Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
LIAM
The drive back to town was icy and dark, the kind of darkness that swallowed everything beyond the thin glow of his headlights.
Snow swirled across the two-lane road, drifting in from the fields on either side.
There weren’t streetlights out here, not like in town, just the silhouettes of bare-limbed trees lining the ditches.
Liam’s truck’s headlights cut through the darkness on the road, but not inside his mind.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, thumbs drumming absently. The rhythmic swish of the wipers against the windshield was the only other sound, cutting a path through the snow and sleet that clung to the glass.
He knew he couldn’t stay away from his shop forever; he just really needed some time to gather his thoughts.
He had a sneaking suspicion that when he got back to Maple Falls, he’d find one of two things: Either Jean-Paul had moved in with Cassidy, or there’d be a “For Sale” sign in the window of the Cocoa Corner, replacing the sign advertising her Spiced Cocoa Café pop-up.
Probably the “For Sale” sign.
There was no way a man like Jean-Paul would call Maple Falls home.
Liam was wondering how long he could hide from Cassidy if she was staying. Maybe he’d never have to see her again.
Ha. That was wishful thinking. She literally lived across the street from his shop.
He hated confrontation. Hated talking about his feelings. But she had to know, didn’t she? She had to know she’d broken his heart, that he’d been falling for her. Hadn’t he made it clear how much he cared?
He hadn’t been looking for anything serious for years. Hadn’t wanted to fall in love again. Then as soon as he met her, he started falling faster than ever before.
But how well did he really know her?
Maybe he’d gotten ahead of himself. They’d only met at the beginning of the month. Liam shook his head. It was just like him to fall head over heels after avoiding an emotional connection with any woman for the last four years.
Now, here he was. Exhausted. He hadn’t slept in two nights. And all he’d done was stare at a blank sketch pad.
No inspiration. No creativity. No spark.
As he pulled into town, he wondered, not for the first time, how long this heaviness would last. How long before the sadness let go of him. Before he felt like himself again.
He found himself, once again, praying for the holiday season to end.
If he could just get through the next week, through his shop’s light-up night, he could disappear again.
Go off the grid until New Year’s. That was when things started to feel normal again.
When the lights came down and people stopped pretending everything was merry and bright.
Maybe he’d feel normal then, too, after some time away from Cassidy.
But first, he needed to stop by the farm shop, check on things and locate some details about orders and deliveries for his mom, who’d been covering the shop for him. He’d buy her an extra present for all the work his absence must have caused her—not that she’d ever complain.
He had a black hoodie pulled tight over his head and just wanted to jog in and out, unnoticed before he lost his nerve. He didn’t even register the new decorations until he almost walked into a Christmas tree that shouldn’t have been there.
He took a step back, eyeing the rest of his shop, when—
“Ah-ha! Gotcha!” A fishing net came down over his shoulder.
“What in the world?” Liam tried to lift the net over his head, but the woman wasn’t letting go.
“I got him! I got him!” Mrs. C. hollered. “Somebody call the sheriff!”
“You haven’t caught anything. Mrs. C., it’s me.”
“Liam?” Mrs. C. looked at Liam and raised the net.
Cassidy ran up, the beam of her phone flashlight catching him in the eyes. He winced at the sudden brightness—and at the expression on her face. Not apologetic. Not embarrassed.
Angry.
Furious, even.
He didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman look that angry. And he’d known Madison since first grade.
“Cassidy?” he asked, glancing around the shadowed street. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that we’re in the middle of a Gingerbread Jerk stakeout,” Cassidy snapped. “And you walked right into it.”
“Stakeout?” It was then that Liam took in the women standing around him.
Cassidy, Mrs. Bishop, Mrs. C., and Edith were all standing around him, dressed head to toe in black.
Even their stocking caps were black. Mrs. Bishop had gone so far as to bring a ski mask.
He would’ve laughed if he wasn’t still trying to make sense of it all.
Liam looked up and down the street. It was quiet. He’d even say peaceful if Cassidy wasn’t looking at him with daggers in her eyes.
He looked back at his shop, seeing the new decorations, the trees, the birch log reindeer. “The Gingerbread Jerk targeted my shop.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, I fixed it up real nice,” she added, hands on her hips, voice sharp. “Although I don’t know why I bothered.”
His jaw tensed. “I don’t know—maybe you felt guilty because you strung me along for weeks only to get back together with Jean-Paul the Douchebag?”
“Strung you along?!?” Her voice rose up an octave.
“I say we back up and give the two of them a moment,” Edith suggested, gently tugging Mrs. C. and Mrs. Bishop back by their coats.
“What else would you call it?” Liam crossed his arms over his chest, stance wide.
Cassidy’s chest heaved, cheeks flushed with cold and fury. She stepped closer, jabbing a finger at his chest.
“Are you kidding me?” Her voice cracked, high with anger.
“You disappeared, Liam! Since Sunday! Do you know what that was like? I was worried sick, pacing my tiny apartment, checking my phone every five minutes, praying you were okay. Then you show up here like this? What were you going to do, sneak in and back out? Hope I didn’t see you? ”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
She shook her head, her breath coming out in harsh white clouds. “Don’t you dare stand there and accuse me of leading you on when you’re the one who ran away.”
“The man kissed you, Cassidy. What was I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, talk to me?”
Liam suddenly realized why she had looked at him like he was the bad guy. Because maybe… maybe he had been.
“You’re not engaged?”
“No, I’m not engaged. Why would I get back together with someone like that?”
He dropped his face into his hand, rubbing his temples with his finger and thumb.
“I was worried about you,” she continued, more quietly now. “I didn’t know where you’d gone. And I hated that you thought I’d betrayed you.”
“I told Jackson where I went,” he said, but even to his own ears the excuse sounded weak.
“Jackson? The man who’s never said two words to me?”
“My family knew I was safe,” he mumbled. His excuses weren’t doing him any favors.
Liam sighed and closed his eyes for a beat, trying to get his thoughts straight.
He opened his eyes and looked into Cassidy’s. The anger was still there, but he hoped there was room for something more.
“Look, this is all coming out wrong. I freaked out. I took off. I’m sorry. I just…” He exhaled sharply. “It scared me. How much I care about you. And I clearly made all the wrong moves.”
She crossed her arms, still guarded. The street was quiet around them; the only sound was that of Mrs. Bishop unwrapping a peppermint from her pocket.
“It’s freezing out here,” Liam added, rubbing his hands together. “Could we maybe take this inside?”
He was well aware that the entire crafting club was currently getting a play-by-play of one of the most vulnerable moments of his life.
Cassidy’s glare finally softened. Just a little.
“Sure,” she said. “Come on. I’ll put the cocoa on.”