“I think that’s sensible advice. Thank you. So how are you feeling?”
Gentry sighed. “Confused. Sad. Disappointed.”
Xander nodded. “But you know what would make me feel better?”
Jax hid a smile. “I have no idea,” she said seriously. “What would make you feel better?”
“Pizza!”
“What a surprise. I assume you mean for dinner and not for some time in the future.”
“Mo-om, yes for dinner.”
Gentry sniffed. “I think it would help us heal.”
Jax laughed. “Okay. We’ll order pizza. Just don’t argue about the toppings.”
Ryleigh hung up the phone, her mind spinning. The recruiter at the San Diego school district wanted to set up a second interview and had once again emphasized they would want her to start in August. That would mean her moving in less than four weeks so she could get settled.
Could she do it? Could she figure out how to move her entire life south in that short a period of time? More importantly, did she want to? She would have to give notice at her job here, rent out her place, find an apartment there and packup—all in a few short weeks. If the answer was yes, then she had a thousand things she needed to be doing. If the answer was no, well, then she was going to stay here doing what she’d always been doing, surrendering her dreams of love and family, all the while desperately in love with a man who wasn’t ever going to love her back.
A thought too depressing to consider, she told herself. So she wouldn’t think about it right now.
She pulled into a visitor space at the small apartment complex where Shawna lived. Ryleigh had reached out after Jax had told her what had happened, offering to come by and hang out. Shawna had accepted.
“Focus on the crisis at hand,” she told herself as she got out of the car. “I’ll deal with my move–not move dilemma later.” She would also tell her sister what was happening. Keeping secrets hadn’t gone well at all and she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened between them. Jax had said she would be supportive and Ryleigh was going to trust her to keep her word.
She went up the stairs and made her way to Shawna’s apartment. She’d barely knocked when the door was flung open and a teary Shawna rushed toward her, hanging on tight.
“I’m sorry,” Ryleigh said, hugging her. “I’m so sorry Harris was such a dick.”
“He was. And worse.”
They went into the apartment and shut the door. Several suitcases were on the floor and clothes were scattered everywhere. Obviously she was trying to pack, but not doing a very good job of it.
“I don’t know what to take,” Shawna admitted as she collapsed onto the sofa and shoved a pile of lightweight sweaters onto the floor to make room for Ryleigh. “I can’t think, and making a decision about clothes seems impossible.” She covered her face with her hands and continued to cry.
“I got samples today,” she said through the tears. “They camein the mail.” She straightened, grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “Samples.”
“I don’t understand.”
She waved toward the cluttered kitchen table. Ryleigh got up and walked over, careful to step around piles of shoes and a half-empty cosmetic case. As she got closer she saw samples of the save-the-date postcards Shawna had ordered. On one side was a photo of her and Harris together, with a swirly font proclaimingSave the Date!
Ryleigh immediately returned to the sofa and sat close enough to hug her. “I’m so sorry. The timing totally sucks.”
“I know. It was like him breaking up with me all over again. I was so happy and now I have nothing.”
“You don’t have nothing. You have a good life. Right now it’s hard to see that because your heart is broken, but in time you’ll see there’s a lot of good left.”
“You sound like my mother.”
Ryleigh smiled. “I know that’s not a bad thing.”
Shawna sagged back against the sofa. “It’s not. She’s wonderful and she’s being so supportive. It’s just hard. I feel sick and shattered—like I’ll never be whole again. Just when I start to feel like I’m pulling myself together, I fall apart again.”
“Of course you do. It’s only been a couple of days. Shawna, you need to give yourself time.”
Shawna nodded, then wiped away tears. “It’s hard. I know he’s a jerk and he used me or whatever, but I still miss him. Which makes me pathetic. But there’s so much else.” She looked up. “I miss the kids. They were fun and we were just getting to know each other. We had plans for the summer and now they’re going to do all that without me. They’ll move on and it will be like I was never there.” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “The kids make it harder.”
