Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“You knew I would come to my senses?”
“Hoped,” I clarify.
“How could you even have hope when I’ve already hurt you once?” he asks incredulously.
I lift a shoulder. “You’re a different person today than you were eleven years ago. And…” I hesitate, because this is scraping off the scab and leaving the wound bloody. “The circumstances for doing it are different.”
Trey’s eyes fill with pain as he nods in understanding. “The first time, I stood aside for Wade to have his chance. This time, I let Wade’s ghost dictate my actions.”
I wouldn’t have put it exactly that way, but we’re on the same page. I squeeze his hand. “I will have to say, I thought it would take longer. You can be quite stubborn. Who’s the one who talked sense into you? Fi? Kat?”
Trey snorts, rubs at his neck and gives me a sheepish grin. “Gabe.”
My jaw drops. “You’re kidding. I didn’t think you two even liked each other.”
“Well, let’s just say he’s grown on me a bit, but yeah… he showed up at my house day before yesterday. He said I wasn’t choosing Wade over you, but choosing Wade over myself. And it made me realize… I deserve to be happy. Not saying I still don’t feel guilty about Wade, but I’m going to get through it.”
“You do deserve to be happy.” I put my free hand on top of his, tears filling my eyes. “And I’m so sorry about Wade. You and I never even got to talk about him. We never got to process his death and grieve together.”
Trey scoots his chair over, reaches out and puts his hand to the back of my neck. He pulls me closer and rests his forehead against mine. I close my eyes, focus on the rawness of his voice. “I just couldn’t move past the thought I’d caused him to die.”
“You didn’t—”
“I know,” he assures me quietly, leaning back so he can look at me. “I know, and it’s taken me a bit of time to accept that. But I’m coming to grips with it. What I can’t seem to move past is the thought of a life without you, so coming back to my original suggestion… I’m willing to move here to Zurich if you’ll have me. I love you and I want to make my life with you, wherever that may be.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. “Kentucky,” I whisper and smile as understanding dawns on his face. “I want to go home, and I want us to live our lives together there. I’ll work the printshop or muck stalls at Blackburn or—”
Trey’s mouth crashes into mine, his hand now at the back of my head to hold me in place. But I’m not going anywhere, instead sinking into the kiss that tells me he very much likes my decision to go back to Kentucky.
He stands, pulling me into his arms, and we continue a long, tender kiss, not a care in the world for those watching us. For the first time in a long while, everything feels right. The pain and the guilt are still there, but so is the love, and it’s stronger than anything else.
Trey breaks the kiss, his gaze full of hope. “Let’s go home, Holland,” he says lovingly.
I press my lips to his, smiling as I murmur, “Yes. Let’s go home so we can start over.”
EPILOGUE
Holland
I vow never to take this for granted… the simple camaraderie of family.
We can no longer do Sunday dinner in the kitchen because there are simply too many of us now. With the permanent additions to the table of me, Gabe, Marcie and Sylvie, we’re now forced to sit in the formal dining room to accommodate us all.
That’s okay. As Fi says, “We’re starting new traditions.”
Of course, there’s still one empty seat that we always leave for Wade to join us in spirit.
It’s been nine months since he died and it’s been a struggle for us all, but we’re also persevering.
Laughter rings out around the table, Gabe and Trey poking at each other with friendly rivalry. Fi tilts her head closer to Sylvie who appears to be whispering a juicy secret into her grandmother’s ear. Tommy, Ethan and Kat argue about something to do with horses, but I tune them out because Marcie and I have been chatting about summer vacation plans.
I absolutely need a vacation as I’ve been burning the candle at both ends for months running the printshop.
I’m still not sure if I want to do this for my career, but it seemed like the logical place to start earning money upon my return to Shelbyville. I needed to have money to pay rent, after all, because Trey and I found a lovely house only a few miles from the farm.
Life has been good and even my mother and I have found a sort of peace. I give her money each month that keeps her in the same style of living she had when my father was alive. Her expenses aren’t all that much with the house paid off plus she has the proceeds from my dad’s life insurance, but it has allowed us to ease into a less contentious relationship.