Miles got backto his house and helped Emma pack a bag to stay over at Jackson and Mia’s place. His family was already clued in on what was happening and all offered to take turns watching her. The only flight out of Wintervale was leaving soon, so he rushed to get himself packed before driving over to Jackson’s place and leaving Emma with him.
“Go get her, Daddy!” Emma yelled.
Miles smiled and blew a kiss to her before sliding back into his car and driving the short distance to the airport. The Wintervale airport was small, and it was easy to get through quickly since there were few flights that went in and out of it, but he didn’t relax until he was seated on the plane. He had considered telling Kelly he was coming, but he wanted it to be a surprise.
While sitting on the plane, he contemplated what he would say. He could beg her to come back, but he didn’t want her to feel guilted into it. It had to be a decision she wanted to make. He could see about moving down to Colorado. But no, he couldn’t uproot Emma like that. He ran his hand through his hair approximately one hundred times before the plane landed, and he knew it had to be a wild mess.
He took a rideshare into Storyville, giving the driver Kelly’s address that he had pulled from her paystub after they cut her a check for the work she did for the wedding. As they drove through the town, he could see many similarities to Wintervale. While the towns were vastly different, it appeared to have the warmth of Wintervale, where everyone knew each other and greeted each other on the streets. As far as he could tell, the biggest draw in the area was the hot springs resort.
They pulled up to a small yellow house, and Miles got out, his palms sweating already. He tipped the driver and grabbed his bag before walking up to the front door and knocking.
Here goes nothing.
But it wasn’t Kelly who answered. Or Ava. It was a man.
“Oh, uh.” Miles looked at the house number and scratched his head. “I don’t know if I have the right house. Does Kelly live here?”
He tilted his head and looked Miles up and down. “She does. Are you Miles?”
“I am.”
“I’m Cole, Kelly’s brother.” He held a hand out. Their hands clasped, and the guy gave him a brief but firm shake.
“Oh, that’s right. You’re her twin.”
Cole nodded. “I hate to break it to you, man, but she isn’t here.”
Miles looked around the dark street, disappointment crawling through him. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“No. I mean, she left. She loaded up her car and is driving to Montana.”
The air left Miles. That was the last thing he expected. She was driving to Montana… for him? Cole motioned for Miles to come inside the house and shut the door behind him.
“So you’re the guy my sister fell for, huh?” Cole said.
Miles was too stunned to speak, so he merely nodded his head. A moment later, Ava entered the room but stopped short. Her eyes widened.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Montana!”
“So I heard,” Miles said softly, dropping onto the couch in the living room. “When did she leave?”
“Early this morning. Like five a.m. She should be there any minute,” Ava said.
He picked up his phone and pulled up flights out of Storyville and back to Montana. The next one wouldn’t leave until the morning. He pressed his palms to his eyes briefly and sighed. “Well, this didn’t quite go as planned.”
“But the gesture was nice,” Ava said.
Miles gave her a weak smile and scrubbed a hand over his jaw before standing up. “Well, I’m going to see if I can get a hotel and try to fly out in the morning.”
“No. You can stay in Kelly’s room,” Ava said. Then she looked over at Cole, who nodded.
“Yeah. Stay in Kelly’s room. Her furniture is all still there, so there’s a bed already made up,” Cole said.
“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Miles said.
Ava tipped her head toward the hallway. “Come with me. I’ll show you where it is.”
Miles followed her to a small room with a double bed and dresser. There was little in the room aside from the furniture, and he smiled knowing she had loaded her car up and left for Montana. Once Ava left the room, Miles laid back on the bed. Kelly’s scent washed over him, and he let out a sigh before calling her.
