Page 65 of Wood Riddance
The open and thoughtful Adele was gone. In her place was the surly woman I’d come to know well over the last couple of years. Her response to my suggestion was to cross her arms and turn away. This was not a good start.
She kicked at the dirt floor, avoiding eye contact, and then busied herself folding up the sleeping bag.
“I’m gonna go check the plane,” I said when it was obvious that she wouldn’t engage in conversation.
The way her body sagged in relief hit me like a roundhouse to the gut.
I clenched my fists, searching for the words that would make her understand how much she meant to me. I couldn’t turn my back and pretend none of this had happened.
When we were together, for that one brief moment, I’d felt alive again.
But her cold regard after all we’d shared last night ate at my confidence and my resolve. So without another word, I turned on my heel and headed out to my plane.
Chapter20
Finn
The flight home was silent and uneventful. When we landed, I taxied into the small building my dad had designated for me to use as a hangar. It was probably only a matter of time before it was sold off too.
And then I had to deal with the plane. I needed to keep Marge in fighting shape and couldn’t afford costly repairs.
After making sure everything was secure, Adele thanked me and ran straight to her car.
I could practically smell the burning rubber as she peeled out of the parking lot at top speed. As her car crested the hill, I dropped my chin and sighed. I should have worked harder to talk to her. To break down the barriers she had put up this morning.
I’d finally had my chance with her. And yet, somehow, I’d ruined it.
The restless energy and racing thoughts continued into the day. A workout didn’t help. Ice cream didn’t either. All that was left was to get it off my chest. So I went to the one person who would get it.
“You did what?”
Alicia was leaning over the massive kitchen island, her brown eyes wide. She worked from home on Fridays and was wearing her casual work clothes, which were still nicer than anything I owned.
I buried my head in my hands. She never took it easy on me. Which was why, after everything, we were still best friends. I needed an ass-kicking right now, and my ex was the best person for the job.
“I’m in over my head.”
“No shit. You need to back up. Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”
She put a pod in the coffee maker. She knew me well enough to know I’d need the hit of caffeine to get through this and that I didn’t need any more prodding to open up.
So I told her everything. Recent events, past events. Our kiss a few years ago. The crush I’d had on Adele in high school, even though she never once spoke to me. All of it.
And she listened. She’d grown up right along with us. She knew the Gagnons and was well-versed in all the drama between our families. Of all the people in my life, Alicia was my safe space. I could tell her the truth, and I did.
We had been friends our whole lives, and when she moved down to Virginia to attend law school, we reconnected. I was stationed down there, and though I didn’t miss Lovewell, I missed my brothers and my mother. Alicia was the closest I could get to being with family. She was lonely, too, and working her ass off. Damn, she was smart.
So we hung out, keeping each other company. Right before my first deployment, we became more. I was terrified and overwhelmed and headed into war, and I was desperate to cling to something comfortable and safe. She was my rock. She supported me through three deployments. When she got pregnant, it all seemed inevitable. She and Merry and I would be a happy family.
But eventually, she wanted more. Though it wasn’t until she told me that she wasn’t in love with me that I even registered how unhappy she was. How complacent I had been.
She wanted to move back to Maine. Raise Merry near her parents. She was offered a position at a family law firm in Bangor, and by then, she was tired of military life. Tired of being left home to raise our child while I was overseas.
I assumed I’d fly until the Navy told me I was too old for it. That was my dream. But my daughter was more important. A happy, healthy child was my dream now. So I finished out my contract and came back.
And we’d been making it work ever since. As co-parents and as best friends. But by the way she was looking at me now, I knew I’d messed up.
When I’d finished, I fell silent, anxious for her feedback. Except all she did was sit back and drink her coffee while she considered me, probably running through every detail. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she spoke.
