Page 34 of After You

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They startedup the sidewalk toward downtown without speaking. Giving Hannah way too much time to think.

Well, Kyle was her ex. Big deal. People had exes and went on with their lives. He was really her only ex. He’d been the first guy she’d ever dated and the only she’d ever slept with or talked about a future with. That was probably why she was having trouble shaking him. It was nothing more thanthat.

Except that it was painfully clear she wasn’t over him. She wasn’t surprised that she still had feelings for him. It wasn’t like he’d done anything to make her fall out of love with him. But she’d hoped to be more over him than she evidentlywas.

And there was also the tiny detail of her ruining everything for him. Some of her feelings toward Kyle were absolutely guilt.

But as they crossed the street that put them officially on the main part of Main and at the heart of Sapphire Falls’ business district, she had to admit that it didn’t seem like she’d ruined everything. Kyle lifted a hand and waved at some of the passing traffic. He had a little bounce in his step. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he started whistling. He seemed the very picture of contentment.

And why wouldn’t he? He was practicing in the clinic in the town he’d always dreamed of. He was here with his family and friends. He was a part of the community.

Okay, so she’d messed up the marriage and family thing. And he wasn’t living in a house he’d designed and built on the ten acres out east of town. But she hadn’t ruined that. He could still havethat.

Just with someoneelse.

And she hated that her heart ached a little with that thought.

“Have you seen your parents?” Kyle asked, seemingly out of the blue, as he raised his arm to wave at yet another friendlysoul.

Hannah shook her head as they hit the final block to Dottie’s. “Not yet. They’re coming over to Grandma’s for dinner tonight.”

“Oh, great. I know your dad is eager to seeyou.”

She snapped her head around to look at him. “What?” He’d talked to herdad?

“Your dad is glad you’re home. He’s eager to see you,” Kyle repeated as if she hadn’t heard him rather than not understanding what he’dsaid.

“How do you knowthat?”

“He told me.” He stopped and pulled the door to Dottie’s open, stepping back for her to precedehim.

Her next question—or twelve—was swallowed up by a chorus of “Hey, Doc!” and “Dr. Ames!” and “Hide the tomatoes.”

You could tell the time in Sapphire Falls inside of Dottie’s without ever looking at a clock. From six to eight, the place was packed. The farmers came in for breakfast after feeding their livestock and before starting their other work for the day. All the main businesses in town, including City Hall, surrounded the square, and everything opened at eight. So everyone stopped here for coffee and news before unlocking their doors and flipping their signs to “open”. At eight, the hubbub died down and the diner filled with retired residents who wanted to linger over their coffee and conversation. The place was usually pretty quiet by ten. And then the lunch rush hit, and the tables were again filled as people grabbed sandwiches and soup and shared any gossip that had happened since eight. Which wasn’t usually much. So they’d rehash old gossip. Or speculate over what the next topic of gossip wouldbe.

That was where Hannah and Kyle would fit around noon today, she wassure.

It was easy to take attendance of the dozen or so people in the diner at this time of the morning. There were three in a back booth who looked to be actually doing something other than drinking coffee and gabbing. The other nine were gathered around four tables that had been pulled together into one large one right in the center of the diner. Six of the nine had been meeting there for morning coffee and gossip since Hannah could remember. It looked like two new retirees had joined them in the past three years. And then there was Levi Spencer. Sapphire Falls’ own millionaire philanthropist.

Levi Spencer was a hard guy to forget once you saw even a photo. Incredibly good-looking, charming, funny…he had itall.

Hannah stared a moment longer than was strictly polite, she knew, but Levi was a sort-of local legend. She’d heard all about him from Alice. He and his brother both lived in Sapphire Falls now, but they came from big Las Vegas casino money. Money that Levi spread around Sapphire Falls and the surrounding area like the farmers spread fertilizer. The money had a similar effect too. There were numerous businesses and charities and restoration projects in the area that had sprung up or grown, thanks to Levi Spencer.

He and Hailey Bennett were actually quite a pair evidently. Hailey had the crazy go-big-or-go-home ideas and Levi had the crazy go-big-or-go-home money. They both loved Sapphire Falls with a passion and they both liked to make a splash.

The table in the midst of the men was covered with coffee cups, two carafes, spoons and sugar packets, and a huge basket of fried green tomatoes. The basket had quickly been covered with napkins and slid behind the collection of coffee cups, but Hannah was sure Kyle had seen it. He’d likely been expecting it. She grinned. Apparently, they didn’t want their doctor to see their morning snack.

Hannah could admit that the tomatoes weren’t the healthiest option for breakfast, but Dottie made some of the best. And they were, after all, tomatoes. And of the nine men around the chipped Formica tabletops, only two were under the age of seventy. Clearly they were doing something right.

Kyle nudged her forward and she took a step deeper into the diner.

She’d known every person in here all of her life, including Dottie and the head waitress Vi—who had been the head waitress and had the same exact hair color and style for as long as Hannah had been alive. Well, except for Levi. But she suddenly felt shy as their collective attention settled on her. And Kyle. She’d purposefully avoided the diner earlier when she’d gone looking for coffee on her way to her grandma’s that morning. She was sure everyone knew she was home. It was hard to even buy a new pair of jeans in Sapphire Falls without everyone knowing what size theywere.

She’d been at the Come Again last night with Kade. But this…this was her first real public appearance. In front of men who were self-appointed guardians of the news in Sapphire Falls. Meaning, the biggest gossips in town. And this time she was without Kade. And withKyle.

“Morning, everyone,” Kyle said, pressing a hand against Hannah’s lower back to move her toward a booth to the right. There was no sense in going too deep into the diner. Everyone would want to talk to them so they might as well stay up front.

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