Page 80 of Blindly Yours

I cross one leg over the other and sit back. “She and Dad are both doing well. She can’t wait for him to finally retire, but I think he’s holding on as long as he can. She desperately wants to come for an extended stay, but they can’t do that when he’s got clients requesting work every day.”

“I get that.” Linda nods. “Jim was busy like that too. Couldn’t bear to take even a day off. He was always so stressed.”

Amber’s father passed from a heart attack nine years ago, and now that she’s gone too, Linda is left with just Amber’s sister…and me and Kara, I guess. I worry about her a lot, but she’s either incredibly strong, or she puts on a really good face.

“Now, don’t you end up like that.” She points her finger at me. “Take time off.” She rubs Kara’s shoulder again. “This one’s gonna need that…and so is anyone else who wanders into your life.”

I clear my throat and smile slightly. “That’s what the cabin’s for. I love it too much not to take a few days off.”

The three of us chat for a few hours and Kara insists we play her favorite board game too. The two of them adore each other, and I think Kara misses Amber a little less when Grandma’s around.

Once Kara is in bed, Linda relaxes in the armchair opposite me and raises her chin. “The two of you been doing anything fun this spring?”

I toss another log onto the fire and shrug. “Now that the snow’s melted, Kara has been outside practicing soccer. She’s going to try out for the team this year.”

“You’re seeing someone, aren’t you?” She asks without pause. It catches me off guard and I start to open my mouth to reply, but she’s quick to continue. “I haven’t seen that look in your eyes since Amber was still here.” She has a brow raised, but she’s smiling.

I’ve dreaded this conversation, but she looks so at ease, so I take a breath and nod. “I’ve been on a couple of dates with someone, yes.”

Linda inhales slowly and brings her mug to her lips. “Good for you, Nate. Really. Amber would be so happy…” I start to speak, but she continues. “I remember, she told me one time, during those last few weeks…she was so worried you wouldn’t ever be able to move on.”

“I know.” I nod slowly. “She told me that too. But I understand she wanted me to…for Kara—”

“For you, too,” she interrupts gently. “Yes, Kara will benefit so much from a new maternal presence in her life someday, but you deserve to be happy too. You haven’t smiled the same in the last two years…until tonight. There’s something…brighter…about you.”

I shake my head and sit forward. “It’s still early.”

Linda stands and moves to the sofa beside me, then she reaches out and takes my hand with a genuine smile. “Regardless of whether it’s this girl or not, go and find that happy feeling again.” She’s looking at me like she’s my own mother. Like she cares about me just as much. “Life isn’t about mourning the past, it’s about seeking happiness, day after day. And Amber wanted you tolive.”

I swallow the knot in my throat and squeeze her hand gently as I look into the same eyes Amber looked at me with when she told me to go fall in love again. I don’t even know if it’s going to be Rose. But at least, finally, I’m starting to feel like falling in love again might actually be possible.

“I really appreciate you being so positive about all this,” I say quietly.

She drops my hand and sits back with a laugh. “Oh, I’ll be there at the wedding with bells on. Don’t you worry. I want nothing more than to see you content again. I know you’ll never forget Amber.”

“Never,” I echo.

***

I pull up in front of Rose’s building a week later and put the truck in park just as she emerges from the front doors.

“Wow!” Kara exclaims, craning her neck to look out the window and up at the eighty floors. “Rose really does live in a skyscraper!”

If you’d asked me a month ago if I’d take Kara on a third date with a woman, I’d laugh at you, but since Rose already spent an entire weekend and a hospital visit with her, she knows she’s part of the packaged deal, so it feels natural to give them some time together.

I get out and walk around the front of the truck to open the passenger door for Rose. She’s wearing a red plaid sweater and a big smile.

“Thank you,” she says as she touches my arm and slides into the seat.

I cross around to mine, and by the time I’m back in, Kara is already talking a mile a minute.

“—and I missed you so much. I made you these drawings.” She passes papers up to Rose. “The first one is of the chickens, ’cause I thought it might keep you company if you miss them. I think they miss you. And the other one is us roasting marshmallows. I drew it so yours was burning ’cause you said that’s how you like them,” she giggles.

Rose admires the drawings for a moment before she folds them up with a laugh. “That’s the only way I knew how to do them until you taught me the trick to getting them the perfect golden brown. Thank you, Kara. These are beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.” She sits back with a proud grin.

“How was your morning?” I smile at Rose as I pull out into traffic.

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