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"If anything goes wrong, I want to hear about it pronto,” I said to Delia and Abby. They were both sitting in front of me, their foreheads creased with worry.
"Miss Becca, I don't know if it's right putting us in charge here alone." Abby worried. Her long hair was tied in two pigtails, the way she loved to wear it when she was serving at the counter.
"Natalie is in charge, you're to help her and make sure to keep me in the loop."
Nat and I arrived about two hours ago, she had dropped me off at home to pack a bigger box and she'd be picking me up later and dropping me off at the airport. Hunter still hadn't called. Either he hadn't returned to the cabin, or he just couldn't be bothered. It was disgusting to discover the man could hurt me in so many ways without even trying.
I hid a grimace and turned my attention to the young ladies in front of me. Delia was worrying at her bottom lip again while Abby twirled a lock of hair in her hands.
"When will you be back?" Delia asked.
When I felt ready, when my heart didn't break with every damned thought of one man, when I felt right again, and what better place to heal than home? With my mom's homemade meals, I might even gain the bit of weight I had lost running around trying to get the cafe up and running.
"I have no idea, but it'll be soon,” I replied, smiling at the both of them to assuage their worry. It would have to be soon, running the cafe was important, I couldn't leave it to Nat for too long. As soon as I felt better, I would be back here, keeping my eyes on things, but for now, I needed to keep my eyes on myself.
"It'll be time for the evening rush soon, we should probably get to cooking," Abby said.
I nodded, and they got off their chairs and made their way out of the office. I leaned against the chair and closed my eyes, released a deep pent-up breath and let myself hurt for a moment. I felt tears biting at my lids again, that tell-tale sign that a flood was nearby. It would be terrible to break down here, so I blinked my eyes open and stared blearily up.
I should call mom and dad to tell them I would be visiting, but I wanted it to be as much a surprise as their visit to me had been. Besides, dad would be mad enough at Hunter without the extra provocation of an early phone call. He might even call Hunter up and threaten him. Not that I could see him going through with it. Dad was a big, cuddly teddy bear.
I sighed and picked up my phone, called Nat, and informed her I was ready to leave. She said she'd be here in thirty minutes. I was done here anyway. Nothing left for me to do. I'd ordered enough stock to last a week, that meant I couldn't sulk at home for any longer than that. After a week, ready or not, I would be back here, running my cafe like my time with Hunter had never happened.
It would be the past, come to think about it, it was already the past. I was just having difficulty leaving it alone. I sat there, wiping roughly at my eyes when I felt that sting. I was done being a baby about that man. He didn't get to stay angry and grumpy while I did the crying.
"You're not crying, are you?"
I swiped at my eyes hurriedly and opened them. Nat was dressed in a simple sundress with a belt. It fitted her perfectly, like every dress she wore.
"Do you look more beautiful than ever?" I asked.
"Becca, come on, that's a lame distraction, you've been crying,” she said. She settled into the chair across from me and stared at me for a long moment, her eyes roving my face.
"No, I haven't. Have I felt the urge? Yes, but I haven't been crying. I'm a strong woman and crying won't solve my problems,” I replied.
"That's the attitude, but it also will not get you the man you love, why don't you call him?" Nat asked. It was strange that Nat was asking me to call Hunter. I had expected she'd ask me to chuck him aside and move on.
"Nat, is there something you're not telling me?" I asked.
"Something about what?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face.
"Why do you care about Hunter so much?" I asked.
"How about because you love him? I care about you Becca and you care about him. I don't think it's wrong to admit that."
"Well, he doesn't care about me, he still hasn't called," I replied. "And I don't love him, he's a hardheaded, grumpy, handsome man with anger issues. Who would love that?"
"You, Becca. You would love that; you do love that."
"No, I don't and I'm tired, come drop me off at the airport,” I said. I got off the chair and walked to the door. "Oh!"
Mark was standing by the door, and he didn't look so happy. I turned to Nat. "Why didn't you tell me you had him with you?" I whispered to Nat who had gotten off her chair and was just behind me.
"Well, he was with Abby, I didn't think we'd have that whole talk,” Nat replied, her voice a soft hiss. I turned a smile on Mark and bent to his height.
"Hey big boy," I said to him.
He turned those big brown eyes on me, and looking from me to Nat, asked his first question.
