Page 130 of Somewhere You Belong

God, I hope she’s right.

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“Um…that looks like the inside of your apartment, Willow.”

I’m sitting in my bed, holding the phone up on my knees so we can see each other. “It is.”

Shauna sighs, resting her chin in her hand. “I take it things didn’t go well with Dallas then?”

“He saw the letter from his dad, Shauna. I left it on the bed when we were talking and forgot to put it away.”

“Oh, Willow. I’m so sorry.” Concern is etched into every line of her face.

“It’s okay. I came home and have been here for a few days now, trying to find the courage to go back and make some decisions.”

“Are you thinking about selling the house now?”

“I think I might.”

That’s where my head has been for the past forty-eight hours. After talking to Mandy, I’ve been working from the office during the day and sitting on my couch at night, wondering if trying to reconcile is even worth it. If things got that ugly during our first fight, do we really belong together? Dallas and I might think we want the same things, but there’s no guarantee.

“Why would you do that? Don’t you want to try to work things out with Dallas?”

“He said some horrible things, Shauna. If the man really feels that way about me, I’m not sure I can forgive him.”

His texts say that he’s remorseful, but I’m still hurt. Ever since I left Carrington Cove, he’s texted me every day—pictures of the sunrise from the house, pictures of him eating blueberry muffins from the Sunshine Bakery, and the latest, a picture of the gaggle of geese hanging out in front of my house.

They’re waiting for you to return. Come back to me, Willow.

She adjusts Hudson in her arms. “Willow, I hate to break this to you, but that’s going to happen. Hell, Forrest and I have said all kinds of shit to each other that we both wish we could take back. It’s part of being in a relationship—making mistakes, learning to communicate, and saying sorry… a lot.”

“I just don’t know how we move past this.”

“You won’t know until you talk. Look at Forrest and me, hun. We survived and there were plenty of hard discussions that got us to this point. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but we can’t let it stop us from living.” I stare off into space. “Do you love him?”

“I do,” I say without hesitation. “I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about him.” And that’s the truth.

“Do you see a future with him?”

“I thought I did. He’s changed my life, Shauna.”

“Then don’t you think that’s worth fighting for?”

“Yes.”

“Then stop wallowing, put your big girl panties on, and get your man. Welcome to being in an adult relationship. You’re going to fight, you’re going to disagree. That doesn’t mean you just walk away.”

Laughing, I push my hair out of my face and voice the concerns that scare me the most. “What if he doesn’t want me anymore? What if he’s changed his mind and realizes that I’m too much for his small-town life?”

“First of all, I doubt it. And secondly, you’ll never know unless you ask.”

“I’m scared,” I admit, looking at my best friend through the phone.

“As you should be. Anything worthwhile is scary. But trust me from my own experience, going after what you want is worth it.”

“Okay,” I breathe out. “I’ll go back, but if it doesn’t work out, then I’m moving to Texas. I’ll be your live-in best friend.”

Shauna taps her chin with her finger. “Live-in childcare? I think Forrest could get on board with that.”

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