40. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Lizzie
E than’s SUV pulled up next to my hatchback as I shifted it into park behind my cabin, breathing a deep sigh of relief. We’d made it.
My brother and I had taken off from Minneapolis late that morning, eager to get out of the city and back into fresher air. Well, somewhat fresher air, as it was already shaping up to be a hot and steamy day.
I was surprised by how different the cities felt to me now—so much louder and busier than it had ever felt when I’d lived there. In fact, from the moment I’d arrived on Monday, I had felt my anxiety spike. No particular reason, except for… it was no longer a place where I belonged.
But instead of excitement, I’d been dealing with even more anxiety for the entire drive back to Dearing Creek. Because when we’d stopped for coffee and pastries along the outskirts of the metro area, I’d received a text that had left my heart in a vice ever since:
JAMES: Sorry to bother you, but just thought you should know. GiGi was in the hospital here the past couple of days… had a mini-stroke. She’s ok now, recovering at home.
JAMES: Hope you’re figuring out everything you need to.
Standing there with my iced coffee and scone, the tears came instantly. All I could think was, oh my God, GiGi, followed by overwhelming guilt— and I hadn’t been there for them.
His message, though, had been so formal, so detached-sounding, I didn’t know quite how to take it. Maybe it was a sign he was still angry and didn’t want to talk.
But that was the problem with texting, wasn’t it? Words—more importantly, the tone behind them—could be easily misconstrued in so many ways. In reality, I knew he had to be doing everything he could to hold it together.
One very important thing, however, was clear—he’d at least wanted me to know what was going on. It mattered to him that I knew. So, maybe he hadn’t given up on us?
The remainder of the drive, all I could think about was getting home to both of them. To make sure they were ok. To make sure we were ok.
And now that we’d finally made it here, I had no idea where to start. A quick glance over to GiGi’s cabin told me she looked to be home, because her silver sedan was parked outside. Not that she’d be able to drive right now, anyway.
But there was a second car I didn’t recognize—so she wasn’t alone, but she also wasn’t with James. I was a little relieved—I didn’t think I could handle both of them at once without falling apart.
Who the hell am I kidding—I’m going to be a mess no matter what.
I heard Ethan’s car door slam as I was getting out of mine. The air was even stickier up here, and I couldn’t wait to get inside to the air conditioning—which I had to admit had been my best purchase ever. Deciding to leave my bags where they were for a moment, I called over to my brother, “Hey, do you mind hanging there for a bit? I want to give you the grand tour, but I should do a quick check on GiGi first.”
Ethan shrugged. “Sure, that’s fine. I’m going to head down to the dock, just grab me when you’re done.”
Watching his lanky frame stroll down the slight grassy slope towards the water, I smiled, then turned to make my way towards GiGi’s place. It felt good having him here.
Once I reached her door, I raised my hand to knock—until I noticed a woman I didn’t recognize near the kitchen window, giving me a quick wave. A moment later, she was pushing open the screen door to join me on the porch.
“Hi, dear, you must be Lizzie?” Looking to be somewhere around GiGi’s age, the woman’s eyes were kind. “I’m Marta, an old friend of Georgia’s.” Although, with her bright floral muumuu, chunky jewelry and her short and spiky gray hair, her eclectic style pretty much confirmed she was part of GiGi’s circle.
“Yes, I am… nice to meet you. So... is she home?” I craned my neck a bit to look past Marta’s shoulder but saw no sign of her.
“She is, just resting for a bit. I’ve been keeping her company to give James a break. But I can tell her you stopped by…?”
“No… I mean, that’s ok. I’ll just try again later.” I paused, taking a breath to keep the tears from welling up again. “How’s she doing?”
Marta smiled. “Much better, thanks to James’ quick thinking. She’ll have to make quite a few changes around here, and I’m sure she’ll fight us on it…” she said, rolling her eyes, “... but, she’ll be alright.”
The tension in my chest lessened, just slightly. “Oh, thank God.”
“Yes, she gave us quite a scare. But that tough old bird’ll be around for many more years, I reckon.” Marta winked at me, and I managed a small smile. Thanking her, I turned to head back, just as Ethan started making his way up. Though as I grabbed my bag from my car, I couldn’t help but still feel unsettled.
“Everything looks awesome with the exterior updates, Lizzie. Seriously, the place almost looks brand new. Even the porch doesn’t sag and squeak anymore.”
I laughed. “I know… is it weird that I was a little sad about losing that one? Even though the squeaks busted us every time we tried to sneak out at night.”
“Yeah, and I think I got caught more than you and Mariah combined,” he said, grinning. “Anyway, that was quick… How’d it go over there?”
“GiGi was resting. I’ll have to go check on her later,” I said, shrugging. I needed to put all of this out of my mind for the time being. Plastering a bright smile on my face, I pulled my keys from my pocket. “So, are you ready for the tour?”
“Bring it on.”
Unlocking the door, we were greeted with the woosh of cool air as we set down our bags. He followed me into the kitchen as I opened the door of my beautiful stainless-steel fridge, pulling out two hard lemonades. “Want one?”
“Yes, thanks.” I handed it to him as we both twisted off the caps, taking a long sip. He glanced around. “So, this would be the kitchen, I assume…”
I smacked his arm. “Smart ass. But,” I said, spreading my arms out dramatically, “isn’t it glorious? I mean, I have an island, Ethan. An island.”
He chuckled. “Now, don’t go making me jealous, or I might just have to move to this island of yours.”
“Always welcome, matey.” I grinned, starting to relax more as we grabbed our bags, crossing through the living room and back into the bedrooms.
I can breathe now. GiGi is ok.
“Now, I’ll go over all the amazing updates to the main living space in a moment, after we drop off our stuff. Go ahead and grab whichever guest bedroom you want… Oh, and make sure you take a peek at what we did with the old bathroom too. But first, come in and check out the progress on mine…”
I led him through the master bedroom and stopped short, surprised to find that my beautiful, en suite bathroom addition was complete. There hadn’t been too much work remaining on it before I’d left, of course. And now, seeing the space all bright and shiny and beautiful, I could only think of James—and the hard work he and Jesse had put in to wrap things up while I was gone. Especially knowing everything he’d had to deal with since.
“Are you… crying over a bathroom , sis?”
I whipped my head over to look at him standing next to me, dabbing at the corners of my eyes with the back of my knuckle. “I’m not crying. I’m just… happy.”
“Mm-hmm,” he said with a knowing smile, turning to wander back out into the living room.
“Give me a sec and I’ll be out… just need to freshen up a bit,” I called out to him.
“Sure, no prob.”
Closing the door, I splashed a little cold water on my face, drying off with a hand towel as I leaned against the counter to check out my reflection in the mirror. I looked tired—my long, auburn waves frizzy from the humidity, the rest of me a little wilted as well. But I knew the Lizzie staring back at me now was somehow changed from the one who’d left three days ago. That woman had been sad and confused, and desperate to feel like something in her life made sense.
I had no idea it was possible to go through so much in such a short period and to come out of it feeling somewhat ok… but I had. And not just ok . I felt pretty damn good about where I was, all things considered.
But until I saw James, I knew I wouldn’t truly be able to breathe.
“Hey Lizzie, this is really cool…” I heard my brother’s voice calling from the other room. Smoothing my hands over my hair (pointless, because #humidity), I walked out into the living room to see which upgrade he’d spotted first—and nearly lost it right there.
I had no idea how I’d managed to walk right past it in my beeline to the bathroom. Because the wooden bookcase spanning the length of the room—shelves lined with what had to be every single book that I owned, including my grandmother’s—was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I mean, I remembered now that I’d requested a bookcase of some sort, way back in the beginning as we’d sat at the kitchen table, planning out my renovation project. But with everything since—refurbishing the cabin, starting and stopping my writing career; starting and pausing the process of falling in love—I’d honestly forgotten all about it.
But of course, James hadn’t.
As if in a dream, I stepped closer to inspect it. Consisting of three separate sections, the wood was stained in a lighter neutral color, bringing out the natural grain of the wood. But it wasn’t just a basic bookcase—the front of each unit featured an arched panel, with minimalist carvings along the narrow sides that looked like—oh my God. They were river birch trees, my absolute favorite. And a nod to the Robert Frost poem I’d shared with James all those weeks ago.
Well, damn it all to hell.
There was no point pretending to hold back now—the tears were already flowing.
Reaching out, my fingers followed along the branches as they curved upwards along each of the arches, discovering another surprise at their center—a small, simplistic carving of heart-shaped Lake Elska, the place where it all started. For me, for my grandmother, for the Dearie Girls—and most importantly, for me and James.
It was the most incredible, stunningly beautiful piece I’d ever seen before in my life, with James’ touch evident in every single intentional detail. It was… almost like a love story.
Our love story.
“Liz, seriously… are you ok?”
I was full-on snot-crying by now as everything from the past several months—hell, from the past seventy-two hours—overwhelmed me like a tidal wave. I didn’t care about anything else. All I knew was I couldn’t stay here, not after seeing what he’d done for me.
I needed to see him.
I looked over at my brother, who continued to eye me with concern. “I’m so sorry… I have to…”
“... go find James. Yeah, I figured,” Ethan said with a knowing glance, our twin powers synching up in a way that always amazed me. “I wanted to go meet Tanner for a drink, anyway. You go do what you need to do, and I’ll just… see you when I see you. Ok?”
Grabbing a tissue to blow my nose, I nodded. “Spare key is in the center drawer of the island. And if you need a towel…”
“... I’m a grown man, Liz. I’ll figure it out,” he said, laughing. “Go on, get out of here.”
Five minutes later, I was on the road, making my way north towards James’ property. It felt like the miles couldn’t pass quickly enough, my need to see him was so great.
Please let him be happy to see me.