Page 95 of Begin Again
“Did you ask him what happened?”
“No, not yet. We were too busy trying not to argue over the fact that I was about to move back to New York and that you and I slept together.”
“I’m sorry, Nina. I—I should’ve stopped, I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t. Don’t do that,” I say. “I don’t regret it, Beau. And I don’t want you to, either.”
Beau stares for a moment before his gaze falls to the ground. He folds his arms and sighs. “He seems to remember everything just fine now.”
“I wouldn’t call it perfect, but it helped jog his memory when he saw me. He’d been…having small memories, but nothing clicked.” I sigh. “Do you know what it was like to see him today? I didn’t know what to expect or if he’d even remember me. But then I saw him…I touched him for the first time in over a year, and it was like my whole world came back into view. But I still have this ache inside of me because I don’t know what’s going to happen, Beau. We aren’t the same people. I’m not the same.”
Tears begin to fall down my cheeks. I should pull away when Beau reaches out to wipe them away, but I don’t.
“How do I know he still loves me? That he won’t want to return to the life he was living back there? How do I know we’re going to make it?”
“You don’t, Nina.”
“And then there’s you. For the past year, I have carried this…pain, this agony thinking my husband was gone. Not just gone…Dead. And the whole time, you were this shining light in the dark. You pulled me out of the dark and helped me keep going even when I didn’t want to. You were here for me. You made sure I was okay when no one else did…I care about you so fuckingmuch and the thought of losing you makes my head spin. I won’t let him be mad at you. This isn’t your fault.”
“Oh, Sweetheart.” Beau exhales.
“What am I supposed to do, Beau?”
Beau cradles the sides of my neck. “You walk back in that house and tell your husband everything you just told me. Because I know you, Nina, and I know that despite whatever feelings you have toward me, whatever feelings I have for you…I’m not the one for you. He is.”
When I try to look away, he doesn’t let me.
“You have spent the past year looking for him, never giving up. Don’t give up now. Nick is hurt. But he’s only hurt because he loves you.”
“Beau—”
“I’ll be okay, Nina.” He smiles and I tighten my grip on his arms when he kisses my forehead. We stand there for a moment longer before he finally takes a step back and readjusts his posture to stand straighter, arms folded over his chest. “Where was he?”
And just like that…Beau Turner has transformed into Sheriff Turner right before my eyes.
“Bezer.”
His gaze narrows. “Where is that?”
“Some small town about an hour and a half from the trailhead. It’s barely a blimp on the map. Blink and you’d miss it as you drive through.”
“Still in Puck County?” Beau asks, and I shrug. “How many miles would you say it is from Achor?”
“Maybe forty miles from where you found his stuff, but driving it’s longer because of getting through the mountains.”
Beau disappears into his thoughts, and I watch an idea form behind his eyes. “Where exactly is Bezer?”
“You take 133 to one of the county roads south of Achor. I don’t remember which one.”
“That has to be Puck.” Beau shakes his head. “He was right under our nose the whole time.”
“Nina.” We both turn to see Nick standing only a few feet away. His eyes roam every inch of the scene before him, scrutinizing every detail—how close Beau and I stand apart, the flush in my cheeks, the fresh tear tracks on my face—as he walks closer. “Everything okay, Sheriff?”
“Yeah,” Beau says, keeping his gaze locked on Nick, a quirk in the corner of his mouth. “Just trying to get some details from your wife. Help fill in some blanks.”
“You don’t want to talk to me?”
“I do, but—”
