Page 45 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘Sure.’
‘Great, okay. Let’s go.’
He followed Jeanie out the big double doors of the meeting room into the foyer of the town hall. It was drafty out here, the old wheezing radiators doing their best and failing miserably in the face of the October wind, which swirled in through the door as people filed out.
They were stopped by at least five other small groups of neighbors on their way out, all wanting to tell Jeanie what a great job she was doing with the café. By the time they hit the sidewalk, she was grinning from ear to ear from the compliments.
They walked to his truck in amicable quiet, Jeanie humming a little tune under her breath as she waved to several more neighbors.
‘Thanks for the ride,’ she said hopping up into the cab. ‘It’s a lot colder than when I walked here.’
‘Of course, anytime.’
‘I guess I’ll need to get a car. I never really needed one in Boston,’ she said, smiling at him from the passenger seat.
‘Do you miss it?’ The question popped out of his mouth before he could think better of it.
‘Miss what? Public transportation? A little.’
‘No, Boston. I mean, I know it’s really different here.’
Jeanie shrugged. ‘I like it here.’
So simple. That one little sentence. But, God, did he want to believe it. She looked like she belonged here, tonight especially. She officially knew more people in this town than he did. He wanted her to belong here.
He wanted her ‘I like it here’ to mean: ‘I like you and your smelly old farm and your slightly nutty grandparents. I like you and I’m sticking around.’ He wanted her ‘I like it here’ to give him some kind of guarantee that of course, no one could really give him.
It was possible Lucy had messed him up more than he liked to admit. It was also possible that his grandfather was right, but Logan would never admit that.
He shook his head. ‘Good. That’s good.’ Draping his arm over the back of Jeanie’s seat, he backed out of the parking space and maneuvered slowly through the lot. There were plenty of people still hanging out and talking despite the chill of the night.
The drive was short; the town hall was only about a mile down Main Street from the café. The car hadn’t even had time to warm up yet and the vent still blew cool air in his face. He pulled up in front of the café, under the yellow glow of a streetlamp. The wind was crisp and cold, shaking the colorful leaves from the trees. The sun had set hours ago, making it feel later than it was.
‘Thanks again for the ride.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about the broken window?’ he asked again, still hating that she hadn’t called him last night when it happened.
‘I told you; it wasn’t a big deal.’
‘Jeanie.’
She sighed. ‘I just... I didn’t want to overcomplicate this.’
‘This?’
‘This.’ She gestured between them. ‘Us. I didn’t want you to feel ... I don’t know ... responsible for me or something.’
‘But I want to...’Don’t say you want to be responsible for her, for God’s sake. ‘I want to help.’
She studied him, her brown eyes assessing him. Her lips twisted to the side as she thought. ‘Okay, well how about this, I promise to let you know if I need help.’
‘Promise?’ he grunted.
‘Yes. If I need anything, I will let you know.’
He didn’t like that one bit, but he probably didn’t have a choice. ‘I think maybe you were right.’
‘Oh?’
