After shoving her comfort foods into her reusable totes, Paige bid Fran goodbye and took her time walking home. She’d already been to the library, where she’d loaded up on books and magazines she hoped would be interesting enough to keep her mind off Mitch.
When she reached her trailer, she realized she probably should have waited until he was gone to start mourning his being gone. Mitch was sitting on her front step, leaning back against her door with his hands dangling between his knees. Her heart stuttered at the sight of him, but she strengthened her resolve. She wasn’t going to escape with her heart in one piece, but she could keep her dignity intact.
“I tried calling, but it went straight to voice mail,” he told her.
“I had to call a vendor today and I made the mistake of using my cell phone to keep the diner’s line free. My phone’s on the charger right now.”
“I was thinking maybe we could take the bike and ride down to the city and get a nice dinner somewhere.”
It sounded perfect. “I can’t. I have too much work to catch up on.”
He pushed himself to his feet and moved closer to her. “You were busy last night. You’re busy tonight. Are you blowing me off, Paige Sullivan?”
“Of course not. It’s just that I’ve let too much work pile up and I’ve lost a lot of sleep and if I don’t stop and catch up, everything’s going to go to hell in a hurry.”
She wished he wouldn’t look her right in the eye like that. Acting wasn’t one of her finer skills, and she was afraid whatever he might see on her face wouldn’t match the nonchalant tone she was going for.
“I miss you.” He moved even closer, so she took a step back and that made him cock his head. “What’s going on, Paige?”
And now came the hard part. She took a breath, then plastered a smile on her face. “Nothing. We had a good time, but it’s interfering with stuff I have to get done, so it’s time we move on.”
“That’s it? It’s been fun and it’s time to move on?”
“Isn’t that how you do it? This is all there is and you won’t call or text? I’m pretty sure it was all in the Mitch Kowalski pre-sex spiel.”
His jaw tightened and then he gave a hard shake of his head. “This isn’t like you at all. Why do you sound so angry?”
So she wouldn’t dissolve into a blubbering mess in front of him. “You should spend what little time you have left in Whitford with your family. I’ll probably see you around…someday.”
She was almost to her door when Mitch caught her arm and spun her around. “Talk to me, goddammit. Tell me what’s wrong.”
The emotional dam broke and tears built up, spilling onto her cheeks. “What’s wrong is that I realized you’re leaving soon and that’s going to hurt. I know it was supposed to be ‘all the fun stuff, with none of the not-fun stuff,’ but I blew it, okay? I’m knee-deep in the not-fun stuff, and it’s time for you to do your trademark smile and wave as you ride off into the sunset before I get any deeper.”
For once, Mitch didn’t seem to have a charming comeback to offer. He was so silent and still, she wasn’t even sure he was still breathing until he sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at the ground.
“Just walk away, Mitch. It’s what you do. I knew it before and I’m counting on you to do it now.”
“We need to talk about this. You need—”
“What I need is to run my business and take care of my house and myself.”
“And I was the temporary luxury.”
“That’s all you wanted to be.” She waited for him to say something—anything—that would tell her his feelings for her had changed, but he stared over her shoulder with his jaw clenched and his hands shoved in his pockets. “Good luck with the lodge.”
She went inside and this time he didn’t try to stop her. Standing there waiting, it seemed like minutes passed before she heard the bike start and then the engine roar as he pulled onto the main street and pounded it through the gears.
Sliding down the door until her butt hit the floor, Paige put her head on her knees and let the tears come.
It was the right thing to do. She’d made a promise to herself and she couldn’t break it, even for Mitch, because giving up the diner and her stupid little trailer and the friends she’d made would make her unhappy and eventually she’d hate both him and herself for it.
She’d done the right thing. She just wished it didn’t have to hurt so much.
*
Rose watched Andy through the kitchen window. He was cutting lumber for something, using a makeshift workbench made of plywood spanning a couple of sawhorses. The guys had so many projects going on around the lodge, she couldn’t keep track anymore.