she asked, glancing around. There were no other cars around, just a large metal camper that looked like it had been in the woods recently.
Mason led her towards the camper. Turning to her, he said, “Linda, this may seem a little crazy but hear me out. I got this idea when I talked to Nica at the wedding. You said you want to attend farmers’ markets to sell your new products.”
“Yeah….” Linda’s eyes darted from Mason to the camper behind him.
“Well, here’s your booth for those markets. It needs work, obviously, but Nica has seen it, and she’s drawing up some ideas now to go over with you.”
“Mason, I can’t—” There were so many “I can’ts”: “I can’t accept this”, “I can’t haul this”, “I can’t park this in my apartment’s parking lot”, “I can’t….” But the “I coulds” slowly filtered in.
“Yes, you can. If you hate this idea, that’s fine. I’ll resell it. But think about it. You’ll be able to go to lots of markets on the weekends. It will be functional and adorable. Whatever you want. Nica thinks you could arrange with the owner of the flower shop to park here and cross-promote your businesses. Tilly, the owner, was fine with it being parked here for a few days to start with. Nica said you probably know of some other places that Grady owns if it doesn’t work here, since you know all your boss’s locations.”
“Mason, about that.”
She’d planned to tell him at dinner that she was quitting her job with Grady and going full-time on her new venture. But now that it had come up…
“I’ve turned in my resignation with Grady. Mainly to work on my business full-time, but partially to have the flexibility to move to wherever you settle.” She snickered. “When you settle.”
“No way! I can’t believe you’d do that.” He looked down at his feet for a second. “You didn’t have to do that, Lindy. I’m moving back here as soon as I can. Springfield is just a stepping-stone. I want to be with you. And I know you love it here. I just want to be where you are. They say home is where the heart is. Well, my heart is with you. Your heart is my home.”
“Mason.” Her voice shook. This was too much to take in. Mason was coming home! She took a deep breath and stepped into his arms. “You’re moving back here? For good?”
She felt his quiet chuckle from his chest through hers. “For good. It’s time. I want to be with you. And I want to be close to my family. None of us are getting younger, and I have some lost time to make up for.”
“No time like the present.”
“Exactly.”
Linda’s eyes shifted from him to the camper. “So, Nica thinks we can make this into a vendor booth, huh?”
“Ready to see it?”
“Can’t wait.”