Page 114 of Nashville Cowboy
Eve simply nodded, unable to trust herself to speak and not burst into tears. Everyone else had dispersed.
“Eve Iglesias!” Mima’s voice called to her loudly and urgently the moment Eve crossed the threshold.
Eve ran toward the sound, which came out of the bedroom she’d been staying in. Mima stood in the center of the room, and laid over Eve’s bed was her marriage quilt.
“Where did you—?” Eve stepped closer. Her and Jackson’s names were still embroidered on it, but the date had been carefully unstitched. Removed. It was a blank space. “Why did you—?”
Bringing this quilt out was really hitting below the belt. Her hands trembled, and her throat clogged with a sob.
“Because,” Mima said. “You needed to remember.”
“That I loved him enough to marry him? I haven’t exactly forgotten that.”
“It’s to remind you that everything that’s been broken between two people who love each othercanbe fixed. You only have to care enough not to give up or give in. The old date is blank now, andthat’syour future. It’s wide open. Sometimes with love you have to give just a little bit more and meet in the middle. Love is a fine balancing act. Sometimes you give more, sometimes he does. But if you don’t take a risk right now, you may never have a chance again.”
“It’s too late.”
Mima handed her the truck keys. “No, it’s not. You go and catch him at the airport.”
And then what?
Eve didn’t know but suddenly she didn’tcare. One of her biggest faults was being the martyr. She’d let him go once before without a fight but not this time. Now she was strong enough to realize that she could love him without losing herself. Maybe she could show him by being the bigger person, swallowing her pride, and letting him know she’d come with him to Nashville. A year was too long to be away from each other.
“This is crazy. Stupid.” Eve took a deep breath. “And I’m doin’ it.”
“Yay for crazy stupid love,” Sadie cried from just outside the bedroom door.
“That’s my favorite kind,” Lincoln said as Eve flew past him.
She jumped in her truck and started it up. Rolling down the long driveway she kicked up gravel and followed the tracks of the limo.
They’re sending a car.And a private plane.
Jackson couldn’t have said “we live in two different worlds” any better than if he had actuallysaidthose very words. He might be clueless in some ways, but he’d meant what he said. No point in staying a day longer when she’d already made up her mind. When he thought about what she’d seen of his world so far, he couldn’t blame her for not wanting any part of it. She’d seen nothing but takers like Winona. Nothing she could relate to or understand. But that wasn’t Nashville for him. The city was filled with people just like him and Eve, who’d come to find better lives and a chance at their dream.
He’d done everything he could to tell her how he felt. Wrote a song for her. Told her he loved her which was gut-wrenching considering his fears of abandonment. His words had told her all she needed to know about his commitment to her.
I showed her how I feel. I dropped everything I was doing because she showed up.
Shit, could his old man be on to something here? The knowledge went through his skull like a sledgehammer. He’d done everythingbutshowher how he felt. The only real way he’d shown her was through their making love but that could be construed many different ways.
Jackson had told Eve how he felt, but what had he really given up for her? She was right, he’d been asking her to give up everything while he gave up nothing. And being a man of Stone Ridge, he’d been taught better than that. He’d been taught “ladies first.” Ladies foremost. It was old-fashioned, yes, but that was his town. His people. They were always there for each other, helping those in need. He wanted more of that, and less of coveting all of the things that he thought meant success.
He’d really made a colossal mess.
“Turn around.”
“But what about the plane?” the driver asked.
“I’ll take care of that.” Jackson pulled his phone out. A minute later when the driver still hadn’t turned back, Jackson yelled, “Turn around!”
“Yes, sir.” The driver executed a flawless U-turn and they headed back to Stone Ridge.
Now Jackson had to think of a grand gesture. Something he could show her that she’d understand meant he’d do anything for her. Give up this opportunity and live in Stone Ridge. There had to be a way for him to find a balance. He could buy Priscilla’s bar and carve out of niche for himself right here in Stone Ridge. Or maybe he could work out a way to take this opportunity on his own terms.
A truck sped by them going in the opposite direction and damn if that didn’t look just like— “Turn around!”
“I did,” the driver protested.
