Page 95 of Sweet on You
32
Lex
That night, I was back in my apartment. I’d just gotten Olivia to sleep and instead of watching whatever stupid show was playing quietly on my TV, I was staring at the baby monitor screen, watching the black and white video of my little girl fast asleep. After we left the diner, I brought her into urgent care to have her burn looked at. I couldn’t bring myself to call Mrs. Tripp for that… not after the fight Ronnie and I had. Luckily, just as I thought, it was a minor burn and it would heal on its own with a little topical medicine.
I brushed my thumb over the screen of the monitor before setting it on the coffee table and scrubbing my hands over my face. I grabbed the sheet about the sale of my bakery and stared at it. When I first moved to Maple Grove, I barely had any money in savings. And I didn’t know if I would be sticking around Maple Grove permanently. Everything had depended upon where Sarah was located. Now, I knew. I was likely going to be here for a while. A long while. The school system was good. We were close enough to Sarah’s family, but not too close. God knew I didn’t want to be near my family. Despite Mr. Murphy’s skepticism, they were great to me. And in some ways, I respected him more because of his skepticism. I liked that he was fair but protective. Because I knew if he was this way with me, he’d be that way with Sarah. And frankly, when it came to addicts, that’s what we needed.
I gulped, staring at the listing for my building. It wasn’t public yet. I grabbed my phone and called Nate. He answered after three rings.
“Hey Lex.”
“Hey,” I said.
“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”
“How do you know something’s wrong? I literally said one word to you.”
“It’s 8:00 p.m.—and that was a very somber hey.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I lied.Except the fact that Ronnie and I weren’t talking and were spending our first night apart in weeks.“I just need to let you know… I don’t think I can put an offer in on the building.” My heart felt heavy as I said it. “The money I had for the down payment is… well, I need it for something else that’s urgent.”
The other end of the line was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Nate said. “Do your circumstances have any chance of changing in the next few weeks? I can hold off a little longer.”
I cleared my throat. “I will probably get the money back in a few weeks, but there’s no guarantee. And I can’t ask you to wait even longer than you already have. I really appreciate everything you’ve offered to do for me, though.” For a couple weeks there, it really looked like it might happen. Nate’s friend was able to get me a loan that was a little higher in the interest rate, but with monthly payments that were still affordable.
Nate sighed. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll list it tomorrow. Can I ask you… Did something happen? With Ronnie?”
Damn, this guy was astute.
“No,” I lied again. “We’re just taking things slowly, you know? She needs to really be ready for this and I have to be careful with Olivia. I would hate to see Olivia broken-hearted if it doesn’t work out with Ronnie.”
“You would hate to see Olivia broken-hearted… or yourself?”
I was silent, my heart squeezing at the thought. “Both,” I whispered. There was silence on the other line. “Say something, Nate.”
“I understand. But I think you’re being overly cautious. Yes, kids need stability, but Ronnie Tripp is the most stable person I know. Hell, she might be the most stable person in Maple Grove. I helped her buy her first house a few years ago and she was only a couple of years out of college. She saved every penny she had to afford that place.”
I smiled, looking down at my feet. “That sounds like her,” I said with a chuckle. Yet, after the lunch we’d had? That was a whole side of Ronnie I’d never seen before. Judgmental. Harsh. Critical. And even though she was talking about Sarah… she might as well have been talking about me.
The doorbell rang, bringing me back to the present moment. “I have to go, Nate. Someone’s at my door.”
“Okay,” Nate said. “If you change your mind tomorrow… call me. No one is going to jump on it within the first day. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said. But… I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Getting Sarah out of jail was the top priority. And even if she did show up to her trial, who knows how long it would take to get my bail money reimbursed. “Thanks Nate.”
I hung up and ran downstairs, hoping to God it was Ronnie. It wasn’t. Callie stood at my front door with a couple of bags of takeout in hand.
“Callie?”
“My sister’s not answering her phone and we had dinner plans tonight. I’m assuming she blew me off for you?”
Her blond eyebrow lifted accusatorially. I shook my head. “Nope. Did you try her house?”
“Seriously? She’s not here?”
“Nope,” I said again, doing my best to keep my face impassive.
Callie’s eyes narrowed. “Then what the hell happened? Because she’s been here almost every night for the past few weeks. Don’t think we all haven’t noticed.”
