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I frowned and stepped forward to take the bright-red envelope from her hand, flipping it over to see my name neatly written on the front of the envelope. I frowned as I stared down at it. It was writing I recognized almost immediately, and I felt my heart speed up.
“You know, Tristan, I’m sure if you plot out the path correctly, you can always stop into Willow Valley to say good-bye.” She winked.
A funny feeling hit my stomach as I nodded, taking what she was saying into consideration. “I’ll see you around, Vicki. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year, Tristan.”
I turned, making my way back to my desk to put the last few things into the small box I’d packed.
* * *
My apartment was a mess, boxes were everywhere. I’d left what I’d been working on and sat on my mattress. It lay on the floor since I’d dismantled my bed. I leaned back against the cold wall. The small bedside light softly lit the room. My arms rested on my bent knees, and I stared at the small red envelope that Vicki had given me. I still hadn’t opened it.
I sat there, twirling it in my fingers, my stomach spinning as I wondered what the contents said. Finally, I got up the nerve, and I tore the corner open. I pulled out the neatly folded piece of paper and opened it.
Dear Tristan,
Don’t worry, this isn’t instructions, you can breathe a sigh of relief. I hope I didn’t take too long to get this to you. I’m hoping you are still at the magazine. If not, hopefully they will forward it to your new address.
It’s taken me a while to be able to come to terms with how I was feeling and to be able to write it out. Finally, I did it. First, I really want you to know what your help meant to me. You gave me the best Christmas gift anyone could have given me. The opportunity to keep my business going. It may not seem a big deal, given the fact that I do have staff, but that extra help you offered made the world of difference in their lives. I know I thanked you a million times over. I just don’t want you to forget it. That something you did made a difference to someone else.
I also want you to know that I will always treasure our time together. It wasn’t too long ago that I never thought your name and those words would leave my mouth in the same sentence. But you changed that too. I miss those nights, even if it were only a couple, that I spent wrapped in your arms. You are a kind and gentle lover, and I am so thankful that I was able to experience that. I may even be a little jealous of the woman who gets to experience that for the rest of her life.
The morning that you got that call, I was planning to ask you to stay here, in Willow Valley. I really felt that you ended up being a great asset to The Crispy Biscuit. I also felt that we had something special. I know you tried to get it out of me, but the reason I didn’t say anything was because I didn’t want you to give up on your dream. You were excited. The light in your eyes was something I hadn’t ever seen in you before. No matter how badly I wanted you to stay, to be near me, with me, I realized on my part I was totally being selfish. How could I, a little girl from Willow Valley, ask you to turn down your ultimate dream. I couldn’t. Besides it shocked me when I realized how I felt about you, perhaps scared me a little—well, maybe scared me a lot—and I think that was why I couldn’t get it out.
I want you to know I did end up waving good-bye. I did it from the window because I couldn’t bring myself to step outside. I also knew if you hugged me one more time, I’d probably have begged you to stay. I also knew I would shatter the second you touched me. I hope that one day I’ll be able to see you again. Until then, please, go forth, live your dreams, and make yourself a success. I know you have it in you. You just need to believe it yourself.
With Love,
Brooke.
I stared at the letter, the words soon blurring. My heart hurt as the words she had written sunk in. I lay down on the mattress, spreading out, and rolled onto my side, looking at the words again, then I folded it and tucked it under my pillow, and for the first time in my entire life I, Tristan Ryan, cried myself to sleep.
Brooke
December 23
Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. I’d mailed out that letter to Tristan a few days ago and still hadn’t heard anything from him. I was almost certain I’d missed him. I’d just finished loading all the baking trays into the dishwasher and set the machine. My chest felt heavy. I’d figured if he’d gotten it before he’d left that he would at least have written me back or messaged. Yet there had been nothing.
I let out a sigh and sat down behind my small desk in my office, opened up my accounting program, and began sifting and sorting through receipts from this month. I was surprised at how well we had done so far during the month of December. Sales had well blown past what we’d done last year during this time, and they had increased on the Baking Crate site as well.
I’d just gotten everything sorted when I heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in,” I called.
Melinda poked her head into my office and smiled. “I’m not interrupting you am I?”
“Of course not,” I said, turning my attention to her. “What’s up? Everything closed up now?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I just thought I’d bring you the mail before I left,” she said, shoving a stack of things at me. “I forgot that Fred dropped it off when he came for the orders.”
“Oh just throw it down on the corner of my desk. I’ll get to it later,” I said, turning my attention back to the mess of receipts on my desk.
Melinda didn’t let anything go. Instead, she gave me a funny look and continued to hold onto the pile. “You sure you don’t want to look at it now.”
“I’m positive. I’m trying to get these receipts sorted,” I said, turning my attention back to the task at hand.
“Oh…” Her voice fell and she let out a huff.
“What is it?” I questioned, placing the pile I had almost sorted through down onto the desk then turning to look at her.
