Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Keri
“These need to be dry-cleaned. And the ones in this bin need bust and hip alterations. Hard to believe how skinny and flat-chested I was as a teen. My grandma always said I didn’t blossom until senior year.”
Madison giggles. “I hear ya. I, on the other hand, blossomed in fifth grade.”
“No…”
“Oh, yes. I was five foot eight and the only girl wearing a woman’s size bra.”
“Wow, that must have been hard on you.” I keep pulling pageant dresses out of the final bin.
“Boys back then were scared of me. But they eventually caught up.”
Madison stopped by my office earlier to give me my junk mail and two phone messages.
One claimed I needed a business loan, and the other was a wrong number.
When I filled her in on our trip to California and our Beauty and the Beast plans, she wanted to see some of my gowns firsthand.
I brought her upstairs to my empty apartment and pulled out the bins.
She lifts a purple gown from the pile I’ve started on the bed. “Oh, Keri. This one would look spectacular at the beach just before a summer storm, don’t you think?”
I eye the eggplant dress and remember it well. Strapless, with a sweetheart neckline and chapel train. I can picture the dark material billowing in the wind, salt and sand in the air, angry clouds rolling above the churning Atlantic.
“It’s giving off Wuthering Heights vibes. You’re absolutely right. You have a great eye, Madison.”
She waves me off. “I used to love fashion when I lived in Atlanta and worked in corporate.”
“You don’t love it anymore?”
“I do, but it’s not practical with a young son while working on a farm. Now I think of fashion like flowers—lavender in spring, daylilies in summer and fall. The daylilies are amazing now. Maybe ask Adam for shots in the fields at their peak. Do you have a cream or orange gown?”
“Orange?” I laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever worn orange except on Halloween.” I rifle through a bin. “Aha! But I do have this light apricot.” I hold up the pastel gown with a thigh-high slit. “I had to beg my grandma to make it so I could show a little leg with this one.”
Madison nods and points, her pretty face twisted with humor. “You mean a lot of leg! Girl, how old were you when you wore this one?”
I hold the fabric up to my body and stand in front of the full-length mirror attached to my bathroom door. “I was eighteen. Totally legal to show my legs off back then.”
“I’m going to need to see some pictures.”
“I’ve got some in a photo album somewhere. And that’s a great idea. Adam could get a better visual of each dress without me having to try them all on.” My phone vibrates on the nightstand, and I reach over to pick it up, my mouth instantly morphing into a huge grin. “Speaking of Adam.”
“I’ll let you two talk. I gotta get back to George and Joey. I promised them cookies from Miss Jenny’s.”
“Yum! Thanks again for holding down the fort for me.”
“Anytime.”
As Madison clicks the bedroom door shut, I answer my phone. “Hey, handsome. Did you get Molly picked up?” Silence falls on the other end, making me wonder if the call dropped. “Adam?” I wait, then hear him clear his throat.
“I’m here. And yes, I’ve got Molly.”
I frown, uncertainty replacing my earlier cheer. “Great. Do you still want me to pick up dinner at Mr. Garcia’s before I head back to the house?”
“Ummm. Sure. But I’m not going to be able to eat with you.”
“Why not?” I ask, sitting on the edge of my bed with a thump. My muscles tighten as I brace myself, uncertain if I want to hear his reason.
“Because I have to head back to California. Someone made an offer on my property. A significant offer. Double the asking price. I have to go back. It’s an all-cash offer with a quick closing.”
“You don’t have to go tonight. I work in real estate, Adam. Even all-cash closings take seven to fourteen days. You have plenty of time, and you can even sign the papers digitally now. Things have changed.”
“No… no.” His voice sounds husky with emotion over the phone. We’re interrupted by the call-waiting beep. “It’s Roxy calling. Let me call you right back.”
“Okay.”
He hangs up without saying goodbye, leaving me with more questions than answers. I stare at the phone, unsure what to do next.
On the street below my window, a group of people spills out of the Tipsy Daisy on the corner.
The low bass notes of a rap song from a passing car’s open window boom and then fade away.
A train blows its horn in the distance. The entire world keeps moving as I sit and wait for Adam to call me back.
We’d barely been in Heartsboro for more than a few hours when he got the message.
Maybe I should’ve insisted he take me to his property while we were out there.
But every time I asked, he refused. He said he’d never step foot on his homestead again.
I know it haunts him, and selling it to someone else is likely his best chance at closure.
Still, he’s tied to that land. It was his home with Mia, where she gave birth to Evie.
A place of love, family, peace, and connection.
I can only imagine how hard it is for him to finally let go.
To say goodbye once and for all. To leave his past behind.
My phone vibrates, and I startle. “Adam?”
“I’m here.”
“Did Roxy and Justin make it okay?”
“Yes. They’re good. They made it to Bali.”
It sounds like he’s driving on the highway. I can hear the whirring sounds of tires and the thrum of an engine. “Are you driving somewhere?” My eyes sting, and my throat tightens.
“Yes. I don’t want to fly. I need Molly with me, so I’m driving the van. It’ll take two days to reach the West Coast.”
“You already left?” I’m stunned. Disbelief hits, then a wave of astonishment at how he could leave so suddenly without even saying goodbye.
“I know this is unexpected, and it might not make sense. I just… I need…” He trails off, and I gently step in.
“You need to go home.”
He doesn’t answer right away, the silence speaking for him. “Yes. For the closing. I want to get this done as soon as humanly possible. And then I’ll be back. I promise.”
Panic rises in my voice, desperate. “Why can’t I come? I can pack in ten minutes. Pick me up at my office. With two drivers, we’ll get there faster.” I know he’s likely already headed west, out of Georgia.
The silence stretches between us, heavy and uncomfortable, like a rubber band about to break as my desperation grows with each passing second.
“I’ve got Molly with me. She’ll keep me company.”
“Molly…” A quiet hurt settles in my chest as I realize he’s chosen his dog over me.
“Trust me, it’s better this way. You wouldn’t want to be with me right now. I know you don’t understand. But I need one last look. I need some time. I’m sorry I couldn’t do this with you at the wedding.”
“You’re right, I don’t understand. I don’t know why you’d go alone. Roxy isn’t even there for support. I won’t bug you. I’ll be there every step. I love you, Adam.”
I hear him sigh. “I know you’re disappointed. But I need to do this alone. And I’m sorry I haven’t talked much about my past. That’s on me.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I can hardly put into words how awful and painful this whole experience has been. I used to have a pretty normal life. We went to bed one night with our whole future ahead of us. Woke up the next day and everything I loved was obliterated by sunset.”
“Oh, Adam.”
“Imagine that memory playing in your head, every day, for life. Gosh, Keri. I wish you could’ve known them.
Mia was one of the good ones. She was so caring.
She was an amazing wife and mother, and a high school math teacher who made a difference.
I miss her every day. I miss my amazing daughter, Evie.
Precocious, yes, but also so sweet, loving, and funny. ”
Tears spill onto my cheeks as I listen to Adam talk, his voice cracking with emotion.
My chest aches, feeling both hope for his openness and anxiety for his vulnerable state.
He’s never shared this much before. It’s a turning point for him.
Still, worry gnaws at me about him driving thousands of miles alone, unfocused, with no one to care for him—no one like me.
“I prayed and hoped and wished every single day for a long time that it didn’t happen. That the fires didn’t take everything from me. But they did. I can’t undo it, and I can’t change it.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“I’ll never be the same. This unrelenting grief is love left with nowhere to go. I miss my family every day. But you know that.” He sniffles. “Please, don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”
“You’re a strong man, Adam. I know you can do it.”
“I hate that you have to see me at my lowest, especially after such highs.”
“As I said, I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you. Thank you for your patience and for listening. For understanding.”
“Of course.” I pause before throwing a Hail Mary. “I can always look at flights and meet you out there if you change your mind.”
“No, Keri. I know this sounds awful and selfish, but this is something I need to do by myself.”
“I understand.” I wipe my cheeks with my knuckles, mustering the bravery I’ll need to let him go. “Will you check in? So I won’t worry so much?”
“Yes, I will. But you should know there’s no cell service on or near my property. It’s out in the boonies. That’s why we had a landline.”
“I remember you saying that.”
“Try to stay busy when you don’t hear from me. It doesn’t mean I don’t care. It just means I don’t have service or I’m working through some things. I’ll do the best I can.”
“Okay.” I’m weeping openly now, and I know he can hear my whimpers through my hitched breath.
“Oh, Keri. Please don’t cry.” The low timbre of his soft voice reminds me of the first night we spent together in his van. Woodsmoke and fairy lights. Strong hands gripping me in the night. I want to go back in time, when the only thing on our minds was discovering more of each other.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”
“I hope you know that I love you. I really do.”
I shake my head, knowing he can’t see me.
I don’t believe him anymore. But this moment is not about me.
It’s about Adam finding closure and letting go of the final piece of his misery.
His delayed reaction to trauma and the loss of his wife and child.
The changes in his life that weren’t his choice or under his control.
“Will you do something for me while you’re out there?” I sniffle.
“Of course.”
I suck in a deep breath, my voice barely a whisper. “Be kind to yourself.”