Page 72 of Once Upon a Beast

With that he rose, planted a gentle kiss on her head, and made for the duck pond. Pops always seemed to know when to offer his wisdom, and when to leave you alone to let it sink in. Today, though, his wisdom wasn’t making sense.

Was he really telling her to leave all that she loved?

Del lifted her feet, sending the swing in motion. As it swayed, she processed.

Back. Isaac was gone.

Forth. She could go after him.

Back. She had a business to run.

Forth. So did he.

Back. He’d left.

Forth. He said he didn’t want to…because of her.

Had she given up too quickly? Had her pride gotten in the way again, kept them from talking things out, exploring alternatives together?

It sure had. She’d gone storming off, even while he was asking her to stay and work things out.

Damn, she hated when Pops was right.

She’d sat around all these years after Jonathan, waiting for the perfect man to come walking into her life. Then, when an amazing one finally had, she’d given up on him the minute they ran into a complication instead of trying to work things out.

Instead of doing the adult thing: finding a compromise.

But how could they possibly work this out? They both had business responsibilities, and she had a town and bookstore to support. And a long-distance relationship was unappealing—she didn’t want to have to wait weeks or months to see him next.

But she hated the thought of never seeing him again even more.

Maybe she should reach out to him, see if he was still open to having the conversation she’d refused to have last night. To give this crazy thing called compromise a try. No, not quite yet. First, she needed to fulfill her obligations with the fundraiser. If he could remain dedicated to his commitments, then of course he would understand her doing the same. And second, she needed to have some ideas lined up, in case he was willing to hear her out. Hopefully, she could come up with a few ideas by the time next weekend’s fundraiser was over. Then she’d make the call.

In the meantime, Del would pray for those ideas to come—and that, when the time was right, Isaac would be open to listening.

*

Isaac sat inhis living room the following Sunday, staring at the television. Yes, his Giants were playing—and beating the Jetssoundly—but neither the game nor his team’s lead was bringing him joy. Heck, nothing had since his return to the Big Apple.

What did he expect, when he’d left the one person who brought him so much joy back in Indiana?

Thank goodness for Louie. Without him, Isaac would have been utterly lost this past week. His bully was on the leather sofa beside him now, chin resting on Isaac’s leg. The bulldog had been his shadow all week, struggling with separation anxiety each time his human left the apartment to go to work.

As if Isaac needed anything else to feel guilty about.

Thunder sounded in the distance, the vibration making Louie snuggle closer. A glance toward his balcony found swirling, dark clouds approaching.

Had Bourbon Falls had storms today, too? Would the bookstore’s roof hold up until the talent show on Saturday? Would the event be enough of a success to pay for a new roof?

“Gotta let it go, man,” he muttered to himself and took a long drag of his beer. He’d struggled with letting go all week, his mind still wrapped up in the recent past when it should have been focused on re-adapting to the crazed pace of NYC. But the Landshark label in his hand—not one of his usual Miller Lites—proved he’d been unsuccessful in keeping his thoughts away from Bourbon Falls and a certain landscaper he was missing something fierce.

Isaac leaned his head back on the top of his sofa, closed his eyes…and Del was there above him, naked and beautiful. He’d never met a woman like her before and doubted he ever would again. Funny and smart, confident and selfless. He’d enjoyed every minute of their time together, from her luring him out of his comfort zone to them making love in his bed. And damn, he missed it all.

It was cruel, really, that fate would drop him into an unfamiliar town, have him cross paths with the best thing that had ever happened to him, and then expect him to walk away a few short weeks later. That had to have been one of the hardest things he’d ever done—walking away. Especially after completely botching his good-bye.

He’d hoped to sneak off, leave town without having to face her. Without having to see the look of hurt or disappointment in her eyes. But just like Del, she’d come to check on him, being her usual, caring self. And just like him, he’d said all the wrong things and made their final good-bye that much worse.

The image of those monster cinnamon rolls from the Sweet Mash haunted him anew. Del had gone out of her way to surprise him after the hellacious week he’d had. A week he’d spent working and avoiding her rather than carving out time to enjoy their last few days together.

---