“Are you really leaving tomorrow morning?”
She turned toward Nate’s voice at the picnic table. He must’ve dragged it back into place sometime after the concert. Enough light spilled from a flickering lantern inside the glass cottage to reveal himsitting on one of the benches. He rose and stepped toward her. “You know this just can’t be over, right?”
He kept walking until he was standing in front of her, his voice no more than a raw whisper when he spoke again. “Please tell me this isn’t over.”
McKenna scrunched her eyes shut a long moment, then dropped her gaze to his chest. “I need to do what’s best for Bobbi.”
“What about you?” His hands cupped her face as he crouched just enough to force her to meet him in the eye. “What about New York? Shoot, even LA? What about finding a job you’re actually excited about? You can’t tell me going back to Nebraska to do the same thing you’ve been doing since you were eighteen is what you want. I don’t care if it’s only three more years. That’s three more years of your life, McKenna.”
“I know, but...” She reached for his wrists. “Mr. Sullivan has offered for me to take over his photography studio. If I accept his offer, it may not be so bad. I’ll have more freedom.” Maybe. Her little town in Nebraska wasn’t exactly a magnet for fun events and wedding opportunities.
And apparently Nate wasn’t buying it either. “You’re holding yourself back.”
“Or maybe I’m accepting things for how they really are. Maybe... maybe this is the best a girl like me can do.”
“A girl like you?” He dropped his hands from her face and took a step back, shaking his head. He stared at her the next several seconds, gripping his hair, then blew out a breath. “All right then. I’ll move to Nebraska.”
“What?”
“I’ll have to wait until next summer since I already signed a contract for this school year, but—”
“Stop. No.” McKenna had latched on to the sides of his shirt. “You’re not moving to Nebraska. Stop being ridiculous.”
“We have to make this work. I’m not losing a girl like you, McKenna.”
“You’re not—we’re not—Nate.” Now McKenna blew out a breath.“Listen to me. You have an incredible job waiting for you in Buffalo. One you’ve worked so hard to get. Don’t you dare even think about giving it up for me. Especially when there’s a good chance you may not even want me a year from now.”
“I’ll want you.” The lantern light flickered against Nate’s intense gaze. “I’ll want you, McKenna. I’ll want you a year from now. I’ll want you ten years from now. I’ll never stop wanting you.”
Her breath hitched, and she wanted to believe him, but... “How can you say that?” How could anyone say that? Her own parents didn’t even want her.
He scraped his palm over his mouth, still watching her with a force in his hazel eyes that could knock her backwards. “I saw my dad.”
Her lips parted, but she couldn’t seem to form a single word. Nate saw his dad? When? Why?
Nate nodded as if hearing her unspoken thoughts. “Yesterday. That’s where I was. I went to see him and... well, beg for help. Didn’t really expect for him to come through, but figured it was at least worth a shot. Turns out I got even more than I bargained for.”
“I’d say. He sent Tricia and Guy Scampy.”
“That and...” Nate reached for McKenna’s right hand. “I forgave him.”
McKenna slid her fingers between Nate’s. “Really? Nate, that’s... that’s incredible. I can only imagine how hard that must’ve been.”
“It was. And if I’d only been doing it for me, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do it. But truth is, I was also doing it for you.”
“Me?”
He tugged her closer, clasping her hand against his chest while he slid his other hand around her waist as if they were dancing.
“I can’t have extra baggage like that weighing me down if I want to be free to pursue you. I want to be the best version I can be of myself. And that’s a man who forgives. It’s also a man who shows up. I’m going to keep showing up for you, McKenna. You have no idea how much I already treasure you. And not to play therapist here, butI’m pretty sure you have no idea how much God treasures you, too. I didn’t know. Not until my mentor showed up for me the way my dad never did.”
McKenna’s eyes burned. She blinked back her tears. This was too much to hope for. “Nate, these are nice words, but—”
“They’re not just words. You have a Father who absolutely delights in you and will never stop wanting to claim you as one of his own. It’s easy to forget. I know I don’t always remember. Sometimes I find myself making up conversations inside my head instead of talking to God because I still can’t grasp the fact that I have a Father who always loves me and wants to hear from me. But he does. And if you need to go back to Nebraska just so that I can help prove that to you, then so be it. Go back to Nebraska. Just know that I’ll be showing up on your doorstep every chance that I get. Because I want you, McKenna.”
McKenna buried her face against his neck before he could see her crumble. “For the record, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to leave you after hearing something like that.”
He held her tighter, pressing his mouth to her temple. “For the record, that was kind of the idea.”
