Page 78 of Sometimes You Stay

She nodded and disappeared silently into the tack room.Joe watched her go, then sent Finn a worried look before trotting after her. The big dog wasn’t the only one concerned.

The next few hours followed with much of the same. They fed the goats, and Cretia brushed Abner’s coat, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead as she finished. They took the Fab Four out to the pasture and played with them, tossing balls and bones and cheering them on as they brought back the toys. After pulling out her phone, Cretia captured some video of the would-be Muppets, which drew her first real smile of the day. But as Finn opened the door to their pen, her smile disappeared. She hugged and squeezed first Paul, then George, then Ringo, and finally John, giving him a firm scratch on his belly.

She didn’t wait for Finn to head into the whelping room, and by the time he reached her side, she’d knelt next to Bella. “You’re such a good mom,” Cretia whispered, rubbing the big girl’s ears. “And these little guys are—” For a moment, it sounded like her voice broke on a sob, and Finn touched her shoulder. Shrugging off his hand, she petted one of the pups. Their eyes had just opened, but they still scooted around the box, mostly blind. “Which one did you save?” she asked.

Finn looked at the eleven pups—eight of them all black, their markings nearly indistinguishable, and two of them brown. Finally, he spotted the gray one and plucked him up. “This is Tater.”

Her lips twitched, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. As she took him and held him to her chest, he squirmed and squeaked against her. “Hey there, little guy. You had quite the start, but I know you’re going to be a great rescuer. Grow big and strong and do exactly what Finn tells you to. All right?”

That was when the truth landed, nearly buckling his kneesand stealing his breath. She was saying goodbye. First to the animals—and soon to him. The week he’d thought he would have had been cut in half. Their time together had been stolen. And he didn’t know who to ask for it back.

“Your laptop came in, didn’t it?”

She nodded.

“So you’re leaving?”

She didn’t look up from the wiggling puppy trying to suck on the collar of her shirt. “That’s always been the plan.”

“When?” The word sounded like it had been raked over gravel.

“Tomorrow morning. I have a flight out of Charlottetown.”

This was supposed to be easier. He’d set up boundaries—albeit a little bit late—to make this manageable. To make the goodbye natural.

The problem was that he didn’tonlylike kissing her. Of course he enjoyed it. He wasn’t a complete fool.

But kissing wasn’t even his favorite thing about her or the thing he would miss most. After she left, who would argue with him and tease him and make him laugh? Who would nudge him and prod him and drive to the other side of the island to pick up a cow with him? Who would fill his days with chatter and nonsense and creativity?

He’d thought he didn’t need any help, but those were things he couldn’t do for or by himself. Cretia filled a place in his heart that he hadn’t even known was empty until she clung to his neck and shivered against him on that first walk to the Red Door.

His dad had always said that God had made his mom just for him. Now Finn understood what that meant. But if God had made Cretia for him, was he just expected to let her go?

His future stretched out before him, dim and bleak. He wanted to pull her into his arms and beg her to stay. He wanted to hold on to her for the rest of forever.

He just didn’t know how to do that without asking her to give up who she was or what she wanted.

So he asked the only question he could think of. “Can I drive you to the airport?”

She shook her head. “It’ll be really early, and you have puppies and cows and goats relying on you.” She tried for a smile that didn’t land. “I’ve already lined up a taxi to pick me up.”

The chasm was growing, and he didn’t know if he should just let it or if he should fight for their last minutes together. There was no answer, only painful choices. One option hurt now. The other would hurt later.

Maybe it was better to give her space. “I guess you’ll need to pack and get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

“Yep.” She leaned over the box’s wall and set Tater back into his spot. “I should probably get to it.”

He tried to bite his tongue, to swallow the words that insisted on being spoken, but he couldn’t. “Can I walk you back to the inn?”

When she finally met his gaze, her eyes were glassy and filled with sadness. She bit her lips together, maybe because her vocal cords felt paralyzed too. Finally, she nodded.

By the time he locked up the barn and called Joe to join them, the sun had reached the horizon, splashing orange and pink stripes across the evening sky. They walked in silence, past the lobster boats in the harbor and the spot where they’d first met. When they reached the beginning of the boardwalk, Finn grabbed her hand, needing something to remind himthat she was still there, still a part of his life. Even if only for a few more minutes.

His boots echoed on the wooden planks, and he nodded a greeting to the Huntingtons, who were out walking their dog. Joe barked but didn’t leave Cretia’s side. He had to sense the change coming too.

When they reached the set of stairs halfway down the boardwalk, he tugged on Cretia’s hand, stopping her on the first step. Nearly eye to eye with her, he couldn’t deny the misery in her trembling smile.

“You could stay,” he whispered. “Iwantyou to stay.”

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