Page 7 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

When she did, her face changed, her smile freezing until Cal’s gut clenched.

“Afternoon, Rosalee.”

“Well, bit of a surprise seeing you here. Turning up like a bad penny, I suppose.” Rosalee sniffed. “Not sure you’ve got much business around these parts.”

Christ. No sign of forgive and forget then. Cal took a breath. She hadn’t exactly expected to be welcomed with open arms or anything, but maybe she’d forgotten just how unforgiving people could be. “My mum passed,” she said mildly.

“Yeah, a good three months ago now,” said Rosalee, eyes narrowing. “Didn’t see you at the funeral.”

“I wasn’t there,” said Cal, making sure to stay calm, to keep hervoice neutral. She didn’t want to fight. “I was abroad.”

“Oh? Abroad, was it? Alright for some, I suppose.”

Cal cleared her throat. “Have you still got rooms to rent for the night?”

For a second, she thought Rosalee might lie. But then the woman gave a sharp nod.

“And… can I rent one?”

Rosalee raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got an entire house, haven’t you? We all know that Pam left you everything. Not sure why, but there’s no accounting for taste, I suppose. Not sure what you’d be wanting with a room over a pub when you’ve got a whole house to take advantage of.”

There were customers at the other side of the bar, Cal could hear glasses clinking and the soft murmur of chatter. But there was no one close enough to see, to hear, what she said next. Because the only excuse she had here was the truth and she didn’t want to spend all afternoon dancing around that with Rosalee of all people.

“A house full of my mum,” she said, the words raw and simple.

For a moment or two, Rosalee just stared at her, then, finally, slowly, she nodded just once. Her eyes might have softened a touch, it was hard to tell. “You can have room two. Top of the stairs on the right.”

Cal picked up her bag.

“But we’ll be having payment upfront, thank you very much, given who we’re dealing with,” Rosalee added.

Cal closed her eyes for a second, then opened them, pulled out her wallet and slid out her credit card.

“Cash only,” Rosalee said.

Another sigh and Cal pulled out two notes and handed them over.

“I’ll just get your change.”

The place smelled the same, looked the same, and Cal was left wondering if anything had changed at all. If maybe Tetherington had been stuck in some sort of time loop going back and forth through the days but not really moving at all.

It wouldn’t surprise her. Nor, she thought, would it concern her. She was here to pack up the house, get it sold on, and then move on with her life. It wasn’t like she was staying.

“Your change,” Rosalee said, but she didn’t hold out the handful of coins.

“What?” asked Cal.

“Mind yourself,” Rosalee said.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Rosalee leaned in, her voice almost a hiss. “It’s supposed to mean that we’ve all got your number, Callan Roberts. You watch yourself and behave properly. You’re no child anymore, you start your old tricks again and there’ll be consequences this time.”

The words stung as hard as they would have done fifteen years ago. Which surprised Cal on the whole, because she rather thought that she’d become stronger, thicker skinned over the years. She’d actually thought that she didn’t really care what people thought of her anymore.

“I’m just here to take care of the house,” she said, not letting the feelings show in her voice. “That’s all, Rosalee. I’ll be leaving before you know it.”

“See that you do,” snapped Rosalee.

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