Healing Hearts (Hope River #3) - Margaret McHeyzer Page 0,32

a massive risk, and give Charlie a chance to disappoint me? Would he disappoint me? Of course he will; they always do.

I lift my head, with a sigh, open the door to my car, and slide out. As I walk up the B&B’s front steps, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I take it out, and see Charlie has replied. A huge smile tugs at my lips. When I read his message, the smile instantly disappears. Please don’t message me again.

“Oh, right,” I say. So maybe I was right. He had no intention of being anything more than a fuck buddy. Everything he said, all those protests of wanting more… well his actions have spoken louder than those words. He’s like everyone else.

I slide my phone back into my pocket, and walk into the B&B. There’s a huge lump in my throat, and my stomach is churning with pain.

“Hey, are you okay?” Evie asks when I walk into the kitchen. “You’re so pale. Are you sick? You seemed fine earlier.”

I run my hand over my forehead, then smile weakly. “I’m not feeling all that great,” I reply.

“Did something happen? Didn’t they like the grazing platters?” Evie asks as she wipes down the kitchen counter, having cleaned it while I was out on the delivery.

“Yeah, they did. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It kind of just came on suddenly.”

“I can handle dinner tonight. We’ve only got two rooms booked for today. Cara and I can look after things here if you want to go.”

I try to relieve the pressure mounting at the base of my neck. “Um, you know what? I might go home, and try to get to sleep early. Thank you.”

Evie smiles. “It’s totally fine. Just go home and look after yourself. You’ve been so busy lately, you’re probably just overworked.”

“Yeah, I think that’s probably right. There’s a bath calling my name.” Walking into the butler’s pantry, I take my bag from under the cupboard, and hook it over my shoulder. “Thank you for staying here while I go home.”

She flicks her hand at me. “It’s fine,” she says dismissively, like what she’s doing is nothing. But it is. She’s helping me out, and that means a lot to me.

“Honestly, thank you, Evie. I really do appreciate it.”

She smiles. “You’re welcome. Now get home and look after yourself. Doctor’s orders,” she jokes.

The drive home is short, and Aunt May is in the vegetable garden. She peers up at the car, back to her vegetables, then lifts her head rapidly again. I get out of the car, and Aunt May straightens. “You’re home early,” she says.

“Yeah…” I find myself shaking my head. “I’m not feeling well.”

“What’s wrong?” She leaves the garden, and a chicken runs in front of her. “Get.” She pretends to kick at the chicken, who flaps its wings and scurries away. In all the years I’ve been coming here, I’ve never seen Aunt May hurt any animal. Except, there was that snake once, she calmly walked over with the shovel and chopped its head off. I swear, Aunt May has balls of steel. “So,” she says as she hurries over, slightly out of breath. She places her hands on her hips, then swats at something in front of her face. “You sick, Tabby?”

“I’m not feeling well,” I say.

“You said that, but are you sick?” I look down to the ground, and slowly shake my head. “Then what is it?” Casually, though still without lifting my gaze, I shrug. “Is it the B&B?”

“No! I love it there. It’s great fun, and relaxed. It’s the best job I think I’ve ever had. And Evie and Cara are so good. As a matter of fact, Evie offered to stay and insisted I should go home.”

“So, if it’s not work, what is it?”

Pursing my lips together, I look up at the bright sun in the sky. I watch as one lone cloud rapidly moves across the brilliant blue backdrop. “I don’t know,” I say, although I do.

“Yeah, bullshit.” Aunt May calls me on my lie. “Come on, let’s get inside.” She walks ahead of me, taking off her big, wide sunhat. She tosses it to the side when she’s on the porch, and it lands in her chair. Opening the door, I follow her in. Aunt May washes her hands in the sink before opening the fridge, and taking out her lemon iced tea. Aunt May pours me a glass, and one for herself. She picks hers up, and