Chapter 52
Maggie made it to the Food Lion with thirty minutes to spare. Becky had texted her a few minutes ago and asked her to grab
some whipped cream on the way over.
Her nerves had begun clamoring the second she crossed the bridge to Seabrook. She was about to see Josh for the first time
in nearly three months. She probably should’ve turned down the Reynoldses’ invitation to Thanksgiving dinner, but she missed
them. Missed Josh. And she couldn’t deprive Brad and Becky of seeing Ethan’s only child. They hadn’t seen Zoey since their
last trip to Fayetteville over a month ago, and holidays were always hard on them all.
Maggie opened the car’s back door and Zoey clambered out. She’d put her daughter’s hair in two pigtails, and Zoey chose her
pink dress with the tulle skirt because Papaw said she looked like a princess in it.
“Can we get Lucky Charms, Mommy?”
“I’m sure Mamaw stocked up on all your favorites, sweetheart.” They were spending two nights. “And Aunt Erin made dirt pudding
just for you.”
“Yum! Can I eat it first?”
“You have to eat your supper first. But you like turkey and mashed potatoes, and the green beans are the good kind.”
“With bacon and crunchies on top?”
“With bacon and crunchies on top.”
“I love Thanksgiving!”
Maggie chuckled. “Me too.”
The grocery doors slid open, welcoming them inside. The store bustled with last-minute shoppers. She waved to a familiar cashier,
then made her way back to the frozen section.
“Ice cream!” Zoey said.
“Mamaw already has ice cream. I’ll bet she even has rainbow sherbet.”
“My favorite!”
As they progressed down the aisle, Maggie spotted stacked tubs of butter pecan ice cream behind the frosty glass. Her heart
gave a soft squeeze at the reminder of Ethan. She said a prayer for the family, that the holiday wouldn’t be painful for them.
That perhaps Will’s presence might serve as a distraction.
This would be her first time meeting the young man, outside of that quick encounter at the carnival. That night seemed so
long ago. The entire family already loved him, and if he was anything like Josh, Maggie was certain to love him too.
She slowed at the whipped cream section and reached for the door handle just as another shopper reached for the one beside
it. Maggie’s glance turned into a double take.
Samantha.
She hadn’t seen Josh’s ex-wife since the divorce. Before she could decide what to do, the woman recognized her. She was as
beautiful as ever, the rich curtain of mahogany hair framing her pixie face. Maggie had always envied her petite build and
delicate features—but those features were less than welcoming today.
“Well, Samantha, hello. Fancy running into you here.”
Samantha offered a brittle smile. “Maggie.”
“Um, it’s been a while. How are you?”
“Well, honestly, I’ve been better.” A gush of arctic air escaped as Samantha pulled open the door.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Once upon a time Samantha had been warm toward her. They’d been fairly close. She’d changed in the
latter part of her marriage to Josh, grown distant and cold.
“Divorce tends to take its toll.”
“Yes, it does. I was sorry to hear about you and Josh.”
“Were you now.” Samantha grabbed a tub of Cool Whip.
Maggie frowned at her glib tone. “I always thought you guys were great together. You seemed happy.”
“I thought so too. Which was why it came as such a shock to discover he was in love with someone else and had been since long
before me.”
Maggie sucked in a breath. “What?”
“Oh, come now, Maggie. You can’t be that surprised. You of all people, the object of his affection. I never even stood a chance.”
The object of his ... Maggie shook her head. “Oh, Samantha. You’re mistaken.”
“When your husband confesses, under the influence of dental sedation, that he’s been in love with his sister-in-law since
he was a teenager... well, it makes things pretty clear.”
Since he was a... Maggie’s mind whirled back in time. When she’d met Josh they became fast friends, sure, but that was all. There were never
those kinds of feelings, not back then. She was two years older than him—an enormous gap at that age. “No, that’s not possible.
He was just drugged and talking out of his mind.”
Samantha shoved the door closed. “Save it, Maggie, okay? He confessed the truth later when he was stone-cold sober. I always knew there was something between the two of you. He denied it. Should’ve trusted my instincts and saved myself a whole bunch of trouble.”
She turned away and was gone before Maggie could even string together a coherent thought. What had just happened? Samantha’s
words reverberated in her head.
“Since he was a teenager... He confessed the truth.”
Could Samantha be right? Josh had mentioned having feelings for her for a while . She assumed he meant sometime around that first kiss a couple years ago. But had it actually been longer than that? Much
longer?
“Mommy, aren’t you gonna get the whoop cream?”
Her daughter’s voice jerked her back to the present. Maggie opened the freezer door and stared mindlessly at the options.
She needed to give Samantha time to exit the store. She couldn’t face her again. The woman had basically blamed the demise
of her marriage on Maggie .
A moment later she grabbed two large tubs of whipped cream and took her time heading to the front of the store. She approached
the register only when she was sure Samantha was nowhere in sight.
In a daze she waited in line and checked out, responding to Zoey’s questions and comments robotically.
At the car she opened the door for Zoey, who clambered in and buckled up. Then Maggie got into the driver’s seat and tossed
her purse and grocery bag on the passenger side.
Gripping the steering wheel, she thought back to those early years as a teenager. All the games and goofing off and hanging out with Erin, Josh, and Ethan. Through Josh’s illness. Was there any evidence Josh had felt more than friendship for her? What about later, after Ethan went off to college? She depended on Erin and Josh for support, for things to do so she wouldn’t have to sit at home missing her boyfriend.
She shook her head. Josh had given her no indication of romantic feelings. He’d dated practically everything in a skirt!
And then later, her engagement, the wedding. Josh was Ethan’s best man. He planned the bachelor trip to Raleigh, stood beside
Ethan while he pledged his life to Maggie, and gave a beautiful, heartfelt toast at the reception.
Had Maggie been completely clueless? Could the whole family have been so clueless? Perhaps Ethan had picked up on it. Maybe
that was why he’d questioned her about her relationship with Josh.
Early on Josh had truly seen who she was and, according to Samantha, loved her. Another thought crowded in: Had all the women
he’d dated merely been stand-ins for the woman he couldn’t have? If Josh’s feelings for Maggie went back that far, she must’ve
broken his heart in a million different ways.
Pain unfurled in her chest. He’d driven to Fayetteville so many times during that first year after Ethan’s death. He held
her, cried with her over the loss of his brother. He walked Zoey for hours. He waited almost three years to kiss her, and
when he did, Maggie let him believe she was thinking of Ethan.
Her eyes stung with tears.
“Why aren’t we going, Mommy?”
Zoey’s voice startled Maggie from her thoughts. How long had she been sitting here? She started the car and a country tune
provided background noise for her earth-shattering thoughts. In a daze she pulled from the parking space.
If what Samantha said was true, no wonder his relationships were short-term. No wonder his marriage didn’t last. Maybe he wasn’t romantically restless after all. Maybe he’d just been in love with Maggie this whole time.
Her thoughts weighed heavily as she stopped at a red light. The song on the radio faded out and a tender guitar riff took
its place. The poignant words of “In Case You Didn’t Know” filtered through the car.
Her chest tightened at the familiar melody. The last time she’d heard the song she was in Josh’s arms, swaying to the music,
feeling all the things he made her feel. She was thinking about his fickle heart and regretting that she’d been in denial
about her feelings for so long. She was realizing how badly she must’ve hurt him.
He gazed at her with such care and affection. “It’ll be okay, Mags. I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you.”
She pressed a fist to her heart. He’d always been thinking of her, taking care of her. When she needed someone, he was the
first person she called because she knew he’d be there. He listened, he understood, he loved her for who she was and had for a long, long time.
Her pulse thrummed in her ears, and her breaths came quick and shallow as her vision went blurry.
A horn tooted and she blinked. Green light.
With renewed energy and purpose she shifted her foot to the gas and accelerated.