Erma shook her head. “Not yet. But she has a flight scheduled for Friday.” She would have sworn Hayden almost swayed at thenews.
“Where is she now?”
“In the back.” Erma walked to him. “She’s very tender right now. I don’t know what happened between you two, but whateveryou say to her, be extra careful. She’s had a rough time.”
He nodded, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it. “I understand.”
“I hope so.” Erma narrowed her gaze. “I won’t stand for her getting hurt.”
“Me either.”
She watched him go to the back room and prayed he meant those words.
Chapter 18
Riley looked at the canvas in front of her, then at the selection of yarn she’d chosen from the Knots and Tangles inventory.The colors were a wild variety of cool aqua, deep purple, fiery red, and lemon yellow, along with a few lighter neutrals shewould intertwine sparingly. She separated the fibers of the aqua yarn and placed a few of them on the canvas, the vision forthis art piece slowly coming together. Hopefully not too slowly, since she wanted to finish it before she left on Friday.
When she heard footsteps coming into the room, she turned, then froze. Hayden. Despite everything, she still marveled at howsexy he looked in a hardware store uniform. Extremely sexy.
“Hey,” he said, stopping a few feet from her.
“Hi.” She set the fibers on the table and shifted on her stool.
His gaze went to the blank canvas. “Are you working on something?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
“Uh, a new art piece?”
“Yes.” Her heartbeat started to kick into gear.
Hayden moved closer to her. “Can I ask what it is?”
“No.”
“Okay.” He threaded his fingers through his thick hair. “Artist privilege?”
“Yes.” Wow, did he smell good. Fresh soap, the outdoors, and a scent that was pure Hayden.
He glanced away and shoved his hands in his pockets. Then he looked at her again. “Can we, uh, talk?”
“No.” She got up from the stool, unable to resist him anymore. She went to him and put her arms around his neck. “I don’twant to talk.”
“But—”
Riley kissed him, this time not holding back. She murmured against his mouth when he drew her against him, his hands wrappingaround her waist, then grazing her back and finally cupping the back of her head. Perfection. This was where she belonged.In his arms. In his life.
Finally he pulled away. “Riley,” he breathed. “What’s going on? Erma said you’re leaving.”
“I am.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. “Friday.”
“And this kiss?”
“I thought it might be the start of the apology I owe you.”
He laughed but still looked dumbfounded. “It’s the best apology I’ve ever had.”
She led him over to the thrift store couch she’d purchased last week before her world came crashing down. Now she was buildingit back up, the bricks fresh and new, the foundation solid. She and Mimi had talked for hours, opening their hearts and theirpain to each other, strengthening their already tight bond. Hayden, she hoped, would be next.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he said as soon as his backside hit the couch. When she started to speak, he added, “But if youdo go, I’ll respect that.”
He sounded so formal, and now she was questioning her boldness. But she wasn’t going to back down now. She had thought abouthim almost nonstop since she and Mimi finished their marathon talk session, and she had to stop denying how she felt abouthim. She almost laughed, seeing him here in the shop right now. She had planned to seek him out after work today. In fact,it had taken all her self-control not to run over to the hardware store and beg for his forgiveness.
“I shouldn’t have let Tracey get between us.”
Hayden frowned. “I didn’t realize she was.”
“She always is, at least for me. I’ve let my past take over my present.” She was afraid to say the next words but knew shehad to. “I’m scared, Hayden. I’ve always been scared. Of getting too close to people and being rejected. I’ve always madesure I’m in control of my life and my feelings. I thought keeping my distance from people would silence the fear. And it didfor a while.
“Then I came back here. And you came into my life, and the Bosom Buddies, and Harper, Anita, and Olivia—
“The Three Musketeers.” At her questioning look he added, “That’s what I call them.”
“Yes, them. And finally this shop, even this town. It all beckoned me, which made the fear return. It exploded when Traceyshowed up.”
Hayden’s eyes were filled with sympathy as he took her hand and remained quiet.
“I can’t keep running away from the past. I have to face it. I’m not sure what that involves right now, other than gettingsome counseling. Mimi said she will too.”
“That’s good. It’s helped me out a lot.”
She wondered about that, but now wasn’t the time to ask. “I’m telling you all this because . . .” Her breath started to hitch.“Because . . .”
“You don’t have to say anything else, Riley. I’m in the wrong here too. I told you I would be patient and earn your trust.Then at the first sign of hardship I rushed you and flipped out. I’m so sorry about that.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” He ran his thumb over her cheek. “I still have some stuff to work out, things I thought I’d conquered, anda couple issues I didn’t know I had. I talked to my counselor, Doug, on Monday, and he helped me, but I think seeing him ona regular basis for a while would be good for me.”
Riley nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. Hopefully I can find someone who can help me.”
Hayden removed his hand from her face. “In New York?”
He sounded so forlorn that she wanted to hug him again. “No. Here. In Maple Falls.”
His eyes widened. “You’re staying?”
“Yes. But I have to go back to New York and settle things with Melody and wait until we find her another roommate. As soonas that happens, I’ll be back.”
“And I’ll be waiting.”
She smiled, her heart full. “I was hoping
