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“It will be okay, Casey. You’ll be back before you know it.”
I gave her a forced smile before I couldn’t hold it any longer and let it slip off my face. I turned to look out the small window to stare at nothingness. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“We would have taken care of things for you, but you know that your friends and family need to see you.”
I nodded glumly because, yes, they did. Mom had brought my phone with her when she’d received the phone call that I was in the hospital. Once I’d turned it on, my notifications had gone crazy. My voicemail box had been full, and though I listened to a few of the messages, I quickly became overwhelmed and had to delete them all. I ended up copying and pasting a simple text to everyone, telling them I was fine and would talk to them soon. Then I’d promptly turned the phone back off and closed my eyes for a nap.
“We’ll help you go through your things, and then it will get done faster. And we can have a BBQ at our house so everyone that wants to see you and make sure you’re alright can come to you instead of you traveling all over the city.”
I nodded in agreement because while those were great ideas, I still felt like shit for leaving. Unfortunately, she’d been mistaken when she’d said it wouldn’t take long.
Almost a full month later, I was finally finishing up sorting through all of my belongings that had been put into storage. It had taken a while before I could do more than one box a day. The pain in my wounds would wear me out quickly, and though my parents had been a big help when they could, they also had to get back to their jobs.
I was finally sorting through the last of my things, making piles to keep and another to donate to the local second-hand store. I had liked the idea that they donated a large portion of their profits to the women’s shelter in town. I shoved the last discard box to the side of the storage unit and brushed off my hands. I wasn’t surprised that my keep pile was much smaller than the one I planned to donate. After living on the run for weeks, I guess I had lost the attachment I’d had for a lot of things.
I pulled my pull out of my pocket and hit FaceTime.
“Dollface,” Brent’s deep Texas drawl had butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I hadn’t realized how thick it was until I’d landed back in California. A second, equally handsome face moved into view.
“Hey, sugar. Are you finally done?”
I beamed back a smile at the phone screen. Talking to them, and seeing them, always made me happy. I turned the screen so they could see the boxes before bringing it back to face me. “All done! There aren’t nearly as many as I thought there would be.” My voice lowered as I swallowed back a whine. “I just want to get back home to you guys.”
“Sugar, we can have you on the next plane leaving the state if you give us half a chance.”
“I can fly out to help you get the last of your things settled.” I shook my head before Brent was even done speaking.
“I would love to have you here, but I know you are in the middle of a deadline to get that office building completed. Just concentrate on work. I’ll be okay.”
I looked back at the boxes one last time before pulling the door down over the unit. “I think I’ll be ready to get on the plane in about two days…” I paused on my walk over to my car.
“Sugar, that pause better not be doubt.”
I laughed softly. “No, no doubt here. I can’t wait to get back to you. I just… it’s bittersweet. I’m closing the chapter on this part of my life before opening the next. I’m excited, but I’m going to miss my family here.”
“You know we can go back to visit any time you want, right? Texas isn’t that far away.”
“It’s not that close, either.”
“Dollface, it’s not the moon. If you want to make a weekend trip, we’ll make a weekend trip. Obviously, we couldn’t drive it, but planes take off all day, every day.”
“I’m being ridiculous, I know,” sighing as I opened the door and slid behind the wheel. I hadn’t lied all that time ago when I’d told the guys I didn’t have a license. I didn’t—not with me. Now that I could be myself again, I was able to do all the things I had previously taken for granted. I placed my phone in the dash holder and buckled my seatbelt. “I’m going to head over to my old job at the bookstore to say bye to my boss. How’s Grace and the diner doing?”
I would never have thought that I’d enjoy working at the diner as much as I did. I actually missed it; how nice the customers were and how welcoming Ethan’s parents had been.
“They are doing great. Mom said to tell you to get your sweet ass home before she has to drive out there and drag you back.”
I snickered. “I’m sure she called my ass sweet.”
“I was paraphrasing.”
I pulled to a stop at a light and turned to look straight into the phone. “I love you guys. I will be home soon.” After being back in California, one thing had become very clear: my home was with my men.
I pulled to a stop in front of the bookstore and looked up at the cute sign that looked hand-painted hanging above the door. When I stepped inside, the scent of books filled my lungs and reminded me why I had enjoyed working there during the last few years.
I walked up to the counter slowly, taking in the new titles that hadn’t been there the last night I had worked. I swallowed back a lump in my throat and pushed back the melancholy.
“Hi, can I help you find your next favorite book?” The voice was bubbly, way more energetic than I had ever been.
