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“I wasn’t talking about Harper. I was talking about you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.” Taylor was quiet for a beat before asking. “Have you told her?”
“What? Have I told her what?”
“How you feel about her.”
“No. There’s nothing to tell.”
“You love her.”
“Tay, I don’t?—"
“Yes, you do. You wouldn’t have spent the night with her if you didn’t have feelings for her.” Tay interrupted. “And then you moved her into your house.”
“I needed help with Harper and Grandad, and she needed a job and a place to stay.”
“I saw pictures of you two from the other night when you went to Movies in the Park.”
“What? What pictures of us?”
“They weren’t of you specifically. You, Ruby, Harp, and Bandit were in the background of photos that random people who were there took and posted in the town Facebook group. Kenna sent me a link to it. I saw the way you were looking at her. You love her.”
“Even if I do, it doesn’t matter.”
“Is this about Remi? He has to know that you are both adults. You can’t actually think you’re betraying him in some way.”
“No, it’s not him. Not only him. She isn’t staying, Tay. You know that.” Tay had been the one to tell me to be careful in the first place. “She’s leaving.”
“So what’s the plan? You’re just not going to say anything to her?” When I didn’t reply, she continued. “I think she deserves to know. I saw the way she was looking at you, too. She should know how you feel, so she can decide if there’s a reason to stay or not. You owe it to her and to yourself.”
I was done with this conversation. “I gotta go, Tay. I’ll have Peanut call you in the morning.”
“Think about what I said.”
I disconnected the call and sat in the car alone.
Was Tay right?
Did I owe it to her and myself?
Or would it just complicate the situation?
I had no idea.
What I did know was that she was planning on leaving in a few weeks, so the clock was ticking. Did I want her to go? No. But did I want her to give up her dreams in order to stay with me? No.
There was no right answer to this. No clear path forward. A rock was to my left, and a hard place was to my right.
25
RUBY
“Complainin’ about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.” ~ Miss Dottie
Sunlight beat through the windshield as I sat in the pickup line and waited for Harper. With nothing else to do, I aimlessly scrolled through social media and found myself clicking on my friend Ezra’s photos. He was in the show on the cruise that I was supposed to be on. My fingers slid across the screen, enlarging the image, and I realized I knew about half the cast.
