I arch a brow. "How do you know about the mountain spirit?"
"'Cause the wife reads them books about it. Makes her all happy and ooey-gooey when she finishes readin' about it. Wasn't sure if it was real or not, a mountain spirit rewardin' people with women, but then we’ve all had a front-row seat to your brothers fallin’ head over heels for their women, and nowyou’rehere moonin’ over your best friend who was probably just as intoyouas you were intoher."
"Young Tess Graham is married with a family now too, remember," Ronnie adds. “So it’s not just men gettin’ rewarded. It’s the women’ too.”
My head bounces between the men like I'm watching a tennis match.
Sam nods knowingly, polishing a glass with a rag as he glances over at me.
"Read one of those books once. It was about a cowboy and a horse whisperer. The damn horse kept stickin' his head in the bunkhouse window and scarin' the cowboy," Ronnie says with a chuckle. "Not a bad story. That Aster sure does know how to tell a good yarn."
"Maybe I should give it a go," Henry says, taking a long swig of his beer and leaving a foam mustache on his lip.
"Think we're gettin' a bit off track now, gentlemen. Austin came here for some wisdom, not an old man's book club," Sam muses, making us all laugh.
"Wanna know what I think?" Sam asks, turning back to me.
“I do if there's a new beer in it. Might make me more partial to hearin' your advice."
"Deal." He makes quick work of popping the cap off a new bottle and sliding it across the bar in front of me. "I think this is a classic case of slidin' doors." That gets us all frowning.
"Huh?" I ask.
"You know, right person, wrong time. Serendipity or somethin'. There's been many a movie done about it. Anyway, I think that’s what happened here. Back then, it wasn't your time. You and young Charlie both had things to achieve, and places to go, and you needed to do them all on your own.” He arches a brow and I nod for him to continue. “Think about it, would you have joined your brother on the rodeo if you'd been shacked up back here with Charlie? Two young sweethearts tryin' to make their way in this small town?" I open my mouth to answer him but he doesn't give me the chance. "You don't need to tell me 'cause I already know. You would've been workin' your butt off to give her the world because you’d feel guilty that she’d given up her dreamsto stay here with you. And she would’ve had a happy life, a good one too, ‘cause you’re the kind of man who’d make sure of that. But that guilt would’ve been your downfall, Austin.”
"He's not wrong there. All of you Graham boys were raised right. Good parents, I tell ya," Ronnie adds.
"What you need to realizebeforeyou move forward with her again is that life plays out how it's goin’ to play out. It's already pre-destined. That mountain spirit of yours knows it, and deep down I think you know it too. YouknowCharlie was meant to go out into the world and serve the sick and needy. She was meant to travel and spread her wings. You just never let yourself believe or dare to hope that she’d come back to you.”
He lets that hang there, the old timers nodding and murmuring in agreement.
"You know, sometimes all it takes is a familiar face to stir up memories and emotions you thought were long gone, ignite a hope you'd long forgotten about," Ronnie adds.
Henry takes another swig of his beer before chiming in. "I think Sam's on to somethin'. Why is she back in town after all this time? It ain't just a coincidence. She was travelin’ the world, doin’ God's work, sharin’ her gift of healin', and now she's back in little ol' Spring Haven." He leans in closer, his eyes full of wisdom. "Me thinks there's a reason–and it'syou, and maybe even a little magic meddlin' by your mountain spirit."
I roll over the possibility in my head as they let me drink in silence for a spell.
"Now that we've given you a lot to think about, let me put a full stop on it with this,” Sam says, leaning onto the bar. "Remember that she’s grown up and changed just as much as you have.You've both got your own experiences to share with each other. So maybe as you’re reconnectin’, see Charlie as the woman she is now, not the girl who left all those years ago. Stop worryin’ about what if's and think about whatcouldbe.”
That's the speech that does it. Realization dawns on me like a floodgate opening. I'd been so caught up in memories and missed chances that I hadn't truly considered that Charlie was no longer that high school girl I used to know and the one that I let get away. She's a woman now, with her own experiences and stories that have shaped her into the person she is now. The one I almost kissed. The one I wished I nowhad. She's a new, different version of her that I don't know... but I really want to. And I think she wants to get to know me again too.
So whether thisisthe Call or not, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
11
CHARLIE
The crisp cold air nips at my cheeks as I make my way down Main Street toward Dad’s bookstore. The scent of fallen leaves and chimney smoke hang in the air making me smile and reminding me just how much I missed this place.
I’ve been back for two months now and despite Spring Haven being much smaller than all the places I visited in my years away, I’m not sure I’ve had a single day that’s been the same as the one before. I also haven’t felt a single ounce of regret about moving home.
What I have remembered is how much I always looked forward to seeing Austin, something that hasn’t changed since our day cleaning up the apartment. I think back to that moment with the box between us and the look in his eyes. I wanted to kiss him and I’m pretty sure he wanted the same. It was about to happen, maybe evenmeantto, but of course that’s when Dad walked in and broke the moment.
I love my dad something fierce, but if it came down to being kissed by Austin or seeing my father, there’s no competition.
I still remember our first kiss. It was a warm summer evening and Austin had walked me home after a bonfire at a classmate’s ranch on the outskirts of town. We were laughing about something and I was walking on air, full of happiness because I couldn’t imagine my life getting any better. I was going away to college at the end of Summer and Austin was staying behind, but I took comfort in knowing he’d be there every time I visited.
Back then I couldn’t imagine a time that we wouldn’t be in each other's lives. To me, it was as inevitable as Ma's corned beef hash becoming world famous. It was guaranteed. Whatwasn’twas the fact that although I was in love with my best friend, I didn’t know if he felt the same way. And because I didn’t want to lose what we had, I hadn’t told anyone.
