Page 76 of Falling Inn Love
His eyes soften. “I love you, too.”
“I know you don’t want to accept it, but it’s a done deal. You did so much for me, Evan. The inn, your family. I can never fully explain it, but you all… You saved me. You reminded me that I wasn’t fully living and that I could be… I could be loved again. And for that, I can never repay all of you.”
“There’s no payment needed when it’s family. It’s just what we do for each other, Beth. You didn’t have to do that.”
I lean my head on his shoulder.Damn, I love this man.“I know. But it’s done. It’s safe.”
“How did you do it? That’s so much money,” he asks.
“I got a book deal with Logan. It’s okay, I promise.”
He shakes his head gently but pulls me tighter.
“How’re Allie and Caleb?” I ask, intentionally trying to change the subject.
“Doing well. Caleb’s recovering and Allie is back to working from home. My mom’s back in town, too.”
“Ah, good. I wondered who was running things while you’re here.”
Our server returns then and we order a local special called the slopper, fries, and milkshakes. Chocolate, of course. The slopper is a burger topped in a green chili sauce and eaten with a fork. Evan looks skeptical, but I assure him it’s good.
“Is this a special place for you?” he asks.
I pause and allow the memories to flood through me.
“John and I came here after games to celebrate with his team and their families, win or lose. This is a pretty special small town. It has a lot of memories.”
A family sitting across from us keeps staring and I finally recognize the little boy as one I had in class. I remember after John and Emmie died, the family had sent flowers and a card. This town had so much love for our family. Now I feel bad that I stayed away all those years.
The mom stands and she and the boy come over to us. “Mrs. Covey, I thought that was you,” the boy tells me.
“Hi, Matthew, it’s good to see you. What grade are you in now?”
“Fifth.”
“You have grown up!” I turn to his mom. “How are you doing?”
“We’re great. It’s so good to see you. We knew you left town but didn’t know where you had moved to.”
“I’ve traveled for a while, but Freedom Valley, New Hampshire is home now,” I say as I squeeze Evan’s hand under the table. His gorgeous green eyes shine.
She smiles. “Well, don’t be a stranger. We sure do miss you around here. Good seeing you!”
“Good seeing you, Mrs. Covey,” Matthew says with a smile as they head back to their table.
Seeing a past student makes me miss teaching. I wonder if I should go back to it. I can write, too. But, I do miss my students. Coming here and working on my healing has definitely reminded me of a lot of the things I used to love and let go of due to painful memories.
One of the things I’ve realized in the past few days is that I can stop focusing on the pain and instead choose to focus on the positive memories we had. John wouldn’t want me to be sad. He would want me to be happy.
I look up at Evan. “I love you.”
He looks intently at me now and says, “I knew from day one I was going to love you.”
“I think I knew it, too. It just took me longer to believe it, to believe it could work with the mess of my life.”
“Life is messy, Beth. Embrace it.” The food arrives then, and he immediately takes a big bite of his food.
“What’s the plan after this?”
