“It’s been ten months,” she whispered to herself.
Ten months since Carver had shown up on her doorstep, his cowboy hat in his hand, his bags packed, and his truck still running in her driveway. Ten months since he’d left town the moment he’d finished telling her he didn’t want to marry her. Ten months since he’d left Winnie to pick up the pieces of her life and the life she thought she’d have, as well as the shards of her heart.
Ten months of being alone again, after so long of being part of a couple.
She’d stayed in Redwood for a couple of months before starting to look for another job, and she had moved to Three Rivers almost seven months ago now.
She looked up again and watched the characters on the TV trying on dresses. She kept the volume low and the captions on, but she didn’t hear them or see them. Instead, Winnie took a few moments to really evaluate how she felt. Right now, right here, in this moment.
“Guide my hands, my feet, and my life,” she prayed. “Please, God.”
She didn’t need big, grandiose shows of God’s love for her. She’d always known He was there and always believed that He would take care of her. She didn’t need to test Him, and as a peaceful feeling came over her and settled in her heart, Winnie took a breath and blew it out.
With it went all the negativity of the last ten months, all the ways she felt inadequate to be a girlfriend or a wife, how her hair wasn’t the right color, and how she carried too much weight, and how she pushed people too far, and that she spoke too loud, and she volunteered too much, and she inserted herself in conversations where she wasn’t wanted.
Winnie had been through it all and blamed herself for everythingthat had gone wrong—between her and Taylor, between her and Carver, between her and everyone.
After all, she was the common denominator, so didn’t that make the problem exist within her?
As she opened her eyes, she saw her house with new vision. No, she wasn’t perfect, but neither was anyone else. She’d rather not be married than married to a man who didn’t love her and didn’t want to be with her.
She wanted to be around people who appreciated her for her opinions, and her knowledge, and her ability to refuse to text them back until they texted the cowboy who’d asked them out.
She looked down at her phone, turned it back on, and tapped to start typing a message to Tyson.
I’m not sure I ever said it, but I’d love to go to lunch with you on Saturday.
She stared at the words, knowing she hadn’t told him yes or no while at brunch earlier. They’d gone into one of their back-and-forth banters, and the man had outright used the worddate.Winnie liked that she didn’t have to guess at his intentions.
And honestly, she’d rather know now if she was walking into a disaster next weekend. There’d probably be hundreds of people at the Glover wedding, many of whom Winnie had started getting to know in the past few months. She wanted to belong to this small town, and if she couldn’t even go to a lunch date with Tyson, they certainly shouldn’t be attending a wedding together.
“It’ll probably save us both,” she whispered, and then she dropped her thumb onto the arrow to send the text.
A circle appeared and went around once, and then the text saidDelivered.
If you let me know what time I need to be ready, that would be great. Here’s my address.She typed that in, because Ty would certainly have no way of knowing it, and he’d need it for the wedding anyway.
Great,Ty said back.Mitch and I usually work with the dogs untilabout eleven-thirty, so I bet I could be to your place by about twelve. If that works.
That’s the perfect time for lunch,Winnie said.
Is that emoji an indication of where you want to go? I’m taking requests.
Winnie grinned at her phone, feeling flirtatious and fun—something she hadn’t felt for a long time.
I’m new to town, cowboy, and I like to eat. So I’m sure anywhere we go, I’ll be able to find something I like.
Okay, that’s easy,Tyson said.
Since she’d been working with him in a professional capacity, Winnie knew he wasn’t particularly verbose. He didn’t volunteer information, and he never said more than he needed to.
A flash of loneliness struck her, and she looked back at her phone, hoping a question wouldn’t annoy him too much. She stopped and gave herself a mental shake.
“If a question annoys the man, you don’t want to date him.” Winnie didn’t want to live her life on eggshells, which was why she’d had to leave Redwood in the first place, and why she couldn’t wait for Taylor to hit the road tomorrow morning.
What soup did your momma make?
You’ll die,Ty said.It’s called Cabbage Patch Stew, and believe it or not, it’s actually really good.
