Page 72 of Wanting You

“Maybe we should move this to our place,” Levi said diplomatically, but she wasn’t having any of it.

“Oh, no. You all wanted to talk, so let’s talk,” she argued as her heart hammered like thunder in her chest. “It didn’t seem to be a big deal to ambush me when I walked in here, but when I’m the one asking a tough question, we need to hush up and move the discussion someplace safe.” Then she glared at the group defiantly. “And to that, I call bullshit!”

Ashlynn burst out laughing even as she started to clap. “Yes! Preach! It’s about time this side of you came out!”

“Hush,” she snapped. “Now is not the time for that.”

“Oh, I think it’s the perfect time. I think you’ve been bottling up so many things for so damn long, and you’re right. We’re all used to just keeping our own stuff private, but trying to make everyone else deal with their shit publicly.” Then she looked around the table. “Anyone have anything to add?”

“I can’t help that I was in an accident,” her mother said stiffly. “Believe me, this wasn’t something I’d wish on anyone.”

Rolling her eyes, Chloe said, “I didn’t say I blamed you for being in an accident. What I’m saying is that it contributed to me feeling overwhelmed.”

“Okay, but you’re easily overwhelmed,” Billie reasoned. “We all know that about you and we still love you. But…” Pausing, she huffed. “Sometimes it’s kind of annoying to coddle you when you’re upset over things that you shouldn’t be! The town’s growing, and it’s been great for everyone, and yet it overwhelms you. The school had to hire more teachers, but you still have a job. You moved into a house that you can totally afford to buy on your own—something so many people can’t, and you don’t see that as a good thing. I mean…come on! Do you not see what a downer you are? Everything to you is like the glass is half empty!”

“That’s not true! I am everyone’s cheerleader! I always try to help people to look on the bright side of things!” she countered.

“Yeah, you do that for everyone else, but not yourself,” her mother said. “You’re the hardest on yourself, Chloe. You don’t have faith in the person you are. You don’t see what we see.”

“Apparently you all see me as being a whiny crybaby,” she murmured.

“Sometimes you are,” Ash said, and when Chloe gasped with disbelief, she said, “Sorry, Chlo, but it’s true. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you are. Hell, sometimes that’s what we all are, but not all the time. If there was something really horrible going on—like when Levi lost his job and had to move back home or when I was accused of burning the salon to the ground—yeah, it was okay to be a whiny crybaby. But your life is freaking amazing and yet it’s like you just keep looking for a reason for it not to be. Why?”

“I…I…”

“Because I left,” her father said miserably. “I wasn’t there to lift you up and encourage you. I wasn’t there to wipe away your tears and tell you that everything was going to be okay.” He sighed. “I failed you. A child deserved to know they are loved and special and have people around to guide them when they’re scared, and…I wasn’t.”

“I was there,” Marie said primly, but everyone just sort of groaned and waved her off.

“So not the time to go down that rabbit hole,” Ashlynn said wearily.

“Chloe, we’ve all experienced self-doubt, but there has to come a point where you embrace all that’s good in your life and realize all the possibilities,” Levi said. “When I came back to Sweetbriar, I thought my life was over. And for a good reason. But it turned out to be the greatest thing to ever happen to me.” He smiled over at his wife. “The people we were when we met shouldn’t have made sense. We were opposites in every way, but when you love someone, you find a way to make it work.”

“I struggled so much with letting Levi in,” Jade explained. “My life was structured just the way I liked it and I didn’t want anyone changing that. But once I realized how much I missed him and needed and wanted him, we made it work.” Then she laughed softly. “That’s not to say that every day is perfect, but at the end of the day, I get to be with the greatest guy in the world.”

“It sounds a lot like you and Tanner,” Levi went on. “You have this structured world and he disrupted the balance that you feel you need to be happy. But…are you happy now that he’s not in your life? Did ending the relationship make everything better?”

“Um…”

“The town’s going to continue to grow,” he said, not letting her say anything. “At some point, they’re going to have to build another elementary school because they’re going to need that many more classrooms. You’re an amazing teacher, but you can’t expect to be the only amazing teacher. That’s just not reasonable.”

“People are going to get hurt,” her mother interjected. “You can’t control that. Life—and relationships—get messy. And just because a relationship didn’t work out at one point in your life doesn’t mean that you can’t forgive and try to make things right.”

“I swear, if you are telling me that you and Dad are back together, I’ll…”

“What? No!” Marie cried and then laughed a bit. “What I’m saying is your father and I have been working on communicating with each other and forgiving each other. We both made mistakes—mistakes that hurt all of you. But we are always going to be in each other’s lives because we have the four of you. It’s time to stop being bitter and try to move forward in a healthier relationship.”

It was crazy how much of a relief that was.

“All I’m trying to say,” her mother continued, “is that life is going to pass you by if you are determined to stay in one place, in your own little bubble. I don’t want that for you. It’s okay to love living in a small town and being a teacher, but it’s not okay if anything outside of that frightens you to the point of hiding out in your house alone.”

Letting out a long breath, Chloe looked over at her twin. “Why didn’t you come and talk to me? Like…you never had a problem just showing up at my place and demanding that we talk. What made this different?”

“Honestly? I felt like you needed to work some of this out yourself. I thought you’d eventually call or show up at the salon or text, but…you didn’t. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be there for you; I just felt like maybe you needed some time to yourself first.”

Nodding, she said, “I thought I did.”

“And now?”

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