Page 5 of Where You Left Me

Unable to resist, my gaze searches the room and stops when it finds Mia. She must feel me looking at her because our eyes lock. In that moment, the events surrounding her disappearance eight years ago flash through my memory.

I rub at my chest subconsciously where there’s a small, aster tattoo. The one I got in memory of the baby girl we lost. The baby girl no one knows about, but I still think about it every day.

My throat thickens and I try to clear it before replying, “Yeah, I guess you could say, we’ve got some unfinished business to tend to.”

CHAPTER 2

Mia

Being back in Maple Ridge after all these years away is like starting an exercise routine after taking several months off. It’s painful. You don’t want to do it. And yet, you know it will be good for you once you do. Your body has muscle memory. In no time, it will remember, and you won’t be sore anymore.

But your brain and heart have muscle memory too.

Both are telling me it’s too soon to be back in Maple Ridge.

And yet here I am. Because Mom and Dad need me. I wanted to come right away after I got word of Dad’s stroke, but they told me to wait until they knew the extent of his condition. When it became obvious his recovery would be lengthy, I made the decision to return home.

The plan was to stay for only a few weeks. Enough time to get everything in order at Base Camp. But when I got here and saw Dad for myself, I knew I’d just signed on for the entire summer.

At least.

I knew I’d run into Jones eventually. But not my first day back in Maple Ridge. Seeing him in Brew Box this morning waslike being confronted with my past. The beautiful. The ugly. And all the in between.

Jones is as handsome as he was the last day I laid eyes on him. Maybe even more so. He looks so grown up. With a stubbled beard, taut muscles, and hair that’s longer now. But he’s got the same blue-grey eyes I remember. They’re kind and hold depth. More than most people around this town probably even know.

ButIknow.

It’s the main thing that’s kept me away for so long.

And it’s too painful to witness. So, I try my hardest to not look in his direction while I sit in his bar across from his sister. I purposely chose the seat where my back would face the bar. If Jones is paying any attention to me, I don’t want to know.

“So?” Rosie asks, brows raised accusatorily. “Where’ve you been?”

“Rosie,” Cammie hisses.

“No, no, it’s fine.” I pick up my wine and take a sip and my throat puckers slightly.

I expected this question. I expected a lot of questions. But I guess I also expected Jones had told them why I left Maple Ridge.

I clear my throat. “Connecticut.”

Rosie makes a loathing face. It’s something I would expect from her. And despite her reaction, the familiarity is somewhat comforting.

“Why Connecticut? What the hell is there to do in Connecticut?”

“After my first year of college, I applied to the University of Connecticut. They have a much better economics program there. My aunt lives close to the campus, and she offered me free room and board. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

“And you couldn’t have just explained that to us?” Cammie asks, hurt laced in her voice.

It causes a wave of regret to sweep over me. There must have been a million times I wanted to call both Cammie and Rosie. So many lonely nights when all I needed was a friend. But the connection to Jones was too much. Too painful. I needed to cut ties completely to heal.

Running my fingertips up the back of my neck, my heart begins to kick harder against my chest. “Jones honestly didn’t tell you why I left?”

“He said you had a fight. That you broke up and your relationship ended badly,” Cammie explains. “That’s about it.”

“A fight?” I find myself repeating feeling wounded.

A fight implies we disagreed. That we didn’t love each other. That we were over.

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