‘When I left the city, I thought about going to my family’s home but I wanted space to think and I thought they would just say they told me so about Sarah.’
I remembered Dylan indicating Blake’s sister had thoughts about his ex. ‘They didn’t approve?’
‘I took Sarah home once to meet my family, and it didn’t go great. My sister made it clear she thought I was making a mistake moving away with her. My dad said I had to make my own decisions but he wasn’t happy either.’ Blake sighed. ‘I thought that coming to stay with Dylan would be better for clearing my head. I do feel bad not going home, though.’
Sometimes, I missed my parents so much, it physically hurt. It was hard to understand wanting to avoid them like Blake was doing. ‘I’m sure they’d want to see you,’ I said, trying not to have another go at him. ‘Maybe you should see them when you know what you’re going to do. They’d understand about Sarah, and support you, surely.’
Blake was quiet so I didn’t push it.
‘I’m sorry she cheated on you; it must be rough going through that.’
‘And not just that…’ He looked quickly across at me, scuffing his feet on the path as we wound our way towards the farm. I could see lights ahead from the farmhouse, ready to welcome us back.
‘What is it?’ I prompted as he hesitated to finish his sentence.
‘I had just been about to propose to her,’ he blurted out, shaking his head. ‘What a fool.’
‘God, Blake.’
We were silent for a moment.
Blake looked across at me. ‘I bought a ring and I’d been thinking about how to propose, and what our wedding would look like. Sarah standing beside me at the altar in a white dress…’
‘Oh,’ I said, understanding our first meeting more now. ‘So, when you saw me in a wedding dress…’ I thought about him thinking he might get married soon then bumping in to me running from my own wedding. And despite the fact it was a bad situation all round, I let out a laugh.
Blake looked across at me in surprise and I clamped my hand over my mouth but I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. ‘Sorry, it’s so not funny but I just thought – no wonder you were so shocked.’ Was I hysterical? Possibly after the recent events. Plus the wine might have gone to my head. But our first meeting suddenly seemed absurdly funny to me.
Blake stared at me. And then suddenly, his shoulders dropped and he smiled, flashing those dimples again. ‘It was like I had seen a ghost,’ he agreed with a chuckle.
‘Wow, I’m sorry. No wonder you hated the sight of me.’
‘No,’ he said quickly. ‘I was just shocked, and I guess I did take my anger at Sarah out on you. I thought the universe was playing a sick joke on me. Rubbing salt in my wound. And that you were just like Sarah: jilting your man.’ He dropped his voice. ‘But I know I don’t know anything about you, or your fiancé. I am sorry I was so hostile to you. I’m not usually like that. It’s been a rough few days, I guess.’
‘It has,’ I agreed. I didn’t want him thinking badly of me. But I felt badly of myself. ‘I should have said something sooner, and stopped it all before I got to my wedding day. But I thought it was what I wanted. And then my fiancé’s mother started talking about their plans for me after the wedding and it was like I woke up from a dream… I didn’t want the future they had all planned out for me.’
‘They planned your future?’ He sounded confused, just as Willow had done. Seeing their faces made me realise how much I had ignored in my five years with Henry and his family, how much I let the fear of being alone blind me to how unhappy I was becoming.
‘They planned everything. I had to leave. I need to find the life that I want. I let myself get swept up because I wanted the security they were offering me, I think.’
Blake was quiet then he sighed. ‘I let myself get swept up too. Sarah wanted us to move to the city and work together. And I went along with it because I thought we were in love. I thought we would be happy. But I don’t think we were. So, maybe I understand more than most. I feel a bit like I’ve woken up from a dream too.’
We looked at each other, our situations feeling more similar than we’d realised when we first met. Almost as if we were both meant to be seeking sanctuary in Birchbrook together.
‘But now I am alone,’ I said, my voice so soft, it blended with the summer breeze.
Blake heard me, though. ‘I’m sure you’re not. What about Willow? You have her. She wants you to stay.’
‘Yeah.’ I smiled as we walked through the gates of Birch Tree Farm.
Willow and Dylan had their arms around each other in front of us, talking quietly, proving love didn’t always have to be difficult.
‘That means a lot after I stayed away for five years. A long story,’ I added, because I wasn’t quite ready to talk about my parents with him. It was nice that he had confided in me about proposing to Sarah, though. I wasn’t sure he’d ever get past the fact I’d run out on my wedding but it felt like we had come to a truce that would make being on the farm for the next few days together much easier.
‘Can I ask why you are still wearing his ring?’ Blake asked me gently.
‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s the same as you and Sarah. It feels like we haven’t had… closure.’ I looked at him. ‘By the way, what is your business together?’
‘You won’t believe this…’ Blake trailed off with a grimace. ‘We had started up a dating app.’
