Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“P lease stop moping around. You’re upsetting the cows,” my brother says playfully as he leans up against the fence I’m perched on.
“I’m not moping,” I respond defiantly. “I’m just thinking.”
It’s true. Ever since leaving Emma’s house, I keep racking my brain for what to tell Blake. I know I don’t want to move to Wisconsin, and I know I don’t want him to put off school any longer. I’m just not sure where to go from here.
“I thought you’d be spending all your free time with Fisher.”
I give my brother a side eye and slump my shoulders over. “You know.”
“Of course, I know. Did you two really think you were being sneaky? You should know secrets don’t exist in a small town,” he says, finishing with a wink.
“And you’re not . . . mad?”
My brother stares back at me for a second and slowly blinks at my accusation.
“No, I’m not mad. I know I was an asshole when we were kids, but the truth is I was afraid of losing you both. It was always the three of us until I felt more like a third wheel,” Chris admits, adjusting the baseball cap sitting on his head. “I also didn’t like the thought of Fisher sticking it to my little sister, but at the end of the day, I know he’s a good guy. Or at least he tries to be.”
“I miss when we were kids. Everything was so much less complicated back then. Now we have to act like adults and make hard decisions.”
Chris’s ears perk at the last part of my sentence. “Hard decisions?”
“Blake asked me to move to Wisconsin with him,” I admit to my brother. I feel like I need a second opinion before I make a tough decision.
“That’s a—a big deal. Is that something you want?”
Want is such a funny word. I want a lot of things, but it’s not that simple.
“I want to be with Blake, but I don’t want to leave the farm or Emma or you. I feel like I’ve missed so much, and I don’t want to make the mistake of running away again.”
Chris takes a rectangular metal object out of his pocket and tips it to his lips. He offers it to me, and I take a long swig of my own. The unforgiving taste of cheap whiskey hits the back of my throat and I wince.
“Fuck, that’s strong.”
Chris chuckles at my reaction and I shove the flask back into his hand.
“Listen, Wren. I don’t want you to go, but you need to think about what’s best for you. Have you guys talked about doing long distance?”
I go silent. Of course we’ve danced around the idea of long distance, but I’m scared our relationship is still too fragile to put through something so difficult. I believe that Blake has changed, and we can make it work, but there’s still a tiny voice at the back of my head telling me to be cautious. This is our second chance, but what if it is also our final chance? I’m terrified of the thought of losing him forever.
“Yeah, we have. I’m just worried it’ll end like it did last time.”
“It could. But if you ask me, it seems like you keep finding your way back to each other. Hell, if I wouldn’t have hurt myself this summer, you two might’ve never been stuck together,” he says shaking his head.
“You’re right. But why would fate put us back together just to pull us apart again?”
“Everything happens for a reason. You were meant to lose your job this year and move home. You were meant to reconnect with friends and family at a time when your life was at a crossroads. And you were meant to see your first love again. Even if you and Blake don’t work out, there may be a reason. Sometimes you just have to let go and stop fighting it.”
“That was super deep. I forgot how weird you get when you drink whiskey,” I chide, punching Chris in the arm. “Anyways, I’m not fighting it. Whatever it is.”
“Wren, you have this impeccable ability to fight against the current of anything. You moved to a city even though you belong in the country. And you moved away from your friends and family even though this is where you’re the happiest. Hell, you even pretended like you hated Blake these past six years when you know you didn’t.”
I hate when my brother is right. I had been fighting against the current for a long time and I’m tired. Maybe it’s time to quit hiding myself away until things get easier.
“You’re right,” is all I say while I stare blankly at the pasture ahead. “There’s a small part of me that thinks it’ll be easier just to let Blake go. I want him to go to school and become the man I always knew he could be. I just don’t know if that’s possible if I’m still in the picture.”
Chris laughs to himself before taking another swig.
“Wren, you’ve spent your entire life watching Blake grow up. If you’re not one hundred percent in now, then I don’t think you ever will be. If that’s the case, then I’m sure Ashley wouldn’t have stuck by my side all these years,” Chris chuckles to himself. “You don’t have to go through this life alone and you shouldn’t have to.”
Chris’ words echo through the air, and I begin to wonder if his flask contains more than whiskey.
My brother has grown up a lot since I’ve been away, but I’m still waiting for a joke or quirky line to lighten the mood. Still, I can’t ignore the fact that he’s right.
I want to be with Blake, and I couldn’t care less if he still has a lot of growing to do. Hell, I still have a lot to do myself. It’s going to be hard, but this time I’m not turning my back on him. And I’m not going to let him turn his back on me.
“I’ve got to go,” I say as I hoist myself off the fence.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take your advice,” I smile.
* * *
I whip Blake’s truck door open and scramble for his glovebox. The small drawer is filled to the brim with discarded receipts, tools, and other junk that I sift through. Suddenly my eye catches on the glimmer of a silver chain and I pull it. There at the end is a simple yet elegant diamond sitting on the edge of a gold band.
My pulse quickens and a sob threatens to unleash itself from my throat. I quickly undo the chain and drop the ring in my hand. Before I know what I’m doing, the ring slips effortlessly on my ring finger. It fits perfectly.
The sound of a throat clearing pulls me from my daze and I turn around to see Blake standing in the driveway with his arms crossed. I blink away the water that’s beading up in my tear ducts.
I wasn’t planning to look for the ring, but my emotions guided my feet to Blake’s truck and soon I was digging through his glovebox. Part of me was hoping the night I’d seen the ring for the first time was a hallucination. I couldn’t believe he’d kept it all these years.
“Emma told you about the ring,” Blake says bluntly.
“Yeah,” I answer as Blake’s eyes drop to the diamond perched on my finger. I yank the ring off, feeling the red-hot laser beams of his gaze. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snooped.”
“It’s fine. I should’ve told you about it at the diner. Honestly, I was worried you’d think I was crazy for keeping it all these years,” he says while he shuffles side-to-side nervously. “It’s always been a symbol of hope though. Hope that you’d forgive me, and we could be together again.”
I swallow hard and clench the gold band in my hand. “I don’t think you’re crazy.”
Blake smiles at my response. “Well, I was crazy for thinking a ring would solve all our problems. I’m kind of glad Emma stopped me.”
“I would’ve said yes,” I blurt out without thinking.
It’s true. Eighteen-year-old Wren would’ve done anything to be with Blake. Whenever I pictured myself walking down the aisle, he was always the face I saw at the end. I still do, but the aisle has more obstacles now.
“I know,” he says bowing his head. “It’s weird to think how different things could’ve turned out, but I wouldn’t change a thing. We found our way back to each other in the end.”
He’s so damn sweet , I think to myself as my heart begins to hum to life.
“Blake, I can’t move with you to Wisconsin,” I force out in one single breath.
His entire face sinks to the ground with a few simple words and I squeeze the ring in my hand, hoping to shield myself from his disappointment.
“I know you can’t, Wren. It just doesn’t make sense and I would never ask you to give up your new business. You’re creating a home for yourself here and you can’t leave all that behind.”
A weird pang begins to echo in my gut, and I can’t help but feel a longing when he says the word home . Honey Grove will always be my home, but will it feel the same without him here? I slip the ring in my back pocket where it can safely sit for now.
“And I would never ask you to stay,” I practically whisper in response.
I search for an answer to where this leaves us in Blake’s face, but it’s almost unreadable. For once in my life, I keep my feet planted to the ground. I’m not leaving until we figure this thing out.
“Blake, I’m not going to lie. I’m scared,” I admit as I take a step forward. “I’m scared of setting ourselves up for failure again and most importantly, I’m scared of losing you for good.”
At some point, my steps land me a few inches away from Blake.
“I don’t know if I’ll end up hurting you or you’ll end up hurting me, but I will spend the rest of my life heartbroken over you just to give this thing one more chance.”
I end my sentence by lifting his hands to my hips. The contact sets my body on fire, but I ignore the need to pull him close.
“I want you to know that just because I’m not ready to move doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to make this work. Can you feel how steady I am right now? I’m not going anywhere.”
Blake’s broken frown comes back to life and tilts up into a smile. My heart races when the corner of his eyes crinkle in what I hope is happiness.
My comfort is soon replaced with dread when Blake lifts his hands from my hips and heads toward the house. My mind races and my forehead crinkles in confusion.
“What the hell?” I whisper to myself and turn to follow him to the house.
Something mixed between rage and insanity courses through my veins. I’m not letting him walk away again.
I begin to stomp up to the house with every curse word under the sun ready in my arsenal when I see him emerge from the front door. Without thinking, my mouth starts running. “Listen here, you . . . you idiot! I just told you I’m not going anywhere, and you walk away? I don’t care how good you look in those damn jeans, I’m not putting up with this.”
Before I can register what is happening, Blake’s long legs carry him across the driveway and back into my arms. He takes me in his arms in pure passion and presses his lips to mine. The kiss literally takes my breath away and when he finally pulls back, I have to push him away to regain my footing.
“What the?—”
Before I can finish my sentence, Blake answers, “I don’t have to move to Wisconsin.”
Still in a complete state of shock, I barely register the envelope resting in his hands. He lifts it up to my eyeline and gingerly places the letter in my hands.
My eyes quickly scan the acceptance letter, and I can feel a familiar warmth radiate through my body.
“This school is in New York,” I say when I skim the acceptance letter again.
Blake reaches out and lowers the letter from my eyesight.
“I was planning this very romantic surprise to tell you, but of course, you had to go and ruin it,” he says with a wink. “It’s about an hour away from here.”
“This is crazy. What about Wisconsin? I don’t want you to give up a good opportunity just to stay close to me.”
A smug smile returns to Blake’s face as he continues to hold me.
“It is a good opportunity, but that isn’t why I wanted to go there. I wanted to go there for the same reasons you left Honey Grove, but I don’t feel that way anymore. I already have a job lined up and this school has everything I need. I finally have everything I need in one place, and I would be crazy to leave. This town is my home. You’re my home, Wren.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want you to regret staying here because of me,” I say, cracking the door open for old insecurities.
Blake’s hand caresses my chin and pulls my eyes to his.
“The only thing I regret is walking away six years ago. I’m not letting you go again, Wren. I love you.”
His words vibrate through my body like a second life and my heart is ready to burst from its cage. Those three little words have been on the tip of my tongue since Blake found me caked in cow shit at the beginning of summer.
“I love you, Blake.”
Blake’s eyes seem to glow from within and he pulls me in for another earth-shattering kiss. When he pulls away, my heart stops as his hands trail toward my ass. My excitement is short-lived when his hand slips into my back pocket.
“Oh shit. I forgot about the ring. I was going to put it back, but?—”
“Relax, Wren. I want you to keep it.”
Nerves bundle up in the base of my stomach and my pulse quickens.
“Blake, I’m flattered, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” I say as I step away and look at the ground.
I’ve known I’ve wanted to marry Blake Fisher for most of my life, but I’m not going to rush it. I also feel the weight of Emma’s failing marriage on my shoulders, and it isn’t the right time.
I look up and Blake’s eyes are still shining brightly with the ring perched in his hand. “Jesus Christ, Wren, do you really think I would propose like this? I really thought you knew me better than that,” he says, beaming across from me.
My face mirrors him and I step back into his embrace, glad to be back in his warmth. “Okay, what do you want me to do with it then?” I ask with a slight attitude.
“Well,” Blake begins as he wraps his arms around me. “I’m not sure if we’re too old for promise rings, but you can wear it until it’s time for us to take the final jump.”
My ears perk up at his declaration.
“I think I like that idea,” I agree and melt into his presence. “I’m going to wear it around my neck though. You know I’d never hear the end of it otherwise.”
“You’re right. I wonder what Honey Grove will think once they find out about us.”
“I don’t really care,” I say as I squeeze him tighter. “I’m finally home and that’s all that matters.”
THE END