“When Cole and I were younger, boy, did we have one hell of a love story. We fought, and there was drama of course, but we had some real good times. He could make me laugh like no one else. I always felt like I could be my real, true self around him, and he wouldn’t judge or care—he would just love me more.” She sighed, her face falling as she succumbed to the memories. “But I walked away from it. I told myself it was for the right reasons—security, stability, a comfortable life. And I got all of those things. On paper, I have everything I ever wanted, too. But deep down, there’s always been this ache, this feeling that I missed out on something irreplaceable. Because the truth is, love like that doesn’t just make you happy—it makes you feel alive.”
?Her words hung heavy between us, and I felt the weight of her regrets. Would they become my regrets, too?
“I care about you so much,” she said, her voice softening. “I love you like a daughter, Magnolia, and I don’t want you to look back years from now and feel the same emptiness I do sometimes.”?
I looked down at my hands, twisting a napkin around my finger. The silence between us seemed to stretch on forever, thick with things unsaid, until she finally spoke again.
“You will have it all, and you are well on your way. Your business is blooming, andyoudid that—all on your own. But that can’t be the only thing you have in this life. The life I chose gave me everything I thought I wanted, too, but it also took something away—something I can never get back. You have a chance to do things differently, to grab on to that love with both hands and never let go. Don’t let fear or practicality talk you out of it. This kind of love… it’s worth everything.”
It was my turn to reach over and grab her hand. I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles and smiled sadly at her. “I’m so sorry, Eunice. I didn’t know… any of that. About you, or Cole, or the emptiness you feel. I don’t know what to say.”?
“You can say, darlin’, that you’ll give it a chance.”?
Chapter fifty
LEE
Iwas almost finished settling into Charlie’s studio apartment after helping him move into the townhouse he was sharing with Tally and her baby girl, Libby. Sutton was on speakerphone as I unpacked and somehow had roped me in to planning some weird, southern tradition called a baby passing, where, like the phrase, you passed around the baby to new people in his or her life shortly after they joined the world.?
“I mean, we really don’tknowTally, so a baby shower would be weird. Plus, it’s not Charlie’s. But now it is? I don’t know. Can you find some soft, soothing songs to sing?”?
“Sure can, doll. Ryan probably can, too,” I laughed.?
“I might be dating him, but he’s not Leland Wilder. See you Sunday. Thanks, babe!”?
I hung up and almost immediately there was a knock at the door. I shoved a box out of the way, clicked open the lock, and flung the door open, which let out a huge, ancient creak. Definitely needed some WD-40.
Magnolia stood in the hallway with her hair, now longer and curlier, stuck to her face and neck with sweat from the humid, Savannah day.?
“Hey, is everything okay?” I reached out to grab her, but she pushed past me and dropped her purse on my counter top, looking around what was once her brother’s place.?
“So, you’re staying? And you’re renting Charlie’s place?”?
“Subleasing for now, yes. Is everything okay?” I asked again, as I watched her fling open the fridge, finding a couple of beers and yanking them out. She popped off the top and handed one to me, cheersing as we clinked the bottles together.?
“They found Dane. In the Keys. He’s been using my uncle’s identity and got nabbed now that the death certificate and will have been filed. Apparently the ‘life insurance’ money was just a cash payout from Dane that he pushed through some shady associate of your dad’s. Almost as if, I don’t know, he and Kasey had been planning this all along. Anyway, I thought you should know.”?
I watched her drink the entirety of her beer in one long gulp, then turn to scour the cabinets for something stronger.?
“Check the box by the window,” I said. “There’s bourbon in there.”?
“Thanks.” She found the box, opened up the bottle, and took a long, hard pull before passing it to me. “You’ll need it.”?
“Maggie, are you—”?
“Shut up, Lee. Listen to me.” She stretched out an arm so I wouldn’t move closer toward her. “I love you. And you’re staying in Savannah, right?”?
I swallowed, trying to hide just how elated I was to finally hear her say those words again. “You love me?”?
“Hush it, you idiot. Yes, I love you. You know it, I know it, your momma knows it, your brother knew it. Anyway, are you sure you’re staying here? For good?”?
“I’ve thought about it, but…”?
“Are you staying here, Lee? In Savannah, Georgia? Or will you leave again? Or want to leave again, I should say? Answer the question.”?
I put both bottles down on the counter and crossed the small kitchen toward her, putting my hands on her shoulders. “No, Maggie, I’m not leaving. This is my home, and I intend on staying. Is that okay with you?”
She sighed and pushed me off her before crossing the room and flinging open the door. “It’s fine by me. You and I have a date tonight, by the way, 7:30. And don’t be late. Pick me up at my place. No Pickle petting beforehand, either! See you then.”?
