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Heat flushed my face. Thea had been the one person I could depend on. She was there for me, no matter what. Even in the dead of night, if I called her, she would come.
There had been one night when we were freshmen in high school. Mom had gone out on a weekend trip with some friends. She said she was going to a vendor market to shop for products to stock at her store, but even back then it didn’t make sense to me because most, if not all, of her merchandise was local.
I had never been left alone for that long by myself, and I’d gotten scared in the middle of the night and called Thea. I’d wanted someone to talk to, but before I knew it, she was at my front door.
She had snuck out of her house to come and stay with me.
My fingernails bit into my palms as I fisted my hands. “If it hadn’t been for their daughter,” I spat, “you would’ve lost me much earlier than you did.”
I didn’t wait for a reply. I didn’t want one. I spun toward the door and raced away from her.
My lungs seized around the cold night air as I rushed toward my car. Dead leaves crunched under my feet as I hit the driveway and paused. The outside lights were on, and I squinted at something tucked under a wiper against my windshield.
It looked like a piece of paper.
Cautiously, I approached my car. My head reeled from the conversation with my mother, and it was hard to focus or think straight as I grabbed for the paper. It was folded in half, and I opened it.
The blood drained from my face as I read the words written in neat, capital letters with black ink.
Leave Ember Hollow before you get hurt.
I threw my car into park, my pulse still rushing in my ears. I stared out the windshield at the beautiful old house, the threatening note clutched in one hand. The Ramseys’ home was the definition of cozy, with a wraparound front porch and intricate woodwork. It was the home of my dreams. A real home.
The note left for me was one thing, a scary thing, but it didn’t hurt like my mother’s words. What she’d said to me echoed in my mind, the tang of bitterness and spite stark in my memory. I’d had no idea she thought that way about the Ramsey family. I had no idea she thought that way about Thea.
I closed my eyes against the burn of tears, willing them not to fall. My hand flew to my chest, pressing down over my hurting heart. I loved my mother. Despite feeling more like the adult in our home for most of my life, I always loved my mom. She was broken and bitter sometimes, but she was my family.
Now, I questioned that love. How could love be so illogical? So stubborn? Why did it have to hurt like this?
My lungs shuddered around a deep breath. Part of me wondered—feared, really—whether that was my future someday. Maybe I would grow bitter and pessimistic, too. And if I was, wouldn’t I want someone to love me through that, too? Even when I didn’t deserve it?
I let the breath I was holding out slowly. Opening my eyes, I focused on the house that had been the home I’d sought in my childhood. I focused on the family who lived inside and how they had supported me when I had no one else.
My mother wasn’t worth becoming bitter over. I forced myself to sit up straight, making the decision to forgive, forget, and move on.
If there was one thing I’d learned how to do, it was to keep moving forward.
Stuffing the note in my pocket, I hopped out of the car, leaving the words of my mother behind and clearing my mind as best as I could. I would show Reid the note eventually, but I didn’t want to ruin this night that I’m sure Raleigh had put a lot of work into.
My feet had just hit the bottom porch step when the front door opened.
Reid’s green eyes sparkled in the light shining from the antique sconces hung on either side of the door.
My heart did a strange flip in my chest as his mouth pulled up into a broad smile. I froze, one foot in the air above the second step. He was stunning. Those full lips were pulled up into a grin that I felt in my bones.
“You made it,” Reid said, sounding relieved. “Right on time, too.”
I blinked at him, trying to figure out why my heart was beating so fast. The scruff on his face wasn’t quite as long this time, just dusting his chin and some of his neck.
His smile faltered a fraction. “You all right?”
Jeez, I needed to pull myself together. I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. I’m good.”
His head tilted to the side as he looked me over. A twinge of doubt flashed in his expression, but he didn’t push it.
Which I was grateful for.
“Come on in.” He took a step back and gestured inside. “Everyone is excited to see you.”
