Page 13 of When Cardinals Appear

I blinked then rolled my eyes, grumbling under my breath about small-town trust.

Nate snorted. “Guess you forgot what that was like in Seattle.”

I climbed into the car and buckled in. An uncomfortable silence settled between us as we left the parking lot. I vowed not to be the one to break it.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out a moment later when it became unbearable. I really needed to work on my resolve. “For being so flippant earlier about being back.”

He shrugged. I waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, I glared out the window. Great. He can’t even accept my apology? If that was what I could expect from him for the rest of the time I was at home, then I needed to make sure to hightail it back to the West Coast as soon as possible.

I stifled a sigh. Things used to be a lot easier. Our conversations once lasted for hours, but suddenly, we couldn’t fill a ten-minute drive.

As soon as he’d parked in my driveway, I mumbled a quick thanks and jumped out, not even bothering to look at him. I raced to the door, hoping to put the whole awful experience behind me.

“Wait!” Nate cried out.

I stopped on the porch and spun around, bracing myself for whatever he was going to say.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Is this how it’s going to be between us?”

Crossing my arms, I leaned back, assessing him. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

We stared at each other for a moment, and I resisted the urge to escape into the sanctuary of the house.

He pursed his lips and stepped forward. “I’m sorry about earlier too. I expect it’s been overwhelming, coming back here.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said, shuffling my feet. I took a deep breath, hoping a bit of honesty might help alleviate some of the iciness between us. “The truth is, I don’t know how long I’ll be back. We’re putting the house on the market, and Steven talked about holding an estate sale.” I pushed myself off the side of the house and placed a hand on the porch railing. “But it’s not like I have anywhere to be right away. My job doesn’t start until May.”

His eyes widened. “You already have a job? Where?”

“I’ve accepted a position at a school in California.”

A shadow crossed his face. “I guess you’re a West Coast girl now.”

“I don’t know that I’d go that far.” I forced a smile. “But I’m excited about it.”

“Well, I hope it works out for you, then.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, essentially closing himself off to further conversation.

I took that as my cue. “I should go. I promised Steven I’d go through Mom’s clothes today. Thanks for the ride.” I started toward the door then turned back. “And for fixing the car.”

“My pleasure.”

Tears pricked behind my eyes, and I turned away before he could see them. I opened the door and slammed it behind me before collapsing against it.

The universe had a sick and twisted sense of humor. First, my mother chose me to be the executor of her estate, despite the fact that Steven was the oldest and a lawyer. Second, I had to leave the life she’d made me promise to live so I could go home and settle her affairs. Then, upon arriving home, I had not one but two uncomfortable run-ins with my ex-boyfriend, the man I’d thought I would spend the rest of my life with but who, instead, had broken my heart. And for reasons I didn’t understand, he not only hated me but apparently could barely stand the sight of me.

I buried my face in my hands as I tried to stop the flow of tears that had started coursing down my cheeks. As if it weren’t hard enough to come home. As if I weren’t facing the awful task of sorting through my mother’s life, in the house that held so many memories. Nope. Apparently, the universe needed to throw in constant reminders of the other reason I hated the town: Nate Sanders.

The sad thing was, I didn’t even hate him. On the contrary, despite how things had ended, I’d tried to be cordial when I came back last spring. The few times I ran into him, he either changed course to avoid me or grunted his way through small talk, disappearing the moment someone else approached. Why he got to play the wounded party when he was the one who broke up with me, I would never know. But eventually, I gave up and avoided him right back. With my mother’s car in his shop, however, that had ceased to be an option. We had to deal with each other, at least until he fixed the car.

Maybe I could avoid him in the meantime. I doubted I would be going anywhere for the next few days since I had so much to do at the house. And whenever the car was ready, I might be able to convince Steven to go get it. Or better still, Nate could just keep it. I could rent a car or beg, borrow, and steal rides. Whatever it took to avoid another awkward encounter.

After grabbing my phone, I scrolled through my contacts and clicked James’s name, needing to vent to someone who might understand. But I stopped myself. He was in the middle of his workday and wouldn’t appreciate an interruption. The last time I called him while he was working, we had a “discussion” that evening about his policy of not taking personal calls during office hours.

“Only call if it’s a real emergency,” he had said. “And even then, consider whether I’m the appropriate person to assist.”

It sounded so clinical and detached, like he was reading straight from a dry employee manual. Since then, I’d avoided even texting him while he was at the office. I knew his job was important to him, but sometimes, I tired of playing second fiddle.

Pushing thoughts of Nate and James from my mind, I headed upstairs. I’d lost precious time sitting in the mechanic’s shop, waiting for a ride. But as I stood in my mother’s room, I struggled to decide which area to tackle first. Steven had made it clear we needed to get the house ready to sell as soon as possible. However, he was wedding planning with Rose that evening, which meant I was on my own for the night.

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