Page 77 of Taming Georgia

I ignore her question, just as I’ve done the other ninety-nine times she asked. “So, I left lots of food for Mila. I bought her extras of her favorite toys. I stocked up on puppy pads. I got her a new bed, but you know she’s going to want to sleep with you.” I chuckle. “I left an envelope of cash for you on the kitchen table. It should be enough to cover anything she needs, plus a boarding facility if you have to travel and leave her. And you know that the dog place right down the road will take her during the day while you’re at work. It’s like a puppy daycare where she can play with other dogs. I know it’s an extra stop in the morning for you, so if you don’t want to, I understand. But there’s plenty of money to pay for it, and she’d really love it. She’s going to miss going into the shelter every day and playing with the other dogs,” I ramble nonstop.

Paige holds up a hand. “Whoa, girl. Take a breath. Mila will be fine. But I want to know about you.” She grasps my arm, making me pause to look her in the eye. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to do this.”

I sigh. “But I do. I get that no one understands, but I have to go help. Now that I know they need me, I have to. It sucks that I have to leave Mila, and I’m sorry for doing this to you. But I must go.”

“What about Wyatt?”

“What about him?” I shrug, opening the drawers of my side table to confirm that nothing important is being left behind. “He’ll wait, or he won’t. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

I’m leaning toward the latter, considering he won’t answer any of my texts or calls after he left me in his kitchen last night. I guess I can’t blame him. We’ve barely dated, and now, I’m leaving for Mexico for God knows how long. It could be months or a year. I have no idea.

“I’m worried about you, Georgia. London’s concerned. I thought everything was going well.”

“It is—or was.” I close my suitcase and zip it up. “I’m not running away from anything. I’m simply going to help, to make a difference; that’s all.”

“I kind of thought you were making a difference here. I know the dogs you rescued sure thought you were.”

“They’ll be fine. They have Wyatt.”

“You know what they say about the grass growing taller on the other side of the fence?” Paige asks, wrinkling her brow.

“You mean,the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?” I correct her expression.

“Yeah, it’s not greener on the other side, Georgia. It’s greener where you water it.”

I pull her and Mila into a hug. “I love you, Paige. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I promise I’m fine. Thank you for taking care of my girl.”

I take Mila from Paige’s hold and squeeze her to me. She snorts and nuzzles into my neck in that puppy way she always does. I kiss her head.

Tears fill my eyes. “Take lots of pictures of her. She’s going to grow so fast.”

If I regret anything, it’s missing Mila’s time as a puppy…well, and the way things were left with Wyatt and leaving the shelter.

Nope. I can’t start focusing on all of this now.

I hand Mila back to Paige. “The Uber driver should be here.” With a sad sigh, I motion toward the door.

“Okay,” Paige responds solemnly.

I grab my jacket, purse, and suitcase. I kiss Mila one more time and hug Paige. “I’ll call you and Skype with you and Mila, okay? Don’t worry about me.”

Paige nods, and with my stuff in tow, I walk out.

New adventures always bring me so much excitement, but it’s different now. As the driver pulls away from Paige’s house, I just feel sad, and I question everything. I’m leaving more behind this time—a roommate that I love, my puppy, Ethel, the rescue, the friends I’ve made…and Wyatt. It’s a lot to lose. It’s only natural that I feel blue.

I have to remind myself that the fulfillment I receive by helping others will feed my soul in ways that nothing else can. Traveling the world has always been my therapy. Not many people can just pick up and leave whenever they want for a mission trip, but I can. It’s a blessing—one that I’ve never taken for granted. I simply need to get there, and I’ll feel better.

Frank, my Uber driver, is one of the chattiest people that I’ve encountered, and on any other day, I would love talking with him. But I’m too sad for words right now. I lied to Paige just moments ago. I am running. I just don’t know why.

Everything was going so well with Wyatt and me. He opened up to me more than I’d ever thought he would. When I’d first gotten here months ago, he was cold and bitter. Looking at how we were at the beginning of my time in Michigan and how we are now—or were just yesterday, it’s unreal.

We both held so much hostility toward one another based on our different versions of history, though neither of us even knew the truth. And now, we’re good—or were good.

Ugh.I hate thinking about Wyatt in past tense. Hate it.

Yet I’m the one putting him there—in my past. No one’s making me go. This is totally on me.

I know by going, I’m ruining everything, but I can’t stop. I thank Frank as he drops me off at the airport. I check my luggage and get my boarding pass. I walk through security. I wait, and then I board the plane.

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