by Regina Cole
Chapter 29
The next three hours were a blur of tears, good-byes, and packing. Ed had done Stacey the favor of keeping her dismissal quiet, so she didn’t have to worry about being chased down by local reporters or overeager news bloggers as she prepared to haul her belongings from the office.
With each pen and personal item that landed in the cardboard storage box, a little bit of Stacey’s heart crumbled away. The picture of her and Ed from their first project together. The little figurine of a sea horse that Hannah had brought back from her trip to the beach last summer. The pen that she’d claimed from the grand opening of her favorite coffee shop on the corner.
The same coffee shop that Rob had cornered her in to convince her to give Healthy Living—give him—another chance.
It was all gone now. The job, the man, her chance at making her life everything she wanted it to be. Circumstances had taken it all away. Could she have done something different? Probably. But the might-have-beens didn’t do anything to ease the pain she was going through now.
She closed the box.
Hannah was inconsolable. Stacey had had to talk her out of quitting at least three times before she finally agreed to stay on the job, and then only on the condition that Stacey would try to find a job somewhere on the same block so they could still lunch together. As she walked through the front lobby, she was happy to see that Hannah wasn’t at her desk. She couldn’t take the idea of walking by her friend for the last time.
“I’m sorry about this,” Ed said, taking the box from her at the door. He’d been kind enough to pull her rental car—a basic Toyota Corolla that smelled faintly of cigarette smoke—to the curb for her. “I hope you understand that this isn’t what I wanted at all.”
“I know,” she said as she opened the trunk for Ed. He placed the cardboard box inside. “Thank you for all you did. And for trying to keep me.”
He enveloped her in a hug, and Stacey fought hard against the tears that were clogging her throat. Not now. Not here. This was hard enough. With a heavy breath, she broke the embrace and smiled up at her now-former boss.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to be fine.”
Ed shook his head as he stepped back. “Put me down as a reference on your résumé. I’ll tell anyone who calls what a damn fine employee you are.”
“That means a lot. Thanks.”
As Stacey rounded the car, she glanced upward. There, in the window of her old office, stood Hannah.
Shit.
With a quick wave, Stacey ducked into the car. The tears were coming now, and she couldn’t stop them. She cranked the engine and glanced in the mirror. Of course, there wouldn’t be a break in the traffic.
Trapped by a long line of cars, she sat there, her tears coming fast. Sobs racked her, and she closed her eyes for a minute, trying to get ahold of herself.
She’d lost her job. The one thing she’d been confident in, been good at, was gone. Everything was crashing down on her, and the one bright spot was Rob. Maybe there was still a chance that things could work out between them. She knew she’d hurt him by missing that flight, and she still regretted that bitterly. But with each time she looked in the mirror, she was reminded of the work he had done with her.
She hadn’t lost any more weight that she could tell. But even though the change was slight, the mental change had been much greater. She didn’t despise mirrors anymore. Looking at herself more objectively, she could tell that a lot of her earlier disgust didn’t have as much basis in reality as she’d thought. Her body wasn’t gross, or disgusting. Was she still out of shape? Yes. But Rob had seen beauty in her, had seen confidence that just needed the right environment to grow. He’d provided that, and now?
Now she needed to show him that she could be the kind of woman who was right for him. All she needed was a chance.
A break in the traffic came, and as Stacey’s tears cooled on her cheeks, she nosed the rental toward Healthy Living.
He might not be texting her back. He might still be at his father’s bedside. But she could still go and honor the commitment she’d made to him here. And when he returned? She’d be ready and waiting to be the kind of partner he needed.
If he’d let her. And she prayed that he would.
* * *
In the middle of the afternoon, parking at the deck across from the gym was a dicey proposition. She circled for what seemed like ages before finally grabbing a spot near the top of the deck.
The elevator smelled, and it was dirty. She opted for the stairs, her breath fogging out in front of her in the cold. Her heart beat hard against her ribs, more from nervousness than exertion.
Was he here? Would he be coming back soon? She’d asked him in a text, but he hadn’t responded. She’d settled for sending him one last I love you and hoping for the best.
But now? Now she needed him. And she needed to be needed by him. To give and to take, to feel that same partnership they’d been nurturing before his father had fallen ill. She’d done without him as long as she could, had honored his need for space.
The DONT WALK sign was lit when she arrived at the corner, and she bounced on her heels as she waited. They made small clicking sounds against the pavement.
She didn’t have any workout clothes. No gym bag, no water bottle. She didn’t care. If Rob was here, she’d work out on every last damn machine they had to prove to him that she was committed. That she regretted letting him down. That she loved him.
Finally WALK lit, and she dashed across the street, the warm, bright lights of the gym’s interior welcoming her. Yanking open the glass doors, she took in the delicious warmth of the heating system.
A quick scan of the counter didn’t yield the one sight she’d been hoping for, but there was, at least, a familiar face. Brandi was at the smoothie bar, one hand on top of the blender as she chatted with a tall man in red track pants.
Stacey waited, her insides vibrating. Rehearsing what she’d say when she saw him, she almost didn’t hear when Brandi finished up and spoke to her.
“What?”
“I said, hello,” Brandi smiled, an expression that seemed a bit guarded to Stacey. She smiled back, trying to remember if she’d ever done anything to make Brandi dislike her.
Well, nothing other than falling in love with her boss, and then letting him down at the worst possible time.
“Sorry, I was kind of distracted. Is Rob here?”
Brandi shook her head. “No, he’s still out of town.”
Fighting hard to stay positive, Stacey bit her lip, took a deep breath, and tried again. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”
Brandi busied herself rinsing out the blender’s pitcher as she answered, “Not for sure, no. He did leave a message if you came in.”
Kissing her would probably be a bad idea, so Stacey just leaned forward instead. “Really? What is it?”
Brandi set the pitcher down in the base with a decisive click. “I’ll be training you from now on. He said that things got too complicated between you, and he needed to simplify.”
Stacey stepped back, trying to discern the feeling that had just ripped through her chest. No, that was too much. Just his words. She’d figure out his words.
Complicated. He needed to simplify. She’d complicated his life, and he needed to simplify, so he was cutting her out.
“Oh. I see.”
Brandi shrugged one shoulder. “If you’re here for a workout, then I can get you started, but I’ve got another client coming in about twenty minutes. We can set up some individual times for you if—”
“No. That’s—no thank you. I need to cancel my contract.” Even though her tears were flowing again, Stacey’s voice was calm and even.
“Really? That’s too bad,” Brandi said, and this time Stacey wasn’t imagining the edge in the woman’s voice.
“Yes. I’m leaving Atlanta. Moving away. So there’s no need to keep my membership here.”
Brandi’s perfectly plucked brows knitted together
in confusion. “Wow, that’s out of nowhere. Where are you going?”
Stacey laughed. “I’ve got no idea. But anywhere but here looks good right about now.”
* * *
His hands were locked at ten and two. His eyes never left the road. The radio was on, but not because he wanted it. The low buzz of noise was a safeguard to keep him awake, in case the chill coming in from the crack in his window wasn’t enough.
Of course, even if he was in a position to sleep, he doubted his mind would let him.
His father, Richard Armstrong Liston, had died.
Rob and his mother had been in the room when it happened. It wasn’t dramatic, or terrible. He was there one moment, and gone the next. Like a candle had been snuffed out. But the hole that his death had left was something Rob was afraid would never be filled.
The miles disappeared under the rotations of his tires. He’d had to come home. When he threw clothes into his duffel on the night he’d gotten that call from his mother, funeral clothes hadn’t been on the packing list. And then his entire extended family had descended. Cousins, aunts, old neighbors, former patients, they’d all shown up to his parents’ home with food, or drink, or just curiosity.
Seeing his need to escape, Greta had suggested he go home to pick up his clothes, and after some nagging from Mom, Rob had agreed. After the meeting with the funeral home to discuss the arrangements, Rob had hugged his sisters and his mother and had set off for home. He’d be back in three days for the service.
The afternoon had nearly disappeared by the time he reached the outskirts of Atlanta. As the surroundings grew more and more familiar, Rob fought against the thoughts that assailed him.
He couldn’t fight them for long.
Not when he passed the restaurant he and Stacey had gone to just a few weeks ago. Not when he drove past the orthopedist’s office he’d taken her to twice. Not when the Redbox she’d pointed out at the pharmacy caught his eye.
Damn it, he missed her.
At the last stoplight before he reached home, he pulled his cell from his pocket. Gripping it for a minute, he shook his head, then dropped it into the cup holder.
Calling her out of nowhere like that was a dick move. He was hurting. Lonely. Angry at the world and everything in it. He couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t lash out at her for not being there with him, and he’d already forgiven her for that.
Waiting was the best option. He had to wait until he could talk everything through with her and get things settled the way they needed to be.
As the seconds ticked by, Rob began to second-guess his decision to go directly home.
There were pictures of his family there. Mementos, gifts his parents had given him. Being there would be almost like being back at home, surrounded by family, having to speak to near strangers about the fact that one of the most important people in his life was now gone.
Making a split-second decision, he flipped his turn signal the other direction and waited for a break in traffic to turn left, back to the highway. He could get his things later, but for now? He wanted to be surrounded by what he had built. He wanted the energy, the positivity, and, if he was honest, the memories he and Stacey had made at his gym.
There was always the chance that she might be there. He couldn’t go to her, but if he ran into her at the gym? Well, they could figure things out, couldn’t they?
He drove a little faster as he made it onto the highway. Yes. This he could do. Checking on his business, ironing out any snafus that had cropped up in his absence. Besides, his friends were there. He could be surrounded by people who understood him, who wouldn’t press him to talk about the painful, gaping wound in his heart.
Since it was getting late, it was easy to find a spot in the parking deck. He grabbed his bag and locked his vehicle, then headed across the street and into the gym.
Once inside, he paused for a moment, just taking it in. He had built this place, this warm, inviting, good place. And before his father had passed away, he had been proud. Proud that Rob had pursued his dream and achieved a bit of success. Was the gym at the place where Rob wanted it to be? No. But that was the thing about having goals. There was always something new to strive for.
He rounded the counter just as Brandi came forward to greet who she thought was a customer.
“Hi, welcome to—Rob! I wasn’t expecting you this early, I thought you were coming home tomorrow.” She dashed over to him and gave him a quick hug. “We’ve missed you around here. How are things?”
Rob let his bag descend to the floor behind the counter. “Not good. He passed away last night.”
Brandi’s expression changed instantly to one of sympathy. “God, I’m so sorry.” She gave him another hug. “If you want to talk, I’m here. Otherwise, I’ll just act normal, okay?”
He could always count on Brandi. “Thanks. We’re doing okay. And no, I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Brandi nodded and pinned a bright smile on her face. “The gym is doing really well. We actually grabbed a couple of new members this week, so the ones we lost from the Krav Maga debacle are being made up for a little. We’re still a few down, but I think we’ll make it up next month. I found a new belly-dance teacher, and she’s coming in to interview next week.”
Rob groaned. “A new teacher? I don’t know about that, Brandi.”
Brandi began slicing up a banana at the other end of the counter. “Don’t worry about it. It’s someone my sister knows from her knitting group. She’s totally legit. And I’ll handle the interview, so all you have to do is sign off if you want to.”
Rob rubbed at several days’ worth of stubble on his chin. “Well, I trust you. Actually, I trust you a hell of a lot more than I trust myself right now.”
“What do you mean?”
Rob sank down on the stool behind the computer terminal. “Just—it’s not a big deal. I handled some things really poorly. I shouldn’t have been as angry as I was, but I was hurting, and I didn’t know what to do.”
“Hey, you have to do what you have to do. Don’t worry about it. Oh.” She tossed the bananas into the blender with a dollop of almond butter and protein powder. “That client of yours came in a few days ago. Stacey Hough.”
What was left of his heart flipped over. “How did that go?”
Brandi shook her head, bending down to the small fridge beneath the counter. “Not good. She canceled her contract.”
“Canceled?”
“Yeah, she acted really weird. Well, it was kind of my fault. I was a little pissed at her. I was just worried about you, and if she had made things harder for you, I wasn’t exactly about to roll out the welcome mat for her. But she said she was moving away, so she needed to cancel.”
Rob shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t have heard that right. “Moving. She said she was moving?”
“Yeah. And when I asked her where, she just said ‘anywhere but here’. Weird.” Brandi turned on the blender, and the blur and noise matched the maelstrom inside Rob’s head.
Moving. Just when he had decided that he had been too hard on her, and that he needed her, and when his life was completely upside down, she left him too?
No. Too much had happened to him. Sitting back and taking this was not an option. He was going to make something happen now—for good or for ill.
Chapter 30
The pungent scent of permanent marker filled the living room once again as Stacey uncapped the writing implement. Gripping the lid in her teeth, she wrote BOOKS on the side of the storage box. Recapping the pen, she shoved it in her pocket, and then hefted the box. She stacked it with the others along the wall nearest the door.
Propping her hands on her hips, she looked around her living room.
The surfaces and walls were bare now. Her couch and coffee table would be going to Hannah’s place as soon as Hannah could borrow her brother’s pickup truck, probably tomorrow. She’d spoken to her landlord, and since she only had another month on her lease, he’d
agreed to let her out of it early. Being a model tenant who always paid on time certainly had paid off.
Despite what she’d told Brandi, she did have an idea of where to go. Back home with her tail tucked between her legs. As much as she hated the idea, being close to Sabrina was worth the pain of having to see her parents more often. Bree was the buffer zone that had gotten her through high school until she could escape to college in Georgia. And honestly, Stacey was worried about her cousin. She wasn’t acting as happy and in love as Stacey had presumed she would be. Maybe helping Bree through her relationship woes could help Stacey forget her own.
Straightening her ponytail, Stacey collapsed on the couch to catch her breath. Her cell phone, balanced on the arm of the couch beside her, caught her eye.
A million times since she’d signed that cancelation at the gym, she’d debated calling him. Texting him. Sending a damn carrier pigeon. Hoofing it to Charlotte. Anything to find out exactly how badly she’d hurt him and to see if there was any way possible of gaining his forgiveness.
She traced the dark screen with her fingernail. Not knowing what to do, she’d erred on the side of protecting herself. Silence. The only texts to come through her phone were from Sabrina:
OMG you’re moving back home! That’s AWESOME!
But so sad about your job. <3 you.
And then from Hannah:
Jake will be back home tomorrow, and he said he’ll be happy to move the furniture. Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for it? My kids are going to wreck it, so I feel bad just taking it from you. Please change your mind and stay. I’ll help you find another job. :’(
A few texts from other friends, and one from her mom, laced with just enough shame and backhanded compliments to make Stacey shudder. But none from the one man she wanted to hear from most in the world.
Her fingers curled around the phone and she closed her eyes, wishing for knowledge. Inspiration. The idea of what to do, the right thing to do. Without second-guessing this time, she opened the dark screen and sent him a text.