AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Knowing she was holding back, I wasn’t too saddened by the idea. I didn’t want to discuss this, not one bit of me wanted to talk about Jed. Instead, I asked, “How’s Karen?”
“Still sulking.” She shrugged.
I winced. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. We both know Jane has been deteriorating all this time; it was bound to happen, I’m just grateful Cooper wasn’t too hurt, and that we’ve got this locked down before Jane got to be too much for Karen to handle.”
“I bet Karen doesn’t feel that way.” She hadn’t spoken to me since her mom had been sectioned, and I didn’t really blame her.
“No, but she’s allowed to be bitter. She’s a child. Should never have had that kind of responsibility on her shoulders. A lot of her bitterness stems from guilt at being relieved at not having to handle the burden. It’s a lot to process, what with school too, you know?” She knew me so well because she squeezed my hand. “She’ll come around and talk to you soon.”
I smiled at her. “Hope so.”
“You’ll see. It won’t be long.” She winked at me then asked, “Have you heard from Cooper recently?”
A smile curved my lip, and any unease I’d felt disappeared at the mention of Coop’s name.
“I take from that ‘cat who ate the cream’ smile that’s a yes?”
I grinned, loving how she knew me so well, and loving the news I had to impart. “Yep. He called this lunchtime. And this morning.” A happy sigh escaped me – I really had been on cloud nine all day. “He’s coming home next week.”
Her brows rose.
“What?” I asked at her surprised expression, because I’d expected a joyous smile, not bewilderment.
“Home?” she repeated.
My smile grew even more smug. “His words. Not mine.”
She reached for my hand, and her fingers clutched at mine as she squeezed them tightly. “I’m so pleased for you, sweetheart. I know how much he meant to you back then, and I knew that hadn’t died a death either.”
My smile faltered, for the first time all day it seemed. “No. It didn’t. How could it? We should never have broken up.”
“Maybe not, but everything happens for a reason. You were so young, darling. Far too young to be getting so serious. Maybe you needed the break to truly appreciate what you have together.”
I pulled a face. “I’d prefer not to think of it that way.”
She laughed. “You’re just like your father.”
I grinned at her. “I’ve heard worse insults, mom.”
She shooed me away with a waft of her hand, and I laughed, then let out a long, happy breath.
Things were coming together, thank God. Everything would soon be how it always should have been.
I felt it in my bones.
Chapter 25
COOPER
It was nostalgic of me in the extreme to drive back to my alma mater.
I hadn’t come here during that first trip to Willow’s Hearth, and when I’d arrived in Manhattan, I’d immediately regretted it.
Looking around, I realized how everything had changed in that time while somehow staying the same.
I figured that was more because of how I’d been back then, though I knew that if I spoke to Lauren, she’d say she thought I was the most confident guy in school.
