“Hey.” He scoops me up and places me in his lap—cradling me—while rocking me back and forth. “We’re okay, Maisie.”
“I’m scared,” I choke out.
“What’s scaring you?” He wipes away a tear on my cheek.
“Henry, I’m falling in love with you,” I cry out, and my eyes flicker between his. “That scares me.”
“I’m falling in love with you too, Maisie.” His face softens at the confession. “Actually, falling isn’t right. I’ve already fallen for you. I’m in love with you, Maisie.” He wipes another tear from my cheek. “I’m so beyond in love with you. You make waking up my favorite because that means I have another day existing in a world with you in it.”
“You’re going to leave and start your life and I’m going to be here still wishing everyday that we never said goodbye.”
“Who says we have to say goodbye?”
“You’re only here to help Miles,” I whisper through a cry. “You have no reason to stay here. You have family and friends and opportunities in Seattle that you don’t have here.”
“Do you know what all that doesn’t have?” He moves my tear soaked hair out of my face. “You. I can go wherever I want in the world but there will always be an invisible string pulling me right back here. Right back to you.”
“What about the life you already have?”
“Youare my life now,” he reassures me as he cradles my head into his chest. “Everything I envision for my future has you next to me. You have become everything to me. You’ve turned my world upside down in what feels like no time at all. I never want to go back to how it was before I knew you.” I feel a tear that isn’t my own. “I can’t ask you to wait for me, but I need you to know thatyouare what’s most important and I am willing to do everything I can to be yours if you’ll let me.”
“I’ll wait for you,” I say in a soft breath. “I’ll go wherever you ask me to. I want to be yours.”
“I’m yours and you’re mine, okay?” He holds my face in his palms and kisses me like it’s our last kiss on Earth. “I love you, Maisie. I’ve been falling for you since the beginning.”
I wipe a tear from his face, “I love you, too. I think deep down I always knew you were going to be someone for me to love.”
“We’re going to figure this out,” he reassures me. “I never want to know a life without you in it so I promise you we will figure this out. Together.”
43
HENRY
It’s been a couple weeks since I told Maisie I loved her, weeks of pure sunshine in my life that I know is mine.
Everyday that goes by, though, is another day closer to leaving, to not knowing what the future holds.
I spend today in a trance, practically just existing in my body and getting work done. I told Maisie I loved her and I still don’t know how I’m going to stay here. I’m afraid I’m going to do exactly what she was afraid of: leaving.
At the same time, I’m doing exactly what I’m scared of: failing.
Failing Maisie.
Is it selfish to not regret the time we spent together, even though if I never showed up—never came back to Ruby Lake—she wouldn’t have someone doing to her what her father did?
The questions circle my mind in a constant loop.
I won’t leave her forever but if I can’t find a job here I don’t know what else I can do to stay. I’ll have to leave for a period of time. I can’t ask Miles to stay and interrupt the life he built for himself. I need to figure out a future for myself so I can give Maisie a future she deserves.
There’s a knock at the door that startles me. Miles went a few towns over to meet with his lawyer and won’t be back for a bit, and Maisie is at work, so I’m not sure who could be knocking.
I get up from the paperwork I was organizing for Miles and see a figure outside of the lobby door. As I approach closer, I notice it’s Wren.
“You look like shit for someone who’s been getting laid,” she greets me when I open the door and she strides right past me.
“Always a pleasure seeing you, Wren.” I laugh and shut the door behind her.
“You guys really brought this place back to life,” she says looking around the lobby, “it looks amazing. You guys should be proud.”
