short months we’d known each other than with anyone, including James. Nick knew all my secrets in the same way Jayson had. I could so easily be in love with him if I was willing to admit it, and at this point I wasn’t.
Rover greeted me upon my return, wagging his tail in welcome. I absently petted his head before I headed toward the stairs. Just as I started up the first steps, Jo Marie rounded the corner with the laundry basket tucked under her arm. She paused when she saw me.
“You’re back early.”
“Yeah.”
“Everything okay?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
“Did you finish getting the classroom ready?”
“Mostly.” I knew Jo Marie was making small talk, hoping to pry what was wrong out of me.
“Nick stopped by earlier this afternoon, looking for you.”
“He found me.”
“You didn’t mind me telling him where you were, did you?”
My hand was on the railing and I was eager to get to my room, although I didn’t know what I would do once I got there. The temptation was to throw myself on the bed and bury my head under a pillow.
“Emily, did I do wrong by telling Nick you were at the school?” Jo Marie asked a second time.
“No…it was fine.” I took three steps up when she stopped me again.
“You look about as down as I’ve ever seen you. You sure everything is okay between you and Nick?”
I nodded. “It’s great.”
Her look told me she didn’t believe me. I expected her to drop the subject, but she didn’t. “He told me he wanted to ask you to dinner. Seemed excited about it. Did you turn him down?”
“Sort of.”
“You going out later?”
“No.”
Jo Marie sighed. “Okay, I apologize if I pried when I shouldn’t have.”
“You didn’t. Nick and I agreed to take a four-month break from each other.”
“You want that?” she asked, looking surprised. The two of us had discussed Nick several times over the course of the summer. When she found me doing an Internet search of PTSD, she found a number of articles on the subject written and distributed by a group of military wives.
“I suggested it.”
“Emily, I think I know why you would do that. I just don’t know that it’s necessary. You really like this guy, and no one needs to tell me how crazy he is about you.”
“Time will tell, won’t it?”
“You’re gonna be miserable all four months.”
It was more of a statement than a question, and she was right. We hadn’t discussed my moving yet, and now seemed as good a time as any to mention it.
“I’m looking to move out soon,” I said. I hadn’t meant to be this abrupt about telling her. It was long past the time we’d agreed I would stay.
Jo Marie accepted the news without argument, as I knew she would. It was time and we both knew it. “Have you found an apartment yet?”
“No…I intend to go out tomorrow and look.” I’d already made an appointment to look. The need to leave the inn was paramount in my mind. My reasons were obvious. I needed to get away from Nick. If he were to take one of his late-night strolls and if I were to hear him, I didn’t know that I’d be able to keep my end of our agreement.
I thought about Jo Marie’s claim that the inn was a healing place. It had been for others and I was glad for them, but it hadn’t been for me.
I started up the stairs, eager now to escape Jo Marie and her questions.
“Emily?”
I paused and looked back.
“If you’re serious about finding an apartment…”
“I am, and the sooner the better.” That sounded ungracious and I hadn’t meant it that way. “Sorry, that didn’t come out the way I intended.”
“That’s okay. I was just going to say that if you like I could make a few calls on your behalf. You might even be able to get an apartment in the same complex where you had a lease earlier.”
The offer was more than generous. “I’d appreciate it.” When I’d signed the original lease the apartment manager had told me I was lucky to find a vacancy in the building because renters tended to stay for years on end. That was one of the reasons the owner had been willing to release me. It seemed there were a couple other people who were interested in the unit at the same time as I was.
Once in my room, I flopped down on the bed, feeling depressed because I was convinced in every