Fifteen

The front door opened and closed and Haven glanced up.

A man had walked in—young, maybe in his early twenties—tall, with sandy blonde hair, broad shoulders, and a square jaw. He cast a glance around, his eyes meeting Havens, who immediately tensed.

"Sorry, got caught in the storm."

Haven relaxed. "Happens all the time."

He flashed her a grateful smile and Haven's heart lurched, though she wasn't sure why. There wasn't anything dangerous she could sense about him. Nothing that made her nervous. Except that he was a guy who was easily a whole head taller than her.

"There's um, a restaurant if you're hungry or want something hot to drink," she added, rolling the pencil between her hands.

"Ah, thanks," he replied, pulling his gloves off and stuffing them in his pocket as he started past her and into the dinning room.

Haven let out a shaky sigh. Alone once again, a smile crept onto her face.

"What are you grinning about?"

Haven jumped, her grin intensifying as Sarah walked in despite how hard she tried to wipe it away. "Nothing, I'm... finishing my shopping list. Can I take your car?"

"Of course."

Haven chewed her lip, trying to think of something she could go get or check that would take her through the dinning room. "I'm just gonna go get a snack."

Sarah nodded, glancing over the list of guests who had checked in that morning.

Haven stood up, running her fingers through her hair and trying to keep her gaze casual. Pretending to look for something, she cast a quick glance around the dinning room. That guy had taken a seat at one of the corner tables in the back, a book splayed out on the table and a notebook beside it.

She almost ran into the door, but managed to catch herself in time.

"You okay?" Holly asked.

"Yeah. Just... getting a snack," Haven murmured, her face growing hot. She grabbed a few granola bars from the panty and started back out. Her gaze once against flitted to the young man. He chanced to glance up and out the window, his eyes clashing with hers for just a second. He smiled.

Haven looked away, darting out of the dinning room. Sarah was still at the front desk so Haven quickly grabbed her raincoat and bag and started out the front door. The cold air felt good against her hot skin. She jumped in Sarah's car and managed to get both the grocery shopping and her school shopping finished in just over an hour.

Parking in the back by the kitchen as she could so she could unload the groceries, Haven grabbed as many bags as she could carry.

"Need any help?" Holly asked.

"Nah, I got it. This is the last." Haven said, setting the last of the bags on the counter and beginning to unload them. "Do you know if Clementine's awake yet?"

"Not that I know of."

Haven breathed a sigh of relief. She'd had a hard time going down for a nap, crying and almost going so far as to throw a fit.

Quickly getting the groceries put away, Haven then hurried back outside and moved Sarah's car back into the garage. Slinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing the paper bag with her school stuff inside, she started up the front walkway. Already her mind was spinning with thoughts about school. She was excited, for sure, but also a little nervous. She'd never been to school of any kind before so she wasn't sure what to expect.

Hopefully it wouldn't be too much and she'd be able to—

Haven sucked in a breath, almost running into someone on his way out the front door. The same guy from earlier.

"Sorry, my bad."

Haven stumbled back, though she managed not to drop either of her bags. "No, it's—sorry, I wasn't... looking."

He waved a hand. "Me either."

Haven managed a shaky smile, finding it difficult to maintain eye contact. She started back inside.

"Great place, by the way."

"Thanks. It's... it's not mine, I just work here."

The guy shrugged one shoulder. "Seems like a great place to work."

Haven nodded, barely smiling.

"I'm Jim, by the way."

Haven hesitated. "Haven."

"I'm in town visiting my folks and will definitely be bringing them back for an actual meal."

Haven nodded. "Cool."

Jim smiled again before starting down the drive and disappearing.

Starting back inside, Haven chewed the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. She lightly cleared her throat, shaking her head.

"Get everything you needed?" Sarah asked, still working behind the desk.

"Yep. I'm gonna go put it all up stairs and get Clementine and we'll get started on dinner," Haven said as she started up the stairs.

Clementine was in Haven's bed, awake, and looked as though she had just stopped crying.

"What—? Have you been crying for an hour and a half?"

Clementine nodded.

Haven tried not to sigh, knowing there was no way Clementine would make it through the dinner service now. "Why didn't you go to sleep?"

Clementine shrugged, another tear rolling down her face. "I wasn't tired."

"Yes you are, sweetheart, you're so tired. I don't know why you fight going to sleep," Haven said, setting her things down and then leaning over the bed to rake a hand through Clementine's hair.

"I wanted to go with you."

"You're not supposed to get out of bed," Haven said gently, smoothing the hair away from Clementine's face.

"But water was coming in through the window," Clementine murmured through tears.

"Oh and you got up to close it?"

Clementine nodded.

Haven's heart shattered at the image of Clementine standing at the window and watching Haven get into the car and drive away, crying and calling for mommy. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Clementine murmured. She rubbed her eyes.

Haven reached for her, picking her up and then sinking down on the bed so she could put her shoes on. "Do you still want to help with dinner?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay but you can't start crying when you get board."

"Okay, I won't," Clementine nodded. She jumped down from the bed once Haven finished tying her shoes, taking Haven's hand and walking with her down into the kitchen.

"So uh, who was that guy you were talking to?" Sarah asked as she walked in 20 minutes after Haven had started the prep.

Haven lost her hold on the plates she was stacking and almost dropped them. Heat climbed to her face when they loudly clattered on the counter.

Clementine laughed.

Sarah almost laughed.

"Um, what?"

"That really cute, tall blond g-u-y that was in here not that long ago?"

"He was just... a guest. I don't know. And his hair's more brown than blond," Haven stammered, shaking her head. At Sarah's silence, she dared to glance at her, her cheeks burning even more when Sarah wiggled her eyebrows. "I was just being nice! You always say I could be a little more social."

"I've just never seen you get all... flustered."

"I wasn't... flustered. Here, Clementine, you start kneading the biscuits."

"Okay, Momma."

Haven glanced over at Sarah, shooting her a look. "It's... I was just trying to be nice, okay? It's not like anything could even happen," she added.

"Oh?"

Haven paused, arching her eyebrows. "Besides obvious reasons?" she asked, cocking her head towards Clementine. "What guy in his right mind who's my age is going to want... an instant family?"

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"

"Probably. But there are certain things I know, so why bother getting all invested in something?"

"What things do you know?"

Haven chewed the inside of her cheek, struggling for words.

Sarah pressed her lips together. "Well, regardless, that doesn't mean you can't make friends."

"Did you make a friend, Mommy?" Clementine asked, pausing. There was flour up to her elbows and covering the front of her dress.

"No." Haven smiled. "I mean... not yet. Maybe. I don't know. Make sure that's nice and mixed up."

Clementine nodded, yawning. "Okay."

"I wouldn't mind making a friend." Haven said slowly. "Not necessarily Jim, I might never see him again, but... I mean he just seemed nice."

"Jim?"

Haven inwardly grimaced. "Yeah, I think that's what he said his name was."

"Mm. Nice name."

Haven shrugged. She cleared her throat. "So, I've been thinking for the past few months about maybe going to school. There's one like five minutes from here, and they had an online program so I could still work here and run the kitchen."

"I didn't know you wanted to go to school."

"Well I haven't said anything because I wanted to think about it and figure out if I actually wanted to. But I think I do."

Sarah looked impressed. She smiled. "That's amazing; I'd definitely encourage you to do it."

Haven relaxed into a smile. "Really?"

"Totally. And, if you're comfortable with it I'd also encourage you to do at least some on campus classes. It's a whole other experience and, speaking from personal experience, so much fun."

Haven shifted her lips, the idea making her smile. "Maybe one or two... here or there."

"Have you looked at class schedules?"

"Yeah, the summer session starts next month and I picked out a few classes I thought I could do at an accelerated level."

"All online?"

"Yeah. Although this one, the math class, is also being offered in what they're calling a hybrid. So two days there, the rest of the week you do the work at home."

"Are you doing to do the online one or the hybrid?"

"Well I was planning on doing the online... maybe I'll do the hybrid?"

"It's up to you, I don't want to push you to do something you're not comfortable with, but I think a math class would probably be easier with a professor you can see and talk to face to face."

Haven nodded, a combination of nerves and excitement mixing together in her stomach. "So... I'll register?"

"You have to apply first, I think."

Haven flushed. "I uh, already did. And I got in."

Sarah laughed. "You really do want to do this. You're excited, I can tell."

Haven grinned. "Maybe a little. Okay, I'm gonna register."