Page 56 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘Don’t need it. Hazel’s an adult.’
Noah nodded and Logan could already see the plans he had brewing in those hazel eyes. But Noah’s plans were none of his damn business.
He set his rake aside and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The late fall chill had set in but working in the afternoon sun still worked up a sweat. Noah watched him from his spot by the fence.
Logan didn’t know if it was his friend’s patience, or his new realization that maybe it was care motivating the people around him, or maybe it was just that he was tired of going over things in his own head, but he felt compelled to do something he never did.
He wanted to talk. About his problems. Out loud.
He took a deep breath. Noah raised an eyebrow.
‘I think I screwed things up with Jeanie.’
A slow smile crept across Noah’s face like he had been waiting for this moment. ‘Feels like this conversation could use a beer.’
‘Definitely,’ Logan grunted, already regretting opening his big stupid mouth.
Noah followed Logan into the big house, down the hall, and into his grandmother’s kitchen. He grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Noah. He rummaged through the junk drawer for a bottle opener, but Noah had already popped the top on the edge of the counter.
‘Don’t let Nana see you doing that,’ he muttered.
Noah grinned. ‘Estelle loves me.’
‘She loves her new countertops more.’
Noah laughed, settling into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. Logan stayed leaning against the counter, too restless to sit.
‘So, what happened with Jeanie?’ Noah asked, taking a swig of cold beer. Logan took one too to fortify himself.
‘We’ve been ... uh ... I don’t know, really, but I screwed it up. Hurt her feelings.’
Noah’s eyes widened in delight. ‘Oh, is that why you two scurried out of trivia night so fast? So you could...’
‘It’s not like that,’ Logan snapped, even though it sorta was exactly like that. ‘We were keeping it quiet, that’s all. Didn’t feel like having everyone know my business for once.’
Noah nodded. He hadn’t been at the Christmas-tree lighting debacle, but Logan was sure he knew all about it. Noah definitely knew that one day Lucy was here and the next she was gone. When he’d asked Logan about it, Logan muttered something about it not working out, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they’d hosted a town meeting about it at some point.
‘This town does have a weird thing about you. Personally, I don’t see it.’
Logan huffed a laugh. ‘Yeah, well. I didn’t feel like having this Jeanie thing on everyone’s radar, but I think it’s starting to upset her. The whole secrecy thing. I don’t know.’ He ran a hand down his beard, feeling like a complete idiot.
Noah’s brow furrowed like he was thinking through a puzzle. ‘So, maybe you just need to go public.’ He must have seen the slightly queasy look on Logan’s face because he went on, ‘It doesn't have to be a big spectacle. Just, you know, date like regular people.’
Right. Date like regular people. That didn’t sound so bad.
But that wasn’t really all of it, was it?
‘What did you think of Lucy?’ Logan blurted out the question before he could think better of it.
Noah paused with his bottle poised at his lips, considering. ‘She was beautiful. Nice girl. But I got a real ‘eat, pray, love’ vibe from her.’
‘What the hell does that mean?’
Noah shrugged. ‘Like she was trying to escape real life by coming here. Like she thought she could find herself or something.’
Everything that Jeanie told him about wanting to start over here, for things to be perfect, played over in his head. She was running from her old life, from her fears, wasn’t she?
‘And what do you think of Jeanie?’ Logan asked, dreading the answer.
