My mind is racing as I try to process everything he’s told me. He took care of me, saved me. When I think of it like that, it’s hard to stay mad. His love for me protected me, even if I didn’t know it.
“Are you ready?” I ask him.
“For what?” He keeps his head down.
“The fight.”
His head shoots up. “For the rest of my life, Avery. I will fight with you, because of you, for you.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s it.” He pauses. “Wait! I’m the assistant football coach at the high school.”
“Kara might have mentioned that.”
“Alan, he kept me in line and when the position came open, he insisted I was the best man for the job.”
“I agree with him.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. We’re both silent. I’m sure he’s thinking the worst after all of that, so I decide to put it out there and see what he thinks. “I still like the plan of taking things slow. I like the idea of getting to know each other. Of falling in love with you all over again.”
He stands and leans over the picnic table, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me. “I love you, Avery Stanton. I want to spend my life falling in love with you every single fucking day.”
“The past is the past. Today we’re moving forward.”
“I’ll never forget the past because it brought us to this point. I’ve loved you for every minute of the last five years.”
My heart swells with his confession. I love him now—I never stopped—but I’m not ready to tell him that yet. I want to see if this love is as strong or, if we’re lucky, stronger than it was back then. We need time to let that happen. “I should let you get back to work.”
“I’m off the rest of the day, remember?”
“That’s right.” I laugh.
“How about dinner and a movie?”
I smile. “Yeah, I think that sounds great.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“That works. I stayed at Kara’s last night, so I need to grab my things and then head back to Mom and Dad’s.”
“I’ve got a date to plan.” He stands and offers me his hand.
This time I take it with zero hesitation. I feel lighter somehow. “I’ll see you soon?”
“Be safe, babe.” He opens the door and waits for me to buckle up before closing me in and tapping the roof.
I pull away with a smile on my face. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I see him watching me, wearing a matching grin.
I take the long route to Kara’s and drive past Brad’s parents.’ When I see Harley’s car in the drive, I take that as a sign and stop. She meets me at the door, a look of sorrow on her face. “You got a minute?”
“Always,” she says, taking a seat on the porch swing.
“I’m sorry I ran like that yesterday. I was… a little of everything. Mad, hurt, sad… I just didn’t know how to process it all.”
“And today?”
“Today is a new day. I talked to Kara last night and she helped me see a few things. I just left Dylan a few minutes ago. We talked about everything.” I take a seat next to her on the swing.
“How did that go?” she asks hesitantly.
“It’s hard to stay mad at a guy who saves you like that.”
“I would say it would be. I can still remember that night, Av. He called us at three in the morning and he was freaking out. He was pissed, wanted to go hunt the guy down, but even he knew he was just some drunken frat boy. He insisted we get home ASAP to check on you. Not that he needed to, because as soon as we heard, we were making plans to come back early. We were all three worried sick about you.” She pauses to collect her thoughts. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have helped him, but Avery, if you had seen him you would’ve done the same thing. Selfishly, I wanted you to stay at school. I needed my best friend. It wasn’t until that night, the fear in his voice, that I knew I should come clean. Brad convinced me to let it ride another year. I did, but now with you both back in the same town, I know how you each feel for the other and I just want you to be happy.”
“We’re working on it.”
“What does that mean?” She turns to face me on the swing.
“It means that Dylan and I are dating. We’re moving forward to see if what we think we feel is still there, if that love is just as strong.”
She laughs. “You both know it is.”
I smile. “Maybe, but we need this time. Time to grow and get to know each other again. A lot changes in four years.”
“It’s a good plan, but you need to hurry. I want our babies to grow up together.”
“Wait, are you…?”
“No. But we don’t want to wait a long time. Brad started at the bank last week, and we’re going to start looking for a house. We want to be young parents.”
“I can’t even think about that right now.”
“Sure you can. You know you’re going to have fun practicing.”
“Baby steps,” I tell her.
“Exactly!” she says, and we both laugh. “I’m sorry, Av.”
“Me too.” I reach over and give her a hug. “Okay, I’m off to Kara’s to get my stuff and then to Mom and Dad’s. That reminds me.” I pull out my phone and text Alan, asking him to meet me there. “I have to make this quick, I have a date tonight.”
“Does this mean we can double?”
“You’re an old married woman now, you date?” I tease her.
“You got jokes.” She grins. “I’ll have the guys set it up.”
“Sounds good.” I stand and give her one more hug before saying goodbye.
I swing by Kara’s and gather my stuff, leaving her a note thanking her and promising to return her clothes. I leave the key she gave me this morning sitting beside the letter, then send her a text when I get in the car.
Me: Thank you for a place to stay and the talk. You helped me so much.
Kara: You’re welcome. Stay as long as you want.
Me: I’m going back to Mom and Dads.’ A lot has happened today. Alan can fill you in or we can catch up tomorrow when you get off work. I have a date tonight.
Kara: Dylan?
Me: Yep!
Kara: I’m happy for you, and yes, we need to catch up. Alan will leave out the important stuff.
Me: LOL. Sounds good. Thanks again.
When I get to my parents,’ Alan’s truck is in the driveway. Good, I get three for one. Walking through the door, I find the three of them sitting at the dining room table. I take a seat at the opposite end of the table and wait. No one says a word.
“Look. I talked to Dylan today and he filled me in. I get why you did it, but I still think it was wrong.”
“Av,” my dad starts, but I hold up my hand to stop him.
“Let me finish.” I look at Alan. “Kara and I talked a lot last night.” I can tell he knows what I mean. “She helped me understand that, although it was wrong to keep me in the dark, I’m lucky to have all of you. Then today, Dylan and I talked, and we’re moving forward.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Mom asks.
“We’re dating. Taking it slow.” All three of them audibly sigh and relax in their seats. “What?”
“You two…” Dad shakes his head.
“What your father is trying to say is we’re happy for you and we’ll stay out of it from here on out.”
Dad turns to look at her and she gives him a pointed look. He nods in defeat. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “No more secrets, with any of us.” I make eye contact with each of them as they nod their agreement. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m wearing Kara’s clothes. I need a hot shower and my own wardrobe to get ready for my date tonight.”