Page 5 of Home Between Homes

“I know it’s not my place,” Jack said, scrutinizing the banana as if you needed special permission to buy them in Seastone. “But I recommend a bigger haul today. The perceptions of the blizzard are getting darker by the hour. Tomorrow, everyone will be here because chances are high that we will be snowed in for Christmas.”

My eyes ping-ponged between him, the bananas, and my basket.

He waved his hands defensively. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you what to do.”

If what he said was true, it probably wasn’t the worst idea. And if not, buying enough food for a few days would mean fewer trips here, which was just as good.

“You’re probably right,” I replied, grabbing a bunch of the green bananas.

Jack laughed nervously. “Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” He held up his grocery list. “I still have a lot of work to do.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He pushed his cart past me. “Good to see you again. The offer to hang out still stands.” He gifted me another smile. “If we’re not snowed in, that is.”

Without waiting for an answer, he waved at me and strode off. I stared after him, catching one last glimpse of his yellow jacket and, who was I kidding, his ass.

Maybe hanging out with him wasn’t the worst idea. It was refreshing that he offered but didn’t pressure me to make any plans right away. Maybe he would be the one to understand why I couldn’t keep working as a vet, even with the degree in my pocket.

I shook off that thought as more people flooded the aisles behind me. I had to finish this first. There was enough time to go through all the things I could imagine doing with Jack once I was out of here.

Fifteen minutes later, I had grabbed more stuff than I could fit in the basket—just in case. My haul included general stuff that could be used for a variety of meals (like pasta, bell peppers, onions, a butternut pumpkin, eggs, potatoes, and tomatoes), toast, cheese, bananas, the net of tangerines Jack had decided against (because it was the last one), a premade sandwich for dinner, and a bunch of chocolate and cookies. If I was going to be dog-sitting on Christmas Eve, I might as well have some sweets. On my way to the cash register, I also found some dog biscuits that might come in handy if Maggie was as stubborn about letting me give her the ear drops as Mr. McCormac had told me.

When I got back to my car, Jack’s truck was gone. I threw the groceries in the trunk and hurried to my seat. In the twenty minutes I was away, the car had already cooled down to the outside temperature. I started the engine to get the heat going and rubbed my palms together.

“I need some warmth in my life, don’t I?” I asked as if someone was there to answer that question. I took a deep breath. “I should call Jack or text him. It’s not like I have anything to lose,” I tried to encourage myself. It might be a stupid idea, sure—especially since I wasn’t interested in meeting him justbecause we knew each other from a distant past—but nothing in my life would change for the better if I locked myself away.

My eyes darted around.Where had I put his card?My hands reached into my jacket pockets, but it wasn’t there. I leaned over the center console and opened the glove box.His card had to be here somewhere.I searched the storage space in the center console, my pockets again, and even under the seats.

This had to be a joke.

Was this really how it was supposed to go? To be teased by the universe to grab a straw, and as soon as I decided to do so, the opportunity was gone?

I searched my car for another ten minutes, but it was no use. His card was gone.

TWO

IN THE CLOUDS

A snowflake landedon the windshield as I parked in front of the McCormacs’ house. It stuck to the glass, showing off its starry beauty before it melted. Slowly, more and more fell to the ground, not like the blizzard they had predicted, but like a poem.

I sat there for a minute, watching the frozen stars disappear as soon as they landed on my car. My head rested on the seat, the backrest not offering much comfort. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I’d just missed my chance to reconnect with Jack the moment I’d decided to go for it.

It was ridiculous. I had even spent ten minutes searching the Internet, but nothing had come up. It was as if he never existed, and everything had just happened in my head.

I pulled my scarf over my mouth and climbed out of my car. Even though the town looked painted—with snow covering the houses, streets, and roofs—the cold air made it hard to enjoy the view. I rushed to my trunk, grabbed the groceries, and headed inside.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, the sound of paws scuffling on the hardwood floor made me look up. Maggie’s tail was wagging left and right as she welcomed me home. Well, itwasn’t really my home, but it would be for a few days, so I might as well treat it like it was.

She scampered around my feet, her head constantly eyeballing the paper bags I had placed on the floor. I patted her, but of course, as soon as I let go to untie my boots, she stuck her nose in the paper bags to make sure I bought the right things.

“Do we need to talk about this, young lady?” I said, steadying myself on the shoe cabinet to my right.

Maggie pulled her nose back out and barked, looking at me as if she had done nothing wrong, and that was the way it always went.

“If you behave, I might even let you in on the secret that there issomethingin there for you, too.”

Maggie barked again and ran into the kitchen.

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