She slipped off the white coat she wore home and laid it on the chair near her. Without a backward glance, she shut off the lights as she went out the door, locked it, and went up to her apartment. For the first time in a week and a half, she walked in the door and stripped down as she walked to her bed. Once naked, she crawled in and shivered in the cold blankets.
That was when she let the tears fall and let the sobs overtake her. She knew he would end it one day, but he had done it on a Tuesday. Why did it have to be a Tuesday?
She could still smell him on the sheets. Burying her nose in the pillow, she curled into a ball of pain and let the tears consume her. For one night, she would let the pain of losing Hue overwhelm her. Then she would get back to preparing for the pain of losing the baby she still carried, still wouldn’t admit to herself she desperately wanted.
CHAPTER15
It was snowingbig fat flakes covering everything in a thick blanket, and Hue wondered if it was snowing in Landstad tonight. He knew Amanda loved snow on Christmas ever since she was a kid. He resisted the urge to text her to see if it was snowing there. It had been almost three weeks since he had blown up at her.
The moment his anger dissipated, he wanted to apologize. But when he thought of what he should say, he couldn’t figure out what he would apologize for. After all, it was her who wanted to keep their relationship secret. She was the one who had been so secretive about his mother.
In the three weeks, he had seen her a total of three times. Twice had been in passing, and once had been when he was on a date. Math had set him up with that woman from the bank Tess had wanted to set him up with. With no reason to say no and not wanting to make Math think something was up, he had gone.
The woman was from the next town over, and Hue had seen her around town before, but he had never talked to her. She was nice and friendly, and they had a lot in common, but she wasn’t Amanda. It seemed he wasn’t right for her either because she had been okay with not seeing each other again.
He had taken her to the bar and, of course, Mia and Amanda came in. The date had been a disaster, even before Amanda had shown up, but seeing the pain on her face had sealed the deal. The cousins had not stayed more than a few minutes, but the damage was done. The two of them had departed at the end of the night and had not seen each other since. Neither had wanted another chance.
Now it was Christmas day, and he was at his sister’s house in Fargo, as far from the Nordskov Christmas as possible. He didn’t need to spend an evening across the table from her or even in the same town as her. Instead, he was spending it with Jill’s four kids and her husband’s family. The house was packed, but there was not a lot of fun and laughter, not like Thanksgiving had been. They weren’t even watching the football game because Jill’s middle two had been in a dance recital, and everyone was watching the video Jill’s husband Dan had taken. Again.
He found his way into the kitchen because he didn’t want to watch it the first time—a clip would have been enough. He found his sister busy getting lunch together. These were the times she reminded him of his mom when she was busy in the kitchen. Maybe it was sexist, but the kitchen was where Sally Strong thrived.
Grabbing a pop from the refrigerator and leaning against the counter, he asked, “Do you need help?”
“Not from you. I want everything edible,” she joked.
“I can cook. I have been living alone for three years now, and I’ve survived.” So, he only knew how to read the back of boxes. Who cared? Everything came in a box.
“Barely, by the looks of you.” Jill looked him up and down.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, you’re the one who just watches TV and avoids people. Why did you even come?” Jill dug in the fridge for something. He didn’t help, because she had been mean to him.
“You asked me to come,” he reminded her.
“You rarely come. You usually just go to Math’s house and pretend to be a Nordskov for a day,” Jill pointed out.
“I wanted to spend the holiday with my sister.” Hue grinned at her.
He hadn’t spent a lot of holidays with his younger sister since his ex and her did not get along. He shouldn’t have let that stop him from visiting his family, but he had. Hue was starting to see that his ex-wife hadn’t gotten along with many of his friends and family. Why hadn’t he noticed that when they were married?
“Bull. Something’s up.” Jill set down something a little too hard.
“Nothing is up,” he argued.
“Yes, it is. You’re acting just like you did when Krystal kicked you out. So, I’m assuming it’s a woman.”
“Not a woman.” He shook his head.
“A man?” Jill asked with a smirk.
“Jill, it’s nothing. Definitely not a man.” He rolled his eyes at her.
“No, a woman. Is she from Landstad? Mom didn’t say you were seeing anyone.” Jill leaned toward him in excitement.
Sighing, he said, “Mom doesn’t know, so don’t tell her. And yes, she is from town.”
Jill quit actually making lunch to lean against the counter across form him. “Do I know her?”