Chapter 15
I took that Bible to Montana with me so I could insist that my sister take it back, but quite honestly, I had changed my mind, and I wanted it.
"What's got you grinning?" My driver was looking at me in the rearview mirror, and I had no idea.
He knew where we were going. My dad had set up the driver through a trusted service, and I could see the GPS on his dashboard.
I knew it would take us thirty-six minutes to the ranch.
I had been talking the whole time on the plane, so I would have been content to be quiet in the car, but I didn't hesitate to answer his question.
"Oh, I'm just happy," I said, since it was the best I could come up with. "I'm happy I wore a sweater. It's cold here."
"Are you visiting family for Christmas?" The man reminded me of my grandfather on my mom's side. I would normally be guarded with people I didn't know, but I felt comfortable and relaxed with him.
"No, my sister's getting married," I said. "I'll only be here for a few days, and I'll go back home for Christmas."
"Maybe I'll be giving you a ride back to the airport in a couple of days," he said.
"Oh, my parents have a rental, and we're all on the same flight out. Separate flights here, same flight out."
"Did you say it was your sister getting married?"
"Yes. She's only been with the guy for a little while, so it seems sudden, but she's in love, and honestly, when I was on the flight on the way here, I sort of got a new perspective on the whole thing. I'm going to miss her, but I'm also happy for her."
"So, by missing her… do you mean… did you used to live in the same city, and that's changing?"
"Yes. In the same house. I've never lived apart from my sister for my entire life. Today is day one."
"She's moving and getting married?"
"Yes. Exactly."
I didn't explain that it was a surprise wedding because I felt I would have to go into a whole long story.
I felt introspective, and for the next twenty minutes, we were quiet for most of the time.
He asked me a few questions here and there, but there were breaks in the conversation, and I was lost in thought the whole time. I couldn't help but feel changed.
"Are you married?" he asked after a long pause.
"No, I'm not. No boyfriend, even."
"A pretty lady like yourself must have plenty of gentleman suitors."
"Thank you. I stay busy. I did have a boyfriend, but…" I trailed off because I had started out thinking about Jacob, but my mind quickly went to Sam Allison. My mind always went to him.
"But you broke up?" the man finished.
"Yes. W-we did."
"The one who got away…" he said, wistfully.
"No, actually, the one who got away is a different guy," I said.
"Oh, is that right?"
"The one I broke up with tried to have me back. About four times. He finally got the picture, and now he's been through a few different girlfriends since then. He's a mess."
"Do you see all that stuff on your social media?"
"Not really, but we know the same people and run in the same circles. Not for long, though. I've just got a few more months on that campus, and I'll be changing directions."
"Oh, congratulations. You'll be graduating in a few months?"
"No, I'm just quitting after one more semester. I’m taking time off to focus on my job."
"Why do another semester? Why not just quit now?"
I laughed when he said that. "I'm starting to think about that more and more.
I was planning on finishing the school year because a couple of my classes are continuations of classes I've already started.
But, I know. I might just quit. It took me a while to tell my parents, but now that they know, it seems like…
if I'm going to quit anyway, I might as well do it now.
But at the same time, I'm sort of glad to have the routine of school in my life.
Having Amelia move out is already going to be new for me. "
"It sounds like exciting times," he said.
"Yes, it is," I agreed with a smile.
The sun set as we drove, and it was dark as we approached the little town where we would find the ranch.
All the familiar feelings came flooding back to me.
I was thinking about Sam again. I was picturing him in my mind when the man said, "Who's the one who got away?
" I was so shocked that his question matched my thoughts that I just giggled and came out with his name.
"Sam Allison," I said. "And it's so funny that you call him the one who got away, because he said that."
"He called himself the one who got away?"
"No, well, sort of. When I told him we should just be friends, he said he felt like it was the wrong choice. He said he thought I would change my mind and that he would wait for me."
"Oh, my. Did you change your mind? Are you going to call him?"
"I mean, I guess I changed my mind—enough to refer to him as the one who got away."
"Does he go to college with you?"
"Sam? No. He lives in L.A., and I'm in San Francisco."
"Is that why he's the one who got away?"
I breathed a sigh, wishing I knew exactly why and how Sam got away.
"I think that had a little to do with it," I said.
"I think it might be different if we lived in the same city.
But I was scared too. He's an actor, and he has a lot of women around.
I had just broken up with the other guy, and I…
and I… I got scared and ran. I sort of thought I wasn't ready for Sam right then, so I gave up. "
"And you haven't seen him since?"
"No, I haven't. I was working with him, and I finished the job, but it's been a few months now since I've seen him."
"How about this Sam person? Did he wait like he said he would?"
"I don't think he's dating anyone if that counts as waiting.
I see his social media, and he's with different people all the time, but it doesn't seem like he's…
I don't know. The truth is, I don't know.
Some of his friends will be at this wedding, so I can get an update from them. Maybe I'll ask them how he's doing."
"Yeah, because at your age, there's no such thing as the one who got away… You still have time to go get him."
"I guess I do," I said, smiling.
"I'll be at my parents' house for Christmas, and that's closer to L.A."
"Are you thinking of going to see him?"
"I'm thinking about calling him, at least. I'll be on a little bit of a break for Christmas. Five hours really isn't that far if we decide to catch up."
"Is that how far it is from Los Angeles to San Francisco?"
"I'll be at my parents' house in Monterey."
"I have no idea where that is. I've never been to California. You might as well be talking about Italy. What I do know is that life's too short to settle with regrets—especially when you're so young. If you have regrets, I vote you try to see him at Christmas."
I laughed at the thought. "This is the turn coming up right here," I said, seeing that the map was going to take him past our road.
He took the turn that led to the house, and then within a minute, we were pulling up at the home of the Sutters.
I had already texted my mom, and I knew that everyone was at their home and we would all go over to the building together once Amelia was about to arrive.
I thanked the driver and made my way to the door. It opened just as I came to stand in front of it, and I smiled at the sight of Alex Stockton standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Ty, I need to talk to you," he said with wide eyes. He pulled me through the entryway into a little office area where no one else could see me. "I heard your mom mention you'd be here any minute, and I came to the door to catch you."
"What's the matter?" I asked, fearing the worst.
He must've seen the fear in my face, and he smiled. "It's not that big of a deal, I just feel bad."
"About what?" I said, smiling now that I could see it was nothing tragic.
"Sam. He wanted to come, and I knew your sister and Henry would want him here and everything, but I didn’t even think about asking you."
"Asking me what? Why didn't you let him?" I said, my heart pounding. I waited intently for him to answer.
He grinned a little. "I didn't know if you'd mind if Sam came. I know there was some kind of connection with you two when we were filming, and I didn't want you to be uncomfortable."
"Why would I?" I said, shaking my head at the thought of him refusing Sam.
"Good," he said, smiling.
"What? Is he here?" I asked, trying to stifle a smile. I stared at him, feeling like I might die if I didn't know the answer to that for certainty.
"Yes," Alex said, causing a wave of excitement to hit me. "I hope it's okay," Alex said with a tone of regret. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to run it past you first."
"You don't have to run anything past me," I said, pretending to be much cooler than I felt. "Sam and I are cool. I would love Sam to be here."
"Okay, because he was asking about you, and I didn't know if there was anything… I didn't want you to feel awkward if you didn't… anyway, I thought I should give you a heads up that he's here."
"Thanks," I said, trying to pretend my heart wasn't leaping out of my chest at the idea of Sam asking about me. I did my best to be cool. "We're getting the gang back together. I'm looking forward to catching up with everybody."
"Yeah, Ash is here. And Josie's got her sister and little niece. Cameron and Judd, obviously, they flew in with Sam."
"Aw, this is going to be fun. Where did you guys put your luggage?"
"We're at a hotel in Missoula. Josie's sister lives there, and we're hanging out with her and her little niece. There are just more options in Missoula, anyway. We got here two days ago. Cameron, Judd, and Sam flew in today."
"I was planning on staying the night here on the ranch," I said. "I didn't know you guys were in Missoula."
"Yeah, I knew you were staying here. I thought you wanted to be with your parents and sister. Maybe you can come to Missoula and hang out with us tomorrow. We're doing brunch, I think."
I nodded. "My dad rented a car. I can use it to go over there. Are Cameron and them staying two nights?"
"Yeah, they are, and that sounds good, we'll figure it out."
Alex spoke in a rushed tone because my mother and Jen Sutter had caught on that I arrived, and they were both making their way to me.
Everyone was here to see my sister, and it seemed like I was the next best thing since she wasn't there yet.
I knew most of the people in the house, save a few of Henry's family who I hadn't met before.
I noticed Sam the instant I walked into the main room.
He had on a dark blue sweater, and I could see without even going over there that the color looked amazing on him.
I knew how blue looked with his eyes. I was aware of his presence from the moment I came into the room.
He was more handsome than I remembered. I felt nervous and short of breath at the thought of encountering him and talking to him.
I had family waiting that I hadn't seen in a while, aunts and grandparents, and they were all anxious to greet me.
It took me a minute, but I finally made my way over to the group where Sam was standing.
I was so thankful I powdered my face and applied more deodorant in Salt Lake City because I hadn't done it since then.
I wished I had stared in a mirror before coming inside, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
I gave out hugs to everyone standing around the area where Sam was. I hugged Ash, and then Cameron, Judd… I came to Sam, and I smiled as I reached out to hug him. I said, "What are you doing here, movie star?"
Oh, my goodness. His body. He was here in the flesh.
I was holding Samuel Allison in my arms, and it was too much.
He was even bigger and firmer than I remembered, and my insides filled with all sorts of fluttering feelings.
I let him go, trying my best to behave like a normal person.
I wanted to latch onto this man tightly with my arms and my legs and not let him go.
I didn't realize how much I had missed him.
It was surreal that I just had a long conversation about Sam in the car, and now here he was.
And he was so here. I stared at the knit pattern of his sweater, trying not to notice the shape of his arms and chest underneath it.