Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“It felt good to get it out,” he admitted, the smile on his lips making her heart lift optimistically. “It doesn’t change anything that happened, I know, but it made me realize just how long I’ve kept everything bottled up inside.”
That he’d come to that realization on his own was huge, Lauren knew. But she was also aware that time alone, after they parted ways right now, could bring back intrusive thoughts. She had more to say, and instead of waiting until later, she said them now before this intimate moment between them was gone.
“I care about you, Chase,” she said, knowing she was putting her emotions on the line, but she wasn’t one to skirt the truth, even at the risk that he didn’t reciprocate those feelings. “What happened to you… it shouldn’t define the rest of your life, or your chance at happiness. I believe that everyone has choices to make in their lives. That there are crossroads you come to where you can elect to stay on the path you’ve been traveling your entire life and wish things were different, or you can rise above whatever tragedy you’ve endured and completely alter the direction of your future, for the better, and be able to look back on that choice without any regrets.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes searching hers as if he’d find some kind of magical answer for himself there. Then, he canted his head and spoke. “Is that what you did when you found out about your sister and Greg?”
She remembered vividly the two choices she’d been faced with. Let animosity and hatred burn in her heart, or embrace forgiveness, even if that had been extremely difficult to do at the time. She’d chosen the latter, which had enabled her to eventually be happy with her life, even though she’d ended up alone.
“I had to let it go,” she said, wanting him to understand her healing process. “Don’t get me wrong. It was hurtful and painful and it would be so easy to be bitter or spiteful over their deceit, but what good would that do me? If I carried around all that anger, it would never allow me to be happy with someone else.”
He was quiet, a pensive look in his eyes, and Lauren hoped that her words soaked in, that they gave him the strength to make better, more forgiving choices of his own going forward. Selfishly, because she wished they could move forward together, but she also knew that was a lot to expect from a man who’d lived his life so guarded and pessimistic about relationships. She was smart enough to know that one pseudo therapy session wasn’t going to magically transform a mindset that had been conditioned to believe the worst of people for the majority of his life.
“You go ahead and talk to your sister,” he finally said, jutting his chin toward the front door to the inn. “I’m going to take a walk instead of sitting in the room. I’ve got a lot to process.”
“Okay.” She released his hands, hating to let him go when he was so contemplative like this. But she’d done her part, said her piece, and the rest was up to him to apply, or not. “I’ll text you when I’m finished with Ashley.”
He nodded and gave her a warm smile. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
They went their separate ways, and Lauren walked into the bed-and-breakfast, preparing herself to face her sister, with no buffers between them. Usually her parents and Gramps were around whenever she’d been in the same room as Ashley since the incident, and they’d awkwardly kept their distance after equally uncomfortable “hellos”.
Betsy was at the counter just off the entryway, and smiled brightly when she saw Lauren. “Your sister stopped by and is out in the garden waiting for you.”
She saw the curiosity in the other woman’s eyes. People in town knew of their strained relationship—though not the truth about what really happened between her, Greg, and her sister—and she was just glad that they didn’t comment on it, because it really wasn’t any of their business.
Exhaling a deep, fortifying breath to face whatever lay ahead, Lauren walked through the back door that led to the inn’s backyard, which was beautifully landscaped with an expansive green lawn, a few different sitting areas and firepit, and an array of seasonal flowers in bloom. A cobblestone pathway led to a white, ornate gazebo, and that’s where Lauren saw her sister, standing beneath the shaded structure.
Lauren walked in that direction and climbed the stairs, noting the way her sister nervously twisted her fingers together and the anxiety in her pretty blue eyes. She also noticed how stunning her sister looked, how her beautiful blonde hair had been curled and secured in an elaborate updo with crystal hair pins, and her makeup was flawless, as if she’d already started the process of getting ready. The only thing Ashley seemed to be missing was her wedding gown.