They stood on the front porch, waving, as he put his suitcase in the car.
He pulled out of the driveway with an extraordinary void in his chest.
Andrew took the back roads toward Main Street, hoping he might catch another glimpse of Kelly walking Gray across the street like that first day he’d hit town. Customers were coming out of The Cake Factory when he drove by. He could picture Kelly standing behind the counter, a relaxed smile on her face as she greeted them.
He took a quick right and drove around the block. He had plenty of time to stop and say goodbye to the McIntyres and to Kelly. He slowed along the curb, then decided against it. He could send flowers, or a card instead. Maybe call while he was in New York after she got back from her trip. Valentine’s Day was next week. Maybe Cupid would help him out.
He stopped and filled up his gas tank. As the gallons clicked off on the pump, he stared at the cars going by. There was a lot more activity in this town these days.
Rather than take the ramp up the street to get onto the interstate, he took a left. There was one more place he wanted to stop before he left Bailey’s Fork.
He timed the drive. Only seventeen minutes from the center of town.
The parking lot had seen better days. The asphalt was cracked, and dead grass had made its home there. He pulled in front of the Fresh Strawberries sign and shut down the motor.
This May, these acres would be lush and green and filled with ripe, red strawberries. Perfect for Kelly’s Honey Almond Cake. He wondered if she bought fresh strawberries here.
He got out of the car and started walking. It was well over a football field-length to the barn. The outside was faded, but the pole barn structure was built to withstand time. Inside, the boards and beams were hefty, and sturdy. He stepped off the length and width, then climbed the ladder up into the hayloft. The double-doors in the loft had blown open at some point. The warped wood held them in place. From here the view was breathtaking. Tall pines lined the back of the property line, the brown-barked trunks skying to those deep-green needles gave the graying winter landscape hope.
He sat there in the loft, with his feet dangling out of the doors, feeling small against the vast backdrop. Kelly had given that old factory a second life, which in turn gave the town and its people a better life. Her success inspired him. For the first time, he was beginning to think how his skills, his talents, could be used to do more than give him a very comfortable salary and bragging rights.
His phone rang, breaking the silence. He dug it from his front pocket to see who was calling. Francois, again. He inhaled deeply, then sent the call to voice mail.
Andrew sat there for a long time; there was a fair amount of traffic that went down the road in front of this property in both directions.
He climbed down and walked back to his car, taking the route past the industrial park to the I-85 ramp in neighboring Farm City.
When Andrew got to Pennsylvania, snow had begun to fall. But at least it wasn’t an all-out snowstorm like what his dad had driven through last week. Andrew’s mind was still replaying the week. As he thought about the barn and the property his father had offered him, he remembered the phone call he’d ignored. He played the voice mail over the car speaker. Francois’ voice boomed through the car. Had he ever heard Francois speak kindly of someone? Had he ever really said a heartfelt thank you the whole time Andrew had worked for him? The man was a genius in his field, there was no arguing that, but to be so celebrated as a chef doing what he’d always wanted, he sure didn’t seem that happy.
There was nothing Andrew could do to change that. Even if he’d been back in Paris to defuse the situation of the day, Francois would only be bellowing about something else.
Wide awake, he decided to drive the last couple of hours into the city. On the plus side, at this time of night the traffic would be clear. He stopped for fuel and a cup of coffee to finish the trip. Took an extra minute to text his folks and let them know he was going to make the drive the rest of the way in tonight so they wouldn’t worry.
The GPS took him right to the front steps of the hotel. He valeted his rental car and went inside.
“Good evening, I’m Andrew York,” he said to the young lady behind the VIP Guest Services counter. “I was supposed to be here in the morning. I hope you have a room for me tonight. I drove straight through.”
“No problem. We’ve been expecting you,” she said in a hushed tone.
Why did he suddenly feel like he was on a secret mission, waiting on his orders and decoder ring??
“This is a…unique building,” he said, taking in all of the stainless steel accents.
She glanced back at the clock. “Do you have a car?”
“I do.” He handed her the valet ticket.
“Welcome to the Big Apple.” She picked up a stack of papers and leaned over the counter. “Lucky for you, you won’t have to drive yourself around again for the rest of your trip.”
“That’ll be nice.”
“If you have a rental, we can get that returned for you if you like. No sense paying for it if you won’t be using it. We have a free shuttle to take you back to the airport when you’re done. I’m Gia, and I’ll be your contact here at the hotel while you’re filming.”
“Thank you. That would be great.”
“Is the rental agreement in the car?”
“In the console.”
“That’s all I need.” She phoned the valet and arranged for the car
