Chapter 12
SUTTON
Standing in the empty restaurant, I think about every little stolen moment I’ve had with Kelsey over the last two years.
The little glances I’d sneak when I’m at the coffee shop with TJ.
The occasional smiles that she’d direct at my staff because she would never smile at me.
The times I’d see her, from my balcony, walking Felix on her breaks.
Out of all of them, today was the only time since the night we met, and the morning after, that she voluntarily gave me the time of day. Not just the time of day—she opened up to me again, like that first night. And again, I’m back to wondering what the hell I did wrong.
I only wanted to help her. Who fucking cares if my brother is right and I have a raging hero complex. I couldn’t bare another second of seeing her clearly in pain. She hides it so well from everyone else, but chose to strip that shield away and pour herself out to me.
As much as I wanted her to just say yes and let me help, I pushed too far and put my foot in my fucking mouth. Seriously, I’m a fucking idiot.
Instead of saying yes to my ludicrous—but sincere—offer of taking my spare apartment, she ran away from me again. Well I guess technically it’s not again, because the first time she only ghosted me—never texted or called me back.
But fuck it, whatever. That’s not the point. I’m not taking no for an answer this time.
Suddenly, I’m very glad that it’s one of the rare Sunday afternoons that I’m not catching a flight to Sterling Springs.
Normally, if I’m staying in Jackson for the next few days while Gloria’s is closed, I’d be catching up on paperwork here, or depending on the weather, I’d go hiking.
Maybe even go fishing with TJ, but we’re doing less of that now that he has Grace by his side, which I can’t blame him, clearly she’s better company than me.
So instead of keeping myself occupied or catching up on work, I’m going to finally go after her because I can’t get her pained expression out of my mind.
I need to know what I did to make her bolt from me. This time I’m going to find out.
I make my way out of the restaurant and head straight for the coffee shop two blocks away. If I’m lucky, she’ll still be there by the time I run there. I don’t know why I run because it’s only two blocks, but I just want to know what I ever did to drive this wedge between us.
As I make it to the front door of Cowgirl Coffee, I double over—propping myself up with my hands on my knees—panting. Holy shit, I need to do more cardio—something besides just lifting with TJ—because that should not have been that hard.
After I catch my breath, I pull on the door and to my surprise, it swings right open, making the bell chime.
Shit. I expected it to be locked since they were closed.
My pulse ratchets right back up. Maybe she is still here and we can actually talk. Or maybe she’ll kick me right out. I didn’t exactly make it that far with my half-assed plan.
“We’re closed.” A female voice calls out from the kitchen.
“Hey,” I call out. “It’s me.”
“Who is me exactly?”
I’m about to answer when Monica pops her head out. I wave and she steps out from the kitchen, leaning against the door frame.
She folds her arms across her chest and glowers at me like I’m about to get scolded. Great. She’s already talked with Kelsey then.
Fuck it. I’m still going to try and get my answers.
“Oh. Hi, Monica.” I get the words out between nervous breaths.
“Wow. You sound so thrilled to see me. Nice to see you too, Sutton.”
“Sorry. I just… I need to talk to Kelsey. Did she already leave? I was hoping she was still around.”
She shakes her head. “You just missed her.”
Shit. I slump into one of the cafe chairs. I groan and press my face to the cool wooden table. This was a stupid idea. If she left that quick and didn’t even stick around with her friend, she definitely wouldn’t have stuck around to talk to me.
I close my eyes and ponder my dumbassery when the feeling of a hand on my shoulder catches me off guard.
I lift my head and look up to see Monica standing over me, her earlier scowl softening into a weak smile.
“For the record, she might be my ride-or-die, but I’m on your side when it comes to this.” She pats my shoulder a couple times. “I just wish you’d fix whatever you did.”
“That’s just it. I don’t know what I did.” I drop my head back to the table, mumbling against the wood in defeat. “It’s been two years of this.”
“What was it this time? Last time, it was stealing her car.”
I glare back at her. “I didn’t steal it. I just temporarily upgraded it.”
She huffs a laugh. “What about you being gone all the time? She thinks you’re just a part-timer waiting for your next opportunity. Speaking of, don’t you have a plane to catch or something?”
My jaw tenses and I shake my head. “No.”
Other than TJ, no one in town knows why I go back to Sterling Springs so often. Dad and Sly are both proud and I don’t ever want to air their business. “My family needs me. It’s not that simple, believe me.”
She shrugs. “What about you gutting her grandma’s house and moving into it? I know she’s still pretty devastated by that.”
I sit straight up in the chair and turn to face her. “What are you talking about? What house?”
She leans forward and tilts her head. “What house? The one your restaurant and apartment are both in, dumbass. God, she’s right.” She shakes her head at me dismissively. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.”
I stand up, so I can look her in the eyes. “What about my house?”
She gives me a confused look, but I hold my ground and stare right at her. She must see the seriousness in my expression because her eyes widen and she covers her mouth. “Oh my god. You really don’t know? How do you not—”
“How do I not what?” I grit out.
“Shit,” she mutters under her breath. “Why do you think she hates being in your restaurant so much?”
“I always thought it was just me.”
She laughs halfheartedly. “Don’t give yourself that much credit, big guy. You’re living in her grandma’s old house. The one she dreamed of living in one day. The one her family couldn’t afford to keep and the one you and your brother basically gutted all of her memories from.”
She takes a step back and puts her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes back on me. “You really didn’t know.”
The earth feels unsteady beneath me. I remember the night we met so vividly.
She told me that she recently lost her grandma, but she seemed pretty quick to move on from that topic and I respected it.
Now I wish I would have asked her more about how much her grandma meant to her.
I shake my head. “No. I never knew until literally right now.”
“How did you not know?”
I throw my hands out wide and shake my head. “I don’t know. I wasn’t the one that bought it? Slade did. I don’t really have any friends in town besides TJ, the restaurant industry hours don’t lend themselves to healthy social lives.” I let out an exasperated groan. “I just never knew.”
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before gripping my shoulders and looking up at me.
“Look, I’m not one to get into other peoples’ business.”
I glare at her skeptically.
She sighs and nods side to side. “OK, fine, maybe I do. But if you want to finally talk to her, she should be back in about ten minutes.”
“I thought she left?”
“She did. She took Felix for a walk. Seriously, you just missed her, but she’ll be back.”
Alright. I may not have a plan, but at least I have a chance now.
I take a deep breath and try to collect myself, giving Monica a weak but heartfelt smile. “Thanks.”
While I might feel a sense of relief from finally uncovering that little puzzle piece, I realize I only have minutes to think about what I want to say to Kelsey before she’s back.