~*~*~
Will knew he couldn’t avoid the manor—and Amy—forever. It had been two days. Surely his emotions were well enough in hand that he could see her without the hurt overwhelming him. He’d prayed and thought a lot over the past couple of days but to no avail. He had no answers. He had no way to help Amy get past her fears and hurt. This was something she needed to work through herself before they could go any further.
Unfortunately, he had the feeling that she’d been trying already with no success. Which left them exactly where they were, unable to cross the chasm of the past that stretched between them.
Shoring up his defenses, Will drove out to the manor. Lance had called on his way back from his meeting in Fargo to ask him to come for supper, but he hadn’t committed until right before he’d left the office.
His heart lightened when Isabella darted to greet him as soon as he walked into the manor.
“Daddy!” She flung herself into his arms.
He caught her and lifted her for a tight hug and a kiss. “How are you, sweetheart?”
“I’ve missed you.” Her words were a balm for his hurting heart.
“I’ve missed you, too, but have you been having fun here?”
Her head bobbed enthusiastically. “But I was kinda sad today when Amy left.”
Will felt his heart drop. “Amy left?”
Isabella nodded then squirmed, so he set her back down.
Cami was standing next to the table, so he shot her a questioning look. “She’s gone?”
“Yes, Lance took her to Fargo today to fly home to Dallas.”
A sick feeling flooded Will. In that instant he realized that in spite of all evidence to the contrary, there had been a part of him that had been so sure they’d work things out. But they couldn’t do that if she wasn’t here.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I thought she was here for the summer. The summer isn’t over yet.”
“She’ll be back,” Cami told him. “Her friend arranged an interview for her, so she flew home for that.”
Though it was great to hear she was coming back, the fact that she was looking for a job in Dallas didn’t make the sick feeling go away. She seemed to be moving on from whatever short-lived relationship they’d had. If only he could do the same.
He swallowed hard, hoping it wasn’t obvious how the news upset him. “I know she was worried about getting a job.” He paused. “I hope the interview goes well for her.”
Cami tilted her head to the side then reached out and rested her hand on his cheek. “No, you don’t, and neither do I, but I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what unfolds over the next few days.”
Easier said than done, Will thought.
~*~*~
After Sammi had picked her up at the airport, they had gone back to her folks’ place. As expected, her mother and father had been thrilled with her surprise visit. And even happier about the reason for the trip. Amy had hoped she’d be able to chat with Sammi, but her friend had promised to call later and then they’d arranged to meet at Sammi’s apartment after the interview the next day.
Though she was happy to see her parents, she found it hard to keep up her end of the conversation. Her thoughts were split between Will and the interview the next day. She knew there was no sense in talking with them—particularly her mother—about Will. Her mom would no doubt say it was for the best since Will lived so far away. That was not really what Amy wanted to hear right then.
After her parents retired for the night, Amy crawled into bed and sent Cami a few texts. Though Cami had commented in her reply that Isabella missed her, there had been no mention of Will. Amy supposed it wasn’t her right to know anything about how he was doing.
“So tell me what’s going on?” Sammi said when Amy answered her call
That was all Amy needed to spill everything out. It wasn’t easy since the emotion of it all was still so fresh. Thankfully, Sammi patiently waited through her bouts of crying for her to finish.
“You thought something like this might happen,” Sammi commented. “I’m sorry that’s is the way it’s worked out.”
Amy sighed. “I suppose your advice is the same as everyone else’s.”
