"Oh, sweetheart."
"And I think—I thought—he felt the same way. The way he looked at me. The way he held me. It felt real." Riley's voice broke. "But last night I broke my promise. I missed the pageant. And tonight when I went to explain, he wouldn't listen. He kept saying it was all fake anyway. That we both knew it wasn't real. That he just let it get carried away."
The kettle whistled. Carol got up and poured hot water over the tea bags, then pushed a steaming mug across the table to Riley.
"What did you say?" Carol asked gently.
"I couldn't say anything. He wouldn't let me finish a sentence." The tears came harder now. "He said I have a history of missing things. That everyone in town knows it. That he was stupid to forget."
"Riley—"
"He's right, Mom." Riley looked up, her eyes red. "He's completely right. In high school I was always bailing on plans. Too busy with homework or applications or whatever achievement I was chasing. I was so scared of being ordinary. Of staying in Pine Valley and never amounting to anything. So I made everything about success and achievement."
Carol reached across the table and squeezed Riley's hand but didn't interrupt.
"And then I went to the city and did the exact same thing with my job," Riley continued. "I let it consume everything. I missed birthdays and holidays and important moments because there was always one more meeting, one more project, one more thing that seemed more urgent than the people I loved." She took a shaky breath. "Yesterday, when my boss kept piling on more work, when I realized I was going to miss the pageant—I just... I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't be that person anymore."
"What do you mean?" Carol asked quietly.
"I quit." Riley's voice was barely above a whisper. "Right there in the office. Sandra kept adding tasks, kept pushing, and I just—I snapped. I told her I was done. That I was going home and I wasn't coming back."
Carol's eyes widened. "Riley?—"
"I know it was impulsive. I know I should have thought it through, given notice, done it the right way." Riley wiped at hereyes. "But I couldn't stay another minute in that place. In that life. I was drowning, Mom. I've been drowning for years and I just finally admitted it."
"How do you feel about it now?" Carol asked carefully.
"Scared out of my mind. Relieved. Free." Riley let out a wet laugh. "Mostly scared. But I don't regret it. Not for a second. That job was killing me. That life was killing me."
Carol reached across the table and squeezed Riley's hand. "Then it sounds like you made the right choice. Even if the timing was terrible."
"Was using work as an excuse to not deal with what I really wanted. Because what I really wanted scared me to death."
Carol tilted her head. "What did you want?"
"This." Riley gestured around the kitchen. "Home. Family. A life that felt real instead of some performance where I was constantly trying to prove I was good enough." Her voice dropped. "Grant. I wanted Grant. I've wanted Grant since I was sixteen years old, and I was too scared to admit it because wanting him meant admitting I wanted to come back here. That maybe the life I'd built in the city wasn't the life I actually wanted."
The admission hung in the air between them.
Carol was quiet for a long moment, wrapping her hands around her own mug. "It's not too late," she said quietly.
"He won't even talk to me."
"He's hurt. He's angry. He has every right to be both those things." Carol's eyes were gentle. "But that doesn't mean it's too late. It just means he needs time."
"What if time doesn't fix it? What if I ruined it too badly?"
"Then you'll have tried. You'll have shown up and fought for what you want." Carol squeezed Riley's hand. "But I don't think it's ruined, sweetheart. I saw the way Grant looked at you onChristmas. That boy is in love with you. He's been in love with you since you were sixteen years old."
Riley's throat tightened. "He told me tonight that the whole thing was fake. That it was just a favor for the reunion."
"Do you believe that?"
Riley thought about the way Grant had held her on Christmas Eve. The way he'd kissed her in the barn. The way he'd looked at her this morning when he dropped her at the train station—like she was everything.
"No," she whispered. "No, I don't believe it."
"Then you fight for it. You give him the space he needs, and then you fight for it." Carol paused. "But first, you need to figure out what you want. Not what Grant wants. Not what I want. What do you want, Riley?"
