Chapter Seven
A strange pang hit Blake directly in the chest the moment he walked out of his front yard and onto the street.
Not his front yard. His parents’ front yard.
It was hard to stop feeling like this was his home, which was what the strange pang had been about. Every cloud in the sky looked familiar, the breeze carrying the faintest hint of pine, the threat of rain in the air.
He hoped it’d be clear tomorrow for the wedding. Even if his sister was an idiot for having an outdoor wedding in February in Colorado, he still wanted things to go right for her.
One of them deserved to be happy.
The main street looked busier than when he’d left, and brighter, too. People were laughing and talking in the street, carrying their groceries home, coming out of the craft store with armfuls of colorful yarn.
Things were going well in Hope Springs. Everyone had been nervous about the new housing development when it’d been announced, but it seemed to be breathing life back into the town.
Blake loved the sleepy little town of his childhood, but this seemed better. More livable.
He’d never stopped regretting moving away, but he felt even worse about it now.
“Blake?”
He looked up, spotting a familiar face coming out of the apparently re-opened bookstore. Jude was waving over at him, holding a stack of books in one hand, and…
A little girl?
Blake grinned as he crossed the street. Jude had a little girl. He’d always wanted a family.
His heart swelled with joy for him.
“I’d hug you, but…” Jude trailed off, indicating the books and Kayla. “I’m out of hands. Are you back in town?”
Blake wet his lips. Jude sounded so excited by the idea, and he hated to let him down. They’d shared a few classes in college and become fast, close friends, though Jude was a year or so older than him. Jude was easy to be around, quiet and thoughtful, a lot more grown up than a lot of other people their age.
“I’m just here for my sister’s wedding,” he said. “Were you not invited? Consider yourself invited.”
“Oh, no, we are invited. I just… forgot.”
“So…” Blake looked down at the little girl. “Who’s this, and who’s we?”
“This is Kayla.” Jude nodded to her. “Kayla, this is Blake. Do you want to say hello?”
Kayla waved shyly at Blake, but didn’t say anything else.
Blake waved back, smiling down at her. He was probably terrifying for someone who stood all of two feet tall, so he understood why she wasn’t exactly running to him.
“I want her to know that she doesn’t have to like the people I like,” Jude said. “I mean, I know I can trust you, but… she needs to know she can trust me.”
“Oh, I get it,” Blake said. “One hundred percent cool with a wave. I’m pretty shy, too.”
“She’s Owen’s,” Jude said.
Blake looked up at him, blinking for a few seconds while he took that in. “Owen as intheOwen? The Owen you were pining for the entire time I knew you?”
Jude chuckled. “That Owen, yeah. Remind me to tell you all about it, there are some details that aren’t baby-friendly.”
“Not a baby,” Kayla spoke up, clearly offended.
“Of course not,” Jude cooed. “You’re a big girl. But Blake and I are very old, so everyone seems like a baby to us.”
