“Yes, you are. Every time I tell you about a possible shoot, you quietly melt down. Until I tell you I’m not taking it. Don’t you trust me yet?”
“Of course I do. I’m just still . . . figuring it all out. Now tell me what you and Bridge did today.”
“What is it exactly that you’re figuring out?” Meghan asked me the question as she and I sat on the porch on Friday night after Bridget had gone to bed. I’d just related to her my latest conversation with Flynn.
I shrugged. “Life. Life with Flynn. Where we should live, what he should do . . . he loves his job, Meghan. It’s killing him each time he turns down a shoot. He says no, but I see it.”
“And he can’t get anything that would let him live here?”
I snorted. “You might have noticed, Burton’s not exactly the cosmopolitan center of the world. He’s talked about trying to find a magazine or paper that would let him shoot just in the south, but even so, he’d be traveling most of the time. I’m selfish, Meghan. I want it all. If I’m going to live with Flynn, I want to be with him, not just be a stop for when he’s between jobs.”
“Why doesn’t he move in with us at the farm for the time being? Sam wouldn’t care, and then Bridget doesn’t have to adjust to a new place.”
“Well, it’s a thought. But we’re going to need our own place, and I’d rather start in a place that belongs tous,you know?”
“Yeah, I get it.” Meghan patted my arm. “Well, hang in there, sweetie. It’ll work out.”
My phone buzzed with a text, and I smiled when I saw Flynn’s name. Meghan poked my arm. “Is that lover boy now?”
“It just might be.” I touched the button to read the text as Meghan returned to her book.
Can I come over?
I frowned. We hadn’t made any plans for tonight, and Flynn rarely just popped in.
Sure. Everything okay?
His reply was swift.Yeah. Be there in 20.
“Everything all right?” Meghan looked up from her book.
“I think so. Flynn’s coming over.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Oooh la la!”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think so. I just . . . I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“What would be wrong?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
For the next twenty minutes, I fidgeted, pushing the swing back and forth with the toe of my shoe until Meghan shot me an exasperated look. When Flynn’s truck finally came bouncing down the driveway, I jumped up and ran to meet him in the back.
“Hey.” He slammed his truck door and held open his arms. “How’s my best girl?”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and lifted my face for a kiss. “Happy to see you.” I slid my hand down to take his and tugged him toward the house.
“I was thinking we could take a walk. Maybe go sit by the lake.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, is thisthatkind of visit? You should’ve given me some warning. I would’ve shaved my legs.”
He smiled. “Not that unshaved legs would ever slow me down, but no. I just want to talk.”
“Okay.” We walked around the barn to the path that led into the woods. It was dark, but I knew the way without light. I’d been walking it as long as I could remember. Flynn swung our hands between as we meandered.
“I got a call today about a job.” He spoke hesitantly, and my heart plunged into my stomach.This was it.This was what I’d been afraid of since Flynn had come back to town. He was leaving me again.
I tried to quell my fears. Flynn wouldn’t just run off again. This was different. We were different. “Where is it?” Somehow I kept the tremor out of my voice.
