by Fiona Rivers
“Thank you, darling.” Luis smiled. “That was nice of you. I hope Delilah wasn’t too mean to you.”
“Luis!” Adalyn barked.
“It’s okay. She isn’t the friendliest to me since I came back. But it is what it is. I just hope one day the people in this town will get over it.”
“Luis will show you around the gallery and explain how we work things and then I’ll have you fill out some paperwork. Thanks for the coffee by the way.”
“You’re welcome.”
Luis took Olivia and showed her around. As soon as Adalyn set her phone down on the counter, it rang, and Colin was calling.
“Good morning,” she said as she answered his call.
“Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?”
“Not too bad. How was your road trip with Scott?”
“Exhausting. We didn’t get back until two a.m. Now I need to get into the bar and put all that alcohol away. Dinner tonight?”
“Definitely. How about my place around seven?” she asked.
“I’ll see you then. Will you do me a favor?”
“Of course. What?”
“Have a great day.”
A smile crossed Adalyn’s lips. “I will, but only if you will.”
“I definitely will now. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Colin.”
She ended the call and sighed as she set her phone down. Looking out the window, she saw Annie starting to cross the street, and she knew she was coming to the gallery. She couldn’t risk her seeing Olivia because then it would get back to Colin before she had the chance to tell him, so she intercepted her by running out the door.
“Annie.” She smiled as she hooked her arm around hers. “I was just coming over to see you.”
“You were? I was just coming to see you too.”
She quickly turned Annie around and walked her back across the street.
“Really? What about?”
“I was going to see if that painting was still available.”
“Which one?” Adalyn asked as they stepped inside Annie’s shop.
“The one with all the different cakes and desserts on it. I think the artist is—”
“Wayne Thiebaud. I know exactly which painting you’re talking about. Unfortunately, that one sold, but I can order another one for you. I can have it here in less than a week.”
“Perfect.” She grinned. “Now, why were you coming to see me?”
“I’m having Colin over for dinner tonight and I wanted your recommendations on desserts.”
“You two are the cutest. I just made this triple berry cheesecake and I know he’ll love it.”
“Sounds delicious. I’ll take one right now,” Adalyn spoke.
Annie walked behind the counter and boxed up the triple berry cheesecake.
“No charge for you, my friend.”
“Annie, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Colin has done so much for me and my business. It’s the least I can do.” She handed her the white box.
“You’re the best. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. Don’t forget about the painting,” she said as Adalyn opened the door.
“I’m going to order it right now.”
Adalyn let out a deep breath as she walked out of Annie’s shop. When she stepped back inside the gallery, she asked Luis to keep Olivia out of sight for the day and explained to him that she was going to tell Colin about her tonight.
“You’re playing with fire, Addy. You should probably go to the bar and tell him right now.”
“No. He’s busy. I’ll tell him over dinner tonight.”
It was the middle of the afternoon and there were quite a few customers in the store. Luis thought it would be a good idea to see what skills Olivia had at selling art, so he had her help a customer. Just as Adalyn finished up with one customer, Colin walked into the gallery and Adalyn froze as her and Luis looked at each other.
“Hey, you,” Adalyn nervously spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“I was just down at the hardware store picking something up and I wanted to see you.”
“You’re going to see me tonight, silly.” Adalyn grinned as she took hold of his arm, turned him around and started walking him back to the door.
“Hey, Colin,” Olivia popped over to where they were.
“Olivia. What are you doing here?”
“I work here now. Adalyn was kind enough to give me a job.”
“Is that so?” Colin’s eyes glared at Adalyn.
“If you’ll excuse me, I just sold a painting.” Olivia beamed.
“What are you doing, Addy?” Colin asked.
“I was going to tell you tonight at dinner.”
“How long has she been working here?”
“Today is her first day. That’s why I came to the bar last night, but you were busy and had to leave.”
“It doesn’t matter. You still should have told me. I can’t believe this.”
“Colin, we’ll talk about it later.”
“You’re damn right we will,” he spoke in a stern voice as he walked out of the gallery.
“Darling, I warned you,” Luis said as he walked up beside her.
Adalyn shot him a look. “Be quiet, Luis.” She stormed up the stairs and into her office.
She leaned back in her chair and couldn’t believe the way Colin had spoken to her. Was he that bothered that she was helping Olivia out? She’d find out tonight when he came over for dinner. She went back down to the gallery, pulled the painting Annie wanted off the wall and walked it over to her.
“My painting!” Annie spoke with excitement.
“Turns out I had an extra one in the stock room, so I brought it right over.”
“You are the best, Addy. Let me run in the back and I’ll write out a check.
After Adalyn arrived home, she changed her clothes and started the sauce for the pasta she was making for her and Colin. She was a bundle of nerves because after his reaction today at the gallery, she didn’t know what to expect from him tonight.
Seven o’clock rolled around and when Adalyn heard the front door open, she inhaled a deep breath.
“Hey.” She smiled as Colin stepped into the kitchen.
“Want to tell me why you hired my ex fiancée to work for you?”
He wasted no time and couldn’t even manage a simple hello.
“Because she needed a job and nobody in town would hire her.”
“And for good reason, Addy.”
“Where is this coming from, Colin?” She asked as she drained the pasta noodles and set the bowl on the table. “I thought you made peace with her.”
“I did, but it doesn’t mean I want her in my life or working for my girlfriend.”
Adalyn’s heart started to race for they had never talked about a relationship status before.
“You really need to calm down,” she said to him.
“Calm down? You should have discussed it with me first! You know how I feel about her. What if I hired Darren to work at the bar? You’d be okay with that?”
“No. But Darren is a different situation.”
“How? Explain it to me,” his voice grew louder.
“It just is. Listen, Colin, she’s pregnant and she has no money.”
“That’s not my problem and it’s not yours.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe you right now,” she spatted.
“You can’t believe me? I can’t believe you would hire her!”
“Like I said, she’s pregnant and alone and she needs the money. Did you know that her parents practically disowned her and haven’t spoken to her in over two years?”
“I don’t care. Obviously, they know she makes bad decisions. I would never hire the man who hurt you so deeply because I care about you a great deal, Adalyn. So you hiring Olivia tells me exactly how you feel about me.”
“That has nothing to do with it, Colin. I care for you too. You told me you let go of all th
e resentment and anger. Were you lying to me?”
“I would never lie to you. I’ve told you that before. And I have let it go, but that doesn’t mean I want to see her every day. You don’t have to worry about that because your ex is in another state.”
“Will you please just sit down with me and eat?”
“No. I’m not hungry.”
“I cooked this meal for you, and I got a triple berry cheesecake from Annie’s shop!”
“You shouldn’t have bothered. I’m hurt Adalyn and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m being brutally honest with you. You had no right hiring her.”
“And you have no right telling me who I can and can’t have working in my gallery!”
“When I told you I wanted nothing to do with her, I meant it. I don’t trust her, and you shouldn’t either. I’m standing here looking at you, and I feel like I don’t even know you right now. I have to go. I need some space.” He began to walk towards the door.
“Yeah, well I feel like I don’t know you either and it wouldn’t be the first time for me!” Adalyn yelled as he walked out and slammed the door.
She stood in the middle of the kitchen trying to catch her breath while her body shook, and she broke out in a sweat. Tears filled her eyes as she looked over at the pasta sitting on the table. Still in shock and with tears running down her face, she grabbed her phone and held it in her hand. She needed her family and friends, but she didn’t have the strength to tell them what happened, so she set her phone down on the counter, cleaned up the kitchen and went upstairs. After changing into her pajamas, she plugged in her phone and climbed into bed. She was tired and exhausted and just wanted the day to end.
The next morning, she climbed out of bed and rubbed her swollen eyes. Picking up her phone from the nightstand, she prayed there would be a text message from Colin, but there wasn’t. She sent Luis a text message telling him she was going to be late for work and she wasn’t sure what time she’d be in. He sent her a text back with worry.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?”
“No and no. I’ll explain everything when I come in later.”
She made her way down to the kitchen and brewed herself a cup of coffee. She wasn’t up for ten minutes when there was knock on her sliding door and Annie stood there looking in.
“Hey, Annie.” She opened the door. “Now isn’t a—”
“Are you okay? Jerry and I heard yelling last night and then we saw Colin peel out of the driveway. I wanted to run right over, but Jerry wouldn’t let me. He told me to leave you alone. But judging by the way you look, I can tell you’re not okay. What happened?”
“We got into an argument.”
“Over what?”
“Olivia.”
“Olivia? Why?” she asked with knitted brows.
“Because I hired her to work at the gallery and he doesn’t like it.”
“You what?” Her voice squeaked. “Why would you go and do a thing like that?”
“Because she’s pregnant and needs a job and no one in this town will give her one.”
“That’s because we don’t like her.”
“Why? Because she broke Colin’s heart?”
“Well, yes.”
Adalyn sighed as she gripped the edge of the countertop. “Everyone makes mistakes, Annie, and you are not going to sit there and tell me that you or Jerry haven’t made your fair share. Or anyone in this town.”
Annie stared at her and for once in her life, she didn’t know what to say.
“Yes. She cheated on him, called off their wedding and shattered his heart, but you all act like she committed some heinous crime. She came to me with tears in her eyes because the money she saved is almost gone. She’s pregnant, Annie. What if it was you? What if you didn’t have Jerry and you were going to raise that baby of yours on your own with no money? I thought this town was all about helping people. Obviously, I was wrong. Make one mistake and they’ll hold it against you for the rest of your life and stake you at the cross.”
Adalyn grabbed her coffee cup and began to walk away.
“Addy, wait. I’m sorry. You’re right. I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes right now. You’re a good person with a good heart. Everyone in this town has skeletons in their closet. Except Colin.” She rolled her eyes.
“He left last night and told me he needed space after he said that me hiring Olivia shows him exactly how I feel about him. That isn’t true.” Tears swelled up in her eyes.
“I know it’s not, Addy.” Annie walked over and gave her a hug. “He’ll come around. Just you wait and see. I better get going. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later. Stop in the shop and I’ll put together a sweet box for you. Desserts always have a way of making people feel better.” She gave Adalyn a small smile.
31
When Adalyn arrived at the gallery, Luis told her that Olivia had quit.
“What? What do you mean she quit?”
“She caught wind of Colin’s reaction when he found out you hired her, and she quit. She came in this morning looking for you and when I told her you were going to be late, she told me to tell you she doesn’t want to cause any issues between you and Colin, and she walked out.”
“News in this town travels way too fast,” Adalyn spoke in anger. “I’m going to talk to her. Keep an eye on the shop.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked.
“I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Adalyn climbed in her jeep and drove to Olivia’s house. When she pulled up, she saw Olivia tending to some flowers in the front. Adalyn climbed out and walked over to her.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Olivia spoke. “I’m sorry for the issues I caused between you and Colin. I honestly didn’t think he’d react the way he did. I thought we were cool with each other ever since our talk.”
“To be honest, I think it’s more of an ego thing with him. The fact of the matter is you need a job to support you and your baby and you have one. I saw you yesterday with the customers and you did really good. It was your first day and you sold three paintings. I need to do what’s right for my business, and I refuse to let anyone compromise that. You need to stop worrying about the people in this town and start rebuilding your life the best way you know how.”
“This baby wasn’t planned, you know.” She placed her hands on her belly. “And when I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared to tell Thomas because I knew he didn’t want kids. But I thought maybe he would get used to the idea. He kicked me out the second I told him. I guess it’s my karma for what I did to Colin.” Her eyes diverted to the ground.
“God gave you this baby for a reason,” Adalyn said as she reached over and lightly took hold of her hand. “And maybe the reason was you weren’t meant to be with Thomas after all. The one thing I’ve learned is that life works in mysterious ways and each life altering event leads you on another path to get you to the place you’re truly meant to be.”
“Thanks, Adalyn.” Olivia reached out and gave her a hug.
“You’re welcome. Now, I need you back at the gallery.” She smiled.
“Okay. I’ll be right behind you.”
A week had gone by and Adalyn still hadn’t heard a word from Colin. The one thing that hurt her the most was she’d seen him walk by the gallery a couple times and he didn’t even look in the window or stop in.
She walked into Rooster’s one morning to grab a coffee and saw him standing at the counter talking to Delilah. When he turned around, their eyes locked, and Adalyn’s heart started to race.
“Hey,” she spoke.
“Hey,” Colin said and then turned around to face Delilah. “Thanks for the sandwich, Delilah.”
“You’re welcome, Colin.”
He grabbed the bag from the counter, walked past Adalyn and left the shop without even looking at her.
“Good morning, Adalyn,” Delilah
spoke.
“Is it really? Adalyn asked. “I don’t think it is.”
Delilah gave her a sympathetic smile.
“He’ll come around.”
“You know, Delilah, I’m really sick and tired of people saying that. The thing is, if and when he does, I may not be around. You know what, I changed my mind about the coffee. I’ll see you later.”
Adalyn walked into the gallery and Luis and Olivia were already there. Luis looked at her in confusion because there were no coffee cups in her hand.
“No coffee today?”
“I saw Colin at Rooster’s and he basically pretended I didn’t exist. So, he ruined my coffee vibe. In fact, we aren’t getting coffee from Rooster’s anymore,” she said as she pulled her phone from her purse. “I’m ordering us a high-tech coffee machine and we’re making our own from now on.”
“Oh. I love that idea.” Luis smiled. “Make sure it has a latte setting, please.”
After finding the perfect coffee machine, Adalyn’s phone rang, and it was Hannah calling.
“Hey, sis.”
“Adalyn. You need to come back to New York. Mom had a heart attack this morning and she’s in the hospital.”
Immediately, fear and panic soared through her and a sick feeling erupted in the pit of her belly.
“Oh my God. Is she okay?”
“She’s doing better now, but they’re keeping her to run some more tests. I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
“I’m on the next flight out,” she spoke with panic in her voice.
“Addy, what happened?” Luis asked.
“My mom is in the hospital. She had a heart attack this morning.” Tears filled her eyes. “I have to get back to New York.”
“Go.” He hugged her tight. “Olivia and I can run the gallery just fine.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep you updated.”
The moment she climbed into her jeep, she pulled up flights to New York and the only one available left in two hours and it was at least a two-hour drive to the airport. She’d never make it. Out of desperation, she did something she never thought she would do.
“Adalyn?” Darren answered. “Is everything okay?”
