The Workaholic Down the Hall

by Katharine Sadler

  “Have a seat at the table, George. I'll just—”

  The bell over the front door chimed and I sighed. “I'll check to see who's at the door. Be right back.”

  I wasn't sure it was a good idea to leave George, who was staring at May like he was a puppy she'd just kicked, and May alone, but I figured they were adults and could work it out.

  In the front entryway stood a slim, leanly muscled man wearing glasses, jeans, and a polo shirt. He smiled when I walked his way. “Hi,” I said. “I'm Aubrey. Are you checking in?”

  “Oscar Bellington,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. “Not checking in. I'd like to discuss business, actually.”

  I wasn't a fan of salespeople, but he seemed like a nice guy, and I didn't want to alienate anyone. “I'm not the owner. She's out at the moment. Can I pass your information on to her?”

  His smile slipped just a bit. “Sure. I'm the owner of a new spa in town and I was hoping you could send your guests my way.”

  “For a discounted rate, I assume?”

  He nodded, his smile widening. “Of course.” He lifted the flap of his messenger bag and pulled out a stack of brochures. “You can have these, in case you do decide to suggest my place to them.”

  I took the brochures and looked at the first one. “A salt spa?”

  “It's great for anyone with allergies, bronchitis, a cold, or any kind of nasal congestion. It's good for everyone really. It's incredibly relaxing. You should come by sometime. I could give you a free session, so you can confidently recommend it to your guests.” He glanced down at my belly. “Your husband could come, too.”

  My cheeks warmed. He wasn't the first person to assume I was married, but it never got any easier. “I'm not married. No boyfriend. Just me.” I patted my belly, feeling increasingly awkward. “And baby, of course.”

  He didn't seem to notice my awkward. In fact, he looked oddly happy about my single status. “Great. Come by anytime. Even if you just want someone to have lunch with.” It was his turn to be awkward, as he shuffled and lowered his eyes to the floor. “If you need a friend, I mean. I'm new to town.”

  “So am I.” I felt zero attraction to the guy, but he seemed nice and I could use a friend. I could even use a date, if that's what he was offering. I needed to forget Noah and move on. “I might just take you up on that.”

  He looked up and met my gaze. His eyes were a deep, dark brown, with tiny flecks of amber. “Great.” He gestured at the door. “I should get back to the spa. Let me know what your boss thinks of sending customers my way at a…How's a ten percent discount sound?”

  “Perfect.” I waved him off and he left. I felt an unreasonable bubble of happiness. I'd just made a friend. I had a job I liked. I had Nora and May to help with the delivery and the baby, and I had a friend. Everything was going to be okay. I could do this. I ignored the nagging doubt in the back of my brain and the shred of my heart that reminded me how much better this would all be with Noah in my life, with him loving me and our baby. It was an impossible dream.

  I pushed back my shoulders and held onto that bubble of happiness with everything I had.

  The bell over the door chimed as it opened again and Nora walked in. “Oh, dear,” Nora said. “You look exhausted, Aubrey. Why don't you take the afternoon off?”

  I smiled, trying not to feel annoyed. “I'm actually feeling great today, Nora, but I appreciate your concern.”

  Instead of arguing with me like she usually did, she smiled. “Wonderful. I'd like to show you where you'll be staying this weekend if you feel up to it.”

  My stomach flipped. My room at Nora's Inn might be tiny, but I'd gotten used to it, was comfortable there, and this felt like Nora kicking me out. “I can't stay here?”

  “No, dear.” Her eyes lit with excitement. “We're all booked up for the weekend, so I'll need your room.”

  “We're all booked…But I thought we only had six guests?”

  “It's family weekend at the university and one of the hotels in town overbooked.” Her smile widened. “To our benefit. I hate to ask you to leave, but my friend has an adorable hunting cabin in the mountains that you will just love.”

  “Will it be a long drive back here?”

  She frowned. “Why would you need to drive back here?”

  “To work,” I said. “You'll need me if you're completely booked.”

  “But you've worked all week, dear. No, I want you to take the weekend off to rest.”

  Ugh. Knocking around an empty hunting cabin for forty-eight hours didn't sound like my idea of fun. Not even a little bit. “I'd be happy to help here. I'm feeling really good.”

  Nora's frown deepened. “Once that baby arrives, sweetie, rest will not be an option. You should take every opportunity for sleep now while you can. Why don't you just come with me and see the house? When George gets here, he can help carry your bags to the car.”

  “He's here. In the kitchen with May.”

  “Wonderful,” Nora said, practically rubbing her hands together. “I'll speak to him, while you pack.”

  I had a bad, bad feeling about this entire situation. Since I'd started working for Nora, I'd seen another side to her. She liked the world to operate on her schedule and according to her ideals, and that world centered on me. We didn't often disagree, but when we did, Nora had attempted to get her way by distraction and uber-sweetness. Of course, she was the boss and she was doing so much for me, so I let her get her way.

  I didn't want to do anything to push her away from me, but especially from my daughter. I understood how tenuous relationships could be, how easily they could break, and I was determined to do nothing to break the one I was forming with Nora. So, I didn't argue. I went to my room and I packed.

  George appeared as I was finishing up and he grabbed my bags without a word. I followed him outside and watched him load my bags in his truck. He already had the boxes I'd brought with me in the truck bed. “All of that can fit in my car,” I said.

  George didn't meet my eyes. “It's already in the truck. Nora said you were coming back to work.”

  I was confused.

  “That's right, dear,” Nora said, stepping up behind me. “We'll ride with George so you can see the place, and then we'll come back here until you're ready to head home for the night.”

  “Okay,” I said, because I could come up with no reasonable argument. Nora had never given in so easily to one of my requests before, but maybe she was loosening up. I could hope.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Aubrey

  “This is an old hunting cabin?” I eyed the two-story log cabin in front of us. I'd been picturing a ramshackle cabin surrounded by forest, not a log house that looked like new construction and had an actual grassy yard. And windows. The entire front of the house was almost nothing but windows.

  George parked his truck in the driveway. “Who told you it's an old hunting cabin?” he asked. “Nora—”

  “I never said it was old,” Nora said. “I just said it's the hunting cabin of a friend. Let me show you the interior.”

  She pushed her door open and I followed her out. We were about fifteen miles from town. We'd gone up the mountain a ways, but there wasn't any view of the valley from the driveway. We were surrounded by a decent-sized yard and nothing but trees around that. George jumped out and grabbed the largest suitcase like it weighed nothing. He carried it to the front door and waited while Nora and I walked to the door and she unlocked it.

  We let George carry my bag in first and then we followed. The place was insanely beautiful, all hardwood floors and huge windows that let in the sunlight. It had an open floor plan, so we could see the living room, dining room, and kitchen as soon as we walked a few steps past the front door. The furnishings were sparse and looked oddly…”Is that my couch?”

  Nora grasped my elbow. “Let me show you the baby's room.” She was strong and rather forceful as she led me up the stairs. The front rooms of the house rose the full two stories, so that th
e upstairs was more of a loft-like area. There was a short hallway and two doors. Nora led me to the second door. The room was painted a neutral gray and held a gorgeous, hardwood crib that looked like it could convert into a toddler bed, a rocking chair, a changing table, and a dresser, all matching the crib. Like downstairs, the room had huge windows that let in lots of sunlight.

  “I didn't do too much,” Nora said. “I wanted you to be free to decorate it the way you wanted.”

  I turned to see her smiling at me with tears in her eyes. She was crying and I was ready to run screaming because…What the heck was going on? I looked at the room again. It was beautiful, honestly everything I could have wished for in a room for my daughter so, while I was pretty sure Nora was insane, I was also insane because I wanted to keep it. “How can I possibly decorate this? It's your friend's hunting cabin.”

  Nora clasped her hands in front of her and bit her bottom lip like she was holding back a smile. “Surprise!” She threw her arms wide. “It's not my friend's hunting cabin. It's your house.”

  I took a step back, sure I'd mis-heard. “Did you just say you bought me a house?”

  Her smile dimmed a bit. “Did I over-step? I did buy it, but you'll have to make the payments on it if you want to keep it. If you don't love it, you can walk away and look for something else. I figure it will be a great place for the kids to stay when they come to visit. I'm hoping the bed and breakfast will have so much business they won't be able to stay there and this place has four bedrooms…” She pinched her lips together, like she'd realized she was babbling. “The mortgage is fifteen hundred a month, but I've covered the first two months.”

  “How?” I asked. “You put everything you had into Nora's Inn.”

  Her hands were now clasped in front of her, but she was twisting them. She was nervous. I'd never seen her nervous before. “I sold my home in Atlanta. It was worth over a million dollars and I made quite a profit on it. This,” she spread her arms wide to encompass the house and the room we were standing in, “is my gift to you and my granddaughter. If you'll take it.”

  I spun to look at the room again. This was crazy. Who bought a house for someone without asking for their input? I should be running from that house and from Nora as fast as I could go. I should be outraged she was pressuring me to stay in the area by buying me a house. I should be absolutely furious that she had tricked me and lied to me. But I felt none of those things. Tears pricked my eyes and my throat tightened. All my life, since I'd lost my parents at six, I'd been alone and now…Now I wasn't alone anymore. I liked the house, it was lovely, but it could have been a dilapidated fixer-upper and I'd have felt the same. This wasn't just a house, it was Nora's way of telling me she wanted me around. She wanted me in her life. Of course, it was more about my daughter than me, but it didn't matter. She wanted my daughter in her life so much that she'd bought us a house. It was insane, but it was also a gift. The most amazing gift I'd ever received.

  I spun and threw my arms around Nora, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Thank you,” I said, a sob bursting through without my consent. “I love it.”

  Nora hugged me back. “I'm so glad, dear. But don't thank me, yet. Check the closet.” Her voice was tight, like she might be as emotional as I was.

  I crossed the room and pulled open the closet door. It was crammed, almost to overflowing, with dresses in all the colors of the rainbow and in sizes ranging from newborn to three-T. I pulled out one that had a full tutu and glitter. I could see my little girl, eyes as gray and stormy as Noah's, spinning and giggling. More tears fell and I spun to face Nora. “Thank y—”

  Nora was no longer standing in the doorway. Had I been admiring the dresses longer than I'd realized? Downstairs, a door slammed, and an engine revved.

  I held tight to the railing as I hurried down the stairs, my balance wasn't what it had once been, only to find the foyer and the living room empty. I pulled open the front door to find the driveway also empty. George's truck was gone. Had he left to run an errand?

  “Nora?” My voice echoed off the bare walls. “George?”

  None of my bags were in the front hall. I wandered the downstairs checking for a bedroom and my stuff. The bassinet I'd bought and thought was in a box in George's truck was in a downstairs bedroom right next to a very familiar-looking king-size bed with my own comforter on top. I rubbed my eyes. Was I hallucinating or just going crazy?

  “Nora?” I didn't expect an answer. The house was too still, too quiet for anyone to be there.

  I found my bags on the other side of the bed and searched them for my cell phone, but it was gone. My tears dried as confusion and anger replaced my happy excitement. I marched to the kitchen and found a land line on the counter. Next to it was a note from Nora explaining that she'd taken my phone to insure I'd rest. She'd left me her number, in case of emergency, and promised to pick me up for my ob/gyn appointment on Thursday.

  I could accept the house, especially since I planned to pay back every penny, but this was going too far. She couldn't force me to rest by stranding me with no other option.

  I picked up the phone and dialed the number on the note, the number for the main desk of Nora's Inn. “Hello?”

  “May? This is Aubrey. Is Nora there?”

  “No. She's not. Where are you?”

  “Your mother kidnapped me and stranded me in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Can you come get me?”

  May laughed loud and long. “That's funny, Aubrey. What's really going on? What do you…Hold on, Mom just walked in the door.”

  “Aubrey?” Nora said. “Is everything okay? Is the baby okay?”

  I considered lying just to get the woman back there, but I didn't want to upset her. “Physically I'm fine, but everything is not okay. You kidnapped me and locked me up here…I appreciate the house, I really do, but you can't force me to stay here just because you think I need to rest.”

  “Aubrey, dear, I think your pregnancy hormones are making you dramatic. George moved your furniture from your condo, with Mimi's help, so you'd be more comfortable. The kitchen is stocked, you've got Netflix and Amazon Prime on the T.V., and I left you a mountain of books to read. You just relax and take care of that baby.”

  I hadn't really believed Nora was going to keep me there until that moment. I was seriously trapped. “I have responsibilities. I need to be able to reach the management company for my rentals. People will worry—” People might be an exaggeration, but Mimi would worry if she tried to call and I didn't answer.

  “Aubrey, please calm down,” Nora said. “I've called your management company and given them my number. That's why I was asking you about them yesterday, I'm not really looking to get into the rental property business. Everyone else who might worry about you will know to call me. Just get some rest and everything will look brighter in the morning. I promise.”

  A distinct click over the line let me know she'd hung up. I put the receiver back in the cradle and stared at the ancient phone. I could call Mimi and ask her what the hell she'd been thinking letting George move all my furniture. She'd help me. Although, even if Mimi did rescue me, I'd have no idea where to go. I didn't want to go back to Atlanta.

  I dialed Mimi's number from memory, but got her voice mail. I left her a message to call me at the number on the phone.

  I paced the kitchen for a while, wondering what I should do. I wasn't interested in sitting around watching television and resting. I loved that Nora cared so much, but she couldn't dictate every moment of my life. I paced some more, trying to think of someone I could call, someone who's number I had memorized, when I had an idea.

  ***

  “I'm really glad you called,” Oscar said. He shoved his glasses up on his nose and smiled. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt advertising a local diner. His hair was messy and not in a stylish way, but his smile was warm and open. Oscar was a very good-looking guy, not just because he had sculpted cheek bones and a strong jaw, but because he was a genuinely healthy person. He
was fit and trim and his plate was covered almost entirely in vegetables. I hadn't known you could find vegetables other than broccoli and tiny corn at a Chinese Buffet, but Oscar had found them. His casual style and his messy hair made his overt attractiveness somehow less intimidating. “Eating alone every night gets old.”

  I laughed. “If I was worried you thought this was a date, you just cured me of it.” I used the plastic chopsticks to pick up some more lo Mein and stuffed it in my mouth. I loved a good Chinese buffet and this one was awesome. It was just off Main Street, down a side street, and it was large and busy. Before dinner, Oscar had shown me around the downtown area a bit. It wasn't huge, but there were adorable, locally-owned shops up and down Main Street. There were two bookstores, one used, one new, and the people we'd seen out and about had been friendly, but not small-town friendly. They'd said hello, but hadn't stopped to ask me where I was from or when the baby was due. Catalpa Creek had a small-town feel but the tourist population and the presence of the local University gave it a big-town mentality as well.

  Oscar's brows rose. “That wasn't a particularly romantic thing to say, was it?”

  Now it was my turn to worry. “Wait, you weren't actually trying to be—”

  “No, but I didn't mean to be insulting either and what I said…Actually, everything I've said…” He dropped his head into his hands. “This is why I eat alone.”

  I laughed with relief and genuine humor. “I understand what you meant and I'm actually relieved to know you aren't interested in me. I feel zero attraction to you, and I'm not in a place to date at the moment, since I'm five short weeks away from popping out a human, so—”

  He frowned. “Wait, you aren't even a tiny bit attracted to me? My first impression of you was that you're gorgeous and I felt a tingle.”

  “You felt a tingle?”

  “It was brief,” he said, with a wave of one hand. “You didn't even feel a tingle?”

  I considered my options. I could lie to make him feel better or I could be brutally honest and lower his already-low dating confidence. “I felt a tingle,” I said. “Of course, I felt a tingle. You're a kind, friendly, warm—”