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My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
She gave me a small smile. “I am lucky enough to have been with the love of my life for almost forty years now. Warner is my best friend, the person I have shared everything with. I’ve welcomed six little lives into this world with him, and I have loved that man with every fiber of my being.” Her expression shifted, her mouth hardening as her eyes seemed to lose focus. “But I have also walked through tragedy with him. Together, we’ve somehow managed to knuckle through the worst parts of our lives. He has seen me through my darkest moments and he has loved me, even when I didn’t deserve it.”
I frowned at the last sentence. “What do you mean?”
She blinked at me, as if coming back from a far-off memory. “Love isn’t always about those butterflies in your stomach and the way his kiss lingers on your lips…those are all sweet things that we strive to hold onto, but love isn’t always pretty. Love can be ugly and hard. It’s downright grueling at times, but in the end, love is the most beautiful gift that we have. It’s choosing someone over and over. It’s pure and selfless and when you both get it right—it makes all the hard parts worth it.”
My heart thudded inside my chest. Her words were concerning as much as they were comforting. “What are you trying to say?”
Her fingers squeezed around my hand. “You have to decide if it’s worth the risk.”
Reid…was he worth the risk?
I pressed my lips together. “Reid lied to me.”
Raleigh’s eyes softened. “He shouldn’t have. But everyone makes mistakes. You have to decide if his mistakes are worth forgiving.”
I wanted to forgive him. I did. But he broke his promise, and that trust I’d placed in his hands was a fragile thing. “I think I want to try,” I said quietly.
Raleigh leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek. “You’ll figure things out. Both of you will. You have to give it time.”
I let out a sigh and held her stare. “You promise it’s worth it?”
The way Raleigh spoke of love, it made my heart ache in both good and bad ways.
Her lips lifted, and she nodded slowly. “In my experience, it’s worth everything.”
33
Lark
My phone rang as I was locking the door to the Flutter Nook.
I fumbled with the key, my heart skipping a beat. It was already dark. I’d spent some extra time catching up on work for my corporate job after Jojo left.
I gritted my teeth, finally managing to lock the door, and I reached into my pocket. My heart fell at the name on the screen. Emersyn. A part of me had hoped it was Reid. It had been over twenty-four hours since I’d spoken with him, and no matter what had happened between us, I missed him. He was giving me space because I asked for it, but maybe space wasn’t what I really needed.
“Hello?” I answered the call, wincing at the loud background noise on the other line.
“Lark?” Emersyn’s voice was barely audible over the din of voices and music. “It’s Emersyn.”
“What’s up?” I covered my other ear with the palm of my hand, trying to concentrate on Emersyn’s voice.
“Um, I’m at Callie’s Tavern, and I think you might want to stop over here.”
I frowned. “Why?” Emersyn didn’t seem like the bar type.
She cleared her throat. “I came here looking for my brother.” She paused. “He’s not here, but I ran into your mom.”
“My mom?” That was a twist I wasn’t expecting. Every once in a while, my mom would have a few drinks, but I’d never known her to hang out at bars regularly.
“Yeah, um.” Emersyn hesitated, and I winced as someone in the background belted out a song out of key. “I think you might want to come by.”
The concern in Emersyn’s tone had my pulse spiking. “Is everything okay?”
She paused again, longer this time. “You should probably hurry.”
I pushed through the glass door of Callie’s Tavern, the music so loud my ears rang.
