Page 21 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Same, cat. Same.
‘I guess that settles that,’ he said, and Jeanie searched her mind frantically for some other reason to get him to stay, for some other reason to get back in his comforting embrace. But she had nothing, and Logan looked exhausted.
What was she going to do? Hold him hostage?Maybe?No, definitely not the New Jeanie she was shooting for.
‘Yep, all settled. Thank you for your help. I guess Mayor Kelly was right.’
Logan rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t encourage him.’ He turned and grabbed the notepad she kept next to the register. It was full of her little notes about who was who and who liked what. The margins were full of hearts and swirls and flowers. Little doodles she made during the slow times, not that there were many.
She watched as Logan’s eyes scanned the page. His lips tipped into a small smile before he turned the page and wrote the vet’s name and number.
‘She’s the best. She’ll get you all straightened out.’ He added his cell number to the bottom of the paper. ‘Just in case anyone throws up,’ he said and then strode over to their little nest on the floor. He tossed the pillows onto the nearest chair and knelt to put away the sleeping bags.
Jeanie stood leaning against the counter, finding herself unable to move to help him. It was like her body was on strike against anything that would get him out of here quicker. ‘Thanks again. I really appreciate it. All of it. Your help and being so nice to me and everything.’
He glanced over his shoulder at her, pausing in the middle of rolling up his sleeping bag. ‘I think maybe you’re not used to being treated right, Jeanie.’
His words landed hard. Damn.
Was it true? Had she gotten used to being treated poorly and taken advantage of? The nature of her job had been to make sure Marvin had everything he needed to do his job. But who made sure she had everything she needed?
She hadn’t had anyone to lean on in so long. She hadn’t slowed down long enough to lean, even if there had been someone there. When Jeanie looked back over the last seven years, her life was a blur of late nights at the office and early-morning coffee runs. Her last few relationships had been short-lived, and lately, few and far between, and her work friends were more acquaintances than friends. She certainly hadn’t felt comfortable calling any of them when she couldn’t even clean up her own vomit. Her mother probably would have driven the nine hours from Buffalo to Boston to help her, but that was insane, and Jeanie would never have asked her to.
Somehow in the frenzy of the last few years, Jeanie hadn’t even had time to realize she was lonely.
Logan went back to rolling up the bags, his movements precise and efficient. He wasted no time in getting his boots back on and grabbed his coat from over the back of his chair.
She would call him if she threw up and was too weak to move afterward, and he would come. She already knew that, but she didn’t know if she was comforted or terrified of this prospect. Logan was kind and sturdy and considerate. She could clearly see what he had to offer her. It was obvious.
But what did she have to offer in return? A pile of insecurities about running this café; an undercurrent of anxiety that she’d made the wrong choice moving here; too much chatter, not enough listening – and a tendency to jump to the worst-case scenario in all scenarios.
It wasn’t a great list.
And it also wasn’t who she wanted to be anymore.
So, the New Jeanie plan had a new level, a final tier in which she gets the handsome farmer.
Her new cat meowed loudly at her feet. She wasn’t there yet. First, she needed to get some sleep. Then she needed to figure out how to be a cat owner. Everything else would fall into place after that.
‘I’m gonna get going.’
While she’d stood there daydreaming, Logan had cleaned up their snack mess and filled a bowl of water for the cat. Shoot. Not off to a great start.
‘Okay, sounds good. Thanks again. And I’ll see you later.’ Jeanie winced. One of those goodbyes would have been sufficient.
‘Get some sleep.’ His voice was low as he brushed past her on his way to the back door.
Jeanie nodded. Much safer than saying what she was thinking and what she was thinking was that she would sleep much better if he stayed.
ChapterTen
‘Ihave a new theory,’ Annie bustled in the front door, the brisk October wind following her in. Jeanie had known her for less than a week, but the woman always seemed to be in the middle of a conversation Jeanie had no idea they’d been having.
She liked it. It was something friends did.
It was late afternoon, so the café was fairly empty. Jeanie had insisted she would be fine on her own, and Norman had left early to take his niece to the zoo. Or was it to take his nephew to the aquarium? She hadn’t been paying very close attention to Norman since most of her brain power was currently being used to daydream about Logan and his soft flannels and strong arms and his secret cat whisperer abilities.
‘A new theory about what?’ Jeanie asked from her perch behind the counter. She’d brought a stool back here for when the café was slow, even though Norman had huffed and puffed about it. Customers don’t want to see you sitting, he’d said.
