Page 14 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

She arched a brow, pursed her lips, but remained quiet as I let the rest of the story about his half-apology, and Sally Mae’s refusal to start, unravel. When I had finally finished rambling she squeezed my hand.

‘I’m sure it hurt to see him after all this time but you’ll get through it. You’re the strongest person I know.’ Her voice went calm like she knew I was at a breaking point.

A part of me wanted to tell her about what Mom had said on that final day. Why Huckleberry Lane and all the other houses I wanted to save were such an important part of honoring Mom’s last wish, but Tessa already had so many worries and I refused to add to them.

‘Just by your short interaction, you’re sure Beck won’t be able to fix the house properly?’ she said, pulling me back to the conversation.

‘Last I’d heard, he owned part of an advertising agency in Nashville. When does he have time to work on renovating a house?’ A sick feeling oozed through me. ‘What if he passes it off to some contractor who knows nothing about historic renovation? What if they demolish the mahogany railings? Or replace the hardwood floors with some type of laminate?’ I hunched forward as my stomach tumbled.

Yeah. Worse than bad gas-station sushi.

She played with her skirt. The edge of her mouth ticking. ‘Okay, I have to ask. How does he look after all these years? Is he like Ryan Reynolds cute or Chris Evans rugged?’

‘Tess!’ I groaned. ‘That is so not the point.’

‘Hey, inquiring minds and all that because word of him being back is going to spread around town quicker than the stomach bug we all had last year.’

Even though I didn’t want to answer, I loved the fact that a teasing edge had finally returned to her voice.

‘Chris Evans,’ I mumbled before dropping my head in my hands.

Tessa kneeled in front of me and ran a finger along my jaw, showing me a thin line of oil. ‘I thought you fixed Sally Mae’s alternator?’

‘It’s her spark plugs now, but don’t tell Dad. It’ll be one more thing he can give me grief about.’

‘Hey,’ she said, her voice sobering. ‘Beck has memories of the house too. Didn’t you say he bought it for Piper?’

I only managed a nod.

‘Why don’t you talk to him? Offer some advice. At least then you’d know what he was planning.’

‘Hell no! The last thing I’m going to do is offer my services to him just so he can turn me down.’

I wished I hadn’t inherited my father’s quick temper. When I saw a problem in front of me I wanted to slay it like I was a fire-breathing dragon defending its castle. Unfortunately, I’d learned over the last few months that when you overreacted you got burned. The fiasco with Hearth and Home had taught me that hard lesson.

‘Do you love that house?’ she asked with a steady tone that reminded me so much of our mom.

‘Yes, but I can’t deal with the other baggage that goes along with it.’

‘I remember how badly he hurt you, but it’s been a long time, Tor. Maybe you should forgive him. Let him off the hook, not because he deserves it but because you need to move on.’

‘Watching him drive away with his family when I was seventeen was like having that stupid RV drive straight over my young heart. The only thing that made me hold on was the fact that I knew he’d be back in a year. That he was excited about being homeschooled and exploring the US with his family. But then…’ I pulled in an achy breath. ‘After his parents’ sudden death, I couldn’t get any real information besides that obituary that appeared in the paper. Don’t you remember the hell I went through?’

She nodded, her mouth going grim. ‘Yes, I remember it all. Mom was so worried about you. You wouldn’t eat or sleep.’

‘I spent months waiting for any communication from him. Then out of the blue he sent me that email breaking up with me. A fucking email, Tess.’

She gripped my hands tighter like she could sense I was unraveling again.

‘A few months later, Maisey Bedford showed me that picture of him with that pretty brunette looking all cozy.’

I hated the way my voice cracked on the final word. It’d been ten years since it happened. I should be over it. But while his callous breakup was rough, what I couldn’t understand was how carelessly he’d thrown away our years of friendship. The fact that there was no easy deceleration to our conversations. After he sent that email, there was nothing but radio silence and that hurt more than anything else.

‘What I need to do is work on what I can control. That’s getting Parkview finished and sold. Then Manny and I can decide what to do next.’

She pulled me into another gentle hug. ‘I know you’ll figure it out.’

‘What do you think Mom would say if she was here?’ I whispered.