Page 34 of Only Ever You
When I didn’t add anything else, Hudson caught my eyes, a sly glint in his. “You’ll have to figure that out.”
“He’s not wrong,” Leo said simply.
Not much later, Alaska decided to show off a little more. Although the northern lights mostly occurred when it was colder, from late summer into autumn, there were often gorgeous shows of lights, and tonight gave us one hell of a show.
“Wow,” Kincaid commented, his tone reverent.
The sky was shimmering with streaks of pink and purple and silver. It looked as if translucent curtains were ruffling in the breeze as the lights glimmered against the backdrop of a mountain range in the distance with the stars and the moon visible behind the colors.
“Never gets old,” Hudson said quietly at my side.
Coming from a life that had filled me with doubt, it was moments like these, out in the wilderness, when I felt most connected to the universe. My dad, definitely not a regular church-going guy, used to joke that his church existed in the trees, the mountains, and the ocean. Whenever the northern lights were showing, he would come wake me up, and we’d sit outside to watch them no matter where we were.
Just now, I felt more settled than I had in a long time, a sense of peace gusting through me like a refreshing breeze. We watched the lights until the brightness started to fade. Coyotes were howling in the distance.
“Think they’ll come close?” Kincaid asked.
“We’re not their midnight snack, but they might come nose around for food.” I chuckled. “They should be pretty well fed this time of year. Early spring, they’re a little more reckless.”
The guys who were sleeping in the lookout clambered up the ladder, a few others headed into the cabin, and the rest of us stretched out on the ground. We all had enough gear and comfort to keep us warm through cold nights. Even in the summer, it cooled off quick once the sun was gone. The sheer exhaustion of our work knocked me into sleep.
At some point during the night, I woke up and slipped out of my sleeping bag to take a bathroom break a little ways away from camp. Although the fire was in the distance, I could still see the flickering embers in the darkness.
Once I was back in my sleeping bag, I hooked my elbow behind my head and stared up at the stars. Luna sashayed into my thoughts with her riot of curls and her freckled cheeks. I contemplated Kincaid’s observation that I should settle on something with my feelings. As Hudson had astutely noted, he wasn’t wrong. The problem for me didn’t lie within my feelings for Luna, but in my own scarred heart. Getting abandoned by your mother isn’t a great feeling, if you didn’t know.
When I landed in my dad’s world, he somehow instinctively understood he needed to be a balm to the gaping wound in my heart. Maybe things hadn’t been the best with him, but from day one, he’d been so enthusiastic to have me there. If he ever got impatient with all the silly things a little boy wanted to do, I never felt it.
It was a contrast to the first years of my life with my mom. My memories were spotty, but it was more a feeling of uncertainty and harshness.
The cutting lesson my mom taught me was not to count too much on anyone, especially on life. Though I didn’t doubt the power and depth of my feelings for Luna, it was the very power of them that frightened me. She could hurt me in a way that would cut deeper than anything I’d ever experienced. That was the other lesson of being rejected by one of your parents. It could make you doubt you were worthy. Intellectually, I knew that wasn’t how it worked, but it was difficult to talk my heart out of that belief.
When I thought of Luna, my heart wanted to smile because everything about her was good. The muted call of an owl reached me. I fell asleep to thoughts of Luna and wondered if I could give her what she deserved.
Chapter Twenty
LUNA
“You really think I should do that?”
My grandmother blew a puff of air out of her lips, expertly moving a lock of her silver hair out of her eyes. “Of course you should do it.”
“You don’t seem surprised,” I pointed out.
“Janet asked me about it. We are good friends, after all. She thinks of Willow Brook as her family in a way, and you are special to her. She asked me if I thought she should suggest it to you. I think it’s perfect. You’re about the age Janet was when she started the café. It was right about when—” My grandmother shook her head, her eyes going a little misty. “She married Dan straight out of high school. Young love and all that. He loved being a trucker. When the town decided to build the new fire station and the old building went up for sale, she and Dan bought it. At the time, we didn’t have a single coffee shop in town.”
“It’s still the only coffee shop in town,” I pointed out.
“Exactly why it’s a great plan for you to take over.” My grandmother beamed at this. “Anyway, she told me she planned to give it to you outright. The building’s paid off. She doesn’t have any loans on the business. She makes pretty good money.She’s only in her sixties, and her health is good. But setting the plan in motion now means she can get you up to speed while she can still work. She doesn’t need the money anymore.”
Emotion rose inside of me as I looked at my grandmother. “I would love it. You don’t feel like it’s too much?”
“Luna, honey, Janet loves you. She thinks of you as a granddaughter.” Her lips twisted to the side. “She knows you need something for yourself. You’ve got me, but I’m not getting any younger. Your mom and dad can live their life, but they haven’t set up anything to leave to you. You know I have feelings about them choosing to drag you along with them, but that’s over. You’re an adult now, you’ve been doing life on your own for a while. You’re gonna be okay. All of my property will eventually be yours.”
“But I feel like that’s too much!” I burst out.
“What’s too much?”
“You planning to give me your property, and Janet planning to give me a business!”
