Page 120 of Break My Heart
‘Hey, Mom!’ Sawyer yells, and when I look behind us, I see Martha and Carl walking hand-in-hand back to the house. ‘Gina’s going to stay with me tonight.’
‘I expect to see both of you in the morning for breakfast,’ Martha says in her motherly tone.
‘Yeah, Mom, we’ll be there,’ he says, walking me to his car.
‘I left my overnight bag there,’ I whisper.
‘Why are you whispering? They can’t hear you. They went in the house.’
‘I don’t know. I guess I feel like I’m in trouble for not staying there. I’m not used to the parent thing. I don’t know how it works.’
‘We’re adults. You don’t have to ask their permission to do stuff.’ He points to the house. ‘They’re probably in there right now, saying how happy they are that we made up and are back together. I guarantee they’re not in there saying how angry they are that you’re not spending the night there.’
We get in the car and Sawyer heads to his place.
‘I need to stop at my apartment and get some clothes.’
‘We’ll go there in the morning.’ He glances at me and smiles. ‘You don’t need clothes tonight.’
I smile back. It feels good to be with Sawyer again, like things are back to how they were meant to be. I’m not usually someone who believes in that stuff, but when it comes to Sawyer, I really feel like we were meant to find each other. Why else would my grandfather end up winning a building in this tiny town where Sawyer lives? A building I’d later inherit to open my brewery? That can’t just be a coincidence.
* * *
‘Great breakfast, Mom,’ Sawyer says, setting his napkin on the table.
It’s Sunday morning and we just finished having breakfast with Sawyer’s family. At first I couldn’t eat because everyone was staring at us, waiting for Sawyer and me to explain what was going on. Finally, Sawyer just blurted out that I’m his girlfriend again, and after some hugs and congratulations, everything was back to normal and my appetite returned.
‘I’m stuffed,’ Nash says, leaning back in his chair. He and Callie stayed at a hotel last night. It’s an old historic hotel, the fanciest one in town. Nash looks at Callie. ‘What do you think, Mrs. Wheeler? Should we hit the road?’
‘Mrs. Wheeler.’ Callie laughs. ‘I have to get used to that, but yeah, we should get going.’
‘When are you guys moving here?’ I ask.
‘Next Friday,’ Nash says. ‘That’ll give me almost a week to wrap up my projects in Chicago while Callie gets us packed.’
‘I’m going to miss you two,’ Mitch says.
‘They’re only a few hours away,’ Jake says to his dad.
‘You can come see them anytime,’ Martha says to Mitch. ‘We’d love to have you.’
‘We’re going to head out,’ Nash says as he and Callie get up from the table.
‘Thanks for all your help with the wedding,’ Callie says, looking at all of us around the table. ‘It was a perfect day.’
‘I second that,’ Nash says.
Martha gets up and gives them a hug. ‘We’ll see you soon. Have a safe drive back.’
‘We’re going to head out too,’ Sawyer says, getting up. ‘I need to do some work before we go to G’s this afternoon.’
‘When’s the dumpster getting there?’ Brody asks.
‘It should be there around noon,’ I tell him.
‘You want to just meet there?’ Jason says to Brody. ‘Or you want me to pick you up?’
‘We can meet there,’ Brody says.
