With my heart in my throat, I drove home.
I’d had to get away from her and clear my thoughts.
Mindi hadn’t changed a bit.She was still the same woman I’d fallen in love with all those years ago.She was still shy in most ways, and still had a heart of gold that I’d give anything to own.The best part was that she’d never lost sight of herself, nor what she believed in.That was clear.She had always been determined to help others, and by the looks of things, she was still doing it.
Her heart was the part of her I’d loved the most, and what had originally brought me to her.
I parked the car in the driveway and made my way into the house.I took off my jacket and headed to the kitchen, where I grabbed a soda from the fridge.Why had I avoided the one question I really wanted an answer to?I should have just asked her about the Christmas card I’d sent.Why hadn’t I asked her why she’d never responded?Was I afraid of her answer?Damn right I was.
I hadn’t been sure I was ready to talk to her, yet she’d sat there in front of me, within arm’s reach, my body aching to touch her.Until I’d set eyes on her, I hadn’t realized how badly I still wanted a chance with her.Somehow, even though that had been a burning question in the back of my mind, I’d been willing to put that question on pause.I didn’t want to scare her away by being angry, or forcing her to answer a question that perhaps she wasn’t ready to.
Perhaps this chance was presented to us to realize we could start over, and I knew that if I wanted this to be our second chance together, I had to take things slowly and perhaps overlook the past.It was the only way I could see us moving on.Harboring all the feelings I’d held onto about that card, the lack of response, had almost killed me, and I knew I had to let that all go if ever we were to have even a slight chance at a second time together.
Mindi
I’d taken Sarah over to Bluebird Books for Iris’s reading program earlier this morning and then realized I had forgotten the box of decorations I’d pulled up from the basement last night for the community center sitting on the kitchen table, so I’d had to come back home.
I waved to the boys who were manning my tree lot this year as I pulled out of the driveway for the second time this morning.If it hadn’t been for Connor and Gabe talking with their farmhands, I’d never have found their kids.The four boys I’d hired to look after everything had been doing a wonderful job.People were getting their trees and it had freed me up to be present while the kids at the community center got to decorate the gazebo in the center of the park.
Once back at the community center, I carried a pile of boxes up from the basement and into the gymnasium, where Peggy and Ethan were working away, sorting things out.“I think these are the last boxes,” I said, placing them down on one table.
“Wonderful,” Peggy said, grabbing one off the top.“Hopefully, the spare Christmas lights are inside here.”
“If they aren’t in one of those, then I think we may have run out.I can always text Brooke and have her grab some before she and Tristan come over.”
“No need, I found them,” Ethan said, holding up the spare bulbs he’d found inside the tote he’d been emptying.
“Perfect, I’ll be back in a moment.I’m just going to grab the tape from my office along with the plan we have designed for the gazebo,” I said, flying out of the gymnasium door and down the hall.
Ethan and Peggy had come over early, since the flower shop was closed today, and had helped me get some things out and organized before the kids arrived.Trinity and Thomas would be here any minute, and Brooke and Tristan had decided they’d join us as well, allowing Melinda to run The Crispy Biscuit for the day.I glanced at my watch, seeing that most of the kids would be here to help shortly, and we wanted to be ready for them.
I dug through my top desk drawer, grabbed the tape, and then took off back toward the gym.I let out a scream as I rounded the corner and ran right into someone.
“Oh gosh, Mindi, are you alright?”I heard a familiar voice say, and felt hands grab my upper arms.
It took me a minute to get myself together, and then I looked up into Noah’s blue eyes.
“Sorry about that.I wasn’t expecting you to come bolting out of that door.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the hallway.”I giggled, brushing my hair back out of my face.
“Ethan told me you guys were decorating the gazebo in the park today and told me I should stop by.Hope that is okay.”
“Of course,” I said, smiling.“Come on.”
We were just about down the hall to the gymnasium door when the front doors opened and a group of kids came running in.
“Hey, everyone,” I called, smiling.
“Hey, Mindi!”one boy called out first, followed by the rest of the kids.
“Head on into the gym.”I smiled, watching as they dumped their coats onto the floor as usual.
Just as the last two ran by Noah and me, the front door opened again, and I saw Sarah come inside, Iris glued to her side, tears streaming down her face.I turned to Noah.
“Can you give me a few minutes?That is Sarah, who’s staying with me, the one who lost her parents,” I whispered.
“Of course, I’ll head on into the gym and see what I can help with,” he said with a wink.
