Page 73 of Waiting to Love You

“I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.” I brush past her and head right for her car, bending over the front end while looking inside. “What seems to be the problem?”

“The check engine light came on when I was leaving this morning, and I didn’t want to drive it all the way to my parents’ house, so I came to Beckett’s place instead.” Emersyn turns and leans against the front bumper, staring off into space.

“It may be a clogged filter, but that’s an easy fix. I can head to the auto parts store while you’re at work and change the oil and put in new filters. If the light comes back on, I can hook it to the diagnostic tool and find out what’s going on.”

“When did you learn so much about cars?”

“We did a lot of our own maintenance overseas. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I know how to fix the basics.” I unhook the prop rod from the hood and slam it shut.

“What’s on your mind, Em?” I stand to my full height and turn toward her.

I have a feeling things are going to get uncomfortable quickly, but we need to talk things out sooner rather than later if there is any hope of us starting over.

“Why did you leave without a word?” Emersyn whispers, wrapping her arms around her waist as if protecting herself from my answer. “I know you had a war to fight, but you could have at least returned an email or a letter. I doubt they had you so busy over there you couldn’t send a simple note saying, I’m not dead.” She pushes off the front end of the car and begins pacing back and forth. “I told you have I felt aboutv you that night, and you just left. You didn’t even have the decency to tell me goodbye. You just vanished without a trace.”

“Em.” I reach out, wanting to pull her into my arms and tell her everything I’ve been feeling over the last year.

“No, Brady.” She steps out of my reach. “You don’t get to come home and make everything better with a smile and an apology.”

“I am sorry, Em. So sorry.” My voice breaks toward the end of my sentence, suddenly overcome with the realization that she may have moved on and forgotten me—as I’d hoped.

“I told you I loved you! I poured my heart out to you before you went off to war without the promise of return. And you said nothing.” Angry tears stream down her face, but she swipes them away quickly. “What makes matters worse is you made me believe you cared. That you had been dreaming about our first kiss for as long as I had, if not longer.”

Emersyn spins on her heels, storming toward Beckett’s apartment, but I follow her. She started this conversation, and I’ll be damned if I let her get away without hearing my side of the story. The only thing on my mind is finding some way to make this up to her and show her how much she means to me, that she deserves so much more than what I just gave her.

It isn’t until I’m sitting in front of the auto parts store that I realize what a colossal mistake I’ve just made.

Epilogue

Bristol

Eighteen Months Later

“Are you kidding me?” I screech as I flop down on the couch in Seth’s living room.

Although it’s been over a year since Seth and I finally became a couple, we’re still living on opposite ends of town. Seth has been hinting at wanting to sell one of our houses and move in together, but I’m just not there yet. It’s not that I don’t love him with every fiber of my being, but I want to have a ring on my finger first. Call me old-fashioned, but I want our lives to be tied to each other in every way before we take that next step.

“What are you grumbling about?” Seth asks as he comes around the corner into the living room, followed closely by Rebekah.

“Audrey just canceled. She said she can’t watch the little one today,” I grumble, shooting off a text to Selina, hoping she’ll be able to watch her for a few hours.

Seth and I were going to spend today planning our little girl’s second birthday party, and we were hoping to not have the distraction of our toddler for a little while.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t have canceled at the last minute for no reason.” Seth kisses my forehead gently before turning around and wrapping his arms around Rebekah.

She squeals in delight as he lifts her in the air, blowing raspberries on her belly. These two have been thick as thieves since they first laid eyes on each other. I have a feeling that if I wasn’t the one with the milk, she’d have completely forgotten that I even existed. It’s taken some getting used to, but having Seth here for us whenever we need anything has been amazing. Having a partner to share worries with and celebrate the happy things is something we were both missing. With his job at the sheriff’s office, Seth has been here for mostly all her major milestones. He even makes sure he’s home every night for dinner, even when he’s on duty. He wants to ensure that both Rebekah and I know we’re the two most important people in his world, and he would do anything to make us happy.

And he has. Made us unbelievably happy, that is. Now, if he would just get off his rear and propose, everything would be perfect. It’s not that we haven’t talked about marriage, because we have, but something is holding him back from popping the question. I’ve tried talking with the girls about it, but they all assure me he is just waiting for the perfect moment. When is this man going to learn that I don’t want perfect? I just want him to be mine… forever.

“I have a feeling it has something to do with the guys having a day off today for the first time in months.” Seth takes a seat on the couch, placing Rebekah on his knee.

He bounces her up and down a few times before she crawls between the two of us, snuggling into my side as her eyes droop.

“Audrey and Connor never got a honeymoon. Let them have some time together. I highly doubt they get any alone time with two teenage daughters in the house.” He leans back on the couch, draping his arms across the back.

Vance and Connor’s construction company has been doing even better since they finished the project in Magnolia. Leia also convinced them to do some renovations to the cabins at Tranquility Retreat last year. Both those projects helped them land a few huge contracts to build custom homes on the empty land outside of town, a big deal for them and the town.

“Connor was complaining about the boys coming around for his girls recently.” We both laugh as Seth plays with the tips of my hair. “I guess I can cut him some slack, but he needs to let those girls be teenagers. They both have good heads on their shoulders. Neither of them has to worry about Jade or Love doing anything too reckless.”

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