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CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
INSIDE A CYCLONE
THEO
My body feels like it’s been whiplashed in a tornado.
I can’t imagine how Sofie must feel reliving that story…and in the very place where it happened.
Once again, I’m reminded of what a miracle it is to have her back in my life. If I’d experienced half of what she has, I’m not sure I would have had the strength to come back here.
When I help her to her feet, she’s dazed, but then she slowly moves toward her mom’s jewelry chest and turns back to look at me. Fred’s nails tap excitedly against the wood floor. All the emotions and heaviness in the air make him anxious.
“I think I’d like to keep this,” Sofie says, opening the armoire again.
“I’ll put it in the truck right now if you want. Anything else?”
She looks around the room, taking it all in before shaking her head.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m going to tell Aunt Hilary everything the next time I see her. She’s offered to take care of the rest of the house and…I’m ready to take her up on that. I needed to face this, but now...” She takes my hand and pulls me to the door. “Let’s get out of here. We can grab the boxes by the door, and I’ll go check my closet one more time to see if there’s anything I’ll ever want to wear again, but I’m ready to go. And not ever come back,” she adds.
I nod briskly and spend the next ten minutes grabbing everything she tells me she wants to keep. Once I have an idea of what’s staying and what’s going, I move her toward the front door.
“I can take it from here. Why don’t you go to the stables while I pack up or you can head home if you’re ready. I’ll be there soon. I can pick up some food for us on the way home. Do you need a burger from Sunny Side? Or I could grab a pizza and a bottle of wine from The Gnarly Vine…”
The tension seeps out of her shoulders as she nods. “Okay, yeah. Either one sounds good. I think I’ll hang out with the horses for a few minutes and then head home.”
I open the door and kiss her soft lips, unable to resist tasting her for another second. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear you call it home.”
She smiles up at me and I give her one more quick kiss. After what she’s told me, I never want her out of my sight, but I let her go because I don’t want her to have to be in this place for another second.
“I love you,” I tell her, giving her a soft nudge toward the stables.
“I love you,” she says over her shoulder as she walks away.
When I close the door behind her, I sag against the door for a second and put my head in my hands, crying one more time for the devastation Sofie experienced under this roof.
* * *
It takes half an hour for me to get everything in the truck. Sofie still has the horses in the ring when I drive over there to check on her. She’s petting Fiona and when I move next to Sofie, the rescue horse remains calm, but Sofie startles.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve let you know I was here.”
“I didn’t hear the truck,” she says. “That was fast.”
“Not as fast as I was hoping to be.” I pat Fiona’s back. “You okay? I can stay with the horses a while longer if you’re ready to go home.”
“No, I’m ready. Let’s eat. I think I’m in the mood for a burger. Oh, and I called Aunt Hilary—they’re coming tonight.” She makes a face. “I figure I may as well rip off the Band-Aid. Now that I’ve told you, maybe it’ll be easier to tell her…and it’ll get things moving with the house one way or the other.”
I’m in awe of her, but I don’t say it. I nod and pat Fiona one more time.
“I’ll leave the horses out here until I come back to feed them later,” she says. “Theo?”
I turn to face her. “Yeah?”
“Areyouokay?”
I tug her waist toward me, my hands on her hips. “I’m blown away by you,” I admit. “And the one thing I don’t want you doing right now or ever again…is worry aboutme.”
