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He pushed off the black SUV and strode toward her. It was a bittersweet moment seeing him. All the memories of Jon and them together washed through her, choking her up. An equal amount of happiness and good memories his presence evoked inside her had her grin spreading wide.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Blake wrapped his arms around her, and Poppy felt herself stiffen from the contact. The feel of someone’s arms around her that weren’t Jon’s just felt aberrant.
With her bags still in hand, she didn’t return the embrace, but Blake didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t care. He pulled back an inch but kept his arms around her waist. He was taller, probably at least a foot more than her own five-feet four-inch frame.
“You cut your hair.” A smile filled his voice, and he lifted a strand of her blonde hair.
Her once waist-length hair had been the talk of the Ellis and Matthews families. Jon had loved it, but when he died, she cut it off. Just looking at it, feeling the heavy weight, reminded her of all the times Jon had sifted his fingers through it and told her how beautiful she was. Now it sat in a bob style atop her shoulders.
“You look good, Poppy. I’m glad you’ve put the weight back on.”
She looked down at her boots. Her weight had been an issue too. Her once size sixteen frame had shriveled down to a six. The ones who didn’t know how deep her depression had been complimented her on her thinner figure, but the ones closest to her knew how sickly she looked.
“Thanks, Blake. I’m hoping the change of scenery will continue to help me.”
He smiled down at her, and emotion struck her momentarily speechless. He reminded her a lot of Jon. Of course, there were differences, but they had the same hazel eyes and dark hair. Blake’s had a little bit of silver through it, given the fact he was nearing forty, but it looked good on him.
“Come on, I’ll show you the town while we head home.” He took her bags and led her to his vehicle.
Home.
Poppy hadn’t known what a home was for the past two years.
Once her bags were in the back and they were both in the cab, she prayed again that she made the right choice.
“So, how have you been?” She knew he asked the question simply to be polite. They had been talking nearly every day for years, and he knew how horrible her time without Jon had been. They had only seen each other a handful of times since his death, but after the first year of obligatory holiday visits, Blake stopped coming around. He might not admit it, but Poppy knew it had been hard for him to be around when everything reminded him of Jon too.
“Better than I was.” She had no need to sugarcoat anything with Blake. Over their many conversations, she hadn’t held anything back. Not her feelings, not her fears of what the future held, not anything. Poppy didn’t know why it didn’t feel strange telling him her innermost thoughts, but the truth of it was, if Blake hadn’t been there, she didn’t know where she would be in life right now.
“Well, you look like you’re doing better.” He cut a glance to her and smiled. “The last image I had of you was at Christmas, over a year after Jon passed…” His voice changed an octave, and Poppy knew it was still just as hard for him. “You weren’t looking so good. All skin and bones. I asked Mom about you, and she said the same thing. They were so worried about you. I was so worried about you.”
Poppy cleared her throat and looked out the passenger window. “Yeah, well, it had been a really hard time for me. I’m getting better now.” She felt his hand cover hers and looked down at it. His hand seemed to swallow hers whole.
Comfort seeped from him, and she wished it would move into her body, but all she felt was the same emptiness that followed her of late. After a moment, he pulled his hand away and placed it back on the steering wheel. They sat in silence, but not the uncomfortable kind that made someone itchy.
Black spruce trees and evergreens were on either side of them, hugging the road in an almost intimate embrace. It took thirty minutes for them to reach the center of town.
“Welcome to Blithe, population 14,589.” Blake started pointing out the major structures of the town. Grocery store, hardware, and post office were lined up side by side. It appeared to be a quaint little place.
“That’s my office.” Blake pointed to a small wildlife preserve building to the left.
“Do you enjoy your work?” A smile came over his face, and Poppy couldn’t help her own smile from surfacing. She liked seeing him happy.
