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She looks unsure of being here and looks around nervously, hanging back.
Hey, Ophelia, do you remember me? I’m Callie.” I reach over to pet Harley, whose tail wags when she sees me.
Ophelia nods nervously and looks down. “Yes, good to see you again.”
“Hey, Harley.” I bend down to pet her. “You look so happy and relaxed.” I look up at Ophelia. “How did you do that?”
“I credit Mr. Pickles. They’re besties now,” she says with a grin.
“Mr. Pickles,” I coo, reaching over to pet him as he puts his head down and leans into my ear scratches. He has the most soulful, beautiful brown eyes full of expression.
“Come sit with us. Let’s catch up. The others are coming too, and we’ll have a great time,” I assure her.
She looks hesitant but comes over and sits next to me by the firepit.
Paige and Beth walk up, and Paige immediately goes to the dogs. “Look at these cuties,” she declares, smiling at Ophelia. “Hi, I’m Paige. I don’t know if you remember me or not. We went to school together, and I just moved back.”
Ophelia smiles back. “Hi,” she says shyly. “I remember.”
“I heard that Nial was your ex. I wanted you to know that I am so sorry that all that happened,” she says quietly to Ophelia to clear the air.
Ophelia looks surprised. “No, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what he was doing until he was gone.”
Paige had lost a lot of her money when she first came back to Freedom Valley, and Nial scammed her out of her bookstore. Nobody holds this against Ophelia. She was a victim, too. And nobody knows where Nial went, but I’ve heard from the ladies that the Eastern Bones took care of him, so things probably aren’t looking good for him.
“It’s not your fault.” Paige waves it off. “But it’s good to see you. Do you work with raccoons?” she asks with a serious face.
Ophelia laughs nervously. “Raccoons?”
“Yes.” She turns, and her backpack has a big dome on it, and it does indeed have a raccoon in it with his tiny hands pressed against the dome, watching everything going on around it.
“Holy cow, you have arealpet raccoon?” I lean forward to check him out.
“This is Pancake,” she says, taking off the bag so we can see him. Mr. Pickles and Harley sniff the bag curiously.
“That’s the coolest thing ever,” Ophelia says. “I have no experience training raccoons, but he looks like a nice fella.”
“He is.” She nods. “He’s best friends with my fiancé’s dog, Theo. He’s around here somewhere with my fiancé, Preston. I hope you can meet him, too.”
I look over, and SJ smiles at me as he chats with Ty and Logan. And just like that, we’re back with our friends, old and new, and it feels right. We’re right where we were supposed to be. We just got here on a different path than I thought we would.
SJ converses with someone and says something, then turns my way. The way he looks at me makes me feel so wanted. Like I’m the only person he’s focused on. The way he walks with confidence and his eyes on me makes me swoon. “Want to dance?” he asks and holds out his hand. And when I look at him, I see it. I can see us here in Freedom Valley growing old, attending fall festivals, weddings, and doing daily life together. Forever in love. Here together. I want that more than anything. I realize that I’ve always wanted that with him.
“Well?” he prompts with a grin, holding out his hand.
“Yes,” I say as I take his hand, and he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close.
“This has been a good day,” he says, turning me around and holding me close around my waist.
I look over to see Ophelia making friends with Mellie, Beth, and Allie, and I’m glad to be back. Sam was right all those years ago when he told me to focus on the people who mattered and not those who didn’t.
SJ’s face gets serious. “What were you thinking about when I asked you to dance? You looked lost in your thoughts.”
I lay my head on his chest. “I was thinking about us,” I murmur.
“What about us?” He kisses my neck.
“Our future,” I say as we glance at Sam and Evan playing guitar and singing, looking at us and giving each other a knowing look.
