Page 67 of Love Story
They talked another few minutes about the baby and how Bailey was feeling. At the end of the call Andi thanked her. “No one knows me like you do, Bailey. You can talk me off a cliff. You always could... ever since college.”
Bailey smiled. “Call Cody. Ask him what he wanted to talk about. Please, Andi.”
“Okay. Eventually.” Andi exhaled. Her doubt was easy to hear. “Oh, and hey... that donation you and Brandon made. Wow...” Deep gratitude filled her voice. “None of us can believe it. That was just what we needed.”
Bailey smiled. “Good. It’s the least we can do.” She didn’t want to annoy Andi, but she wanted to finish the call on Cody. “Don’t forget... reach out to him. Okay?”
“I will.”
That would have to do. The call ended and Bailey returned to the kitchen. Brandon had made them each a glass of lemon water. As Bailey reached for it, her stomach tightened. “Ooooh.” She winced. “They’re getting stronger. These false contractions.”
“One of these days you’ll have one that won’t be false.” Brandon looked nervous. “I hope you know the difference.”
Bailey waited while her abdomen slowly relaxed. She thought about Brandon’s words. She could’ve said the same thing to Andi. Cody was not like other guys. He was a catch, a true and genuine guy who would never intentionally hurt anyone—least of all the girl he loved.
Now if only Andi could see that.
•••
AARON BAYLOR FOUNDCody as soon as practice ended. The kid could barely talk he was so happy. “She said yes, Coach! Macy Withers! She’s going with me to the prom!”
Cody was collecting the bags of gear alongside his assistant coaches. No matter how terribly his visit had gone, he was happy for his player. “Atta boy, Baylor. I told you. Show a girl a glimpse of your heart, and she’ll be yours forever.” He patted the kid’s shoulder. “How does it feel?”
“Amazing.” Baylor grabbed one of the gear bags and walked with Cody toward the locker room. “Every guy on campus wants to be me.” He hesitated and then cast a sideways glance at Cody. “Whatever happened with... Andi, right?”
Cody couldn’t tell the kid that he’d gone after her, but he hadn’t done the very thing he’d taught Baylor to do. Cody hadn’t shared his heart. He’d come home with the truth untold, the facts about hisPTSDstill hidden deep inside him. Cody forced a smile. “Hasn’t worked out yet, Baylor. You’ll be the first to know.”
The irony of it stayed with Cody long after he was home and after he took Riley for his run. The scrawny kid had done the difficult thing and taken a chance. So what about Cody? How could he have gone all the way to Louisiana and not told Andi the truth? Never mind she didn’t want to hear him.
If he would’ve pushed she would’ve listened. And that might’ve changed everything. Yes, he should’ve told her sooner, but that was all part of the learning curve in a relationship, right?
Cody piled Riley into his truck and headed for his mom’s house. Every Monday he mowed her lawn. Today he welcomed the task. Anything to take his mind off the hurting. He missed Andi so much he couldn’t eat. Couldn’t see straight into tomorrow.
A few times he had even played the news segment again, the part where Andi was interviewed. He had kept it on hisDVR. For times when he couldn’t go another minute without seeing her.
His mom met him at the front door and called Riley into the house. “Come on, boy, come to Grandma.”
Cody found the mower and set about the job. Later tonight he would tell his mom what happened with Andi, how she never wanted to see him again. Then he would tell her the other news. He was seriously considering moving to Montana. The headmaster had offered him a job. Now it was up to him. He had a week to decide.
The conversation with his mother went better than he expected. She didn’t want him to move, of course, but she recognized it would only be for a time. So Cody could get Andi out of his head.
“Actually, I’m thinking of moving to Solvang. For a year, anyway.” She grinned at him. “One of my friends is moving there to work at this great church. It’s been around forever, but they’re hiring. I’d be working with this great couple—Larry and Evelyn Foster. My friend said she could get me the job if I was willing to move there.”
Cody smiled, despite his breaking heart. Nothing stayed the same. Not even the two of them living in the same city. “Good for you, Mom.”
“Everything happens in seasons, Cody.” She patted Riley, who was sitting beside her. “You’re a football coach. You should know that more than anyone.”
She was right. Everything in its season. Just like Ecclesiastes in the Bible. He thought about that after he was home and in bed. He reached for his phone on his bedside table and opened his Bible app. He found his way to the third chapter in Ecclesiastes.
There it was.
... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance...
A time for everything. And right now it was Cody’s time to grieve, time to figure out what the rest of his life held. Never mind the day he’d shared with Andi in Louisiana, or the progress he’d thought they had made in those few hours. That was behind him. The future held something unknown, a challenge Cody was almost certainly going to take. Working with a team of troubled kids in the open plains of Montana.
Where just maybe, Cody’s heart might finally heal.
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