Her face falls. “Because of Mark and me?”
“No.” A little bit maybe. “Because ofme.”
“You don’t have to stay here, Lacey. I grew up here, loved this campground with all my heart. I knew when your grandparents wanted to sell, I had to have it. Your dad shared my vision for this place. But that doesn’t mean our dream is yours. You need to do what you feel is best foryou.”
“Really?”
She crosses her arms, cracking a smile. “Well, everything might fall apart when you leave, but we’ll manage.”
Maybe hiring someone to help in the office will be the first step.
“And even if you leave for a while, years even, it doesn’t mean you can’t come back to Gray Jay down the road.”
I think about actually leaving—packing the Jeep and taking off on the road I’ve seen so many people disappear down. Could I do it? Am I brave enough to say goodbye to the only place I’ve ever called home?
“But you have plenty of time to decide,” she points out. “You have to graduate before I’ll let you go.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I kind of figured that.”
“I love you, Lacey.” She pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry if I’ve relied on you too much, made you feel like you could never live your own life.”
My eyes mist up, and I nod. I’m about to leave, but now that we’re talking—or rather, now that I’m talking to her—there’s a question that’s been burning inside me for weeks.
“Why did you want me to date Landon so badly? Didn’t you realize it would end like this?”
Her face softens. “Can I be honest with you?”
I almost tell her it would be a nice change, but I purse my lips and nod.
“You were driving me insane with your spreadsheets and laminated charts.” She smiles to soften the words. “After Thomas, you holed up in the office, working all the time. I just want you to be teenager while you still have the chance.”
I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes, almost smiling. “My laminated chart is awesome.”
She laughs—really laughs—and shakes her head. “I know.”
We’re both quiet for a few moments, pensive. Finally, sensing I’m at my emotional quota for the day, she says, “I’ve got to get to the studio.”
I nod. She squeezes my shoulder and then walks away. I stand in the yard, all alone, feeling lost. Everything I’ve ever known is changing.
After a moment, I rip open the envelope. My breath catches, and I bite my lip to keep from breaking down.
It’s a postcard. Landon’s standing on a sunset beach, smiling. His arm is slung around a girl’s shoulders, and she’s looking at him, laughing. She has reddish brown hair, freckles across her nose, and eyes that are the exact shade as my mother’s.
He used photo manipulation software to put me in the picture.
“Wish you were actually here,” is scrawled across the back in a masculine mix of print and cursive. “All my love, Landon.”
All his love.
I blink a few times, shove the card in my pocket, and march my way to Site Twenty-seven.
“Gretchen?” I ask when I see an older woman sitting in a chair under her awning. With the way the site is situated, they’re mostly in the sun.
“Yes?”
“You guys can have Twenty-nine if you still want it.”
“Is it available?” she asks, her face lighting up.
