AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Why are you glad, Lott? She doesn't have her cameras with her. You and the chinches had your fifteen minutes. It's over." The ever-cheerful Helen sat at the counter in front of Lottie, sporting a red and green velour track suit and a Santa hat.
"Hello Mrs. Tanner, Mrs. Manchester," I said politely. "It's nice to see you again." I ignored Helen's eye roll at this pleasantry. I turned to Lottie. "I'm leaving this afternoon, but was hoping for some breakfast before I get on the road."
"Of course! Sit down anywhere. Don't mind Helen. She's going through withdrawal. Makes her mean."
I eyed the old woman skeptically and smiled back at Lottie. "Withdrawal?"
"Her granddaughter Tess says she spends too much time playing video games and made her commit to leaving the house every day."
"Sounds reasonable," I said, wary of the evil look Helen was giving me.
"I'm right here," the old woman said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can hear you, you know."
"Sorry, dear," Lottie said. "But it's true. You've been very grumpy. Not at all in the holiday spirit."
"Well, I'll join you in that," I said to Helen, earning me a thumbs-up. I took off my coat and gloves as I turned to scan the small space, which was homey and comfortable, decorated with a few plush chairs near low tables, and a few more traditional restaurant tables with hard chairs. In one of these sat a familiar figure I hadn't noticed when I came in. I cringed, wondering how much he knew. "Hello, Cormac."
The man looked up from the laptop screen in front of him and gave me a warm smile. "Hey April, how are you?"
I didn't answer this, figuring there was no point. He surely knew what had happened between me and Callan, though the fact he didn’t scowl or throw anything did reassure me.
"About as well as my brother then, huh?" He waved at the chair across from him, watching me with his head tilted as I hung up my coat and took the seat. "He's pretty upset, you know."
I didn't want to hear any more about how Callan felt betrayed, about how I’d used him. "I know. But he didn't bother to listen to my side of things. I'm upset too," I said, almost accusingly. "And I'm going to lose my job because of it."
Cormac's eyebrows went up, but he didn't comment on this. "He knows he screwed up." This was delivered quietly, as if Cormac was waiting to see how I would react before telling me more.
If it had been Callan sitting here, I figured, then maybe it'd be worth rehashing. But I didn't know if it was worth talking things over with his brother. "Well none of it matters now. I'm going home tonight, I'll find a new job, and this insanity will be behind us both."
"Right," Cormac said, sounding doubtful. "That sounds simple."
I squinted at him, partly annoyed at him because he was the one who’d suggested I get close to Callan in the first place. "Does everyone in this town feel like everything is their business all the time?"
"Pretty much," he said. "But my brother is my business. He needs to meet someone, settle down. I thought you might be the one."
"Um." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, part of me wanting to open up to Cormac, and part of me a little put off that he was being so upfront about something that I felt should be private. "Clearly not."
He waved a hand, as if to dismiss that idea. "Misunderstanding."
"He won't even listen to me explain," I said, starting to feel angry now. Lottie came over with a coffee pot and a menu just then and leaned in with a smile.
"How are things with Callan?" she asked, a conspiratorial grin on her face.
"They've had a fight," Cormac told her.
Lottie's eyebrows shot up. "A fight? Oh no. What about?"
My head went back and forth between these two near-strangers as they discussed my most recent life disaster as if they were a part of my immediate family. This town was full of insufferable busybodies on top of the ludicrous devotion to the worst holiday on record. It would be refreshing to get back to Los Angeles where everyone just minded their own business.
Except.
Except it wouldn't. Being left alone wasn't actually what I wanted, not if I was being honest with myself.
An hour later, I had an empty plate in front of me and had told Lottie and Cormac the whole story. Even Helen had pulled her chair nearer, and she snorted in a somewhat sympathetic fashion now and then.
Lottie was about to say something when my phone rang, and I lifted it to see who was calling. Uncle Rob. I swallowed hard, fear and worry rising in my throat. This meant he'd probably seen the footage then, or at least been told I didn't comply with his request. I excused myself and went to the corner of the bakery to take the call.
"Hi Uncle Rob," I said.
