Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
He cut into my monologue. “Willow?”
“Yes?”
“Breathe.”
I sighed.
Okay.
I took another small breath. “I’m sorry,” I spat out, my body starting to shake. “I’m sorry I got scared and ran away. When you and I were in Honey Creek, I saw Anna in town, and I panicked, thinking it was unfair that I was able to find happiness when I stole that joy from her. Then today, she and I finally talked, and I realized I didn’t ruin her life. Her life is…full. Fuller than most people, I think. Full of love, light, and joy. I think if most people lived their lives like Anna, they’d be much happier. Still… I can never express how much I struggled to leave you, Theo. Because the thing is, I love you. I love you so much that it scares me. I love you so much that it’s hard to breathe when you’re not with me. I miss you. I miss your smell. I miss your warmth. I miss your touch. I miss you. And I know how much it must’ve hurt you to have me leave, especially with how the people in your past left and hurt you.
“Which is why I did it. I did it to be cruel so you wouldn’t come searching for me because I knew that would keep you away. I knew leaving would be the nail in the coffin. But then…”
I took another breath as tears built in my eyes, and I continued speaking, “You still came to find me. You still stayed strong. You stayed when I tried to run away. You were the steady tree to my hummingbird. And I’m sorry. I don’t know if you’ll want me back, and that’s okay. But I have to tell you that I want you. I want all of you, every day, for the rest of forever. I can’t promise that I won’t get scared sometimes. I can’t promise that I won’t feel the need to fly around every now and again, but if you’ll have me again, I promise this.” I stomped my foot down on his front porch. “I promise to land. I promise never to drift too far ever again. I promise to always fly back. I promise you…me. All of me, even the hard parts. I promise to always return to you because you are my safe place to land. You are it for me, Theo. You are my home.”
He stared down at me for a moment’s time. I wasn’t certain what he was thinking. His face was stern, but his eyes were gentle. “Well, my Weeping Willow,” he said. His lips turned up slightly, and he held a hand out toward me. “Welcome home.”
When I took his hand, he pulled me into a tight embrace, kissing my lips softly. I melted into him without a fear of falling because I knew he’d catch me gently while protecting my fragile wings.
Home.
I was finally home.
My favorite place to be.
EPILOGUE
Willow
One Year Later
Ever since I crashed back into Theo’s arms, we’d fallen more and more in love. We did things a little bit backward than most couples. First came love, then came baby. When we found out we were pregnant, we were stunned. Even though I still wanted my big wedding, I thought it would be best to elope with Theo, then have our baby before having a wedding reception maybe a year or so down the line. It wasn’t the usual path most walked, but it was the beautiful trail we carved out for ourselves.
Theo and Peter never fully worked out all of their issues, but they did decide to make peace once Molly gathered the two together for a heart-to-heart. It was clear that the two of them both struggled with feeling unseen, yet when they found out that Harry had left them both the restaurant after he passed away, the two learned to work together. It wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies, but sometimes I’d catch the two laughing with each other.
That felt like a blessing, especially when Jensen would witness it, too. Jensen was the one who convinced Peter to get sober, too. That was a game changer in everyone’s relationship. It was good to see their family healing in ways that probably seemed impossible at one point. Theo and Peter’s relationship was living proof that people could change and grow and heal.
Speaking of healing, on April fifth, Theo and I welcomed our own bundle of joy to the world. Harold Michael Langford—Harry Jr. for short. My springtime little bird.
We stayed at the hospital for two days before heading home. It had been raining for weeks in Westin Lake, yet the day it was time to head home, there was a slight break of darkness in the sky. We headed back to our place, where Theo’s and my family waited to meet the newest member of our expanding brood. As we walked into the house, we were greeted instantly by my sisters and their families, my father, Jensen, and Molly. There were “welcome home” decorations all over the place.