Now, I just need to work up the nerve to tell her that.
TWO
Lilliana
Being backin Wolf Valley is amazing.I never came back when I was in college, partly because it would have been expensive, but also because I didn’t trust myself not to stay here.This place has always been my home, and I knew that once I graduated, I would be back.I just had to leave for a little bit to chase my dreams.
Now I’m finally back, and I don’t think that I’ve stopped smiling since I saw the town welcome sign.
The man that has fueled every single one of my fantasies hops out of his truck, that familiar smile that he only ever gave to me, and occasionally his brother tugs at his lips, and I relax.
Foster.
If I’m honest with myself, he’s what I missed the most about this place.
“Welcome home,” he says, wrapping me up in his arms, and I grin as I wrap my arms around his trim waist.
“I missed you,” I whisper, and he hugs me tighter.
“I missed you too, Snow,” he whispers back.
The old nickname has unexpected tears stinging my eyes.He used to call me Snow all of the time when we were kids because he said that I looked like Snow White.I have to admit that with my long black hair and pale skin, I can see the resemblance, but I’m about eight sizes bigger than any fairytale princess.
We pull back at the same time and I take him in.He still looks the same.His dark brown hair is a little longer, but those blue eyes are exactly how I remember.He’s a foot taller than me, and I have to crane my neck to meet his eyes.
“How was the drive?I still think you should have let me come and drive with you,” he grumbles, already reaching past me to open the back of the small U-Haul.
“It was good.I had my roommate with me for most of it.It was just the last hundred miles or so that I was alone,” I remind him.
He grunts, and I smile.I’m used to Foster’s lack of words.He was always happier to sit and listen to me talk than make conversation.I guess that hasn’t changed in the last few years either.
“You don’t have to help me unpack.There’s not much.I can get it later,” I tell him, and he gives me a hard look that has me lifting my hands in surrender.“Or you can carry it all upstairs.Whatever makes you happy.”
He grunts again and grabs the first few boxes.
“I thought that was you,” Ford says as he comes up and wraps me up in a tight hug.
“Ford!I missed you,” I say with a laugh, hugging him back.
“Did you hear that?She missed me,” Ford tells Foster.
He rolls his eyes, juggling his grip on the boxes.
“She told me that she missed me more,” Foster tells his twin, and I dig my keys out of my purse and open the door leading up to my new apartment.
“She was lying,” Ford tells Foster, and I giggle as I grab a box and lead the way upstairs.
I missed being around these two.They were always teasing each other, but it’s obvious how much they both love each other, and I know that if the other ever needed them, they would both drop whatever they were doing to be there.
Sometimes I wished that I had siblings, someone to always have my back.Luckily for me, I had the Miller brothers living next door, and they were the next best thing.
I’m out of breath by the time we reach the top of the stairs.Meanwhile, the two brothers aren’t even breathing hard.
“What have I missed around here?”I ask them as I drop the box and unlock the door.
“Not much.A few new businesses opened up on Main Street.Just a few doors down,” Ford tells me.
“Like what?”I ask as we all head inside.
