Page 73 of Falling Inn Love
I know she can feel me.
* * *
My plane touches down in Austin. I’m nervous but I text Cara, glad I thought to get her contact info from Logan.
Evan: Cara, this is Evan. I’m in Austin. Can you help me find Beth?
I hope she’ll help me, given that she doesn’t even know me. I’m hoping maybe Beth told her some good things about me.
I look down at my phone and keep checking for a response and finally there it is.
Cara: Where are you?
Evan: The airport.
Cara: Do you have a ride?
Evan: No, I wasn’t sure where she was staying.
Cara: She’s staying with us. You can stay with us, too. Wait there, I’m going to have Steve come get you.
Evan:Thank you.
Cara: Steve is on his way. Silver car. It will take about thirty minutes for him to get there. I’ll text you his contact info.
Evan: Do you think she’ll take me back? She left so angry.
Cara:I honestly don’t know. But what I can tell you is that she’s in a better place now than when she got here.
I go find a place to plug in my phone and I wait for what seems like forever. I’m really second guessing all of this. I show up in a city, not sure where she is, hoping her friend will help me. This could go a completely different way than I want it to and Beth might reject me.
My phone rings. After Cara and I say our hellos, I ask flatly, “Does she know I’m here in Austin or that you’re talking to me?”
“No. But I have questions before you get here,” she says, her voice soft. I can tell she’s hesitant. I would be, too.
“Do you think she even wants to see me?” I ask.
“Beth never grieved like she probably should have after her family was killed. This is a long time coming. Don’t give up on her. She just needs time.”
That’s just what Logan said. Now I really understand, they’re right. “I miss her,” I tell Cara. “So much. Everyone back home does.”
“She misses you. I can tell she’s trying not to because she has so much to process. The pain from the past, the future you could be for her.”
“I want to be there for her and help her in any way that I can.”
“I think it’s going to be okay. I’m glad we’re finally getting to meet you.”
“Thanks for all of your help, Cara.”
I hang up, noticing the time, and I head outside to meet Steve.
Within minutes, he pulls up and I wave him down. I climb into the passenger
seat. “Good to meet you. We don’t get a lot of lumberjack-looking guys like you around here.”
“Lumberjack?” I look down at my flannel and scratch my beard. Right.
“Cara tells me you’re here to get your girl back.”
