Page 89 of Forever Never
“Maybe not in this case. Though not wrecking their snowmobile would have been a better solution.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
He held up a big hand. “I know. That thing has needed an overhaul for fifteen years.”
“Where are you taking me for lunch?” she asked, suddenly starving.
The Cherry Blossom Cafe was a little lakefront place with water views and really good pies. Remi settled into the cherry red booth and rested her head against the cushion for a moment before opening her eyes to study the man in uniform across from her.
He looked as exhausted as she felt.
They placed their orders without making any eye contact and when the server skedaddled, Brick stared down at the stainless steel tabletop.
“You didn’t call me,” he said finally.
“No. I didn’t. I called my mother.”
“I didn’t like it.”
“I’m not apologizing for that,” she said.
“I’m not asking you to.”
“Then why are you telling me.”
His sigh moved those massive shoulders up, then down. “I don’t really know.”
The buzz of the heater above them filled the silence. The snow outside turned finer, like dust.
“You scared the hell out of me today,” he said.
“Why?” she scoffed. She’d been born and raised on this island. She knew the trails, the woods. She understood the dangers of winter.
“You scare the hell out of me every day, Remi.”
She shook her head. “Let’s not. I don’t want to do this.”
“Do what?”
“I don’t want you to let me in just a little. Give me just a glimpse of what goes on in your head. Because you’re just going to shut me out again. You’re just going to reject me and tell me I’m not good enough or not what you want or get pissed off about something I do. So let’s not.”
“Remi.”
“Brick.”
“I don’t know how to be what you want.”
She looked up at the ceiling and took a breath. “You can’t be what I want, and I’m accepting that. This is what you wanted. Distance.”
“It feels…wrong,” he admitted.
“Just because something feels wrong doesn’t mean it’s not right,” she said.
He combed a hand over his beard. “That’s the least Remi-like thing I’ve heard you say.”
“Maybe I’m trying to be less like myself. Maybe it would all be easier for everyone if I were someone else.”
“The world needs a Remington Honeysuckle Ford.”
