Page 43 of Playing for Keeps in Starr's Fall
“No,” Zach cut her off, his voice hard as he swung around to face her. “You can’t.” He stared at her for a suspended second, his blue-green eyes sparking with what looked alarmingly like anger.
Maggie stared back, a sliver of doubt slithering its way into her certainties. Had she gotten him so wrong? Had she stormed in here and jumped to way too many conclusions like he’d implied? But Ben hadsaid… and Zach hadn’t.
“Why won’t you tell me what happened?” she asked, her voice wobbling.
“I don’t recall you asking me to,” Zach replied coolly, and then he turned away, effectively dismissing her.
Maggie stared at him for another long moment as he returned to shifting boxes, his taut back to her. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. She almost felt as if she should apologize, buthewas in the wrong.
Wasn’t he?
And even if he wasn’t, she realized slowly, surely it was better this way? That kiss had clearly been a mistake. She knew now absolutely that neither she nor Ben was ready to have someone new in their lives. Someone like Zach.
But if she’d misjudged him…
“Zach…” Maggie began. She could tell he’d heard her by how his shoulders tensed, but he didn’t respond. Didn’t even look at her. Maggie waited another few seconds, but Zach didn’t break his stride as he worked, stacking heavy boxes on top of each other. Frustration filled her, along with something like fear. What if she’d gotten this—him—completely wrong?
No. Even if she had, it was better this way.
Without a word, Maggie turned and left the barn.
15
“Penny is acompletedoll. She’ll curl up on your lap the second you sit down and purr to her heart’s content. If that’s the kind of kitty you want, she is the one, for sure.”
Wasit the kind of cat she wanted? Truth be told, Maggie had no idea what she wanted anymore, cat or otherwise. She and Ben were at the Humane Society because despite the awful argument with Zach last week, she was determined to forge ahead in every other aspect of her life, including getting a cat, maybe even little Penny right here.
“She’s so cute,” Ben said, reaching out his hand so Penny could sniff his fingers. She was a gray tabby, four years old, past the cute kitten stage but with the sweetest heart-shaped face and big hazel eyes. As Ben tentatively scratched her head, she gave a soft, rumbling purr. Ben laughed and Maggie smiled.
“She really is a sweetie,” she remarked.
Julie, the woman who had been showing them the shelter’s various cats, gave a sage nod. “She is indeed. Poor girl’s been left on her own too long, though. She needs her forever home, and the adoption paperwork only takes a few minutes to fill out.”
Maggie hesitated. Was she ready for this? The café was set to open this Saturday, and it still felt as if there were a million things to do. She’d been working flat out getting everything ready—arranging inspections, bringing in supplies, practicing her lattes. Zoe Wilkinson and Liz Cranbury had helped to put posters all over town, and Ben had taken over the digital marketing, setting up a website and social media accounts and posting everywhere either of them could think of.
They’d put ads in all the nearby Connecticut newspapers as well, that Ben had designed. That had been going to be Zach’s job, but since Maggie had stormed out of the barn over a week ago, she hadn’t seen him once, not even for so much as a second. He hadn’t been playing online with Ben, either, much to her son’s dismay.
“Did you say something to him?” Ben had accused, looking morose, when Zach failed to appear online the evening of their argument.
“Zach is pretty busy with his own stuff right now,” Maggie had replied, wanting neither to lie nor admit the truth. “I’m sure he’ll be back online soon.”
But he wasn’t, and Maggie knew that was her fault. No doubt Zach was staying away from Ben because she’d basically told him he was a bad influence on her son. Whether he was or not, she still wasn’t sure, and that uncertainty was tormenting her when she let herself think about it, which was far too often.
“Mom?” Ben prompted as he stroked Penny’s back. “Can we get her?”
Maggie hesitated. Was this really the right time to get a cat? But when would be?Forge ahead, she reminded herself.Make a life for yourself, for Ben.“Why don’t we have a look at the adoption papers,” she suggested to Julie, “and talk about the process.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were walking out of the shelter with a cat. Ben held the pet carrier the shelter had kindly provided, Penny curled up inside, while Maggie carried the litter tray, fresh litter, and a week’s worth of food. She had already texted Joshua, asking if he stocked an “everything you need to know about cats” book in his store, and he’d assured her he did. She still wasn’t sure if she’d made a giant mistake or not, but she was tired of second-guessing herself on so many things.
“Welcome to the family, Penny,” Maggie told the cat as she unlocked the car.
* * *
Back at the café, Penny sniffed around cautiously, her tail swishing, before settling herself in a corner of one of the leather sofas, her head tucked on her paws as she looked around, warily alert but also seeming interested. Maggie couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her; the presence of a cat definitely added a coziness to the store that she’d wanted, and she hoped Penny would warm to them in time.
She glanced around the space, taking pride in how great it looked—the comfy couches, the games neatly stacked and labeled in the newly built shelves—she couldn’t look at the intricate wood carvings without feeling a pang of something like grief—and a few abstract prints and paintings of the area that she and Ben had bought from various places on the walls. In the back by the kitchen counter, there was the chalkboard menu offering baked goods from The Rolling Pin in her neatest script, along with a few illustrations of cake and coffee that she’d enjoyed drawing. Yet even as that sense of pride gave her a warm glow of satisfaction inside, she felt an ache of regret and sadness for the absence of Zach. He’d worked so hard on everything to do with the café, and she couldn’t help but feel that what they’d achieved there was as much up to him as it was her or Ben, if not more. He should have been there.
Would he show up to the grand opening in just three days’ time? She hoped so, but at this point she had serious doubts. He’d absented himself from their lives so completely… as she’d basically demanded that he do. She could hardly blame him for not being here, and yet she knew she missed him.
