Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I wouldn’t reprimand my sixteen-year-old self for getting it wrong and twisting things into something else. I would hug her. She needed it, and she needed her parents. That profound absence turned into a sense of abandonment.
So sabotaging other relationships in my life before they had a chance to hurt me is now so obvious when I look at the details of the past. The harsh reality is that I blamed Brandon when I was responsible for ensuring I’d end up alone. The damage runs deep and wide, but I only have myself to blame, and I must keep it from happening again.
Now, two weeks after telling him everything, we’re stronger than ever. It’s amazing what will grow when the seed is planted, watered, and cared for. We’ve bloomed right out of a fairy tale, and made it real life.
Of course, it’s our little secret.
I don’t know why it felt right to keep things private, but it’s built trust and given us room to make a few missteps as we learn to navigate a new relationship. No outside pressure or people asking when we’re getting married, which I know we’ll be hit with as soon as the news is out. It was when we were lying under the stars last week that it dawned on me. If I’d known how important addressing concerns head-on was when I was younger, we might have been together this whole time. Sometimes our own perspective is so narrow that we can’t see the big picture. I didn’t that night.
I’m told Chantilly’s arms were promptly removed from his body. Not fast enough for my liking, if you’re asking me, which he isn’t since it’s in the past, but still. Ever since we talked about it, he’s had snippets of that night return and assures me nothing was going on.
My head wonders if he’s telling me what I want to hear, but my heart devours every word, digesting them slowly as the truth warms me from the inside.
A body slams against the nurses’ station, jarring me back to reality. Spinning back to the counter, I see Stacy grinning like she won the lottery. “He’s being honored.”
My stomach twists into a knot at the thought of Ludlow being honored for something. “Who?”
“The firefighter you’ve been taking care of. Brandon Culver.” She pushes off the counter and looks down the hall, one way, then the other. I suspect making sure we don’t get caught gossiping, but other staff is rarely around at eleven o’clock at night.
Little does she know that firefighter is mine! I may not have seen him coming, but now that he’s here, I’m not letting that catch go.
Is it time to tell others? My sisters? Dolly? Stacy? Social media official? Skywriting? An ad in the Mountain Laurel Monthly Gazette—after weddings and before the obits? Just thinking about him makes me so happy I’m tempted to climb to the top of the hospital and shout it from the rooftop. Too much? Probably, but I’m impressed how well I’ve held this secret in. I should get a trophy for keeping it, or, better yet, have it engraved with the message that Brandon Culver and Autumn Season are a thing.
A thing?
Hmm. I can’t say I like that title. But since we haven’t made ourselves official, “a thing” is all we have.
“Didn’t you know,” she asks, collecting straggler strands around her face and pulling her long hair into a topknot.
“I knew.” I keep the defensiveness at bay and start back with my busywork of entering files into the online system even though there are easier methods of getting this input. The hospital just likes to torture me with it. “I was there when he got the call. It’s exciting. Our town’s hero.” The hero of my heart.
“Ah. I didn’t know if you were still in the loop since the homecare job ended.”
I glance up from the monitor. “I’m very much in the loop.” Slip of the tongue. “Was in the loop.” Oops. Dammit. “We’re friends.”
Her eyes just about pop out of the sockets. “You are?” She leans in with the most insinuating smirk I’ve ever seen. “How friendly are you?” Tilting her head toward me, ear first, she says, “Hmm? Tell me everything.”
I laugh, but this line of questioning puts me in an uncomfortable position. I don’t lie, but I also need to discuss going public with Brandon before I announce it, even privately to a close friend. And I can’t tell her before I tell Dolly and my sisters, or I’ll never hear the end of it. Understandable, since I’d do the same to them.
“Friends.” I start typing again, hoping that throws her off the scent. When she remains staring at me, I glance up and add, “We’ve known each other most of our lives.”
She blinks a few times, and asks, “Just tell me. Is he still single or not?”