It turned out that Leonard Novak was indeed a good fit—not that Maury hadn’t been great as well. Leonard learned quickly, was good with the guests and very reliable. The only issue was…He wasn’t Maury Landrum.
I slapped myself mentally every day for being so stupid. I’d let Wheeler, the man I’d thought I’d put out of my mind and heart years ago, ruin my life, and the reality of him and the truth of the friendship I’d thought we had—all of which had been overblown in my head with teenage angst—had caused me to lose something that had been in front of me all along.
Leonard, Sheila, and I dealt with the busy season as best we could. Whenever I went into town to get groceries, I stopped by Maury’s new job, just to see him. He was usually hard at work helping customers, so conversation was im
