“Me too. She terrifies me.” Evie let out a breath. She was still simmering in indignation, but its intensity was fading. But just a little. “Still, youshouldhave told me.”
“I didn’t mean to deceive you. That was never the intention.” He shook his head like he was trying to shake the words out. “To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t just all about the lawsuit. You know how she’s helped me get through school. I never could have made it without her help. Wren is all about staying focused. She said I’d never pass the boards or make it through the residency if I started ... well, if I got, um, well, diverted. And I think she’s probably right. I get easily distracted.”
Evie’s mind was spinning, trying to fit this new information into the way she’d viewed Charlie and Wren for the past twoyears. It was like he’d thrown a filter over a digital photo—everything looked different, but still somehow the same. Sothiswas what cognitive dissonance felt like, she thought.
“As long as I’m making one confession, I’d better come clean on another.” Out of his back pocket, he pulled an envelope, his expression a mixture of nervousness and resolve. Wordlessly, he handed it to her. “I hope you can forgive me.”
Evie stared at it, her eyes widening as she recognized the familiar envelope—the one that should have been on its way to Alaska. “What have you done?”
“It’s what I didn’t do.”
“Why didn’t you mail it when you said you would?” she said, her brow furrowing as she searched his face for an explanation. “I saw you talking to the mailman.”
Charlie shook his head slowly, his eyes not quite meeting hers. “I didn’t mail it because,” he said, his voice low, almost a whisper, “because I had to at least talk to you first, and then if you still wanted to go, I planned to mail it.”
Evie’s breath caught in her throat. She blinked, trying to process his words. “So you didn’t mail my application?” Her fingers tightened around the envelope, crinkling the edges slightly.
Charlie finally looked up, his eyes filled with something vulnerable, something raw. “I want you to stay. Here. With me.”
The entire orchard seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with unspoken feelings. Evie’s mind raced, emotions swirling—surprise, confusion, and something else she wasn’t quite ready to name. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, she just stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest, feeling both touched and bothered by everything he was telling her.
Evie’s hand slowly lowered, the envelope now dangling by her side as she struggled to find her voice. “Charlie ... I don’t know what to say.”
“Just ... say you’ll think about staying,” he said, his voicealmost pleading, his eyes locking onto hers. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Darcy would tell her to walk away. To feel indignant.Charliekept things from you! He didn’t even send inyour application! Don’t trust him!
But Evie did trust him. She couldn’t explain it to Darcy, but deep down, she knew she could trust Charlie. And the only feeling that was buzzing through her was a sudden rush of happiness that washed over her, like her insides were suddenly dancing with tiny sparks of joy. She felt giddy, almost like she might burst out laughing. To keep herself from grinning like a goofy girl, she quickly pressed her hand to her mouth.
Too late. He caught the smile in her eyes.
He took another step closer to her. “Evie, why do you think I came to Stoney Ridge in the first place?”
She clasped her hands behind her back. “Because you and Wren are trying to sue the pharmaceutical company to get your medical school debts paid off.”
“No.” He laughed. “Well, thatiswhy Wren came.” He looked straight into her eyes. “I’m here only because of you.”
“Me?”Because of me?
“Only because of you. When you told me you were applying to Dok Stoltzfus’s Stoney Ridge practice, I put in my application that very day for a residency.”
“But ... you and Wren came together...”
“When I decided to apply to Dok’s practice, she had just learned about this lawsuit. It got her wheels turning, so she decided to come too.” He looked down at his shoes, trying to figure out how to say something. “Ever since I saw you at the hospital, that very first time ... Wren warned me. She knew.”
Knew what? Knewwhat?
“It’s just ... it’s hard to keep it in, you know?” he began, his voice hesitant, like he was choosing each word with care.
Keepwhatin?
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Charlie said. “At the hospital, in between shifts, all I could think about was when I’d see you again. Then I could barely concentrate if you were anywhere near me on the floor. And when we came to Stoney Ridge and it seemed pretty clear from day one that Dok wasn’t too keen on us, I volunteered to tear apart her basement just so I could add value. Just so she’d let me stick around as long as possible.”
As Charlie stumbled through his words, Evie felt her heart rate pick up. Was she dreaming? Because it felt like a dream.
“When you see that someone, and it’s like a part of your heart just ... clicks into place, like a piece you didn’t even know was missing—it’s kind of hard to ignore.”
Evie blinked, her breath catching as she tried to follow along. Was this really happening?
“I just knew that you were the one for me. The only one.” He stopped and looked down at her, his eyes searching hers for any sign of understanding, of hope. “And I wondered, if there’s any chance ... that I wasn’t alone in this? Like, maybe you felt the same feeling?”
Um,yes. A thousandtimes yes.But she held still.
He leaned forward until they were just inches apart. He looked at her like she held the key to something he’d been hoping for. He cupped her face and angled it up to his. “Like maybe, somehow, miraculously, you might love me like I love you? Even just a little?”
Without overthinking for once, she wrapped her arms behind his neck, pulled him closer, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. When their lips met, it was as if everything clicked into place. Charlie’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close, and in that moment, it felt like they had finally found where they were meant to be.
Fern Lapp was right. Holding out hope for too long was one thing.
But giving up too soon was quite another.
