Page 39 of His Wisconsin Wallflower
Quinten also watched the police leave with their suspect before turning to Gavin. “Are you okay?”
Gavin nodded, though his shoulders were slumped. “I just… didn’t think it would end like this. She told me they were getting a divorce.” He sank back on one of the chairs. He buried his face in his hands. “Oh God. I love her. Oh. God!”
The other customers had long since gone, leaving only Lila, Raisa, Corbin, Beth, Gavin, and Quinten in the shop. Lila andRaisa had made more coffee and served some of the leftover pies.
Gavin leaned back into his chair with a heavy sigh. “Well, that was… something.”
Corbin rested his elbows on the table and glanced between Gavin and Quinten. “What do you think her motive is? Why would she do something to Vanessa? I thought they were friends.”
“I don’t know.” Gavin ran a hand through his hair, his fingers catching in the dark curls so like Quinten’s. He stared at the floor, and his knee bounced as he tapped his foot in a restless, uneven rhythm. His usual, easygoing expression had become tight, drawn. When he eventually looked up, his eyes were clouded, the spark of mischief that always lingered there now dim and distant. His shoulders sagged under an invisible weight, and he pressed his lips together as if he was holding back words, he wasn’t ready to say. “I’ve been trying to piece it together, but… it doesn’t make sense. Dev and Vanessa were close. Why would she hurt her?”
“You tell us.” Quinten crossed his arms and a muscle in his jaw ticced. “You’ve been seeing her. Did she say anything? Did anything seem off?”
Gavin buried both hands in his hair and frowned. “She’s been… different lately. More on edge. But I thought it was because of Archie, you know? Their marriage has been falling apart. She never said anything about Vanessa. Nothing that would suggest…” He shook his head.
“What about you, Beth?” Quinten turned his gaze to her.
Beth flinched noticeably, then straightened, her usual sharpness returning. “What about me? I didn’t know anything about this. And before you ask, no, I didn’t suspect anything either. Clearly, I’m not the best judge of character.” Her tone was clipped, but there was a flicker of vulnerability in her eyes.
The conversation dwindled after that, the group exchanging theories and half-formed guesses but coming no closer to understanding the truth. One by one, they began to leave. Beth was the first to go, muttering something about having enough for today.
Wordlessly, Raisa let her leave, but a pang of empathy tugged inside her chest. Beth had been snarky, as always, but there was a heaviness to her steps, a weight Raisa couldn’t ignore. One friend possibly dead, another potentially a murderer… the murderer.
What a cognitive dissonance.Like, yeah, try to wrap your head around that.
Once everyone else had left, the shop was too quiet and empty. Quinten lingered by the counter, watching her as she began shutting things down for the day. “I can bring you home,” he offered quietly.
“No, thank you.” Raisa shook her head. “I need to clear my head. I’ll walk.”
Quinten frowned but didn’t push. Instead, he tried to make plans for the next day, suggesting they meet to go over what happened. But she brushed him off, mumbling something noncommittal. Even as he tried to close it, the distance grew between them. She recognized it for what it was. It was self-preservation.
Because the moment Devaney had been hauled out, and Beth had started unraveling, Quinten had gone to her. His touch had been comforting, not romantic. He had just placed a hand on Beth’s shoulder and murmured a few kind words to her. But it had hit Raisa like a gut punch anyway.
She’d seen that tableau before.
Twenty, maybe twenty-five years ago.
High school.
Same boy, same girl.
Beth in tears after a botched test, and Quinten standing tall and noble beside her, comforting her like she was the only person in the world who mattered. Raisa had stood by the lockers with another aced exam, but unseen and feeling like a shadow. Too round, too nerdy, too plain to ever matter in a world that sparkled around girls like Beth.
Now it was happening all over again.
So yes, she brushed him off. Not because he’d done anything wrong, but because she couldn’t bear to feel like that girl again. And maybe because some part of her still believed she didn’t belong in the same story as someone like him.
When he eventually left, the silence in the shop was deafening.
She pulled on her coat and scarf and locked the door behind her. The cold January air was crisp, and her breath left her lungs in spiraling clouds, but she didn’t mind. Hands shoved into her pockets, she walked with her head down. The streets were quiet, and the solitude gave her too much space for her thoughts.
Her chin brushed against the soft wool of the scarf, and her mind drifted to Quinten. He had given her this scarf, wrapping it around her neck with such care.He deserves someone better.Someone like Beth, with her golden hair and perfect smile. Not me. Not little old Raisa.
The wind tore at Raisa’s clothes and made her shiver, and she reached her door, her nose still tingling from the cold. Her thoughts had twisted into a dark pit of self-doubt. She failed to notice Nana standing at the door until the older woman called out to her. “Saw you coming.” With a surprisingly strong grip, Nana took hold of her wrist, pulled her inside, closed the door, and smoothly nudged Raisa into the kitchen.
The room’s warmth wrapped around her like a blanket, the contrast to the frigid outdoors almost overwhelming. Raisa hesitated near the doorway, her boots squeaking faintly on themat. Nana gave her a little push toward the kitchen table, her hands firm but comforting. “Sit down, girl. Let me take care of you.”
Raisa sank onto the wooden stool, still bundled in her coat and scarf. Her limbs were sluggish, weighed down by more than the layers of fabric. Nana moved about, setting a pot on the stove with a quiet clatter. The faint smell of tomato soup began to rise. The first wisps of steam carried a sense of home and something deeper—something safe.
