AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh.” Her tone is dejected, and I thank God for the zillionth time that I have a friend like her.
From the moment we met, we clicked. We’d been best friends before I told her everything, but it only strengthened our bond. She’s the one who encouraged me to come back to Landmark and just see if I felt like I could have a life here again. Knew a part of me would always be missing until I did.
“But he did see me naked, and we kissed,” I say, cackling when I hear her gasp so hard it makes her cough.
“You should’ve started with that,” she says. “Back up.Whathappened?”
I tell her everything and let her process it for a minute before saying, “I know it’s crazy, but it feels like progress.”
“Hell, yeah, it does,” she says. “The last time we talked, you thought he was dating someone named Amy, and this time he felt you up and kissed you senseless. Hell, yeah, it’s progress!” She pauses. “When do you plan on telling him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sofie…”
“I know. I just…I need to get my bearings first.”
I hear Dakota’s little voice in the background, and Marlow sighs.
“You’re right, peanut,” she says. “I’ll add two quarters in the jar as soon as I’m off of the phone with Auntie Sof.”
“Auntie Sof!” Dakota says, closer to the phone now.
“Let me talk to her,” I say, laughing.
“Hi, Auntie!” she says, her cute little voice sounding clearer every time we talk. It hurts that she’s growing up without me. “When are you coming home?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m hoping you and your mama can come visit me soon. Think you can talk her into that?”
“She wants us to come see her,” she tells Marlow. “Mama’s nodding, so that’s a yes.”
I smile, wishing I’d FaceTimed so I could see the two of them. Next time. “Perfect. I’ve got three horses you haven’t met yet, and I think you’ll really love Fiona.”
“Fiona the princess?”
“Yes, Fiona the horse princess. I’m going to get her ready for you to ride, okay?”
“Okay. I hope we can come tomorrow.”
“It’ll take a little more time than that, but your mom and I will be working on it, okay?”
“Can Daddy come too?”
I hesitate for the briefest second. “Of course. If he wants to, of course he can.”
Marlow’s husband, Cash, is not my favorite person. He started out as a ranch hand at the horse farm I worked at a couple years after I got there, and Marlow had a horse that we boarded for her. He’d flirted mercilessly with me from his first day and gave up when he wasn’t getting anywhere, quickly moving on to any other girl that came through, including Marlow. I just don’t trust the guy, never have, but I haven’t let it ruin my friendship with her.
She got pregnant with Dakota, and they got married. Dakota’s four and I’d like to think Cash has stepped it up some since then, but Marlow doesn’t talk about him much with me anymore. Not since I was the one in the delivery room with her and he wasn’t.
Dakota’s saying, “Maybe you can come home tomorrow and then we’ll go to your house.”
“I wish it was that close!”
“So do I,” she cries. “Mama, do that speaker thing. Tell her when we’re gonna see her.”
Oh, my heart hurts.
Marlow turns it on speakerphone and says, “She’s making me cry over here. We miss you more than ever, Sofie, but I just know you’re where you’re supposed to be.”
