Page 34 of A Magnolia Move-In
It almost made me feel guilty. Fiona seemed to want us to be friends, but I wasn’t sure I was in the mental state to do so. What if I couldn’t give her what she needed? What if I failed her like I’d failed so many in my life?
We fell silent as we ate. Anna brought us our drinks, and I sipped on mine while Fiona did the same with hers. She seemed content with sitting in silence, but it was eating me alive. Fear gripped me harder than it had in a long time.
“Does it hurt?”
Fiona’s question snapped me out of my spiral. I looked up to see her nodding at my leg. I glanced at it for a moment and then shook my head.
“It did at first. But not anymore.”
Fiona took another drink of her coffee. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”
Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. It felt nice to hear that. Jackson was very much a problem solver. But to have someone reach me out to me this way felt wonderful. Putting aside the fact that my hormones were out of control because of the pregnancy, I guess I just didn’t realize how much I craved female interaction. She was filling a void that I’d tried to convince myself didn’t exist.
“Thanks,” I whispered when her hand reached out to cover mine. She had this look in her eyes that made me feel as if she really understood what I was going through.
It almost made me want to allow myself to be vulnerable.
Almost.
“I was thinking that we could stop by the hardware store after this,” she said as she pulled her hand back and picked up her coffee to take another sip. “I’d love for you to meet Clementine. And after that, we can head on over to inn. You’ll love Maggie.”
My throat tightened at the mention of all the people she wanted me to meet. I knew that Fiona was trying to behelpful. She probably saw me as a woman in desperate need of friendship.
She wasn’t wrong. But I needed to be careful. I could only take so much mental stress. At the moment, I felt as if my emotions were going to explode.
“Okay,” was all I could muster.
After we finished, Fiona gathered up our garbage and tossed it in the trash. Then we said goodbye to Anna as Fiona pushed me out of the coffee shop. After a short ride through downtown, she pulled up alongsideMagnolia Hardwareand turned off the car.
It didn’t take long before I was in my chair again and Fiona was pushing me into the hardware store. The bell above the door chimed as we walked through.
“I’ll be there in one second,” a voice from deep within the store called out.
“It’s just me, Clem.”
There was a pause, and then a woman with long brown hair and a soft smile emerged from one of the aisles. “Me?” she asked before her gaze fell on Fiona and her smiled deepened. “Hey, girl.” Her gaze flicked down to me.
I hated how out of place I felt. To everyone in this small town, I was a new person. In a big city, people came and went. Nobody bothered to learn the name or history of people walking into a store. The likelihood of seeing them again was next to nothing.
But here in Magnolia? I’m sure it was an oddity to see someone you didn’t grow up with, or at least you knew their parents. I doubted anything was kept a secret here.
“Clem, meet Naomi.” Fiona took a step forward, so I could see her wave her hand from Clementine to me. “Naomi, this is Clementine.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
She closed the gap, extending her hand to me. “Nice to meet you, too.” After we shook, she took a step back. “Wow.” Her gaze ran over me again. “Jackson’s sister.”
My cheeks heated under her stare. I knew she wasn’t doing it to be mean, but I wasn’t used to being paid this much attention. It was…daunting.
Her gaze flicked to my leg. “How’s the healing going?”
Not sure what to say to that, I just nodded. “Good.”
“Clementine runs the dance studio here. That’s probably why she’s asking,” Fiona explained.
Clementine looked sheepish. “Right, yes. Sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I don’t mind people asking.”
