Page 57 of Choosing Happily Ever After

“I’m sorry, Noah.” And she was. More than even she thought she would be.Sosorry. A hot and totally unexpected tear pricked at the corner of her eye.Oh hell no!She would not cry. No way. “It all happened so fast and—”

“I love you, Faith.”

No. No. No.She shook her head as the tear slipped down her cheek.

“You don’t.”

“I do.” She thought she heard his voice crack on the other end of the line. But then he cleared his throat and when he spoke again, the hard edge had returned. “I do love you, Faith. More than you might ever know. And that’s such a shame, because as much as you say you don’t believe in it, you do, Faith. Youdobelieve in love. You’re just too damn stubborn and hardheaded to see it when it’s right in front of your eyes.”

“Noah, I—”

“You know what?” He cut her off again. “Maybe you’re right.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Maybe this can’t happen. Good-bye, Faith.”

She held the phone to her ear long after he’d disconnected the call and then, when she was sure he wasn’t there anymore, Faith dropped her phone to the ground, hugged her legs and let herself cry. She cried for more than the loss of a relationship she’d never planned on having, but also for her sister, the stress of uprooting her life, and months—maybe years—of holding in her feelings.

When finally there were no more tears, she stood and stretched her arms over her head. She felt drained, but also rejuvenated. Maybe the ranch would be the fresh start she didn’t even know she needed.

And there was only one way to find out.

She straightened her clothes and with one last look over the river, headed back through the trees and to the house, where everyone would be waiting to have the big going-away dinner.

Tomorrow, Hope and Levi would be gone and then it was sink or swim. She might as well soak in as much information as she possibly could.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was gathered around the old oak table in the kitchen. They were passing around a huge dish of the most delicious lasagna Faith had ever tasted. “Where did you say this was from?” she asked with a mouth full.

“Birchwood,” Aunt Deb answered as she passed the dish back in Faith’s direction. “Brody Morris is the head chef over there and he’s absolutely the best thing to happen to that restaurant in decades. But don’t you tell Burt and Josie Michaels,” she added. “They ran that place since it opened and while I’m not going to complain about the many meals we enjoyed there over the years, they had nothing on Brody Morris.”

“Did you ever meet Brody, Faith?” Hope asked from the other side of the table. “I think he moved to town while you were away. He’s done some catering for us over the years, too. But now he’s so busy with the restaurant. You should go say hi, though. He’s a good ally to have.”

“And he’s hot.” Katie fanned herself with her napkin and Faith laughed.

“Hot?”

“So hot.”

“I hardly think he’shot.”Logan stuffed a piece of garlic bread in his mouth.

“I’d have some questions for you if you did, brother.” Katie elbowed him in the side and Logan coughed hard as he choked down his bread.

“I’m just saying that I hardly think Faith will find…never mind. It doesn’t matter.” He picked up his beer and drank deeply.

But Faith couldn’t help but notice the slightest red flush that had appeared on his cheeks.

She shook her head and turned away. No doubt he was just looking for another thing to bug her about. It was going to be a long—well, for however long—working with him if she didn’t learn how to ignore him. She couldn’t keep letting him get to her.

“I’ll make it a point to introduce myself,” Faith said to Hope.

“Apparently Brody’s coaching Sarah’s little girl’s soccer team,” Hope said. “Maybe you can—”

“Check out the town’s soccer team?” Faith laughed. “Or at the very least, the coach.” She threw in the last comment only to see whether Logan would react. His jaw tightened, and she felt the slightest sense of satisfaction, although she couldn’t have explained why.

“Soccer’s a stupid sport,” Logan muttered under his breath.

Yes, she’d definitely gotten a reaction.

“Tell us again about your trip,” Aunt Debbie said in a very smooth effort to distract the attention from her son. “I need to live vicariously through you both.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Debbie,” Levi said. “We’ll make sure to FaceTime you and show you all the—”

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