They sat across the table from one another, but it wasn’t large by any means. One accidental stretch of her foot and it’d brush against his calf. Gram’s words screamed in her head. He deserves an apology. Yes, he did. Marcus deserved a lot more than that.
She wasn’t ready. It was going to sting. But it had to be done.
“I’m sorry, Marcus.” She stared hard at her stew. In her periphery, she could see his movements stall, and boy, she wished he’d just keep eating so she didn’t have his full attention. Squeezing her eyes shut, she carried on. “The way our friendship fell apart is all on me. I shouldn’t have shut you out.”
Marcus was quiet for a long moment, then he placed his spoon down on the table with a clink. He lifted a napkin to his mouth before returning it. Then said, “You still haven’t told me why.”
She shook her head.
More silence dragged. It seemed to pierce the air with an expectant ringing she couldn’t shake. Then he whispered, “Tell me what I did wrong.”
Her heart twisted in her chest. She wanted to scream that he hadn’t done anything wrong. That she was broken and this was the way she protected herself. But he wouldn’t understand. How could he when all he had were wonderful examples of a life she’d only dreamed of experiencing? Her scars ran deep. She’d never be able to trust herself or her heart with anyone.
Scrambling for something to say that he would hopefully understand, she settled on the only thing that made sense. “I was young, Marcus. I didn’t plan on settling down in Copper Creek. Leaving was inevitable, and I knew our friendship had a timer.”
“How can you say that?” he whispered, the pain in his voice prevalent.
Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “Friendships don’t last forever. It’s a fact of life. Eventually people drift apart.”
“But we didn’t have to.”
She winced, then clung to the last thread of courage she could muster. “It’s hard to maintain a friendship when you’re thousands of miles apart. I’m not staying, Marcus. I’m leaving again when my contract is up. So, what’s the point?”
Marcus stared at her hard. It was a look she was familiar with. He was trying to push past the barriers she put up so easily over the years. She didn’t know what he found when he searched her face, but eventually his expression relaxed, and he nodded.
Relief pooled in her stomach. Would he finally be willing to drop it? Could they make the next couple of months work without feeling like they were tiptoeing around each other?
She could only pray for that outcome despite how painful she knew it would be.
“Six years is nothing, Wynter,” Marcus finally said around a bite of stew.
Wynter slowly brought her eyes to meet his. And when he flashed her that wickedly charming smile, a bit of the ice surrounding her heart melted. “What do you mean?”
He swallowed and tilted his head. “You were my best friend. And a friendship like that one doesn’t come around very often.”
Her heart thundered. It stormed and swirled with catastrophizing beats. She could hear it in the rushing of blood in her ears and feel the way it knocked her off balance with its dizzying pace.
Marcus saved her from asking him to clarify what he was getting at when he shrugged. “You’re still my best friend, Wynter. You can’t get rid of me that easy. I don’t care if you’re five miles away or five thousand. I just care that you’re in my life.” His eyes didn’t leave her face. Once again, he had her pinned with his stare as he let his words sink in. Then he concluded with, “This time, don’t ignore my calls and my texts, and we’ll be good.”
What was she supposed to say to that? What could she say, besides a whispered, “Okay.”
The rest of the day, she watched Marcus come and go from the house as he set to work on various tasks. First, he went up to the attic and brought down the various boxes and bins labeled for Christmas. Next, he pulled out the shower knob and informed her that there was a component that had worn down with time. It was the reason for the leak, but it was too late in the day for him to pick up what he needed to repair it.
She’d thanked him with a smile that had come far too easily. And when he’d left, she found her grandmother’s eyes locked on her once more.
“What?” Wynter demanded with a slight blush.
“I take it the apology went well?” she asked.
“I apologized…” Wynter admitted, turning back to the research article she was notating.
“And?”
Wynter shrugged. “And he said we’re good.”
“Good?” Grams lifted a brow. “I’d say by the smile you’ve been wearing for most of the day that things are better than good.”
She was right. Something had shifted. It was freeing to say the least. Wynter chewed on her lower lip but didn’t confirm her grandmother’s statement.
