Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Zoe smiled. “I needed somewhere quiet. And I was curious. Sarah said this place had the best tea in town. Also, I may have needed a break from pretending I know how to decorate hay bales.”
Luke laughed, the sound easy and warm. “Fair. I come here when I need to stop thinking.”
“Thinking about what?”
His smile faded slightly, his gaze dropping to his cup. “Life. The shop. Things that didn’t go the way I planned.”
Zoe didn’t press. She just waited.
After a long pause, he added, “My dad passed away three years ago. Heart attack. Out of nowhere. One day he was yelling at me to stop over-tightening bolts, and the next, I was standing alone in the garage with no idea how to fill the silence.”
“I’m sorry,” Zoe said quietly. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.”
He nodded, fingers tracing the rim of his cup. “He built everything. This shop. My sense of purpose. Even my idea of what it meant to be a man. When he died, I felt... unfinished.”
Zoe swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She knew that feeling—chasing after something that had once felt clear, only to realize you were no longer sure what you were even running toward.
“My mom died when I was a kid,” she said softly. “Breast cancer. I was eleven and Sarah was seven. My dad threw himself into work. Big career, big goals. And I guess I tried to do the same when I got older. Be so successful it made the grief worth it. Spoiler: it didn’t.”
Luke looked up then, eyes meeting hers. Something passed between them—raw, simple, and human.
“Maybe that’s why you’re here,” he said. “Not just to get away. Maybe you’re trying to remember what enough feels like.”
Zoe didn’t speak for a moment. She just looked out of the window, at the little street of Willow Creek, where nothing was urgent, and everything was present.
“I think I forgot how to be still,” she said finally. “How to just... feel something without spinning it into a checklist. Sarah was the opposite. She went to college here and stayed.”
Luke reached across the table then, not touching her, but close his hand resting palm-down near hers. “Stillness takes practice.”
Their fingers didn’t meet, but the space between them buzzed with something she had been craving for a long time.
Elise returned with the tea and scone, interrupting the spell. Zoe blinked, leaning back slightly. Luke sat upright again too, but his eyes lingered on hers a second longer.
As they sipped their drinks, the conversation shifted to easier things—Granny Mae’s insane pie recipe, the time Luke accidentally welded his keys to a workbench—but something had changed.
Zoe wasn’t just a visitor anymore. Not to him.
And maybe not to herself, either.
Chapter 6: Tension Builds
The sky was overcast, clouds hanging low like they were waiting for the right moment to break. Zoe sat on the front porch of the cottage, cradling a mug of lukewarm coffee in her hands. She’d meant to enjoy the stillness, maybe even read that book Sarah had given her weeks ago. But instead, her phone vibrated for the third time in ten minutes, each buzz clawing at the edge of her peace.
She sighed, finally giving in. The screen lit up with a familiar name: Kristen – VP Strategy.
Zoe hesitated—then tapped the green icon.
“Zoe! Thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you. Listen, we’re in the middle of a mess. The analytics pitch you prepped, the client wants a revision by Monday. And the regional team in Europe is expecting you to hop on a Zoom in an hour. Think you can make that happen?”
Zoe closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Kristen, I told everyone I was taking a short break—”
“I know, and we totally respect that,” Kristen cut in, her voice anything but respectful. “But no one else understands the material like you do. This is just a quick pivot, Zoe. Then you can get back to your… cottage or cabin or whatever.”
Zoe bit back a sharp reply. “Fine. I’ll send the revised slides tonight.”
“Perfect. Knew I could count on you.” The call ended with a chirp, and Zoe sat there, blinking at the now-black screen.
Her pulse thudded beneath her skin. The ache in her chest, the one she had almost forgotten during long walks, late-night talks, and Luke’s quiet smiles—came roaring back. She was slipping again. Slipping into a version of herself she had come here to escape.
She threw on a jacket and stuffed her laptop into her bag, already regretting the decision.
By the time she reached Sweet Bloom Flowers to borrow Wi-Fi, her jaw was tight with frustration. She barely noticed Sarah’s raised eyebrow as she muttered something about needing to work for a few hours. Zoe locked herself in the storage room and didn’t emerge again until evening, her shoulders stiff and her mood even worse.