Page 66 of Wood Riddance
“You have feelings for her?”
I nodded.
“And it seems they are reciprocated. Or they were.”
Past tense.
“So why are you making this complicated? Talk to her.”
“I did. I tried,” I argued.
She rolled her eyes.Thiswas where Merry got her sass. “She’s been through some serious trauma. As have you, by the way.”
I waved her off with a huff.
“A hot hookup in the woods is fun and all, but give her time to process and think. Then talk to her like an adult. Doesn’t have to be complicated.”
My stomach sank. Dammit. Sure sounded like she was taking Adele’s side here. “You’re supposed to be my best friend.”
“I am your best friend. I know you better than anyone on this earth. And I know that you go full speed all the time. You act before you think. You take risks with your body and your heart.” She pressed her lips together and gave me a sympathetic smile. “Not everyone is like that.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“And Adele Gagnon? Really?”
I hung my head as a wave of sorrow washed over me. “I know. She’s out of my league.”
She shuffled over and shoved me. “I’m not saying that at all. You are one of the greatest men I’ve ever met. Honorable and kind and true. She’d be lucky to have you. But she’s carrying around a lot of pain. She’s always been angry and distrustful. Even before her dad died.”
It was true. Adele was complicated and prickly on her best days. And she’d been hurt before. Hell, she’d been dumped on the night we kissed two years ago.
“Take a minute. Think about what you want. Then find a way to let her know you’re in this for as long as it takes. Show her you care without pressuring her.”
Alicia was beautiful, always had been, but since she’d gotten her dream job and found Mike, she was glowing. Her natural confidence shone through. She was living on her terms, and that was what I had always wanted for her.
“I’m really proud of you,” I said.
She tilted her head and frowned in response.
“Mean it. You’re crushing it. After wasting your twenties with me, you course corrected. And look at you now.”
She laughed and patted my cheek. “First of all, no time spent with you could ever be a waste. Yes, we weren’t soulmates, but we grew up together. You helped me learn to adult and encouraged me through so much. If not for you, I wouldn’t have grown into the woman I am today.”
“Sure.” My heart squeezed a little at that, but it was hard to believe that the self-centered idiot I was in my twenties could have helped anyone grow.
“Remember when I was ready to drop out of law school and you pushed me to keep going?”
I shrugged.
“And you were there, cheering for me, holding my hand, and taking all of my insults while I pushed out a nine-pound baby.”
I smiled, and my heart buoyed at the memory. “Best day of my life.”
She squeezed my hand. “Mine too.”
Merry decided to join us three weeks early. Like her dad, she couldn’t sit still, so she chose to make a grand entrance.
Alicia was in the parking lot of the grocery store when her water broke. She called me and told me far too calmly that she was in labor. I, on the other hand, panicked and rushed to her, worried our baby would be delivered outside a grocery store by strangers. Little did I know that we wouldn’t meet our daughter for another twenty-seven hours.
