“Don’t be mad. I just think if she needs me, I have to go.”
“I’m not mad.” His voice was barely over a whisper. “I’m just sorry we won’t have a chance to see where this was heading with us.”
“I’m sorry too. About everything. I just feel like what kind of mother would I be if I don’t go back when she needs me?”
“And what doyouneed?”
But she didn’t answer him. Because what she needed wasn’t important now. It was what her daughter needed.
Pain clouded his eyes and she could feel him distancing himself even as they sat there. A wall of cold, hard silence settled between them.
Finally, Dale stood. “I should go get ready for work.” He started to walk back to his cottage and paused, turning back. “I should have known this was coming. That you’d leave.”
She swallowed and tried to fight back the tears. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered as he walked away.
She guessed her decision had been made. She’d go back to Philadelphia where she was needed. And see if she could make things right with her children. Especially if they thought the family disintegrating was all her fault. Not that she’d tell them about Victor’s infidelity. That wasn’t something they needed to know. He was still their father.
She took a long, deep breath of the fresh sea air. She’d miss this. Miss so many things about Magnolia. She glanced at Dale’s cottage. Miss so many people. One in particular.
* * *
Dale sat hunched inside his cottage, the warmth of his coffee mug providing little comfort. The walls closed in on him, trapping him, and he longed to sit outside on his deck. But he was afraid that Maxine might head back from the beach, and he didn’t want to see her. He needed time. He’d just begun to believe that there was something between them. That they could have a relationship. And he’d let himself acknowledge he cared about her. Had feelings for her.
He set his mug down and it clinked against the wooden table, echoing around the cottage and highlighting the quiet of the empty room. He got up and paced the floor.
This was all his own fault. He knew better. Had he not learned his lesson before? Women left him. There was always something more important than him in their lives. Something they chose over him.
He’d protected his heart for years after his last girlfriend broke up with him. And now, just when he was starting to trust Maxine—trust that it was okay to have feelings for her—then this happened. She was leaving. Leaving Magnolia. Leaving him.
He understood why she wanted to go. She felt she needed to be there for her daughter. He got that. There always seemed to be something more important than he was to any woman. His last girlfriend’s job was more important. Maxine’s family was more important.
He walked to the window but didn’t see Maxine sitting out on the beach any longer. Which was good. Because he didn’t want to see her. It was just too hard.
He wondered how long Maxine would stay in town. Hopefully, she’d leave soon, so he wouldn’t keep running into her. Each day would just be ticking down the time until her inevitable departure.
The sooner she left, the sooner he could get over her. In the meantime, he’d do everything possible to avoid her.
And the next time he felt even a flicker of interest in some woman, he’d squash it immediately. Not that there would be a next time. He was finished with women.
CHAPTER21
Maxine worked on painting a changing table for one of the customers at Coastal Coffee who’d seen the bookcase and heard Judy rave about her coffee table. She needed to get this finished before leaving. And her plans to have a corner of Dale’s shop with her refinished furniture? All that was scrapped now too.
She hadn’t yet gotten up the nerve to call Tiffany and say she was moving back to Philadelphia. Because if she called and told her, the decision was final. Well, it already was kind of final. She’d told Beverly and Dale she was leaving. She knew she was just stalling. But the thought of leaving all she’d found here in Magnolia made her heart ache. This was the first time in years and years that she’d felt needed and like she had a chance to feel like she belonged.
And the thought of all the details of moving overwhelmed her. She’d have to ship her things back to Philadelphia. Not that they’d fit in the apartment over Tiffany’s garage. They’d have to go back into storage. She wondered if she’d ever have a place again that she loved as much as this guesthouse. Surrounded by all her things. Decorated exactly like she wanted it.
And then there was Dale. She liked him. Liked him a lot. She’d seen him in the park this week, working on the repairs to the gazebo that Miss Eleanor had requested. When she stopped to say hi, the awkwardness between them was too much and she’d made an excuse to hurry off.
He hadn’t come into Coastal Coffee even once over the last two weeks. Not once. But it shouldn’t hurt her feelings because she was the one who was leaving. She was the one who had ended things between them… before they’d hardly even had a chance to start.
She stood up and stretched, her back aching from twisting around as she painted the changing table. She’d briefly thought about making a changing table for Tiffany and the baby, but then she wasn’t sure her daughter would appreciate it. More than likely she’d go for some fancy, name-brand nursery set. She was like Victor in that way. Buying things she thought would impress people.
She worried about fitting back into a life back in Philadelphia. Worried about how Tiffany would treat her. But maybe when Tiffany saw how she was with the baby, she’d change her opinion and start to respect her more. When she found out just how much work a child was, maybe she’d realize how much her mother had put into raising both of her children.
A knock startled her, and she put her paintbrush down to go answer. Her mouth dropped open as she saw both her children standing in the doorway. “David, Tiffany, what are you doing here?”
David stepped inside. “Tiffany said she hadn’t heard from you.” Her son peered closely at her. “Mom, you have paint on your face.”
