Page 55 of All I Need

“Walker told me you make a mean lasagna. I’m gonna be bold—or rude—but come out and say I want it for next time.”

“Brett,” Courtney admonishes but Ellie doesn’t seem fazed by it.

“You got it,” Ellie agrees and it makes me sit up a little higher. She’s committing to spending more time with my friends and I can’t stop it from making me more than a little hopeful.

“So how do you like living with Miss Polly?” Courtney asks her.

“She’s wonderful. Every day she makes me laugh but it’s more than that, I’ve never felt so welcome as I do here. I’m so grateful that Walker knew to bring me to her place,” she says. Under the table I reach over and rest my hand on her leg. Her fingers slide over mine, threading through them so her palm is resting on the back of my hand. It feels more intimate than our kiss earlier. I don’t know what she’s thinking but I know that I’m never letting her go. It isn’t lost on me that she said she feels welcome here, not in Miss Polly’s home and I can only hope she means with me as well. How I went from perfectly content living my life the same way I have for the past fifteen years to looking forward to a new kind of future is beyond me but I can’t help but hope she’s right there with me.

“Camilla!” she shouts out of nowhere, her hand not leaving mine as she turns to face me.

“Sorry, what?”

“Camilla, for the baby calf. She’s a warrior. She survived something that threatened to kill her.”

“It’s a beautiful name and perfect for her. I love it,” Courtney says.

Ellie smiles at Courtney and I squeeze her hand in mine. This woman—every day she surprises me.

“Never did I imagine I’d be naming a baby cow,” she giggles but I hear the small bit of sadness laced in her words. It’s sadness I want to dig deep into and understand better but also sadness I want gone.

We continue to talk and laugh but when I see Ellie yawn, I announce it’s time for us to leave. The four of us help clean up the table and store leftovers before we make our way out to my pickup.

“Don’t be a stranger, Ellie. Let’s get coffee sometime next week, okay?”

“That sounds great. Walker was telling me there’s a great coffee shop in town.”

“Dreamin’ Beans. And if you’re lucky, Christine’s husband will be there.” Brett and I groan. “Or her son-in-law Grady.”

“Grady?”

Courtney takes on a dreamy look when she says, “Yeah. Grady Ryan. He’s…”

“Warriors’ Coach Ryan!” Ellie shouts excitedly.

“Uh, yeah. He grew up here. Married his high school sweetheart last spring who just happens to be Christine’s daughter.”

“I have no idea how I didn’t put the two together. I’m a big SMS fan.”

“Yeah?” I ask her, my thumb grazing against her leg.

“Uh huh. Proud ’05 Alum, right here.”

My head spins at this little bit of information. “No way. We were there at the same time, then.”

She spins in her chair to face me. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. I graduated in ’03 with my undergrad but did my vet school there as well.”

Her smile is infectious and I hear Courtney whisper something to Brett. “That’s just…”

“Small world, huh? I can’t believe I never saw you. If I had… let’s just say things would have been pretty different.” Wildly different. If I’d seen her on the college campus, I would have mowed people over to get to her.

She shakes her head back and forth but I catch the shy smile before she turns back to Courtney.

Courtney’s giddy when she reaches out a grabby hand. “Hand me your phone. I’m putting my number in your contacts. You’d better call me.”

“No stalking Andy or Grady,” Brett growls.

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