Page 86 of The One I Need
“I know. That’s why I’m going with you.”
“You’re making zero sense.”
“For a smart woman, sometimes you just don’t get it.” Oliver takes my hands back in his. “I’m going with you. I know that this is going to be hard. I know from the little bit you’ve told me that this actually might be hell on Earth. Do you think that I’m about to let you go do that without me? Without support? Because if you think that, then well…I don’t know what to say.”
Shit. I think I’m going to cry.
“I don’t want to go back. But I have to.”
Oliver brings my hands to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “I know. But you aren’t going to have to do it alone.”
I fall into Oliver’s arms, letting tears escape for the first time since I got the call. “I swore I’d never go back. I don’t know if I can face everything.”
“I know you think that. But you’re strong. Plus, you’ve got me. And mothers love me.”
This makes me snort-laugh. “You’ve never met my mother.”
“Unless she’s auditioning for the title role inMommy DearestI think I’ll be okay.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her.”
Chapter29
Oliver
For my entire life,I always thought Rolling Hills was the epitome of a small town. I mean, everyone knows everyone. When we got our fifth traffic light it was a very big deal. And don’t get me started when the first fast food chain restaurant came to town. It happened when I was in sixth grade, and it was a big deal.
I didn’t think towns got smaller than Rolling Hills. Then I arrived in Smallwood, Nebraska. Hell, it has the name small in it. If that didn’t give it away, the tumbleweed I was racing as we drove into town was a dead giveaway.
I look over to Izzy, who fell asleep on the two-hour drive from Omaha to Smallwood. For the first time since we left her office yesterday afternoon, she seems at peace. Once she got the call, she quickly wrapped up anything she had to figure out before she left the office. It was my job to call the lawyer to tell him we wouldn’t be able to come in today to start the divorce proceedings. I got my wish of delaying the inevitable, but I didn’t want it to be like this.
She still hasn’t told me what she’s walking into here, but I know it’s bad. After we left the office, she barely said two words as she packed for our morning flight. She fell asleep early, but tossed and turned all night. Normally when I stay at her place, the couch is my best friend, but last night I couldn’t make myself go out there. I tried to hold her, but she wasn’t having it. Her nightmares were getting the best of her.
I turn the car off, which jolts Izzy awake. “Are we here?”
“Yeah. Just pulled in.”
There were no hotels in a thirty-mile radius, so we are staying at the Husker Bed and Breakfast. And considering we are the only car in the parking lot, I have a feeling we have the place to ourselves.
Izzy lets out a yawn and stretches as much as she can in our rented sedan. “Sorry I fell asleep.”
“No worries. It was a stimulating drive through the cornfields.”
She silently laughs as she takes off her seatbelt and turns to face me. She also grabs her purse from the floor and sets it on her lap. “Okay, so there’s something I should have told you before I let you come here.”
“Besides the years of trauma that stem from here?”
“Yes. I’ll get to that, but this is first,” she says. “This town is…well, how do I say this nicely…is…conservative.”
“Okay…”
“There are going to be a lot of dirty looks toward me, and you because you’re with me. If we ask for two rooms, we’ll get weird looks that I’m traveling with a man who I’m not married to. If we stay in the same room, there will be talks that I’m a harlot and staying in the company of a man.”
“But we’re married.”
Izzy nods. “For the next few days, yes, we are.”
She reaches into her purse and pulls out the gold band I haven’t seen since Vegas. I try not to smile. I really, really, really, try. But I can’t help it. My wife wants to be married to me, and well, I think that’s just neat.
