Page 60 of The Cinnamon Spice Inn (Maple Falls #1)
FIFTY-THREE
ZACH
Zach should have been freaking thrilled. The job was done. The inn was complete with two days to spare. He could go back to the farmhouse full time—which, by the way, was coming along beautifully.
Zach was back at the farmhouse, sanding the front porch.
It was a perfect fall day—bright blue sky, trees blazing in gold and crimson.
The scent of apples still lingered in the air.
The fruit was riper now, like cider. The weather reminded him of the afternoon Madison had stopped by and they had snuck off into the orchard.
He shook his head, not letting his thoughts go there.
A breeze rustled the cornfields nearby, the sound just soft enough to make a person feel like the world had quieted down for a minute. But none of it settled him.
The only sound Zach cared about was the rasp of the sander, a low mechanical buzz that ate away the old wood. He worked it over and over the same spot until it was raw.
Zach was still fighting with the way Madison had dismissed him. One moment, she’d been lying in bed next to him, and the next, she’d got a phone call with that job offer—and she was gone. Just like that. Ignored texts. Clipped conversations.
The whole attitude pissed him off more than anything. Maybe if he held onto that anger, he could get past the hurt. Get past the blame. Be angry with himself for letting Madison get close to him all over again.
Zach fought with himself to quit thinking about Madison and focus on the work that needed to be done.
The inside of the farmhouse was even more put together. The kitchen cabinets were in, the flooring, the new appliances. The living room was repainted, as was the master. He had to gut two of the bathrooms and the bedrooms upstairs, but he wasn’t in a rush. Not anymore.
What’s the point if she’s not going to be here? he thought.
Zach pushed harder, sanding the deck until his arms ached. The pain felt nice, in a way. It distracted from the ache in his heart. The more exhausted he got, the more detached he felt.
Zach glanced up in time to see Liam coming down the driveway. He got out of his truck and shut the door.
“What, no beer this time?” Zach ribbed him.
“I don’t know. The way you’ve been up here alone, I was worried I might find you with a bottle of Jack sitting on the porch.”
“You know that’s not my style.”
“Not usually. But Madison has a way of screwing with your head.”
“Gee, thanks,” Zach replied with a half-hearted chuckle and continued focusing on the railing.
“You keep going like that and there won’t be anything left.”
“If you’ve got something to say, why don’t you just go ahead and say it?” Zach said, turning off the sander.
“I’m just wondering why you haven’t talked to her. Why you’re not even fighting for her?” Liam asked, tucking his hands into his pockets like it was just a casual conversation about football.
“Why should I have to go after her?” Zach snapped. “She knows how I feel.”
“Does she? Have you told her?”
Zach looked off into the trees, past the orchard, down toward town. It was miles away. He couldn’t see it, but he knew she was there.
“I just think the two of you should talk. And for what it’s worth,” Liam said, holding up his hand to stop Zach from interrupting him, “I’d tell her the same thing.”
“I don’t know,” Zach deflected. “Maybe I should just sell this place. Head west. Work on someone else’s fixer-upper.”
“You’re seriously thinking of leaving town?” Liam looked genuinely shocked.
“A change of scenery might be nice. I’ve lived in this town my whole life. Maybe it’s time I saw what else is out there. Maybe Madison’s onto something.”
“Or maybe you should just talk to her,” Liam said, turning and heading back to his truck.
If Zach had thought that would be the last of his visitors, he’d be mistaken because not two hours later, he looked up to see Madison driving up to the farmhouse.
Zach’s heart stopped as he watched her through the front window, navigating the turn into the driveway. He steeled his resolve. So, she had finally found the courage to come and end things once and for all.
God, part of him wished they never had to have this conversation—that it was never going to come to this. But it was better this way, rather than another silent falling apart. He told himself he’d listen to what she had to say, thank her, and get on with it. No point dragging out the inevitable.
He didn’t approach her. He waited for her to come up as he stood watching from the living room window. Madison seemed to take in everything—the porch, the new windows, the fresh paint. He’d done so much work since she’d been there. The house looked like a different place.
Madison’s eyes softened, and just that one look made his heart do the same. If only it were enough , Zach thought to himself.
She knocked on the door and opened it, not waiting for him to answer. Zach stood there, sawdust on his jeans, sleeves rolled up, trying to pretend like he was focused on the built-ins in the living room.
“Didn’t expect to see you,” he said, turning back to hammer the boards into place, his expression unreadable. Or at least he hoped it was.
Madison continued to look around the room.
Zach wondered if she noticed that the farmhouse walls were painted in her favorite light gray, or that he had built a cozy nook by the window where she could read her recipe books.
Or even the fact that he’d put a hook by the door for her keys.
He had built this house—remodeled it—for her.
Zach wondered if she realized that while she was pulling away, he was still there, building this for them. Again, he felt like the biggest idiot on this side of the Mississippi. There was something about this woman who twisted him up, made him do stupid things. Dream of the unattainable.
Madison visibly swallowed. “I didn’t know you were making this our dream house.”
So she did notice.
Zach shrugged. “It’s just a house, Mads.”
“It was never just a house.” Madison’s eyes filled with tears. “Listen… can we talk?” Her voice was soft.
“Why? What’s the point?” Zach asked, tossing the hammer onto the shelf. “You’re leaving, right? New York’s calling.”
Madison opened and shut her mouth, unable to speak.
Zach ran a hand through his hair. “I heard you on the phone, Mads. I’ve been trying not to ask because I already knew the answer.
And then you pulled away. You didn’t even give me the decency of a conversation, of trying to figure things out together.
I thought I knew you better than that. I thought you cared about me more than that.
But maybe I was always second to New York. ”
Tears trailed down her cheeks, but Zach didn’t hold back.
“I thought if I made this house perfect, if I built something solid, you’d have a reason to stay.
I thought if you knew how much I loved you—because dammit, Madison, I love you—I thought that would be enough to make you stay.
I thought building a life here, carrying on your family’s legacy…
that you wanted that as much as I do. But one phone call and you drop me. Christ.”
“I do want that,” Madison said. “I just… I can’t have it. And I don’t know how to make you understand. There’s just so much that you don’t know. Zach, I?—”
“And how am I supposed to know if you don’t talk to me? You don’t tell me anything, Mads.”
Madison just stared at him like she was about to burst into tears.
This wasn’t how Zach had thought this would go. He’d thought he’d give Madison a chance to talk, a chance to tell him the truth. He’d fight to stay calm. Rational. Because that’s the kind of guy he was.
But not now. Not in the heat of the moment when everything exploded out of him in a way he’d never expected.
He pressed on. He had to. “I know you’ve made your decision, and you’re headed to New York in a few days.
I was willing to give up everything here and go with you this time, but you shut me out.
You don’t want a relationship with me, I get that.
I love you, you don’t love me. I just think the way you went about it is pretty damn awful.
So, unless I’ve got it wrong, I think we’re through. ”
Zach turned and walked out of the living room, through the kitchen, and right on out to the backyard. He didn’t stop until he reached the apple trees.
It didn’t take long to hear Madison get in her truck and drive away.