30. Jami #2
“But,” she continues. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe he didn’t text because he wanted what was best for you? That sending you to Toronto, giving you space…maybe it was his way of letting you choose, without forcing you.”
“I guess. Lord knows he’s had so many people walk out of his life, unable to handle the small town.” I sniff. “Not everyone can handle that life.” I think about the things Brody told me. “Some grow to resent it.”
“Maybe he was trying to avoid the kind of resentment that makes people leave.”
I blink at her, mind spinning. “His family… I think his mother wants him back with Elise.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Really? That seems a little hard to believe, don’t you think? Are you sure that’s what she actually wants, or is that just the story you’ve told yourself to explain everything?”
I hesitate. “Well… no. Not really.”
“Then maybe you don’t know what Brody wants either.”
My mind spins, replaying moments I’d buried under fear. Brody giving me space. Encouraging me. Never once telling me what to do. All the things we did say…and everything we never did.
Oh God.
Did I make a horrible mistake? Did I walk away from the best thing that’s ever happened to me? From the place that finally felt like home?
A hiccupping sob claws its way up my throat. “Lauren…”
She moves closer and I collapse into her, pressing my face into her shoulder like I’ve done a hundred times before. She rubs my back. “What do you want, Jami?” she asks. When I don’t answer right away, she adds, “You need to figure out what you want.”
“I know what I want,” I say suddenly, my voice stronger, surer.
She pulls back just enough to look at me. “Yeah, you do, and because of that, I am sure everything is going to be okay.”
My chest tightens again, but this time it’s fear mixed with resolve. “How? How do I fix this? I just ran. Just like everyone else in his life. People have left him. Left his town. I’m everything he’s ever expected of me.”
God, how could I have been so wrong about everything, and will he even talk to me, after I ran away, like so many others he’s cared about?
Lauren grips my hands. “Then go show him you’re not.”
The words settle deep, igniting something fierce and urgent inside me. Just then my phone pings and I snatch it from my bag. I fumble with it, and read the message on my screen.
Jaxon: I need your help here. The social. We’re really short-staffed now. Can you please come help me until I get on my feet?
“Is it Brody?” Lauren asks, her eyes hopeful.
I shake my head, a burst of panic surging through me. “No… it’s Jaxon. He said he needs me back in Churchill Falls.”
“Did he say why?”
My fingers fly over my phone, texting him back before I can overthink it. I read the message again, my stomach tightening. “He… he needs me to help him… until he gets on his feet.” Lauren gives me a confused look and I hurry on to explain, “Oh… he slipped. ACL surgery.”
“Ouch,” she mutters.
“I… I have to help him. He was there for me when I needed someone to help me get back on my feet.”
Lauren’s lips curve into a sly grin. “Perfect, then.”
“Perfect?” I echo, a little wary.
She grabs my hands, tugging me to my feet. “Yes. This is your perfect opening. Now you can go back… and talk to Brody.”
A flicker of fear curls inside me, and I shake my head. “What if—”
“Jami,” she interrupts, sensing the hesitation.
“This is exactly it. Go back under the guise of helping Jaxon, even though technically you are helping him, but if Brody is distant… if he’s with her…
it doesn’t look like you’re chasing something that was never yours. You’re showing up on your terms.”
I nod, a little breathless. “Right. That… that is the perfect plan.”
Lauren picks up my suitcase and bag, handing them back with a grin. “As happy as I am to see you, you need to go. Go home, Jami.”
Home.
The word hits me like a punch in the chest. My stomach twists, and once again I ask, “What if—”
“What if I’m right about everything?” she interrupts, grinning. “I think you’re going to find exactly what you’re looking for.”
I bite back a laugh, heart thrumming, as a bubble of excitement builds inside me. I call an Uber, clutching my bags like they’re lifelines. Once inside, reality sets in—I need flights, connections, and a lot of prayers that I don’t end up on a cargo plane again.
The next few hours pass in a blur: phone calls, confirmations, frantic check-ins, and a quick stop for caffeine. I finally manage a flight to Deer Lake, where I have to overnight it, and now I’m aboard a Dash 8, flying toward Churchill Falls.
I peer out the tiny window, watching the world shrink beneath the plane. Here I am once again headed to the coldest place on the planet.
Fine. Not the coldest place.
Not really.
But okay.
My phone buzzes. It’s Jaxon letting me know he’s headed to the airport to pick me up, and then we’re off to the pickleball social.
A pickleball social.
On the polar ice cap.
Fine. Not literally the polar ice cap.
But okay.
I can’t stop a grin from spreading across my face. Every chaotic flight, every panicked connection, every moment of fear—it’s led me here. I feel like I’ve come full circle. Except this time, I know the lay of the land. I know who my brother’s best friend is, and this time, I’ve come with a plan.
But wait…Jaxon.
Am I going to ruin everything?