Page 35 of New River Gorge(ous)
I sit in quiet expectation. He has something more to say—I can see it in the set of his jaw, the way he’s holding his shoulders.
“She … uh … she and I…” He turns to look out the driver’s side window so I can’t see his face anymore. His pain is palpable, and I want him to know he can share it. It’s instinctive, putting my hand on his arm, but he must not have expected it because he turns back to me, and I’m surprised by the tears in his eyes.
“Addie changed. I knew her as a kid. She’s Ben’s younger sister, and we … always liked each other. I don’t know what happened, but there were … signs that we weren’t really a good match. And I forced it because everyone expected us to get engaged and married and have seven kids.”
I blink back in surprise. “You’re blaming her leaving you at the altar onyou?” I ask before I’ve comprehended how insensitive that question is for a first date.
Beck’s brow furrows into deep creases. “No. Yes. Maybe?” He sighs. “I just wanted you to know that I was part of the problem.”
I squeeze his arm. “I don’t know anything except what I’ve been told about it, and based on what I saw just now, I don’t think you were the problem, Beck.”
He looks into my eyes with such mournfulness that I’m tempted to climb over and kiss him until he cheers up, but I amnotgoing to do that.
Instead, he opens his mouth, closes it, and begins driving the truck out of the church parking lot. Beck doesn’t say a single word for the rest of the drive.
The clock on the dashboard says one p.m., and I’m disappointed when he turns into Meemaw’s driveway, but I also understand. From what I’ve gathered, Beck hasn’t seen Addie in years. It was a lot for me to process, let alone for him.
Beck extracts the keys from the ignition before he blinks two long, slow blinks. “Brooke. I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “It’s ok. You couldn’t have controlled when and where she showed up.”
Beck curls his lower lip under his top teeth. “No, Brooke. I’m … this isn’t going to work.”
“What?”
“I can’t date you.”
Alarm bells ring.
This is a breakup speech.And after one date.I’ve reached a new low.
The anger that bubbled up earlier at Addie didn’t dissipate; it’s still there boiling under the surface.
“Don’t you dare give up.” I hurl the words at his face, and he shrinks back away from the voracity in my voice. “You don’t haveto date me, but you certainly don’t have to let her hang over you this way anymore.”
I slide my phone out and flip to the picture Addie took of us, pushing the screen close to his eyes.
Surprise registers on his face as he takes in the image of us on Long Point. My arms around his neck, hands clasped loosely together, and his own hand resting on my upper arm as our noses brush together, framed by the breathtaking scenery behind us. It’s an image worthy of a postcard or a save-the-date wedding magnet. In the heyday of Facebook profile pictures, this one would have been a winner.
“Don’t give up,” I admonish again, and then I hop out of the truck before he can say another word.
19
Beck
“Don’t you dare give up.” Brooke’s blue eyes fix my own with such fire that I shrink away from her. Before I can regain my bearings, Brooke pushes the picture Addie took of us in front of me.
That picture is, in a word, stunning. But I’m digesting everything in slow motion, and it’s impossible to make sense of what she’s saying or doing.
How could Addie have taken that picture?How could Addie have been right there? Ben said she was coming home soon, but he didn’t say when.
Brooke is out of the truck before I can register my internal thoughts with my external actions, let alone before I can respond to her.
I sit for a moment, stunned, as I watch her walk away. Brooke’s parting words reverberate through my ears.
Don’t give up.
My brain is not in sync with my body today, because before I can overthink it, I’m out of the truck and jogging up the pathway and yelling, “Brooke, wait!”
