Page 115 of The Life We Left Behind

“You don’t have to move out because of me,” Trace said. “We all love having you around.”

Had I mentioned how much I loved this man recently?

“Cade and I discussed it,” Blake said, and I looked at my son in shock, who was just nodding slowly as he shoved most of a waffle into his mouth. “I need the space, and I feel like you guys are solid enough that you don’t need my support anymore. Not that I won’t be around if you need me. Especially if breakfast is going to be like this every day. Although, Trace, babe, no one likes avocado. Food that comes looking like it’s pre-chewed shouldn’t be considered food.”

Cade snorted out a laugh, and I had a moment where I was worried he was going to choke. He grabbed his glass of orange juice and downed it before he leaped from his chair. “Mom, did you see where my backpack was?”

“It’s by the door.”

I was so confused right now. Weren’t we going to at least discuss this?

“Lanes, I can see you starting to spiral,” Blake said gently. “I’m going to be just in town, and I’ll be around all the time. Especially when I take you up on that offer of studio space in a couple of months.”

“We should look around the barns and see which you prefer, so I can get someone in to do any work on it in the meantime.”

I looked around for the notebook I’d been using earlier and heard Blake’s chuckle as I did. We both knew exactly what I was doing. This was how I dealt with chaos when it came to my life. It all got filed away into a nice, orderly list. It was broken down into manageable pieces that became goals rather than things to be dreaded. Yes, I might be a slight control freak, but it had gotten me through life to this point, and it was a coping mechanism that made me productive, so I refused to let it go.

When the paper and pen slid across the table to me, I wasn’t even surprised that it was Trace who did it. This was a habit I’d had for a long time.

I looked down at it and realized that I didn’t have anything to write down. There was nothing about Blake leaving the house that would really change anything for me. Not practically, at least.

I looked up at my best friend and saw her watching me carefully. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Nah, I’m not going to give you a chance. You’ve got a few days to get your Blake fix. I need to sort out some furniture to be delivered to my new place and get some bits packed up here first.”

“What are you going to do about your apartment in the city?”

“I already found someone to sublet until the end of my lease, and then they’re going to take it over. I let the landlord know you’d probably be doing the same, and he said to tell you that he has a list of people who would be happy to sublet from you, or he’s happy to just break the lease now. Apparently, people are desperate to get into one of the two bedrooms.”

This was how it had always been with Blake and me. We always had each other’s back, and I couldn’t be more grateful that she’d made the decision to move to Willowbrook too. Ididn’t want to lose her from my life, not because I relied on her, even though I did, but because I couldn’t imagine not seeing her face every day.

“I’ll give him a call.”

I grabbed another sausage link and took a bite as I looked around the kitchen. “Maybe we should redecorate.”

“Ooh, she’s nesting now,” Blake joked. “Be prepared for a never-ending list of jobs, Trace.”

He looked at me across the table, sipping on his coffee as he did. “Can’t wait.”

And it genuinely sounded like he couldn’t.

“I need lunch!” Cade shouted, dashing back into the kitchen with his coat, shoes, and backpack already on.

I glanced at my watch in panic and saw that we still had ten minutes before we needed to leave. This might be my fault for telling him that he was going to be late. In my defense, I thought he’d take more than six seconds to eat his breakfast.

“Already done.” Trace leaped out of his seat and went to the fridge. “I made you a turkey sandwich with all the extras.”

He passed a lunch sack to Cade that frankly looked enormous, but the excited look on his face made me hold back from checking what was inside. Maybe the extra snacks could be helpful on his first day. Anyway, Trace was clearly enjoying himself, being all domesticated and fussing around his son.

“We’ve still got ten minutes if you want to eat some more breakfast,” I pointed out, and Cade spun on the spot.

He was so excited to get to school. It was adorable.

The golden retriever energy was strong in this house today.

“I’m going to grab my new baseball glove,” Cade said and sprinted out of the kitchen instead.

“But you don’t have practice today,” I shouted after him.

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