“There was,” I said finally. “She was... everything, but it was complicated, and then one day it was all gone. She asked me not to contact her.”
“And you respected that,” Mom said, not unkindly.
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Yeah.”
There was a beat of silence before she spoke again. “But, honey... sometimes people say things theyneedto say to survive. Not because it’s the whole truth forever.”
I closed my eyes.
“I’m not saying you need to chase her down. What would it hurt to reach out? Just once. To let her know you still care. That you’re thinking of her. That maybe—if—there’s still space... you’d show up.”
I swallowed hard.
“She might not answer,” she said. “But you’ll know you tried. You won’t sit with the what-ifs.”
I let out a shaky breath, emotion creeping up behind my ribs before I could stop it.
“You always do that,” I muttered.
“Do what?”
“Say the one thing I don’t want to hear... but need to.”
“Hmmm.” She smiled through the phone. I could hear it in her voice.
I let out a low breath. “Funny you said that... ”
“Oh?”
“Auburn said the same damn thing at the farmers’ market. Told me to call her.”
“Smart woman,” Mom said, no hesitation.
I cracked a smile. “Dangerous how alike the two of you sound.”
“I love you, Dirks. You know that, right?”
“Of course. Thanks, Ma. I love you.”
“Love you too, baby,” she repeated. “Tell Ledger we say hi. And don’t forget, less sugar in the frog eye salad. It’s thenewversion.”
“I’ll try to contain my excitement.”
She hung up, and I knew what I had to do because it wasn’t a coincidence that two women in my life had both given me the exact same advice.
My hands trembled as I reached for my phone, fingers hovering over the screen. My heart pounded like I was about to step onto the ice for a championship game—only this felt bigger.
I closed my eyes. Swallowed hard. Finally, I dialed her number.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Please pick up . . . or don’t.
4
