Page 120 of Fall With Me (Sugarland Creek)

“When Angela accused Landen of being responsible for puttin’ her in prison, I went into shock and started remembering things from before the accident,” I tell her.

“You had an extreme anxiety attack.” Mom wipes under her eyes before tears can fall. “I'm so relieved you're okay.”

“I remember everything,” I admit. “Why didn't you tell me when I forgot? When I was gettin' close to Landen?”

“Oh.” She sucks in her lip like she's nervous. “We weren't supposed to?—”

“And we didn't want to. Landen's a good man,” Dad chimes in, taking me by surprise because he's the one who warned me not to get too close to him in the first place. “He treats you the way you deserve. Hard-working. Funny. I like him.”

I burst out laughing and my heart swells because he's right. But all this time, I didn't think my parents thought too much about him. Turns out they didn’t want me to remember hating him either.

“We figured this was your second chance to live your own life without the weight of the trauma you went through,” Dad explains. “You got to do whatever you wanted even if that didn’t include riding.”

“We've never seen you happier, sweetie,” Mom smiles gently.

“It's true,” Aunt Phoebe speaks up for the first time and squeezes in between my parents. “You went from a depressed workaholic to a vibrant young twenty-something-year-old. Like how you should be.”

“Gee…thanks?” I laugh.

“Sweetheart, Noah and Landen are in the waitin' room,” Mom tells me.

“He's here?” I beam, though I’m not surprised.

“Yes, and he's a nervous wreck,” Dad says.

Mom pats my hand. “Put that man out of his misery, will ya?”

I choke out a laugh, nodding. “Tell him to come in.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

LANDEN

Sitting in this waiting room brings back conflicting feelings from the last time Ellie was here. I would've camped out all night to stay close to her, but I'm glad I didn't have to because the seats were not built for bigger guys. And now, I'm not even bothering to sit. All I can do is pace and wait.

I watch as Noah talks to Ellie's parents and Aunt Phoebe. When I introduced myself to her, she looked me up and down a few times and then gave me a discreet smile.

So I think I passed whatever test she gave me.

“We're gonna check in on her and be right back,” Mrs. Donovan tells me after the doctor walks away. “I'll let you know when you can go in.”

Mr. Donovan claps my shoulder. “I'm rootin' for you, don't worry.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Fisher waits with Noah. He's not much of a talker but sometimes I wish he was so I'd have someone else to listen to besides my own thoughts.

When Angela storms down the hallway with her arms swinging and a scowl on her face, I can't tell if it's directed at me or the situation.

I had no idea what to expect coming here but seeing my ex after eleven years wasn't one I was expecting and now I have more questions than answers.

“Let's go…” She directs to someone behind me.

When I look over my shoulder, I see…Gage?

What the fuck?

He takes her hand and they exit the waiting room.

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