Page 84 of Finding You

She almost rolled her eyes. “Yes. That’s the general consensus around here.” With a small wave, she stepped aside and took one last look around the garage. Life was going on all around her. The phone was ringing, Will was flirting, she could hear the tools humming out in the garage, and customers were pulling up.

And no doubt, all around town, everyone was doing their thing–eating at the café, getting their hair done, buying books, and living in the picturesque town and appreciating all that they had.

This was a good place.

And even if she never made it back to Sweetbriar Ridge, she’d never forget it.

With nothing left to do, she went out the door and over to the Mustang. It wasn’t until she was sitting behind the wheel that she read Devin’s text.

Devin: Hey! I’m so sorry I missed you, but maybe it’s better this way. I don’t think I could handle saying goodbye again. Be happy, MacKenzie. I hope you find what you need out west and maybe someday, you’ll come back to Sweetbriar Ridge. To me. Call me tonight when you get to your hotel so I know you’re safe.

I love you.

And then she cried.

A full-blown ugly cry.

And it took several long minutes before she could even see clearly enough to begin to drive. As much as she wanted to see Devin one more time, she knew if she did, she would cave. She would stay. She’d beg him if she had to–for his forgiveness, for him to tell her he loved her to her face, and to let her stay.

With him.

Surely her mother would understand if she didn’t go to Oregon right now. Hadn’t she hinted at it maybe being better if they took things slower? And maybe they’d appreciate seeing one another face to face after they had some time to ease into rebuilding their relationship.

Looking down at her phone, she read the last line of his message again.

I love you.

Was it too late? Should she wait here for him or call him or…

Or was this her acting rashly again? Eventually she was going to have to stop doing impulsive things and actually deal with the fallout–or…not fallout, but following through with things even when they were hard.

Like leaving.

And even though he’d only said it in a text, those three little words grabbed her heart and squeezed until she almost couldn’t breathe.

Why did he have to take a tow call? Why today when they only had this last time to say goodbye?

MacKenzie looked around the parking lot as if expecting him to magically appear. But that wasn’t going to happen and all she could do was wipe away the tears–along with the rest of her mascara–and put the car in drive, make the left onto Fuchsia, and count down the miles until she hit Highway 81.

ChapterSixteen

“There is literally nothing on this road…”

Going the posted speed limit of thirty-five gave MacKenzie plenty of time to look at the trees.

And not much else.

The road had some bends and curves, but other than some trees and the view of the mountains in the distance, there wasn’t a thing on it. She’d passed all the houses and there wasn’t another car in sight.

“Two miles in and I’m already bored,” she murmured.

Having gotten on the road rather quickly, she hadn’t had any time to text her mother that she was on her way. With a weary sigh, she decided that whenever she stopped for gas or a snack, she’d do it then. Hell, she’d barely had time to type “Oregon” into her GPS app before pulling away from the garage.

And tears stung her eyes again.

“Stop crying, you idiot. There may not be any other cars on the road, but if you don’t pay attention, you’ll be down in a ditch.”

It wasn’t a completely horrible idea. If she went off the road, she’d have to call for a tow truck, and then Devin would…

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