Page 53 of No Time for Traditions

She’d texted Scott after work the night before and asked if he could pick her up at the airport. She made him swear to not tell a soul she was coming back. Except Amber. But nobody else. Brittany had many amends to make, and she wanted them all to be on her terms.

Cassandra had agreed to let Brittany fly back with the promise that she’d work remotely to finish out her editorial contracts with her current writers. Then, she could transition to writing. Wow. She liked the sound of that. Cassandra even had the receptionist book Brittany a flight for the next day.

So much had happened since the last time she was southbound. All of which had made her plane ride back to New York both heartbreaking and refreshing. This time, she’d figured out so much about herself that the only remaining question was her future with Greg.

Brittany peered out the window again, happy to see more trees than skyscrapers and green fields in the place of concrete. Soon, she’d land in Birmingham. She pulled out her journal to write about this moment. How she felt as she moved her life back to Alabama.

When she opened the book, her eyes fell on her annual goals list. While she had plenty left to accomplish, she’d solved her career frustrations and figured out where she belonged all in one fell swoop. Brittany checked off both those items and smiled.

A few minutes later, she landed in Alabama. She walked off the plane and into the familiar airport.

After gathering her bags from baggage claim, she found Scott waiting for her near the exit. She dropped her heaviest bags and hugged him.

“Thank you so much for leaving work to pick me up.”

“Of course. It’s not every day your little sister calls to say she’s moving back.” Scott patted her on the back before letting go of the embrace. He grabbed her two largest bags.

“I didn’t know how long I’d be staying for now, so I packed a lot.”

“Understood. Amber packs this much for a weekend.”

Brittany laughed. “What did she think of me moving back?”

“She’s happy. A little surprised, but happy.”

Brittany adjusted her laptop bag and purse on her shoulders and rolled a smaller suitcase behind her.

“Where to first? The business? You can hit up Mama and Daddy at the same time.”

“Uh, I was actually thinking Greg first.”

Scott looked over and smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Really?”

Scott shrugged. “Well, yeah. He seems to make you happy, and I’ve waited a long time to have a brother-in-law.”

“Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Brittany blushed, the image of her and Greg getting married popping into her head. She’d had a few similar thoughts before, but this made the first time she’d pictured an actual wedding. It gave her butterflies. In a good way.

Still, she tried not to get her hopes up.

As they made their way to the parking lot, Brittany hung her head.

“Are you okay?”

She looked up to see Scott holding his hand out for her piece of luggage. She’d hadn’t even noticed they’d made it to the truck.

“I don’t know.” Brittany curved up the side of her mouth, trying to smile, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. “Scott?”

“Yeah?”

“What if Greg doesn’t want to talk to me?”

“I think he will.”

“You sure?” Brittany’s eyes pleaded with him for a straight answer.

“I’m sure.”

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