“Then why don’t you ever take it seriously?” I shout. He stares at me. I scoff. “You won’t listen to anything we’ve said about Daisy—”
“Because why doesshematter?” he shouts, turning to face me fully. “All these years I’ve been trying to figure out how to break this curse, and you two suddenly only care now that there’s a girl in the mix.”
“That is not what this is,” I say firmly.
“Yes, it is. I see it with my own two eyes. You think I don’t hear what’s going on in that house?”
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Yeah, Gus.Shit.That’s exactly what it is.”
He turns to walk away, but I grab his arm and pull him back to face me.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand well enough.”
“No,” I growl. “You need her. We all do. She’s the answer to this. You have to believe me.”
“No way.”
“Yes, Wade,” I shout, giving him a shake. “It’s the truth. Why wouldI lie to you?”
He holds my gaze, the anger still there, but it starts to disappear. Just a little…
“I wouldn’t,” I add. “And you know it. You know that me and Rhett would never lie to you. We would never do anything to hurt you. After all this time, you have to know that. Youhaveto.”
Emotion clogs my throat, battling with the frustration in my chest because I have no idea if this is going to work. If Wade’s going to listen to me. This could go on forever. He could be stuck here forever… which means we would be too, because we can’t leave him. We wouldn’t.
Though the thought of being here isn’t as bad as it once was. Mostly because of Daisy, but also because we now have the choice, and that alone is freeing.
“I’m going to say something, and I don’t want you to say a word in return. When I’m done, I’m leaving. And you need to think long and hard about what is coming out of my mouth. And if you decide to believe me, if you decide totrustme, you can come to dinner with us tonight. Just show up, andI’llknow. And that’s all that will matter. Justme. I will know that you’re trying and that’s all I need, okay?”
He blinks, letting out a sigh. “What?”
It’s something. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. And small things are big wins with Wade.
“Justthink,” I say again, taking a step closer. “Think about a life herewillingly. Think about home-cooked meals and sleeping in a bed and old movies on the old TV. Think about that big tree in the front yard, with little kids running around it, swinging on the tire swing. Think of fixing up the farmhouse, of making it ours and not just being stuck here. Think about what our life could be like if wewantedto stay—if we wanted to be here with Daisy.” I pause, holding his gaze. “That’s it. Just think about it. Considerate what it would look like to embrace this life rather than fighting it every damn minute of every damn day. Can you do that for me? Please?”
Wade grits his teeth, but eventually grits out, “Yeah.”
Then he turns and walks away.
This time I let him go because I said I would leave when I was finished with what I had to say.
I put the thought in his head. The rest is up to him.
Hopefully, he shows up to dinner. Hopefully, seeing Daisy turning this place into a home will have himconsideringhis options, rather than fighting it, just as I said. That’s all he needs to do. He just needs to think about it. Because if he can break the first part, if he can wake up human tomorrow, I know the next part will be easy. I know it will be, because I know him. He just needs a hard shove in the right direction.
“Just come to dinner, Wade. Show up for dinner,” I say to myself as I walk back to the house.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daisy
Ipullthelastpiece of fried fish from the oil and put it on the plate lined with napkins to catch the dripping grease, then turn off the burner.
Gus lined up the plates already, so I plate the food. Fish, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus.
