I snort. “That’s a visual. I’m sorry he’s being so rude. I can talk to him if you want. He’s one of my best friends.”
“No, he’d only blame me for that too.”
“Dad!” Leah shouts across the room, dragging Lauren behind her.
“It’s about time you noticed I was here,” I tease her. They were super invested in the coloring pages they were working on, and I didn’t have the heart to interrupt them. Plus, it gave me a minute to suss out the tension between Farrah and Knox. “You ready to go, monkeys?”
“Yep.”
“Ready.”
“Perfect.” I nod toward the door. “Let’s head home.”
As we’re walking out to my truck, the girls are talking a mile a minute, and I’m barely able to keep up with the conversation.
Then my phone rings, and when I pull it out of my back pocket to see who’s calling, a flock of birds takes flight in my gut.
CHAPTER 20
Gia
Idodge travelers left and right, trying to get to the bathroom as quickly as possible. The flight from Atlanta was annoyingly long, and I’ve had to pee for the last hour. As ridiculous as it might be, I refuse to use the airplane bathrooms. They seriously gross me out.
Thankfully, the gods are with me, and I’m able to go straight into the one in the airport without having to wait in line.
Once I’m back out in the terminal, I make my way toward baggage claim to wait on my two massive suitcases that sadly contain almost everything I own.
Talk about an existential crisis.
As Ginny helped me sort through my stuff, it hit me hard that I had very little to my name. I’ve lived in my house in Sonoma for eight years, and I was able to fit almost everything I cared about into two—admittedly large—suitcases. It was the proof I needed to start finding the place I want to call my home.
I have no idea if Pine Creek Falls is that place, but my gut is telling me it’s where I need to start.
I called Gwen after Ginny and I had our talk to see if she was still interested in a roommate. She squealed and then said, “Hell, yeah.” We worked out the details, and I insisted on signing a six-month contract. Gwen didn’t think it was necessary, but I wanted to protect us both, just in case.
Now I’m in their dinky little airport, and I’m terrified to make the call I’ve been avoiding since I decided to come back.
This could go any number of ways, and I have no idea what I’ll do if my worst-case scenario—Holt tells me to go fuck myself—comes true. On one hand, I’m not solely moving to Pine Creek Falls for him. I genuinely connected with the town and the people who live there. On the other hand, the town is tiny, and it’s gonna be awkward as fuck having to see Holt regularly if he turns down my proposal.
Okay, Gia. Woman up and make the call.
With a deep breath, I press Holt’s name. It rings several times, and I think it’s going to kick me to voicemail when his deep voice comes through the speaker.
“Rainbow?”
God, that nickname. I should hate it. I don’t do cutesy stuff, but for some reason, it hits me square in the vagina when he says it. “Hi, Cowboy.”
“You okay?”
“I’m good. Really good, actually.” And I suddenly realize it’s true. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.
“That’s…good. I’m glad.” Despondency is clear in his voice. Oh fuck, he thinks I’m good because I’m in Sonoma.
“Yeah, see, I made a pretty crazy decision, and I was wondering if you might hear out my proposal.”
“Your proposal?”
“The thing is, after I went back to Sonoma, I was really fucking sad. Like, depression-level sad, and I knew there was only one way to make myself feel better, but I was being stubborn. I’m sure that’s not a surprise to you.”
