“It’s not that simple, Mom.” Nothing about being friends with someone for over two decades, going to law school with them, and having it all end in one night could be described assimple.
“My advice would be better if you told me what actually happened between you two.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye, hopeful that this time she would needle it out of him.
“Nice try, but I’m not talking about it.”
He ignored her exaggerated sigh as she stood and began to clear the table.
He rolled the edge of his beer bottle around on the table, considering all that she’d said. Was he ready to move past the hurt Kelsi had caused? He didn’t know. He’d lost so much, and despite still having the lingering questions and his anger at her, the past few years had put a lot into perspective for him. In all his memories of this town, Kelsi was there. Through all his highs and lows, except for the accident and his recovery, she’d been there for him, right at his side. And he missed her. He missed them together. He’d known since the moment she excised him from her life that he would never be able to fully live without her, because she carried part of him with her.
In that moment, he knew that no matter what, no matter how angry they both might still be with each other, and despite all the unspoken and unresolved issues they would face, that he would do what he could to make it right. She’d run away from him before without giving him any explanation, but he’d grown up in four years, and she couldn’t outrun him now.
“Hey, I’ve got something for you before I leave!” his mom yelled over her shoulder as she headed into the living room.
“Sure, Mom.” He stood and followed her, leaving his thoughts ofherbehind him. For now.
CHAPTER 4
Kelsi
Kelsi knocked onthe robin’s-egg blue door before turning the handle she knew would be unlocked.
“Hey, Mom!” she called out loudly. She shed her shoes at the door and heard the pounding of heavy paws across the floor before two golden retrievers hurtled down the hallway toward her from the back of the house. “Savannah! Bailey!” She giggled as they launched themselves at her, shoving each other out of the way in their efforts to lick her face. “Okay, girls, sit!” She held her hand up, palm out. The girls both sat eagerly, back ends wagging back and forth on the floor in time with their tails.
Kelsi reached into the glass jar of dog treats her mom kept in an alcove next to the door and handed two to the dogs. She followed them as they trotted down the hallway toward the kitchen at the back of the home. Walking through the open doorway into the kitchen, the delicious aroma of her mom’s signature lasagna hit her, and her mouth immediately watered.
As amazing as it smelled, Kelsi was automatically on high alert.Bad News Lasagna. When Dylan’s dad died, when her childhood dog was diagnosed with cancer, when her mom told Kelsi she had to get a cavity filled, there was always lasagna. Any unexpected lasagna meant bad news.
“Mom, what’s the special occasion?”
She put her bag in one of the island’s seats and lowered herself into the one next to it, propping her chin on her hand as her mom flitted around the kitchen, throwing a salad together.
Her mom looked up at Kelsi and smiled widely. “You are, of course! Tomorrow is a big day for you! First day at a new job, back home for good—we have a lot to celebrate!”
Kelsi tilted her head sideways as she studied her. “Yes, Mom, those are things to be excited over, but you know you save lasagna for extremely bad days. Starting a new job and coming home shouldn’t be bad. So, what is it?”
Her mom laughed at her. “Not all bad, Kelsi. Sometimes it’s good, important-news lasagna.” She didn’t lose her ridiculous grin as she hummed to herself. The oven timer went off with a shrillding, and she moved to pull the garlic bread and lasagna from the oven.
“Mom?” Kelsi questioned again, not willing to let it go.
“Oh hush, Kelsi. I’m just excited to have you back home with me again.” She grabbed a couple of plates and bowls from the cabinets and passed them to Kelsi. “Now, what are you going to wear tomorrow to work? You need to look your best for your first day.”
Kelsi was still suspicious, but she answered, “I was thinking of my lucky suit.”
It was a brilliant emerald green, the literal color of luck, and it offset her auburn hair beautifully. She had worn it for every big trial so far and hadn’t lost a single one, so it had earned its moniker. Kelsi laid the dishes on the kitchen island, where they normally sat to eat.
“Ooo, yes, absolutely. You look beautiful in that one!” her mom gushed.
Kelsi put a hand on her chest with a gasp in mock outrage. “Mother,” she exclaimed, “are you telling me that I don’t look beautiful in my other suits?”
Her mom rolled her eyes and swatted at her with a kitchen rag, both of them laughing as Kelsi nimbly dodged it.
“You know that’s not what I meant. I think that suit is especially flattering and shows off your beautiful hair.”
“It makes me look like a spokesperson for Ireland,” she deadpanned. “Or the leprechauns.”
“Nothing wrong with that, sweetheart. You have to embrace your roots.” Her mom cut the lasagna into healthy portions, and the two of them sat down, losing themselves to the delicious meal.
Seriously, nothing was better than pasta and tomato sauce smothered in cheese.
