Page 117 of Almost Always

“She lives in a town called Wildes and runs a flower shop,” Nonna said, a weird smile on her face.

“Are you okay, Nonna?”

She nodded, smiling at him. “I had my own flower shop as well, did you know that?”

“Really?”

“A long time ago, when your father was your age.”

Poppy cleared his throat and said, “Now that you know where she is, what are you going to do?”

“I dunno. What should I do?”

There was a long silence and he stared at the photograph again, dragging his finger over her dark hair and bright smile, wondering if she loved his father too.

“How about we hold onto this information for now and tell him later?”

He shrugged and picked up the shoebox. He shook it once and with a grin ran upstairs to his bedroom. He dug through hiscloset and found an empty box and moved the letters into that one, but this time he organized them in the right order.

One day, he would be able to read and understand the letters. Until then, he would keep them safe for his father.

CHAPTER 35

“Dad wrote letters to you that he never sent. Nonna helped me find you on the internet.”

Cal’s voice was small, like he was afraid of the consequences of snooping around in his things. More than that, Rafferty was concerned that Cal might have read the letters—some of them were pretty inappropriate—and also surprised that he’d gotten his great-grandmother to help him look Daisy up on the internet. This whole time he thought they’d come to Wildes because it was close enough to New York if they ever wanted to go back. To think that his nine-year-old orchestrated this whole thing so Rafferty could reconnect with his long lost love was stupefying.

“You brought us here on purpose?”

Cal nodded, eyes fixed on the floor. “I heard you talking to Grandpa about being lonely and thought being close to someone you loved would help.”

From the day his son was born, he did everything possible to make sure that Cal never knew what he was going through. Bad days, rough calls, struggles with work and Zara, losing Nonna and Poppy; he kept all of it close to his chest. His son deserved the happiest and simplest life, not something filled with worryand pain. Apparently all his hard work at keeping those things out of Cal’s line of sight was pointless because he’d figured it out anyway.

After Zara left, hehadbeen lonely. There were nights when he’d lie awake and watch his son sleep, trying to understand how someone could walk away from such a beautiful child. He knew that holding his ex responsible wasn’t fair to her either. Because if he’d forced her to stay, she might have been unhappy for the rest of their lives. And she deserved to find her joy, like he did.

He’d also come home after a fire and wish he had someone waiting for him, someone who would hold him and remind him that he was doing something good. Until he got to Wildes, he didn’t have that. His father and grandparents did the best they could, but it wasn’t the same thing.

Their love was unconditional.

Daisy’s love was different. It was heady and powerful and unlike anything he’d felt before.

She touched his back and he glanced at her, seeing the unshed tears in her eyes. Ever since their second first kiss, they’d been at the edge of what their relationship meant. He’d decided he wanted to marry her, but he’d never said it out loud. The feelings were intense and bigger than both of them. Then the Fourth weekend and Cal almost calling hermamasent him deeper into this spiral of what they were. It was in all the unsaid things, if he was being honest.

“Don’t be mad,” Cal whispered.

“I’m not mad, son. I wish you had told me.”

“I know. Grandpa said I should tell you as well.”

“Grandpa knew?”

He nodded, lifting his eyes carefully. “They all helped me plan everything.”

Of course he had the whole family in on this. They would have done anything to make him smile, make him happy and putsome joy into his life. The fact that all of them knew Daisy would solve his problems was an even bigger sign that this was where they were meant to be. His grandparents had adored her when she lived next door, they’d taken such good care of her and loved her like their own. His father had done the same, especially considering she was the daughter of his best friend. He should have known that the first chance his family got to bring the two of them back together, they would take it.

“How did you find the letters?”

“I hid under your bed during hide and seek and found the shoebox. There were so many letters.”

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