Even though he’d promised he’d be there this morning, Olivia still wasn’t entirely sure Noah would actually be at the meeting with Jude. It was a long ride back from Boston and they were meeting midmorning, so he’d have to leave there pretty early to make it on time. It wasn’t the end of the world if he skipped it, of course. They weren’t doing anything definitive today. This was mostly to see what they would need in order to pursue one of the potential options laid out before them. 

But Olivia couldn’t help feeling like this was going to be the first step in Noah also distancing himself from New Winslow. Which, two months ago, would have made no sense to her. He loved New Winslow. He owned a home here and had built up everything here. His life was here.

But now Andrew was gone. And maybe when Noah had to choose between New Winslow and Andrew this time, he was going to choose Andrew. And it would be his right, of course, and she would be happy for him. But then she’d be here alone.

One catastrophe at a time, Olivia reminded herself as she walked down Main Street. And it wasn’t like she was trapped here either. Sure, she loved New Winslow and her whole life was here too, but that didn’t mean it always had to be. She was only thirty-five, she was still young. If Noah decided to leave and the Limerick didn’t come back in some way, then maybe it would be worth considering her own options. The idea of moving to Boston wasn’t too appealing, but there were plenty of other possibilities. Hell, her mother sometimes talked about getting a condo a little closer to Worcester. So Olivia didn’t need to imagine herself withering away alone out here.

And she wasn’t going to. It was a beautiful day, Mia was at daycare, and Olivia had a few hours to herself before she needed to go get her. If she needed to do this meeting alone, that was no problem. She’d get the information and relay it to the others. And really, she should be happy for them, even if Noah didn’t come back for the meeting. At the end of all of this, they’d found each other again. 

“Olivia.”

Iris’s voice cut through her thoughts and she turned to see the other woman standing outside the general store as she approached. Iris looked nervous and, despite what had happened over the past few weeks, that deep-rooted fear still flared up in Olivia when she saw her. Iris approached her and Olivia resisted the urge to run.

“I just wanted to apologize again,” Iris said, pushing her long blonde hair back from where the warm breeze was tangling it in her face.

She looked genuinely remorseful as she looked at Olivia. Olivia took a deep breath, keeping her hands shoved in her pockets. “I appreciate it,” she said, heart pounding. “I really do. And I appreciate what you did for Andrew. But please, Iris, just leave me alone.”

Iris’s face fell and Olivia couldn’t help feeling guilty. Part of her wanted to take it back and just accept the apology, whether she truly forgave Iris or not. But before that part could shame the rest of her into submission, Iris nodded. “I understand,” she said. “I just want you to know that I really am sorry.”

Without waiting for, or requesting, a response, Iris started down the sidewalk toward her shop, where Olivia had noticed had noticed on her way down here that the windows had been fully repaired. Shaking, Olivia made her way to the general store’s entrance and stopped for a moment to reclaim her composure. Yes, she’d allowed a spirit to possess her twice in order to stop the curse and help the Alderidges find peace. But that had been her choice. The time before Samuel Alderidge had not been her choice and Olivia still couldn’t find it in her heart to forgive Iris for the part she played in that nightmare. Maybe she’d be able to someday, but not today.

But Olivia had other things to focus on, like the future of her shared business. And this beautiful day she was still adamant on enjoying. Once she was sure her hands weren’t shaking anymore, she pushed open the door and went inside the shop.

“There she is!”

Andrew’s voice caught Olivia off guard. Her heart lifted as she looked over and saw him, Noah, and Jude sitting at the table closest to the window, the one where she’d first seen that spirit nearly two years ago.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with a laugh as he stood up and caught her in a huge hug.

“What, miss out on a business meeting on my day off?” he asked her as he finally let go. “Where else would I want to be?”

It was said in jest, but the smile on his face was real. Beside him, Noah looked tired, but happier than she’d seen in a while.

“Cleo sends her love,” Andrew continued. “She’d be here, but she’s actually meeting Edie for breakfast before they leave for Europe again.”

“And she doesn’t actually work here.”

“Well, I suppose that too. But funny enough, that actually didn’t come up when we were talking about it this morning.”

She sat down next to Jude on the other side of the table and after a few minutes of catching up, they began laying out their options as he gave his opinion on each. The commercial kitchen (absolutely not, he had experience with that place and it wasn’t worth the lawsuits he was sure they’d have to deal with), the new location in New Salem (with what budget?), and working out of their kitchen (the most budget friendly as long as all the permits were in place with the town). 

They’d need to figure out all of those permits as soon as possible. Town Hall would be a fun visit, wouldn’t it? Baxter was gone, transferred hospitals and gone to who knew where. But the rest of them were still there, all trying to either cover up or ignore their own roles in what had happened. Olivia glanced at Andrew and Noah and they both grimaced in response. But at least there was no danger involved in that trip anymore.

Andrew laughed suddenly a moment later as they were talking equipment and Olivia looked over at him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just reminded of something,” he said. “This just seems like a roundabout way to get that outdoor kitchen Noah was hellbent on building you.”

Jude laughed too, looking over at Noah, who shook his head with a smile. “It’s not entirely off the table,” he said. 

“I put the land up for sale,” Andrew said suddenly. “It went on the market this morning. It won’t sell for much, we’re not going to make our investment back.”

“Your investment,” Noah corrected.

“We’ll put the money toward getting your home kitchen up to code,” Andrew continued, ignoring him. “It won’t be enough to buy anything outright and it would maybe be enough to cover a year of rent at the New Salem location, but we shouldn’t do that. I need to take some of it for a car down payment, but the rest should go toward getting things set up. We start back up small, focusing on a more bakery takeaway business over a café. People know us, they know our product. And they trust Liv. So we start small and cautious, then expand as we can do so.”

He looked at all of them, waiting for a response. If he was serious, then absolutely. Olivia could absolutely handle that. Noah looked a little lost in that way that was too familiar these days. And Jude was smiling. “I like that plan, honestly,” he said. “I personally think it’s the best option for where you are now. But take some time to consider it, then let me know.”

“We’ll talk to Isabel Rivera too,” Noah said, with a glance at Liv. “Tell us what you need to get started at home, Liv.”

She was already thinking of lists and materials and ovens, trying not to run away with her thoughts as she focused on the meeting at present. “I’ll make a list,” she said. “And I’ll call Isabel tonight.”

Andrew looked quietly triumphant on his side of the table and she knew that it was at least partially because he hadn’t had to fight with her or Noah to convince them to accept his offer. Jude looked around the general store, which was starting to get busy. “I have to bring Sarabeth here,” he said. “This place is incredibly haunted, isn’t it?”

Olivia glanced around, trying to settle the nerves fluttering in her stomach. She was wearing her amulet, but she could see a filmy spirit behind the counter, just behind a display of baked goods. As she glanced across at the other two, she noticed Noah was looking in the same direction, seeming almost afraid for a second until he caught her looking. 

She turned back to Jude. “Oh yeah.”

His face lit up. “Olivia, you’ll have to meet Sarabeth at some point. She’s the best, ask Cleo when you’re talking to her later, which I know you will be. She has a sister who says she can see ghosts. Who knows, it might be bullshit, but…”

The way he was looking at her clearly showed that Noah had mentioned her ability at some point. She didn’t know how much Jude knew and she wasn’t going to open that conversation up right now. But from the way he didn’t treat her like she was made of glass when the topic came up, he either didn’t know about the possession or knew and didn’t let it impact his impression of her. Either way, she appreciated it.

The second surprise came when they stood up to leave about ten minutes later. Jude hugged her, then gave Noah a tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Her eyes darted to Andrew, but he was still smiling. And he accepted the hug that came his way next. 

Once Jude had left, Olivia, Andrew, and Noah stood beside the table. “Where are you going after this?” Olivia asked.

“Home,” Noah replied. “Then dropping Andrew off at the train station after.”

“No car yet,” Andrew said. “And I can’t keep stealing Cleo’s the way I took yours, her job isn’t near transit. But it’s the first priority after, you know, rent and all that.”

Olivia’s car had obviously been declared totaled, but she’d managed to find a used car through her mother’s connections and pay for it with the insurance payout. It was a shitbox, but it was a shitbox that ran. And as the ridiculous creature of habit she was, she almost handed Andrew the keys before remembering he didn’t live here anymore.

Though, by the way he easily walked into her apartment a little while later and settled in on the couch, she was pretty sure he wasn’t really going anywhere.

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CONTINUE TO EPISODE 57

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