Page 57 of Eternal Hoptimist

“He’s told me enough to understand what your place means to him, but I know he’d be even more devastated if he learned you weren’t doing what you wanted to because of him. All he wants is for you to be happy.”

“In here, I know that.” She tapped her temple with her finger. “But I never want to hurt him. Family has hurt him enough already.”

“Ethan’s more resilient than anyone gives him credit for.”

There was a warm glint in her eye. “It’s about damn time someone sees that in him. He’s lucky he found you. That boy deserves to be cherished.”

“He does, but we’re not…” I trailed off. I didn’t know what the truth was anymore.

“You two might not have your shit together, but I know what I see when I watch you together.You two make me miss my George.” She smiled sadly and stared into the distance.

“I imagine the loss never gets easier.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t. I get more numb and the wound has turned into a dull ache. Once you find someone, don’t let them go.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Does that mean I have your stamp of approval?” I said it in a light, teasing tone, but I knew she took my words seriously. The way I meant them.

“We’ll see.”

I laughed.

“You know, before George got sick, we’d talked about selling the house and the land.”

The shocks kept coming. “Seriously? The way Ethan talked, that land was as important to your late husband.”

“It was, and one reason we didn’t sell was because we knew they would develop it into cookie-cutter homes or a strip mall. We wanted the land to stay undeveloped or a place where people could gather and appreciate the beauty as we always did. As his family did, the generations before us, and the people who lived on this land for thousands of years. When he got sick, we put those dreams on hold.”

“What would you do if you sold?”

She stared at her tea and smiled. Ethan’s family cornered the market on gorgeous smiles. “We talked about moving someplace warm where there are golf courses. Near the ocean or at least a nice pool that I could use most of the year. I’ve been taking water aerobics over at the YMCA, but it’s a pain to get over there in the middle of winter.”

I laughed. “Ethan would love that. He’d understand, you know,” I said gently. He would be upset, but I didn’t doubt for a moment that he would accept whatever Rosie wanted.

“I don’t want to be another family member letting him down.”

Ethan’s and Evie’s voices filtered to the kitchen as they neared.

“I need to spend some time thinking about it. Please don’t tell Ethan. It needs to come from me,” she whispered.

I nodded. It wasn’t my place to say anything. “I’m here to help you. I might not officially be your lawyer, but I can help. Iwantto help.” Anything to help Ethan.

The wrinkled skin around her eyes creased more deeply as she smiled. She reached out and patted my hand. “You’ve got my approval.”

A smile that probably rivaled one of Ethan’s stretched across my face.

Ethan and Evie entered the dining room. Both wore matching smiles and red-rimmed eyes. For the next while, I listened as they swapped childhood stories while we demolished the cookies.

The burden Rosie placed on my shoulders slowly sank in. Keeping a secret from Ethan. I hoped she talked to Ethan before we flew home tomorrow because I wanted nothing to come between us. Not when we were possibly building something real. Ethan deserved the truth, but it wasn’t my truth to share. As a lawyer, I often knew things I wished I could share with people but couldn’t. This was the first time I wished I didn’t know more than anyone else.

CHAPTER 21

ETHAN

Team Tap That Group Text

Austin:How’s it going in Kansas?

Ty:Did Rosie kick their ass at the city council meeting?

---