“Court!”I scold.
“Fine,” she grumbles.“Dinner’s at six.Come or don’t.”With that, she turns and walks out of my office.
“Do you have to antagonize her like that?”I ask Bowen.
He shrugs.“It’s our thing.Besides, she gives it back.This isn’t one-sided, Ellison.”
I heave a heavy sigh, because he’s right.These two have been at odds with each other for years, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
I point an index finger at him.“Best behavior at dinner, Bowen Nichols.”
He stands to his full height and salutes me.“Yes, ma’am.Now come on, I’m starving, and you’ve been sitting in that chair long enough.”He winks, and I laugh.
Grabbing my purse and my phone, we head out of the inn and down the drive to our family house on the property.
I was so close to moving out on my own when we lost our parents.I’ve come to realize that dreams come and go.They change as we grow, and I have zero regrets stepping up to be a parental figure to my younger sisters.Leighton graduated that year, and Courtlynn was a sophomore.Our grandparents offered, but I needed them to focus on the inn, to give me time to learn to step into my dad’s shoes.
There was a time when I was a young girl full of dreams of love and a happily ever after, and ideas of a life beyond Magnolia Ridge.That dream has since changed, and I know in my soul, this is where I’m supposed to be.
Two
Copeland
My boots feel heavy as I take the small set of steps to reach my front door.It’s been a long-ass day of training the recruits.Even though it’s only five o’clock, I’m ready to shower, shove some food down my throat, and fall face-first into the mattress.Zero four hundred comes early, and I’m getting too old for this.Three more years, and I’ll have my twenty years of service, then I’m out.I’ve done my time.I’ve devoted my life to the Marines, and although I’m worried about what life after the service looks like, I’m ready.
I have no idea what I’ll do once I’m retired, though.An image ofherflashes in my mind, but I push it back.She was my dream, one that I still have, if I’m being honest with myself, even though almost two decades have passed.I’m sure she’s married and has a few kids by now.I won’t let my brother, Chandler, or my mom talk about her when we catch up.When I visit them, I stay at home, never venturing out for fear I might run into her.I want her to be happy—of course, I do.I just want her to be happy with me.
It’s fucked-up that, all these years later, she’s still the only woman I want.Seeing her live the life I wanted for us would cut too deep.Create a wound that would never heal.Even after all this time, seventeen years to be exact, I wouldn’t have been able to handle seeing her with someone else.Then or now.It’s a problem—I’m well aware—but one I don’t see ever going away.I gave my heart to the blue-eyed, dark-haired girl long ago, and there’s no getting it back.
It doesn’t matter if she’s moved on.
My heart will always be hers.
Unlocking the front door, I step inside and sigh.It’s damn good to be home, even if this place has never really felt like home.It’s where I lay my head at night.I untie my boots and set them neatly on the rug by the door before stripping out of my clothes as I make my way to my bedroom.My phone and wallet get tossed onto the bed, and the dirty clothes are put into the hamper in the bathroom.Reaching in, I start the shower, just as my phone rings.I groan, because chances are it’s work-related.Part of me wants to say fuck it, I’m off duty, but there’s a larger part, the one that thrives on my oath of duty to my country, that will always answer.
Turning back to the bedroom, I grab my phone from where I tossed it on the mattress, and smile when I see it’s my brother.“Well, if it isn’t my big brother.How are ya?”I ask, moving back to the bathroom and turning off the water.I don’t get to talk to Chandler as much as I’d like, so this call takes priority over my shower, my stomach, and the need for sleep.
“Cope,” he says, his voice cracking, and I’m instantly on alert.
“What is it?”I rasp, already knowing that his words are going to rock me.My big brother is not one to pull pranks, so I know whatever he has to say is going to alter my world.
“Fuck.I hate telling you this over the phone.”
“Spit it out, Chan,” I demand.Even I can hear the worry in my voice.
“It’s Mom.Breast cancer,” he says, his tone full of anguish.
“Cancer?”I ask, because I’m having a hard time processing his words.
“She got her annual exam, and they found a lump.She didn’t tell me.Didn’t tell Macie.She just dealt with it on her own.Until today,” he says, stopping to take a breath.
“Today?”
“Yeah, she went for a biopsy and ultrasound without telling us.She claims she didn’t want us to worry unless there was a reason to.”
“Damn independent woman,” I huff.
“Yeah,” Chandler agrees.“You know how she is, Cope.She’s a fighter.We lost Dad, and she stepped up.She raised us, working the family business and cleaning houses just to make ends meet.She’s not one to let this get her down.”
