Chapter 27
GABE
I’m close enough to hear the offer the wife makes.
To see the temptation flash across Drew’s face right after the surprise.
Then, the shock takes over, and she’s blank. These last few weeks haven’t been easy on her, but she was just starting to relax.
All four of us have been waiting for her, and now we seem stuck in the wave of this bomb the wife just set off.
Daisy is the one to swoop in again, taking Drew by the arm and luring her back toward us.
The wife stills. Out of place. And so much more mournful than when she first approached Drew.
Adam and Greyson move in on Drew as soon as she’s close enough.
I want to join them, but I also don’t want to overwhelm her.
She takes their gentle touches with eyes glittering from unshed tears.
A pang drives deep into my chest. I’ve always hated seeing her cry.
I don’t get the chance to swoop in and keep them from falling because Daisy shoos Adam and Greyson off then turns to me, saying, “I’m taking her home. You guys can handle the festival without her.”
Not a question.
I’m glad Daisy is able to step in for her sister now.
She hadn’t been able to as much when they were children.
She had her own expectations to fight against in their home.
I nod and watch them go.
Now, it’s the waiting game. And by god, I want her to come to me when her sister is done having her say.
While I wait, I approach the wife, who’s hugging herself and looking lost. “Hey.”
She blinks at me, and I don’t have to wonder how she sees me. The tattoos, the leather, I get it. “Are you staying at the Lodge?”
Recognition breaks, she’s seen me there. “Yes.”
“Why don’t I get someone to drive you back?”
She nods. “Thank you.”
I wave Jacob over, one of my shift leaders, and hand her off to him before stalking around the festival.
I could have driven her myself, but I doubt she wants my broody intimidation.
I wouldn’t have been able to ask the intrusive questions swimming around my brain.
Like, Why would you offer her that job back? Why now? Don’t you see she’s better off here? That she’s finally breathing again?
And the worst one—Don’t you see she’s in my arms again?
No, it’s better to save us both from that conversation.
Everyone else at the festival has gone back to enjoying it as if nothing’s happened.
As if my world’s not about to implode on me again.
As if Drew didn’t just have a life-altering conversation with the wife of the man she’d loved and lied to her.
My heart is aching by the time I make it back to Adam and Greyson, they’re both still hovering together as if they’re waiting for me to have this much needed talk.
Adam runs a hand through his hair, still staring after Drew as Daisy leads her away.
His jaw ticks, and I can tell he wants to storm after her, drag her back, and make her talk.
It’s what I want, too.
“She needs space,” Greyson says. He’s seen as many of her darker days as I have. She needs the quiet to process before we come in and press her about her feelings.
Adam shakes his head immediately.
“No. Not space.” His voice is low, sharp. “She doesn’t need us pulling back right now. She needs to know we’re here. Always.”
He exhales, shoulders tight. Adam’s cocky facade is cracking.
Maybe I misjudged his intentions toward her.
“But…she needs her sister first. We’ll get our turns.”
Greyson whistles under his breath, a half-smile tugging at his mouth. “Our turns, huh?”
Adam doesn’t flinch. “Yeah. Our turns.”
For once, I don’t feel like arguing. It’s probably a good idea to let Daisy unravel part of that trauma.
But none of them know her like I do.
I walk through the festival, seeing Drew’s touch everywhere.
The new structure of the booths to create clear paths through so that everyone can get equal space and attention.
The decorations she and Greyson worked on last week. Ones that I helped bring and set up.
She’s missing the reveal of Alice’s sculpture. It’s the thing she’s been the most excited about seeing. I’ll have to bring her back to see it in the morning, if she’ll let me.
I meander, my insides churning harder with every minute she’s absent. All this work, and she doesn’t even get to enjoy it.
Instead, she’s probably curled up in Daisy’s bed, twisting her hands together to keep her tears at bay. I hate not being there for her.
As the twinkling lights start blinking out one strand at a time, my mind whirs with calculations.
What kind of things could Adam, Greyson, and I come up with to make her job a permanent one.
To keep her here in a way that gives her purpose.
Because I’m certain my wanting her to stay isn’t enough. It wasn’t last time.
Maybe we need to let her go if that’s her decision.
Because calculating ways to keep her here doesn’t seem right.
It’s selfish.
She’s not some project to fix.
Some customer to soothe.
She’s Drew. My favorite person in this world.
I don’t want to stand in the way of what she wants.
Even if I desperately want her not to go.
People are filing out of the square, and I snap into movement, letting my mind go blank to everything but my tasks, helping close booths, stabilize everything for the night, and prep it for easy opening in the morning.
The distraction doesn’t last, and when I get home, it’s late.
My shower infuses me with some of the heat I’ve lost, but my center is still cold.
Like I’m missing an integral part of me.
Settling myself on the couch, I wish Greyson goodnight and stare blankly at the television.
The house smells faintly of cedar and wood smoke when Drew slips in.
Her hair’s damp from the mist outside, eyes puffy from crying.
She doesn’t say a word, just folds into me on the couch like she’s been holding herself together too long.
Warmth blooms in my chest as I wrap my arm around her and pull her in tighter to my side.
I let the silence stretch, but it’s our usual kind. The one that’s a comfort for us like it used to be.
Her leg drapes over my knee, her head settles on my chest, and she nestles into me. I close my eyes to soak it in.
But I need to talk to her, too.
I smooth my hand over her hair, long and silky brown strands that slip easily through my fingers. “What did she say?”
Drew exhales, a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. “She offered me my old job back. Said there’s still time if I want it.”
There it is. The thing that’s been gnawing at me all evening.
I keep my voice stable. “You want it?”
She hesitates. “It’s stable. I know the job. I’m good at it. It pays well.”
I try to keep the huff out of my voice. “And you’ll be back with all of your friends.”
Drew flinches against my side. “I didn’t really have any…but I also don’t want to keep starting over.”
My arm tightens around her, and her hand squeezes my side to lean into it. It’s hard to not let it give me too much hope.
“You’re not starting over. You’re building something new. There’s a difference.”
Her fingers twist in my shirt, and the tension inside her means she’s fighting her emotions. I drop a kiss on the top of her head.
“It doesn’t feel new. It feels temporary. Like I’m just home to visit.”
I swallow hard. You could stay. The words burn the back of my throat, but I don’t let them out. Not yet.
“The Lodge won’t have events year-round. Once the holiday crowd leaves, there won’t be enough work for me to stay on full time.”
“We’ll find something,” I say automatically.
Drew shakes her head against my chest. “You always think you can fix everything.”
“Not everything,” I admit. “Just the things that matter.”
Her head tilts back to look up at me, her dark brown eyes getting prettier every time I look into them.
“But, do you understand what that means? Living in my old room at my parents’ house, working at the bakery during the off season? There’s not much for me to do in Pinebrook.”
If I didn’t know that I would scare her off, I’d tell her the solutions to her problems are easy to fix.
Move in with me.
Stay.
Let me love you.
“I’ll help you figure it out, if you let me,” I murmur into her hair.
“I know you will. But not tonight.” She sinks back into my side, and it has to be enough for right now.
Drew is here, in my arms.
As she settles, exhausted from the whirlwind of the day, I do what I do best. I hold her, her stalwart anchor to this town.
It’s a long time before the words fall from me in a whisper. The ones I can’t hold in any longer. “I want you to stay. With me.”