Page 150 of Falling Back to You

Small manageable steps. But just lying here, my body ached. Moving would only make it worse. Warmth scalded my eyes, and a trickle of tears leaked out. Today of all days was not the ideal time for a flare up. I wanted to go back to sleep for another ten hours.

Dragging myself across the room, each step sending shooting pain through my legs—like walking on broken glass—I grabbed the sweater and comfortable jeans I’d laid out the night before and headed for the bathroom. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. When the pain got this high, it triggered nausea. What a winning combination.

After choking down breakfast, my vitamins, and a coffee, I fiddled with my phone. I couldn’t drive, not like this. But who to call?

A chipper knock rang through the cottage, and I frowned at the front door. Who had the energy to be that energetic so early in the morning? It wasn’t Cal’s knock. In fact, it sounded awfully like—

“Macy?” I said, dumbfounded, as I swung the door open.

“Surprise!” Macy flung her arms around me.

A grunt of pain escaped me, and she softened her grip. “Bad day?” she whispered sympathetically.

“Yeah.”

“Want me to drive?”

I squeezed her. “You’re an angel in flannel and—” I took in the rest of her outfit. “Is that a Jerry shirt?”

“I found it online!” Macy beamed and held out the bottom of the T-shirt so I could read it better.

Sure enough, it was cartoon Jerry scowling in all his grumpy glory with the words, “Why be a Karen when you can be a Jerry?” underneath.

I shook my head. This town was cracked. “Why are you here?”

“It’s close enough to Thanksgiving, and I wanted to see you.” Macy’s onyx eyes glimmered with mischief. “And I wanted to meet your boyfriend. Make sure he’s good enough for my girl.”

“Mace.” I groaned but couldn’t stop my smile. “Fine, let’s go. You can help me with the last-minute setup.” I reached for my cane propped behind the door, then hesitated. While I was grateful to have a tool that made my life easier, some days it was hard to swallow using it in public. It acted like a magnet, drawing everyone’s stares. That’s your pride talking.

Gripping the handle, I limped out to Macy’s rental car, and she chatted away as we started the short drive into town. She pulled onto the shoulder to take pictures of the fluffy cows.

“Remind me to ask you whose farm that is so I can ask them if they offer cow hugging,” she said once we were back on the road.

I was right—she was obsessed.

Once she parked outside the library, I checked my reflection in the drop-down mirror before we hopped out. Main Street was quiet this morning. The streetlamps had just gone off, and the light from the sunrise crept over the hushed streets. Banners, pennants, and pumpkins decorated the shops, the windows filled with simple fall designs Paisley had drawn.

I inhaled the crisp, sharp morning air, holding my breath till my lungs burned before letting it out.

This was where I belonged.

“Put me to work, chica.” Macy grinned at me across the roof of the car.

“You might regret that,” I teased. “How do you feel about scarecrows?”

We’d set most of the decorations up yesterday, but there were always a few things that got added the morning of. Several of the Satterfields arrived minutes after we did, and the extra volunteers warmed something inside me.

Cal was the first one on the scene. He strode over to us in all his flannel-and-backwards-hat glory, giving me a quick kiss. “Hard day?” he asked in a low tone, hand lingering on my lower back as he gave me a once-over.

I hated that it was so obvious, but I leaned into his side. “Better now that you’re here.”

He grinned and kissed my temple. “Consider me your right-hand man. I’ve got you.” Then he straightened, as if noticing Macy for the first time. Odd, since my bestie was gorgeous with her jet-black hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her rich brown skin, and she never lacked for male attention. “You must be Macy. Elle talks about you all the time.”

Macy shot me a knowing look. “She has impeccable taste. Now tell me, are you gonna marry her? Because Nasty Nate led her on for years before dumping her like last night’s leftovers, and if you plan on doing the same, you’ll have to deal with me.”

“Mace!” I hissed. For all of Macy’s strong points, tact was definitely not one of them.

“Nasty Nate?” Cal asked, amused.