Unfinished Business

17

It's been a week since Wyatt and I took the horses out for a ride on his farm. I've been busting my ass at The Starlighter trying to earn as many tips as I can. Now that I've determined that I'm staying here, so long as it's okay with Wyatt, I need to start saving for my own place. It's the first decision I've ever made in my life that's felt... right.

But with that, Wyatt hasn't worked on the construction of the restaurant since our afternoon together. And what's even stranger is Loretta doesn't seem to mind. She hasn't said one word about him being absent. Granted, the crew that's been working with him has shown up, but Wyatt is the one that owes her a favor.

Not that I know why he owes her a favor.

I still haven't gained the courage to ask.

Sweating from head to toe, I step into the enclosed section of the restaurant—thankfully now with running air conditioning—and find Loretta standing in the middle of the wooden floor, towering oak beams that have been freshly stained towering above her head now. She's holding a map of the interior design plans, studying it carefully.

I never paid attention to it before, but it's obvious how much she's aged now. Her eyes are sunken in, and the once semi-noticeable wrinkles are fully prominent. Her small frame seems to be swallowed whole by the tall ceilings of this place with newly installed floor-to-ceiling windows behind her.

"Came here to stare, or do you want somethin'?" She asks, still staring at the map.

"I just came in here to ask if you've heard from Wyatt at all."

She laughs. "You think he forgot about yer little afternoon in the meadow?"

I freeze where I'm standing, still a few feet in front of her. Did someone in the town somehow spot us? Is it circulating around town? And even worse, did Caroline hear about it? Is that why Wyatt's been keeping his distance?

Loretta sends me a pointed look as if reading my mind. "Wyatt and I are close, Macey. Have been ever since his dad passed. He told me what happened."

"Oh." My cheeks grow hot from the intimate details he hopefully spared her from. "Did he say he was upset with me?"

She shrugs. "I'm not one to gossip. Ask him yerself."

"Do you think it's that easy? I can't just walk over to his house and have Caroline answer the door. We tried to hang out again and—" I heave out a sigh. "Being friends is harder than it seems. We can't be around each other if he's with Caroline."

Loretta nods and lets out a laugh. "Yer damn right. I'm glad y'all both came to your senses about that."

"I don't see how that's a good thing. What, are you happy that I won't have any distractions around here now? I'm assuming he quit?"

She hums and folds the map up tightly, slipping it into her pocket. "Get back to work, Macey."

***

The longer my shift went on, the more infuriated I became.

So, that's it, then? We tried to hang out one time, and we almost crossed a line, so that immediately cuts off any ounce of friendship we could have had? I mean, I knew Caroline wouldn't have been okay with us hanging out, so it would have ended regardless, but I at least deserved a goodbye. I at least deserved a reason.

Not really, my subconscious snapped. Not when you did the same thing to him.

I continue scrubbing the tiles of the kitchen counter so hard that my skin feels raw beneath the sponge. The minute he suggested taking Dolly out, I should have said no. I knew it would be a temptation, and yet I still agreed to go. All of this is my fault.