It’s only when I go to the kitchen table to take a banana from the fruit bowl that I notice the handwritten note propped up against the vase of wildflowers. It’s then that my good mood swiftly disappears. Is this the ‘thanks for the great fuck but I’m out of here’ note that guys leave when they’ve taken what they want from you?
I sit down and take the note, my fingers shaking because I don’t know if I even want to read his pathetic excuses for deserting me in the middle of the night. But I can’t pretend it’s not happening, and I’d rather know now that he’s not the man I thought he was.
Angel,
I hate that I’ve left without waking you and explaining in person, but time is of the essence and I have to hit the road. I’ve had a lead on Caesar, and I have to act on it to secure his future.
I’ll be gone for a few days, a week at most. Please trust that I’m going to come back and explain everything.
I have Caesar with me, so please don’t freak out when you find the barn empty.
I have so much I want to say to you, but I don’t want to do it here. I need to see your beautiful face when I say it.
Take care and I’ll be in touch when I can.
B x
As I read the note for the third time, I finally let myself breathe. It’s not a goodbye note, but it still raises so many questions. What information has he managed to find out about Caesar and his owner? Where has he gone and why has he taken the dog with him?
I realize I’m not going to get the answers to these questions sitting on my butt, so I leave the note on the table, grab my coffee and banana, and head down to the kennels to get started on the cleaning and feeding. With Brandon gone, that’s going to be on my shoulders again.
The day passes in a haze. I go about the jobs I need to get done, but my mind is elsewhere. At some point in the afternoon, I realize I don’t have Brandon’s phone number. He’s working off the books for cash in hand, so other than getting references for him, I didn’t take any other information. Does he have my number? I don’t ever remember giving it to him. I guess he could call the business number if he needed to get in touch.
Even though I’m trying hard to trust what Brandon wrote in his note, my gut still churns every time I allow myself to think too much about it.
I decide I need a distraction, so I jump in the car and drive into town to pick up some apple turnovers and deposit some cash into the bank. The line at the bank isn’t too long, so I’m done there quickly and decide to walk to the other end of Main Street instead of driving. It’s a gorgeous sunny day, but I can’t really enjoy it. I’m too distracted thinking about Brandon. He’d opened up to me so much last night about his past and at one point while we moved together, I was sure he was going to say he loved me. His face was so open and honest, it looked like those words were on the tip of his tongue. And the weird thing is — they were on the tip of mine as well. It's crazy, I’ve known the man for just over a week, how can I have feelings like that for him? Perhaps I’m just deep in the post-amazing-sex haze and I’m just mistaking mind-blowing orgasms for love.
Completely lost in my own thoughts, I crash straight into someone as I enter Dreams Bakery. We both huff out a breath and a flurry of curses follow as Lou from the auto repair shop juggles the tray of takeout coffees she’s holding.
“Jesus Christ, Jules, look where you’re going!” she snarls, finally getting the cardboard tray of coffees under control.
“Oh Lou, I’m sorry. I was completely zoned out. Did I burn you?” I scan the front of Lou’s overalls to check that she wasn’t drenched in scalding hot liquid.
“No, it’s okay,” she replies sullenly, her hard scowl softening slightly. “How are you doing anyway?”
I cock my head to the side in confusion. I’ve known Lou for many years, but we’re not really buddies. She’s never asked me something like this before, so why now?
“I’m good,” I reply slowly. “Any reason I shouldn’t be?”
A look of confusion crosses Lou’s face. “I mean are you okay about Brandon leaving? I’ve gotta say I was less than impressed when he woke me up at the butt crack of dawn asking if he could rent one of my trucks for a road trip.”
“He did?” I ask. I’d been wondering about that. I figured his truck wouldn’t be magically fixed. Lou has definitely filled in that blank for me.
“Yeah, he had a huge, angry looking dog with him too. I told him if the dog shits in my truck, he’ll be paying for it to be detailed,” Lou huffs. “Anyway, if you hear from him tell him the part for his truck finally came in, so I’ll be working on it over the next few days.”
“Actually,” I say quickly as she turns to leave. “Do you have his phone number?”
Lou cocks her eyebrow at me, and she finally cracks a smile. “The guy’s been working for you, living there, and you don’t have his contact information?”
“Well, we just didn’t get around to it, seeing as he was staying with me,” I reply shyly. God, I must sound like an idiot.
Lou just laughs and fishes her cell phone out of her back pocket. “Put your number in my phone, and I’ll text his number to you when I get back to the shop.”
“Thanks Lou.” I quickly add my contact to her phone and hand it back.
“I know it’s none of my business, but I think you’ve done a number on that guy,” she says as she moves past me toward the door.
I feel my cheeks turn red. “What do you mean?”