Chapter 29
“Now boarding flight number three-fifty-seven to Boston. Starting with ourClass Aflyers.”
“Excuse me,” came the elderly lady seated beside Ty in the waiting area. “How can I tell what class I’m in?”
Ty dragged her thoughts away from her musings and looked to the boarding pass the woman held out to her.
“Right there,” she said, pointing at the C12. “You’reClass Cwith us.”
The gray-haired woman tipped her head back and chuckled. “Oh, my. I don’t know how I miss things like that. Thank you, dear.”
“You’re welcome. And it’s easy to miss,” she added to ease the woman’s mind. Ty glanced over at Lucas, who was drawing a sports car in his sketchpad. A handful of colored pencils lay scattered on his lap and the blank space on the pad.
The tip of Lucas’s tongue poked through as he concentrated, making her heart break a little. Eric had backed out of the meeting, saying that he didn’t feel ready to commit just yet. The conversation had started with an apology from Eric about her breakup with Memphis. From there, he invited Ty to join him for a private dinner. He’d made reservations at one of Boston’s hottest restaurants, and he hoped they could spend a little time getting reacquainted while his parents watched Lucas.
Turned out Margo wasn’t far off with her estimation of him and his intent. When Ty assured Eric that—whether she was available or not—she’d prefer to have only a parenting partnership and nothing more, the text thread went quiet for a full day. Then, first thing the following day, came the message about his second thoughts.
Maybe when Lucas is 18, we can meet up,it read. And that’s how they left it. Ty gave the text a thumbs up, and then burst into tears. Tears of relief mingled with heartache for Lucas’s sake. Thank heavens Lucas hadn’t found out who Eric was before he backed out.
Little did Ty know, her heartache had just begun. She’d been fooling herself to think she’d accepted the idea of losing Memphis.
Nothing was further from the truth.
A fresh rip tore through her heart anew, the sharp pain causing Ty to hold her breath. Those moments at that haystack last night were torture. While getting ready for the evening at Holly and Margo’s, she’d been all assumption and hope. Sure, in the back of her mind she knew it waspossiblethat Memphis wouldn’t show. But as Margo’s words sank in, and even through conversations she had with Andie, Ty had decided the chances that he’d leave her waiting were sliver thin, if not impossible.
If anything, she pictured him coming regardless. If Memphis had determined that the relationship was more than he bargained for, he’d at least show up and tell her so face-to-face. Softly, kindly, regretfully.Thatwas the Memphis she knew. But to simply not show?
It confused her nearly as much as it hurt. It just didn’t make sense, which made it hard to even grieve properly. But that was probably denial talking. It felt impossible for her to accept that he was out of her life. Yet if he really was, perhaps it was time for Ty to consider moving back to Boston. It’d be far easier to make a living as an LMT in the big city. Of course, no job would compete with the one she had at the inn. Plus, she couldn’t fathom the idea of living close to her mother with the way things were.
A recollection came to mind—Memphis wasn’t the only person Ty had written a letter to. She’d also written one to her mother. One that expressed just how damaging her meddling could have been to Lucas. One that also said just how damaging her harsh criticism had been to their relationship over the years.
Ty cringed as she realized something. She’d dropped that letter into the mailbox on her way to meet Memphis at the inn, and it would likely arrive while Ty was there for the holiday. A dose of dread pushed through her. Perhaps sending that letter was a mistake. She’d been expecting Memphis to show up. If he had, Ty wouldn’t have to be there when her mom received it.
Katrina Allen was the sort of woman who needed extra processing time, hence the reason Ty had chosen the letter route versus bringing it up in conversation. Mom’s initial reactions could be wickedly out of proportion. Enough to ruin Thanksgiving if the mood struck.
Who cared? As far as Ty was concerned, it was already ruined.No, Ty, you still have Lucas to think about.It was true. But without Memphis in her future, Ty couldn’t muster a spark of excitement for the days, months, or even years ahead.
Her shoulders slumped. Somehow, Ty had wound up exactly where she hoped to never be—miserable over losing a man she’d fallen far too deeply in love with. Unable to focus on the blessings that were still in her life.
I’ll get back there,she assured herself. It would just take time to accept what life without Memphis would look like. Life had been good before; it would be good again.
“That’s us, hon,” came the woman seated beside her. She patted Ty’s arm. “Better have your little one gather his pencils. They’re boardingClass C.”
“Oh, goodness,” Ty said, scrambling to redirect her thoughts. “Lucas, let’s go. Put your pencils back in the box.” She stood and hiked her backpack onto one shoulder. She patted the back pockets of her jeans, then tugged the phone from her pocket and pulled up their boarding passes. A quick glance at Lucas said he almost had all of his pencils back in the box.
“Here,” she said, grabbing his backpack next and tucking his sketchpad inside. She nodded toward the open flap. “Put the pencil box in there and zip it up.”
“Now boardingClass Dpassengers,” they called next. “Please line up now, allClass Dpassengers.”
“We better hurry,” Ty said.
Once Lucas finished zipping his pack, Ty looped her hand around his and hurried toward the kiosk.
“Ty! Ty, wait!”
The distant call of her name had Ty slowing her steps and tipping back slightly. It definitelysoundedlike her name, but it also sounded like Memphis’s voice, which was impossible. Probably someone from one of the other waiting areas.
She sped up to close the gap between her and Lucas, who’d let go of her hand to fish something out of his pocket. She looked down to see him grasping the very first car Memphis got him—the cherry red Ferrari. He’d given him a lot more since then.
