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Allie leans forward and pushes her coffee out of the way.
“Your dad was right. You did need to quit medical school. You were so caught up in making him proud you didn’t realize you were killing yourself. But honestly, Luce, that’s not his fault. David never pushed you, he never gave you any impression that he wouldn’t be proud of you if you didn’t follow in his footsteps.Youput that pressure on yourself. And I never really figured out why. I don’t thinkyouknow why, to be frank.”
I blink at her once, twice. And then I feel my vision tunneling, because a girl can only handle so many life-altering realizations in one day.
“I’m not trying to upset you, Luce. But you asked for the truth.”
“I know, I just wasn’t expecting that particular truth.”
Allie huffs and sips her coffee. “That’s fair I guess.”
I lean back and cross my arms over my chest. “Did everyone think I was making a huge mistake with my life and didn’t bother to tell me?”
“You’re smart, I think we all thought you’d figure it out yourself. You’re also stubborn, so we also thought it would be better to let you come to the realization yourself.”
“Did you guys have monthly meetings about it behind my back?” I grumble.
“It was more of an unspoken thing.” Allie shrugs.
I huff a laugh and Allie winks at me.
“So, you and Wyatt are going to the beach this weekend, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Just the two of you? Alone.”
“That’s the plan, yes.”
Allie takes another long sip of her coffee before leaning back in her seat and smirking at me.
“That’s either going to end really well or really bad,” she says.
“How do you know?”
“Another one of those unspoken things.”
Chapter Twenty
Wyatt
Iforgothowgoodriding feels. When I came back from the cemetery and saw Willa doing laundry, I thought a ride might help the spiral I felt coming on. And if anyone could talk some sense into me, it’s my little sister.
“I can’t decide if this was a good idea or if I should push you off the horse.” Willa huffs beside me.
I laugh and smirk over at her. “Please, you know you love it.”
She leans down and pats her horse’s neck. “Well, I know Oreo loves it. Don’t ya, boy?”
Her black and white painted horse tosses his head in agreement and Willa grins at me.
I reach down and pat my own horse, Buck, and he gives me a little shake in response. I smile,yeah, I had really missed this. Willa and I had ridden up to one of our favorite spots on the farm. It was a little hill that overlooked the pond on the southern side of the property. We used to ride up here all the time with our mom, it had been her favorite spot.
“Do you think she can still see it? This view?” Willa asks softly. “She loved it best this time of year.”
My throat tightens and the words die in my throat. I look away from the pond, and turn my gaze towards the full green trees. The birds were singing, and I watched the squirrels hopping from limb to limb, barking at each other. Our horses’ tails twitch, and Oreo starts munching on some grass. The wind catches Willa’s hair and pulls it back—it amazes me how much she looks like our mother.
“Yeah,” my voice sounds hoarse as I look back out at the view. “I think she sees it.”
