“Maybe. But you’ve become a big part of his life.”
My sister looked at me then, worry returning. I could practically hear the unspoken question.What happens next week when the movie wraps?
But Candace knew me well enough not to ask.
“Let’s get you home,” she said.
As we made our way down the dark highway, I thought about Mercer and Candace having a baby. Not all change was bad.
For so long, I’d seen any upset to my carefully constructed life as an inconvenience—something to be endured or dealt with. At thirty-six, I was already stuck in my ways. But our lives weren’t static or stationary. They evolved. Families grew and matured.
That thing I’d been trying to forget elbowed its way to the forefront. Those photos of Ian and me. How we’d looked at each other. How the love was written all over our faces.
We’d been playing house for months, deviating from my perfectly crafted solitary existence. It had been effortless, and the happiest I’d ever been ... because of Ian and George.
Not all change was bad, I thought again.
Maybe Icouldgo with Ian to Los Angeles for the premiere. We’d been happy in Kirby Falls, but it wouldn’t hurt to give a little, to see his life, too. To let him show me. Maybe we could figure this out if he wanted to. Be adults about it.
Yes, I was a farmer full-time, but my work was seasonal. Perhaps we could split our time, make it work.
Good things were worth hanging on to with both hands. And this—me and Ian and George—we were the best thing.
As Candace drove slowly down my bumpy drive, I pulled out my phone.
Before I lost my nerve, I typed out a short text and hit send.
Me: If the offer still stands, yes, I’ll come to LA for the premiere.
twenty
IAN
The flight to Los Angeles was long and a little turbulent leaving Charlotte.
I shouldn’t have enjoyed it so much, but Joan was a terrible flyer. She was nervous and jumpy, all clenched-jaw tension and white-knuckled stress.
On the ground, the woman was a fortress, bothered by very little, no problem she couldn’t solve. But when the plane dipped unexpectedly due to some bumpy air, she grabbed my hand like a lifeline and squeezed the hell out of it. It probably had something to do with her passive position in the cabin. If she’d been able to fly the plane, it was likely she would have been just fine.
But I liked being the one she’d reached for. It was selfish, but there it was.
Mostly, I felt grateful that Joan had agreed to come at all. I’d been shocked to get her text last week saying she’d attend the premiere. I wouldn’t waste the opportunity or the time we’d been given. Part of me worried how things might change between us outside the small-town bubble we’d been existing in. But we wouldn’t know unless we tried.
Darren was accompanying us on the commercial flight. Georgie was staying in Kirby Falls with Sophia. But I imagined my nephew would be spending plenty of time with Nick and Amy Judd, Candace and Mercer, too.
Georgie had already texted me twenty-plus pictures of him and Ralph that morning before we’d even boarded the flight. Rationally, I knew that he would be fine, but I still felt uneasy that I’d be so far away.
We’d finished filming in Kirby Falls yesterday. The plan was for Georgie to stay with Sophia in North Carolina until I wrapped up my obligations for the Inferno Man franchise and could return.
First, I had a few weeks of shooting in the studio and postproduction with Della in LA. The schedule would be grueling. Then I’d have the media tour following that in early April, traveling all over to promote my final film in theInferno Manseries. The LA premiere this weekend was just the beginning. I wasn’t dragging Georgie to New York and London just so Sophia could try to find ways to keep the kid entertained on her own while I was stuck in hotel rooms all day for interviews and meetings with the press. That wasn’t fair to either of them.
Georgie had a routine in Kirby Falls. He was happy there. That was what I kept reminding myself.
I’d be back in six weeks. Then, I could figure things out regarding Georgie, Joan, and the future.
Yes, I was probably being cowardly in waiting, but fear was a great motivator. Plus, something told me that this weekend would be an important part of moving forward together.
When we arrived at my beach house on the northern edge of Malibu, we were both worn out. Multiple flights and a long layover in Dallas had us looking forward to collapsing shortly after walking in the door.
