Back on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #4)(73)

“Oh, Alix, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said, rejecting Colette’s sympathy. “Anyone looking at the two of us could see it was a mistake.”

Colette didn’t buy that for a minute.

“I was living in a fool’s paradise,” Alix went on. She climbed up on a stool while Colette prepared a pot of coffee. After a few minutes, the rich, tantalizing scent drifted through the small office.

“I’m not the right woman to be a pastor’s wife,” Alix said. “Thank goodness I recognized that before it was too late.”

Colette was stunned. “But…”

“I didn’t mean to disappear,” Alix was saying.

“Where were you?”

Alix stared down at the hardwood floor. “I took a few vacation days and went to see a…family friend. Then, yesterday afternoon, I started looking for someplace to move. I applied for a few other jobs, as well.”

“But why?”

When Alix glanced up again, Colette winced at the pain in her eyes. “I can’t stay around this neighborhood with Jordan here. It would hurt too much to see him nearly every day and I would, you know.”

That was true enough. Colette had run into Jordan at the French Café a number of times. Even if he and Alix made an effort to avoid each other, it would be almost impossible.

“I figure I need to get away from here,” Alix concluded.

Colette felt like weeping. Alix was her friend, one of the best she’d ever had, and couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. Trying to remain calm—or at least appear that way—Colette leaned casually against the side of the desk, hands behind her, ankles crossed. “You and Christian’s aunt are the only people I’ve told about the baby,” she said. “And do you know why that is?”

Alix met her gaze and after a moment shrugged. “You and I work out together—or we used to.”

“No,” Colette said flatly. “I knew you wouldn’t judge me. In fact, you told me that yourself, and you were right. I could talk to you when I couldn’t talk to anyone else. You listened to me. You cared and you didn’t make me feel guilty or stupid.”

Alix bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered and her voice cracked with pain. “That means a lot to me. But the wedding is off. Jordan and I agreed a few days ago to cancel everything. The only reason I’m here now is to take care of business before I find a new job and someplace else to move.”

“Does Jacqueline know about this?”

“I haven’t talked to the Donovans yet.”

“Have you decided where you’re going?”

“No,” she said, “but that’s not a problem. As a kid I changed neighborhoods more often than a moving van.”

Colette dredged up the energy to smile. So Alix was going to run away. Well, she’d been on the run, too. And what she’d learned in the last months was that the person she was running from was herself. Not Christian, not her circumstances, but herself.

Alix was quiet for several minutes. “Susan doesn’t think I’d make Jordan a good wife and she should know.” Alix tried to make it sound like a joke, but Colette wasn’t amused. “You have to admit she’s more of an expert on this than either Jordan or me.”

“I don’t agree.” Colette rested her hands on her hips, struggling not to reveal her irritation. “Don’t you understand how comfortable you make people feel?” she asked. She turned around and grabbed two mugs from the shelf. She filled them with coffee, handing one to Alix. “You’re the perfect wife for Jordan and if he hasn’t figured that out, he isn’t half the man I thought he was.”

Tears glistened in Alix’s eyes as she cradled the steaming mug. “You’re a good friend.”

“I’ll be shocked if Jordan lets you leave the neighborhood. He’s smart enough to know what he has.”

Alix put her coffee down on a nearby worktable and sniffed. “I wish that was true.”

“Alix, are you here?”

The sound of Jordan’s voice obviously shocked Alix and she slipped off the stool. Eyes wide, she cast a pleading look at Colette.

“Alix!” he repeated.

When she didn’t respond, Colette stepped out of the office. “She’s in here.” If Alix looked unkempt, it was nothing compared to Jordan. He must’ve slept in his clothes, because everything he had on was a mass of wrinkles. He hadn’t shaved in days, and his hair stood on end.

Jordan entered the small office, standing squarely in the doorway. Alix realized she was trapped and Colette saw the panic cross her face.

“How’d you know I was here?” Alix demanded, her voice angry and defensive.

“A friend of mine saw you. He came to get me,” Jordan told her.

Alix had backed all the way up against the wall.

“Alix!” Jordan’s entire body sagged in relief. “Alix, for the love of heaven, where did you go? I’ve been sick with worry. I called everyone I could think of…. I didn’t know what to do when I couldn’t find you. No one—not even Jacqueline or the people at the café—knew where you were.”

“I spent a few days at your grandma Turner’s.”