AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know. I guess it wasn’t something he thought you’d find important. Do you?”
“Well, no. You know my life doesn’t revolve around money.”
“Then, there you have it.”
“Well, OK, so he’s not putting himself in financial jeopardy, but I’m still upset with him for sticking his nose in where I asked him not to. He should have respected my wishes.”
“He loves you. He wanted to help you. I get it. He messed up, and he’s still doing it. But as far as the loan thing is concerned, I’m sorry not to be completely on your side, but it sounds like his heart was in the right place.”
“I just wanted to do this for myself. You know? I got out of vet school and started the clinic with Shaun. I couldn’t afford to do it by myself, and look where that whole situation got me. Everything seemed to be fine when we were just dating, but we got engaged and moved in together—the kiss of death for us. I mixed my relationship with business and ended up with a broken engagement and half a clinic that I’m going to have to sell at a loss to get myself out of that whole mess. I just didn’t want that to happen with Jon too.”
“That’s the problem, Rain. You can’t compare your situation with your ex to what you have with Jon. Jon would do anything for you, even if you told him to get lost tomorrow. I’ve been here during all those years you were gone and I’ve seen how Jon was before you came back. He might have had plenty of dates, but he had zero relationships. He never got over you.”
“That’s not true. What about Allison Clarke? She seemed pretty hot and heavy with him when I got here.”
“Allison? She wishes. She and Jon were never a couple, more like friends with benefits. Don’t get me wrong, she’d have jumped at the chance, but Jon always kept her at a distance. Her sister told me he flat-out told Allison she should find someone to make her happy, because that was never going to be him.”
“Why did she stay with him if he told her that?”
“She just thought he might change his mind, I guess. She cared about him, even if he couldn’t give her what she wanted.”
“Well, I guess there were at least four million reasons for her to keep trying.”
“Nah. I know you don’t remember her from high school, but Allison isn’t like that, at all. She’s a sweetheart, and has money of her own. She was married before, and her husband died. There was a settlement and she walked away a lot better off than she had been growing up or while married. Plus, she’s a nurse. She works nights at the clinic so she can take day classes to become a physical therapist. She makes her own money too.”
“You’re making it really hard to hate her.”
“I know. Try not to, though. She’s no threat to you.”
I nodded and reached for another slice of pizza, giving myself a moment to absorb all this. Becky seemed to know I needed a moment and grabbed a slice of her own, munching on it as she stood to look around the place.
“I really like what you’ve done here. It’s coming along pretty well.”
“Yeah, funds are a little limited, so I’m trying to just make small changes that will update it a bit. I’ve put away some of Grandma’s stuff, and that helped too.”
“I’ve got some stuff you might use. I moved to a smaller place last year and have it all crammed into a spare room. Anything you want, you can have. It’ll get me moving on getting it out of my way and doing something with that space finally. I could set up a little work area in there to make my jewelry, maybe do some sewing.”
“Yeah, if you’re sure. I’ll stop by next time I’m in town and you’re home.”
“I’ll expect pizza and wine.”
“Of course,” I laughed.
We finished off the pizza and piled up on the sofa to chat. It was like old times with the two of us laughing it up, except, back then, we’d have been drinking Strawberry Hill that we’d talked an old alcoholic named Benson Rochelle into buying for us in return for the money to get him a bottle of his own. By the time we called it a night, she’d caught me up on most of the town’s gossip I’d missed over the last fourteen years. I’d gotten a taste of it here and there from Grandma, but she’d steered clear of a lot of the shenanigans. It was starting to really feel like home again, but there was one thing still missing—Jon.
22
Jon
There was something liberating about being here beside the lake. I tossed a blanket onto the small dock that jutted out from the side nearest the cabin and lay down, looking up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, cloudless, rainless with a slight breeze to offset the heat. It felt a little like old times when Rain and I used to come down here and watch the sun as it drifted downward and slowly set behind the nearby hills.
