Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
I drove into Jasper to pick up a gift card for Ollie and a photo album with the printed picture and some wrapping paper. I sat in the parking lot of the store, going through the pictures, pulling out the doubles of the ones I wanted to have a copy of. And then I cried some more.
By Sunday morning, I’m sick of myself and know I need to pull myself together. I turn my phone on and immediately text Carrie and tell her I’m bringing over brunch. I figure I’ll go there and then head over to the trampoline park for Ollie’s birthday party. Surely by then I can put a smile on my face. I’m going to have to.
I check my email to make sure I haven’t missed anything important, and an email from Ford is jumping out at me. I hold my breath and open it, scanning it quickly. After reading it once, I read it again.
“You deserve everything you want out of life. You deserve happiness. All my love, Ford.”
I go on to see that he has bought me an opportunity to study two weeks with Aron Roco, a world-renowned photographer based out of New York City. The email contains all the information. Ford has paid for the flight there and lodging. He’s taken care of all the details.
I should be happy, but instead I feel almost hollow. He’s giving me something I’ve dreamed about—he’s handing it to me—and I’m discovering that it’s not really my dream anymore.
All I’ve thought about since Friday was when Ford asked me why he was so easy to walk away from. Damn, he completely gutted me, and the truth is, it’s not easy at all. I need to talk to my sister. I can go with her to help her get moved in and settled, but I will be coming back. I have to because I know when I go, I’ll be leaving my heart here.
I put my phone in my cup holder and drive across town. I stop in at Red’s Diner and get some breakfast to go and then head to Philip and Carrie’s apartment. When I pull in, Carrie’s outside, walking her poodle.
“Hey!” she says with a big smile on her face.
I know I probably still look a mess. I can’t hide things from her, and my face is blotchy even with the makeup on it. That’s why I’m going to get straight to the point.
I grab the food and meet her outside the fence of the dog walking area. “I can’t move, Carrie.”
She opens her mouth, and I shake my head. “No, hear me out. I can go with you and help you get settled, but I have to come back. I can’t leave Ford and Ollie.”
Her mouth drops open. “You mean your hot boss and his kid?”
I nod, biting on to my lip. I want to say that they’re so much more than that, but I keep my mouth closed, expecting her to be upset.
She tilts her head to the side. “He didn’t tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me what? Who didn’t tell me?”
“Ford! Friday morning he and his brothers met Philip at the distillery plant. He was interviewed by Ford’s brothers. They offered him the job on the spot. He gets a company car, he’s making more money, and we get to stay in Whiskey Run!”
I hold my hand up. “Wait! Ford didn’t interview him?”
She bends down and picks up Fluffy. “No! He told Philip that he would hire him on the spot just to keep us in Whiskey Run. He told him”—she laughs—“he told him that he really needed us to stay in Whiskey Run and to not fuck it up. Isn’t that hilarious?”
I nod as my mind goes a million miles a minute. On Friday, at Ollie’s school party, he knew. He knew then that Philip and Carrie were staying. So why?
I throw my head back. “Oh God. What have I done?”
She comes at me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I fucked up, Carrie. I mean, I really fucked up.”
She puts an arm around me. “What did you do?”
I start to cry, and she holds me tightly. Fluffy is freaking out being squashed between us, and she puts him on the ground. “Whatever it is, we can fix it, Lily. What’s wrong?”
“When you sent that text, I thought you were telling me you were moving. I thought that you wanted me to go with you to Georgia. I pretty much told Ford that he was a one-night stand and I didn’t want to be with him.” I pace in the grass. “What did I do?”
Carrie blocks my path, and instead of compassion, there’s anger on her face. “Lily, stop and listen to me. I’ve told you over and over I’m fine. Yeah, I’m a baby sometimes, but only because you’re like a mom to me and sometimes I need a mom, but listen. You can’t keep doing this. You can’t put your life, your dreams, your wants on hold because of me. It’s time for you to get what you want now. You deserve it.”