What I do know is that I want her.I want us.I want a chance to see if these feelings that I’ve been carrying around for the last nearly two decades are the real deal or a figment of my imagination.It seems like I blinked, and too much time had passed.
I know that we’re different people now.We’re shaped by the time and the distance put between us.Yet, somehow, I feel it deep in my bones we’re still the same.That core of who we are and what we love, the spark we’ve always had, is still there, lingering just beneath the surface.
We need space to let the spark between us breathe again.To let it settle, grow, and find the courage to become a flame that doesn’t just flicker, but catches—bold and bright.
Tonight, I felt that spark.It wasn’t loud or dramatic.It was subtle yet undeniable… a quiet warmth that brushed against me, reminding me that something between us is still very much alive.It felt like the first hint of heat in cold hands—gentle but full of promise.
I can only hope that our spark has the chance to ignite fully.I want to feel what it could become.I want to stand in the warmth of it, let it wrap around me, let it mean something again.I crave it—not out of nostalgia, but because it feels real, present, possible.
And maybe that little spark is asking us both to stay open long enough to see where it leads.I can only hope it leads to a long, happy life with her.It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
Eleven
Ellison
My head’s been pounding all day.Probably because I didn’t sleep at all last night.It wasn’t because I was in Kinzie’s spare room.It was Copeland.There have been a lot of sleepless nights because of that man, and today, I might finally get some answers to the questions that plagued me on those long, lonely nights.
Well, I would if I were to text him and give him a time for us to meet.It’s just after three on Saturday, and I’ve picked up my phone what feels like a million times to send that message, but never do.I checked the conference room schedule, and it’s wide open all day.I have no excuse other than the fact that I don’t know if I’m ready.
So much time has passed.Am I ready to know the reason he left me?The man who made plans with me.Plans for a future, then suddenly, he enlisted in the Marines and just never came back.Sure, he came to visit, but he never came back for me.And from what Mary, his mom, tells me, it was four years before he came home to see her.Instead, she would fly out with Chandler and his wife to visit.It wasn’t until Chandler and Macie started trying for a baby that the change occurred, and he started coming back to Magnolia Ridge.
Just not for me.
I want to know, but I also don’t.Who wants to hear that they weren’t enough?Not me, but I also know that I need this conversation with him.I need to listen to what he has to say, and I need to be able to tell him, to his face, how much he hurt me.Maybe then I’ll be able to move on with my life.Pining after a first love, all these years later, is ridiculous, but the heart wants what the heart wants.
Or, in my case, the heart wants what it lost.
“Knock, knock.”
I look up to find my sisters standing at my office door.“You two look like trouble.”I smile at them.“What’s up?”
“We’re headed out to the Hideaway tonight.We wanted to see if you and Kinzie wanted to tag along,” Courtlynn says.
“We went there last night,” I tell them.What I don’t tell them is how I left.Not to worry, though, this is a small town, and if my sisters are going to the Hideaway tonight, I have no doubt they’ll get an earful.They’ll hear every detail of last night.Not just the particulars, but the exaggerated specifics, at that.That’s small-town living for you.
“And you can’t go again?”Leighton asks.
“I’m exhausted.We stayed up way too late talking last night.I’d be asleep on the dance floor five minutes in.Are the girls going with you?”My sisters are my best friends, but each of us also has a person.You know, that one person who’s not family, so they’re not obligated to be around you.For me, that person is Kinzie.For Leighton, it’s her best friend, Kelly, and for Courtlynn, it’s her best friend, Lorna.And Baylor, she used to be close to Sophia, but I don’t know if they’ve kept in touch since Baylor has been living in New York.Damn, I miss my sister.
“They’re going,” Leighton tells me.“Are you sure you and Kinzie won’t come with us?”
“Positive.I talked to Kinz, and her exact words were ‘I’m rotting on the couch until I have to go back to work on Monday,’ and that plan sounds like a damn good one to me,” I admit.
“Fine.We’re leaving soon to all meet and get ready.We’re going to grab dinner in town and then head over.”
“What, no wings and beer pretzels for you?”
“Oh, that’s for after the alcohol consumption.”Courtlynn smirks.
“Don’t worry.Kelly and I are the sober ones tonight,” Leighton tells me before I have a chance to ask.
“Good.You know you can call me if you need me,” I tell them.
“Oh, we would never interrupt your crotch—I mean couch rotting.”Courtlynn cackles.
That makes us all laugh.She’s not wrong.“Have a good time.I can’t wait to hear all about it.”My sisters wave goodbye, and then they’re gone.I have no doubt that my night last night will become a part of theirs this evening, and I’ll definitely hear all about it.
I didn’t have much work to do today.I wanted to check on a few orders to make sure they’re on track for delivery next week, and I’ve answered a few emails.My head’s not in it.Not when all I can think about is Copeland.That’s been the constant since the day he rolled back into town, and I ran into him at his mom’s place.
