Winnie had made herself sick with scenarios, thinking maybe he was too tired, that he’d overdone it, that he was dancing with someone else. She’d just as quickly dismissed those thoughts, because Ty was not a cheater, and she didn’t believe for one moment that he would do that to her.
She didn’t want that negativity brewing in her head, and she told herself that Ty had had a very busy and stressful week—exactly the way she had—and he was entitled to some rest and relaxation of his own.
But the thought of him needing rest and relaxation away from her made her throat tight. Was he having second thoughts about them? He’d asked her one more time since her initial assessment of her daddy how long she thought she’d be in Oklahoma, and of course, Winnie still didn’t know.
She wanted to reassure him that she would be home soon, but the truth was, she didn’t know that. She’d had a very serious conversation with Jerome on Friday, wherein she told him she fully expected to be back in just another week. She couldn’t stand the thought of staying longer than that, and she’d already been in Oklahoma for ten days now.
And though she’d skipped talking to her parents about moving in with her yesterday, she knew she needed to do it today. She picked up her phone just to see if Ty had texted, and then she’d make her way down the hall and into the main part of the house to talk to her parents.
Winnie stared at the text string between her and Ty, trying to come up with something that didn’t sound accusatory. She wanted to be flirty and fun, but she wasn’t sure how to pull that off either.
In the end, Winnie sent a generic, tentative text that said,I hope you have a great Sabbath day.
She didn’t want to pressure him to text her back, and perhaps her message popping up on his phone would remind him that he’d meantto send her pictures from yesterday’s wedding and had just been too tired to do so.
She sighed as she got up and went into the bathroom before going down to the kitchen. After all, she didn’t want her parents to see her tear-stained face and know she’d cried herself to sleep. Or maybe she did. Then they would know how serious things were with Ty and how badly Winnie needed to get back to Three Rivers.
She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and pulled her hair back on the sides. She liked getting ready in the morning, as it made her feel more human. Not only that, but she wanted to be at her best when she started the difficult conversation with her parents.
“I can’t stay here,” she practiced in the mirror. “You guys need to come back to Three Rivers with me.” She sighed, saw the defeat in her own eyes, and dropped her head.
“This isn’t going to work,” she muttered as she dodged back across the hall to her bedroom. Still, she pulled on her cutest pair of skinny jeans and a flowery top that made her feel feminine, fierce, and powerful.
Shehadto have this conversation. Lord knew there had been plenty of other…lively discussions around the house this week. Winnie had taken not just one trip to the landfill, but three, and she now had everything where it should be. Mostly.
“Lord, I need Thy help.” She tilted her head heavenward, but the writhing, snaky feeling in her stomach wouldn’t abate. Thankfully, the scent of coffee filled the air, and Winnie could busy herself with sweetening a cup before she started talking.
Her mother had a certain way she liked her morning caffeine, and she didn’t let anyone else touch the coffee pot. Winnie simply counted it as one chore she didn’t have to do—and she got to benefit from some pretty good coffee too.
The doorbell rang, and Winnie whipped her attention toward her closed bedroom door. Her heartbeat rebounded from somewhere in her stomach, sticking in the back of her throat and hanging there. She quickly moved to open her door and step out into the hall.
“I got it,” Momma called, as if Winnie were the butler and Momma was doing her a favor by getting the door at her own house. A flash of her bright blue blouse moved past the mouth of the hallway as she left the kitchen, and Winnie started down the hallway.
Hopefully, whoever it was would drop off the loaf of bread or casserole dish and be on their way. Of course, if someone from the neighborhood or her parents’ church had stopped by with food, Momma would invite them in. Winnie might never be able to have the critical conversation about moving her parents to Three Rivers, and pure desperation clawed at her vocal cords.
A male voice met her ears the closer she got to the living room, and Winnie’s footsteps slowed. She didn’t want to see the pastor—or anyone else from church. She hadn’t packed a dress, of course, nor had she planned to attend church while in town. The last thing she needed were all of those people’s eyes and whispered judgments about what she was doing back in town—or what sheshouldbe doing.
She’d had enough of that after Carver’s disappearance from her life fourteen months ago.
Winnie honestly felt near tears as the conversation at the door continued. Then Momma called, “Winnie! It’s for you, hon.”
She got herself moving, and she entered the living room. “Me? Who is it?” She couldn’t quite see past her momma, but she stepped back and opened the door wide.
The whole world narrowed to the man standing on the front porch of her parents’ house.
Drawn by the force of gravity, which was fueled by joy…or maybe love…Winnie flew toward Ty. Giggling and grinning, she asked, “What in the world are you doing here?”
38
Ty could not have hoped for a better reaction. He did worry for a moment that Winnie would barrel straight into him and the two of them would tumble head over heels down theeightsteep, concrete steps he had already climbed. He prayed he had the strength to hold her—and himself—upright after a restless, sleepless night and a three-hour drive at dawn with only a cold breakfast burrito and subpar coffee to sustain him.
She grabbed onto him, and he hugged her tightly too, and thankfully, they both stayed on their feet.
Winnie’s laughter subsided and she stepped back, her eyes wide and searching. She ran her fingers down the sides of his face. “You’re here,” she said, as if she couldn’t believe it. “You’re really here.”
His cowboy hat was gone, but Ty didn’t need it, because he was ready to expose everything between them. “I couldn’t do it,” he said.
Winnie’s excitement faltered and her expression filled with anxiety. “Couldn’t do what?”
