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“Will I ever see you again?” he asked as she pulled open the door to excuse him.
“I really don’t know, Asher. It’s a big city, after all.”
He stood for a moment as if he expected her to say more, but eventually turned to walk away. As he descended the stairs slowly, she shut the door, taking a deep breath as the tears found her eyes. Was any city big enough for baggage of this magnitude?
Chapter Thirty
ONE MONTH LATER
Darlington, Texas: Home of the 1976 State Champion High School Boys Basketball Team.
Finn thought the sign was hilarious as they rolled into Blythe’s hometown. She was nervous, fidgeting in her seat and adjusting her hair anxiously. Would the place have changed? She doubted it. Would she be welcomed back? Also questionable. People who left Darlington were often looked at as traitors, and people who left Darlington for big cities were pretty much assumed to have something wrong with them.
“I didn’t know how I’d feel,” she admitted, “being back in the last place I saw my parents.”
“Howdoyou feel?” he asked, staring at her out of the corner of his eye.
“I still don’t know.” She shrugged, staring as they drove past Miller’s Marketplace, the gazebo that badly needed a paint job, and the old, run-down bank on the square.
He held her hand across the console between them in the rented SUV. “You know we can turn around at any time.”
She smiled at him, trusting that he truly meant it, but knowing it was no use. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Darlington. The small-town ways she was used to were of no use in the big city. If she was ever going to make it in New York—ever going to make it with Finn—she needed him to get to know this part of her. She wanted him to see the place she’d learned to ride a bike—the big hill behind the old white house that was now gone. She wanted him to see her old school, to eat at the restaurants she’d frequented as a teen. As much as he’d shown her around New York City and told her about his life there, she felt she owed him that in return. She wanted to know him on every level, and she wanted him to do the same with her.
“Turn left here,” she instructed, pointing toward the only motel in town, a small red and white building with one floor and six rooms. “It’s right there.”
He pulled in, unable to hide his shocked expression. “Wow,” he said simply.
“I told you it was small,” she said. “And not very nice, I’m afraid. But the nearest city is Austin, and it’s an hour away.”
“It’s great,” he told her. “Really, it is. I never knew places like this existed. I mean, I guess I did…but I’ve only ever seen them on TV. It always made them seem…made up.”
“Funny,” she said, climbing out of the car. “I thought the same thing about men like you.”
He waited for her to walk around to his side of the car after he climbed out, throwing his arm around her shoulders and heading into the motel. A bell rang out over the door, announcing their presence.
After a few moments, the couple heard hurried footsteps approaching them. “Do you need help?” a woman’s voice called. “Oh,” she said when she saw them, clearly shocked by who awaited her. “I’m sorry, I was waiting for my, er, handyman to get back from the market.” Her eyes drifted to Blythe. “Well, my word, Blythe Jameson! What in heaven’s name are you doing back here?” AnnaBeth Better placed her hands on her hips, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Hey, AnnaBeth,” Blythe said politely, unsure how she was going to be welcomed. “It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too,” she said happily, rushing to her side and pulling her into a quick hug. “I can’t believe you’re home! And who is this?” she asked, gesturing toward Finn. Without waiting for an introduction, she extended a hand. “I’m AnnaBeth Better. Pleased to meet you.”
“Finn O’Brien,” he told her, shaking her hand politely. “Blythe’s boyfriend.”
“Ooooh, boyfriend?” she asked happily, looking back to Blythe with a dropped jaw. “Well, you’ll just have to tell me all about it. You went off and found yourself a New York boy and brought him home to our little corner of the world. I can’t wait ’til the girls hear about this! We’ve been wondering when we’d hear from you next.”
Blythe forced a smile, feeling incredibly awkward. “We aren’t here to stay for long. Just for a few nights. I’m showing Finn around Darlington.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “Well, let me just get y’all checked in, then! Where are my manners? I swear I’m usually much more professional. You just make sure you get him over to Norma’s to eat a piece of apple pie and have some sweet tea…we both know you’ll have him wantin’ to stay then.”
“Will do,” Blythe promised. “So, you work here now?” she asked as AnnaBeth walked behind the counter and flipped open the book to get them checked in. She gave Finn the side-eye, waiting to see if he’d get a kick out of the fact that the only motel in town didn’t even run off of computers yet.
“Actually,” AnnaBeth paused for dramatic effect, “I own the place!” She smiled broadly, holding her arms out to her sides as if saying ‘Ta-da!’
“What?” Blythe asked, feeling shocked. “Seriously? AnnaBeth, that’s incredible!” She genuinely meant it, and she could tell how much the place meant to her old friend by the look on her face.
“Thank you,” she said modestly, jotting something down in the book and turning around to grab a set of keys from the wall. “Well, it’s not much, you know? But Ed and Lori were planning to sell the place after they retired, and I didn’t want it to end up in the wrong hands. We always loved this place as a kid. Remember when Momma brought us here for my ninth birthday so we could all swim in the pool?” She laughed. “It holds some great memories for me, and I needed a job anyway, so it just worked out.” She shrugged as if it were that simple.
“I’m really, really happy for you,” Blythe told her, feeling her shoulders lose their tension as she connected more and more with her memories.
