Page 55 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

As I came down the hallway from the back door, I found her in her office. Her shoulders were hunched over a list. Her eyes were rimmed with red as she sniffled. She’d heard me open the door and was trying to hide her tears.

“Hey,” I said as I leaned on the office door.

“Hey. I didn’t think you’d be in this morning.” She swiped her cheek with the back of her hand, then went about shuffling a stack of papers. “Thanks for taking care of everything while I was gone. Looks like things went well. I’ll get all of the cleaning supplies from your list before we open today. Anything else you need?”

“No, that should do for now.” I stepped into the office and went right around to her side of the desk, perching myself on the edge. I held out a hand, waiting for her to place her palm in mine. The moment she did, the tears came back.

“Sorry.” She swiped at them with her free hand, but they were falling too fast.

“Don’t be sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

She shook her head, pulling herself together. That was one thing about Thea: if she did cry, it never lasted long. “We’ll be fine. It’s not like we didn’t know this would happen. Logan lives in New York. We live here. It’s for the best to end things now before it gets even harder.”

After their trip to New York, Thea and Logan had decided to end the relationship they’d been testing ever since he’d found out about Charlie earlier in the summer. His job as a prominent lawyer and philanthropist for his family dictated he live in New York.

But with Thea’s history there and her desire to raise Charlie in a place where she’d flourish, they needed to be here in Lark Cove.

So Logan and Thea had sacrificed their happiness together, knowing it was best for their daughter.

It had been a huge relief when Thea had called to say they were back. A part of me, a big part, had expected her to tell me they were staying in New York. I’d expected to be left behind.

But they came back, and while I was so damn happy, they were sad. After the relief subsided, the guilt settled in because my happiness was at the expense of their misery.

It wasn’t right.

“It’s no secret I wasn’t happy that Logan showed up.”

She scoffed. “Really? I hadn’t picked up on that.”

I grinned, glad she wasn’t too upset to still tease me. “But I’ll give the guy credit. He did the right thing by not forcing you to move to New York.”

“I almost did,” she whispered. “It was so tempting. But being there was . . . hard. Harder than I thought it would be. And it just wasn’t the right place for Charlie.”

“I missed you guys when you were gone,” I told her. “Things weren’t the same without you around.”

That was an understatement, but I didn’t want Thea to feel bad for leaving. She didn’t need to know how lost I’d felt the day they’d left for New York, wondering if they’d come back. She didn’t need to know how scared I was that I’d lose yet another family.

“We missed you too.”

“I know I acted like an ass when Logan showed up. I was pissed things were changing because of him. But I should have been more supportive. I guess it took you guys leaving and the scare that you might not come back to realize I was just worried about myself. I felt like my family was slipping away and I didn’t handle it well. I’m sorry.”

She squeezed my hand. “It’s okay.”

Maybe it was them leaving that had opened my eyes to what I’d been missing in my life, but if Thea wanted to be with Logan, I wouldn’t stand in the way. He wasn’t the enemy I’d made him out to be.

“I’m glad you’re home,” I told her. “But if you do decide to move, know that I’ll be here for you. I just want you and Charlie to be happy. Hell, I’d even come out and visit.”

Thea pulled her hand from mine and stood from the chair. Then she threw her arms around my shoulders. “Thank you. But we’re not going anywhere.”

I hugged her back. “Good.”

We stayed like that for a few moments until she patted my back and sat back down. “I’d better get back to work.”

“Yeah. And I’d better get going. I’m heading over to the camp to hang with Charlie for a while.”

I’d seen them briefly the day after they’d come home, but we hadn’t really had much time together. I’d missed Charlie too and was just as worried about her as I was Thea, maybe more. Leaving Logan had been hard on her little heart. I hoped some time to just play and laugh and do the things she loved most would make her smile.

“She’ll love that. She really missed you and Hazel while we were gone. I’m sure she’d like to spend some time with you.”