Page 18 of Chasing Forever

The rest of my nerves melted away. “It’s good to see you too. Wow. Look at you!”

She brought her hands to her stomach. “Yeah, I’ve kind of popped since I last saw you, huh?”

I let out a laugh. “You could say that.” If my calculations were right, she was only around seven months or so, and I couldn’t help but wonder how big the baby growing in her already was.

“Yeah, well, blame Connor,” she grumbled, speaking of the father. “He failed to mention he was a huge-ass baby when he was born.” Well, that explained it. “I’m trying not to think about how big this kid’s head already is, because every time I do, I freak out.”

I reached out and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure everything is going to be fine. And just think, at the end of this, you’ll get to hold your perfect little bundle in your arms. I doubt you’ll even think about how much he or she weighs then.”

“You’re so right. But enough about that. Why don’t we head upstairs and get this interview started? Though, now that I’ve put a face to the name, I’m confident it’s only a formality at this point.”

She shot me a quick wink before starting back up the stairs, and a rush of excitement filled my chest.

It tookeverything in me to maintain a modicum of professionalism as I walked out of the lodge and to my car. I barely managed to yank the door open and close myself inside before the excitement exploded out of me in an ear-piercing shriek.

I got the job.

Igotthejob!

Some people might have thought it was ridiculous to be so excited over a job in housekeeping, where I’d be cleaning guest rooms and cabins, but I didn’t care. I felt a sense of accomplishment I desperately want to share with someone.

I rummaged through my purse until I unearthed my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I got to the one I wanted. It rang twice before the person on the other end answered.

“Hey, honey. What’s up?” Blythe greeted.

“Hey. What are you up to right now?”

“I was just about to start a load of laundry,” she said, and I felt myself start to deflate before she added, “but if you have something better in mind, count me in. And I hate laundry so much, I’d consider a visit to my gynecologist better, so you won’t have to work too hard to convince me.”

I let out a laugh, my chest feeling lighter than it had in a really,reallylong time. I’d enjoyed my job at the doctor’s office because it provided an escape from the nightmare I was stuck in at home. But a dark, ominous shadow always hung over my time there, reminding me that my escape was only temporary.

But this was different. There was nothing to escape from this time around. No cloud blocked out the light of what I’d achieved today.

“Well, I had a job interview today for a housekeeping position at Second Hope Lodge.” She sucked in a breath, and I could practically feel the anticipation pouring off of her through the speaker. “And I got it!” I yelped.

Blythe let out a loud, whooping cheer. “Oh, my God. Merritt, that’s incredible! I’m so happy for you.”

Her excitement on my behalf made my eyes begin to sting, but I managed to keep the happy tears at bay. “Thanks.” I chewed on my bottom lip as I battled a sudden wave of nerves in order to get out what I wanted to say next. “I was calling to see if maybe you wanted to meet for coffee to celebrate with me?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I would! I need to change out of my ratty house clothes. What do you say we meet at Muffin Top in about an hour?”

My smile was so big my cheeks started to ache. “That sounds wonderful.”

Chapter Eleven

Merritt

The sun shone through the windows of Muffin Top, the coffee shop in town that served the best pastries and coffee, hands down.

Whether you were looking from something sweet or savory, flaky or dense, Muffin Top would have a pastry for you, and it was guaranteed to be one of the best things you’d ever tasted. It had been one of my favorite places since first moving to Hope Valley years ago, but early into my relationship with Warren, he started making little comments about how maybe I’d want to lay off the sugar and carbs because my clothes were starting to look a little tight.

Of course, he’d framed it in a way where he’d been looking out for my best interest. That care and concern started to get a little crueler the longer it took for him to get what he wanted, but instead of seeing the insults for what they were, he gaslit me into believing he was right to be upset with me for not listening to him, because he wanted me to be healthy so we could live a long, happy life together.

Muffin Top was one of the many things I lost in the years I was stuck in that marriage, and as I sat at the little bistro table by the window, drinking a perfectly sweetened cup of coffee and splitting a cranberry-orange sconeandlemon-poppyseed muffin, I felt like I was taking back yet another piece of myself he had stripped away.

“You know, it’s actually kind of kismet that you called when you did,” Blythe said after taking a drink of her coffee. “I was actually about to reach out. I still have a few bins of clothes that Avett’s outgrown. What I kept is still in great condition. Some of them still have tags on them. Tristan mentioned Levi could use some new duds, so I was going to call and see if you guys wanted to go through them and pick out anything he might want.”

That warm feeling in my chest returned, only this time, it bloomed and began to spread, spanning out and traveling down my arms until the tips of my fingers began to tingle with it. And once again, I had to fight against the burn in the backs of my eyes. The sad fact was that I wasn’t used to people being nice, and the Fanning siblings’ kindness was like a one-two punch.

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