Chapter 18
The next week went by in a blur of gardening, canning, preserving, and Trixie. And I wasn’t complaining one bit. Every day that passed, I felt like I had been learning so much from her, not just in regards to her garden, but her bits of wisdom were planting little seeds of confidence within me.
Meal times were still shared with the entire Hart family, but the interactions between Calvin and me had been a little strained ever since the incident with my car.
I think Calvin was just as confused by my feelings as I was, but I couldn’t bring myself to make sense of things quite yet.
He had told me my car was in the shop getting looked at, and I thanked him.
But when I asked him to send the bill my way when it was ready and he told me not to worry about it, I didn’t know how to respond.
I knew his family company was already struggling and it made me feel like a burden that he was trying to take on my repair costs as well.
Everything was easier with Trixie. She still hadn’t charged me anything for my stay, but she’d made up for it by putting me to work in her garden.
Spending so much time with her proved she had life figured out in her eighty-six years and nothing seemed to bother her or ruffle her feathers at all anymore.
We had a chicken in the oven for supper, potatoes on the stove, and just started peeling some carrots when Calvin came and knocked on the doorframe that separated the entry to the porch from the kitchen, Patrick trailing close behind.
“Hey, Stella, can we talk to you for a sec?” Calvin asked. He seemed to be more mindful of the space he took up around me and the volume of his voice.
I cringed, knowing that him being so guarded was my own fault for how distant I’d been with him this week. I would have to work on holding boundaries while still letting others in.
“Yeah, of course,” I answered in as cheery of a tone as possible. “I’ll be right back, Trixie.”
“Oh, don’t you worry, dear, I’ll handle it from here.”
I was about to ask if she was sure when she shooed me out of her kitchen. I wasn’t going to be told twice.
I followed the boys out of the room. Walking through the porch, I grabbed a hoodie as we made our way out onto the deck. The August heat had left, and now the cool September breeze was making itself known across the prairies.
“Is this about my car?” I asked, while pulling the sweater over my head.
They looked at each other before Patrick answered me. “We found out who spray-painted it.”
“Really?” I couldn’t tell if it was hope or fear that sparked inside me.
“It was Valerie,” Calvin said with clenched teeth.
“Who’s Valerie?” I didn’t know a single Valerie from Salt Lake City, unless she was a side piece of Nick’s I didn’t know about. Which, honestly, wouldn’t even surprise me at this point.
“Valerie is Calvin’s ex.”
My eyes went wide and shot to Calvin while his head whipped in a glare toward Patrick.
“She’s not my ex. We went on a few dates years ago. I never would have even called that a relationship.”
“Yeah, well, we all know Valerie feels differently, and she just spent the last week at home with Vintage Vows closed because her hands were stained red from the spray paint.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say. The blonde in the bar who glared at me as I left with Calvin. The same one who tried to lay claim to him outside the coffee shop on my first day in Love. There was obviously history there, and it wasn’t something I wanted to get in the middle of.
“She seems pretty embarrassed and ashamed of her actions, especially after being outed by some of her friends. But it’s up to you if you’d like to press charges against her for vandalism. As the chief of police, I’d encourage you to do so.”
I sighed. I appreciated Patrick wanting to help me, and as I looked into his dark brown eyes there was nothing but sincerity written within them.
But there was no way a charge like that in a small town like this wouldn’t cause extra drama.
And being the newbie, I wasn’t ready to serve my head up on a silver platter like that.
“No, just drop it all. I don’t even want to bother. ”
Calvin looked like he was going to argue my response, but Patrick spoke before he could say anything. “There’s something else we need to tell you.”
“Okay?” Calvin looked like he was ready to burst, and I tried to focus on my breathing so I didn’t abruptly end this conversation by running away or breaking something again.
“We had our buddy Sean run a full diagnostic on your car. He runs the mechanic shop in town,” Patrick continued.
“He found trackers in your car. Multiple of them, actually. Nick probably installed them as a safety feature in case of theft, but that’s definitely how he found you and sent the flowers. ”
I knew it was true. I already knew he obviously knew where I was.
But to hear it confirmed in so many words sent a chill down my spine.
This time I lost the battle to control my breathing and rushed inside to get my bag, despite the pleas coming from Calvin.
I would apologize to Trixie later for missing supper.
I needed to get to where I could breathe.