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“Thanks, that would be fabulous. Though I won’t be traveling much for the next nine months. I’m going back to school to be a midwife.”
“Really? That’s impressive. How amazing to see babies being born, wow.”
“It’s what I’ve wanted to do for years now. I’m excited, though I am glad I took a year off from school to travel the world. Do you want kids, Edwina?”
“Yes.” There was that damn lump in her throat again. She unzipped her shorts and eased them down over her knees and ankles. She kicked them aside and sprayed herself with sunscreen. “I love babies.”
“Me too, obviously. I’m not ready for a family of my own anytime soon, but I’m excited to start school again.”
Since they were being conversational, Edwina let curiosity get the better of her.
“I hear your relationship with Jesse has been a whirlwind,” she said, smiling at Astrid. She hoped that sounded polite and not judgemental. Because she wasn’t disapproving as much as she was still extremely curious how that worked. What made a couple decide they were right for each other that quickly.
She’d always assumed it was lust in fast moving relationships, like her parents. Or practical convenience, like when it made sense to share the rent. But she didn’t think that Astrid and Jesse had even been together long enough for there to be an unplanned pregnancy, or not one they knew about yet.
They seemed to be in love. They looked at each other like they were in love.
But was that even possible after such a short time?
Edwina wanted to know. She put the sunscreen down and leaned back on the palms of her hands. The lake was dark and deep, surrounded by massive pine trees. It reminded her how lucky she had been to spend her early childhood here, hiking and swimming and boating. Skating and ice fishing with her father in the winter whenever her mother went back east to visit her father..
Her father had definitely worked to live. He’d thoroughly enjoyed his weekends and had always brought Edwina along with him on as many of his activities as he could.
“Whirlwind romance is a very accurate description of me and Jesse,” Astrid said, grinning. “Things definitely fell in place.” Her cheeks were pink with excitement, her eyes were shining, and she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Her joy was tangible.
Edwina had the sad and sneaking suspicion she’d never looked like that.
Maybe not since Beaver Bend had won the state hockey championship when she was in middle school. The grinning photo Sloane had found was proof of that.
But how did she look when she spoke about Nigel? She didn’t know the answer but she could guarantee it wasn’t the way Astrid appeared right now.
“That’s so amazing. You came to Beaver Bend, met Jesse, and your life just totally changed.” Edwina suspected she wasn’t that adaptable. Or maybe it was that she wasn’t that fearless. Or secure in her own decision making. Any of it.
“Right? Except Jesse and I knew each other before, you know. He was my hockey mentor when I was a teenager.”
“You played hockey?” Edwina instantly felt more at ease. “I did too. I loved it so much.”
“I hated it,” Astrid confessed. “Not because I hate the sport of hockey, but because I was so bad at it. I have zero coordination and all the other players would get so mad at me and then I would get more and more anxious and of course, play even worse. But Jesse was so nice to me. He was patient, reassuring, full of pep talks just for me. Well, it felt like just for me. I had a huge, massive crush on him.”
That made a lot more sense to Edwina than falling in love in one night. There was history between the two of them. “Did you date as teenagers?”
Astrid made a face and laughed, waving her hand. “No, absolutely not. I was fifteen and Jesse was twenty, twenty-one. He didn’t see me as anything other than a kid, a student. The crush was very one-sided, trust me.”
“That sounds painfully familiar,” Edwina said, the words popping out before she could think about how revealing they were.
Astrid picked up on it immediately. “Oh, really?” she asked, eyes sparkling. “And would that clueless teenage boy happen to be Sullivan O’Toole?”
She debated denying it, then decided it didn’t matter. That was a lifetime ago and it was the truth. “Yes. I admit it, I thought he was dreamy.” She smiled. “A mediocre hockey player, but dreamy.”
Astrid laughed. “You never told him?”
She grinned. “That he was a mediocre hockey player? All the time.”
“Hah. Sounds like classic teenage deflection. But you never told him you had a crush on him?”
Edwina shook her head. “Hell, no. Have you seen the picture of me as a teenager? I was all long limbs and track suits and bangs. I should never have had bangs.” The memory made her shudder. “Sullivan liked the cheerleader types. Like Kendra.”
“I’m sorry. I sympathize with awkward teen years one hundred percent. I shouldn’t have asked you about Sullivan.”
