Page 8 of Only Ever You
She sighed, her gaze a little dreamy. “He is so good, and so good to me.” She shook her head, looking legitimately puzzled by this.
I slapped a hand on the table. “You deserve all the goodness life is bringing your way,” I said firmly.
Casey’s smile was soft as she looked over at me. “You’re a good friend.” She lifted her chin and nodded.
“Well, you are too,” I pointed out.
The oven chimed, and I slipped off the stool to open it, quickly sliding out several trays of donuts. A moment later, they were cooling on the table while Casey was studying me. “You look like you’re thinking really hard,” I said, starting to feel a little squirrely inside.
“Iamthinking.”
“What about?”
“Well, you. You’re always cheering everyone else on. You’re so positive and optimistic, but you don’t talk a lot about yourself. You talk about your baking and all that, and I know you have a cute little house. You come to card night, but—” She paused and shrugged. “I feel like there’s a giant hole in your life story.”
My heart stung a little. Sometimes, when it came to being a friend, I felt a little lost. Although I was born here and went to elementary school in Willow Brook, everything changed when I turned eight. My parents wanted to do the RV life and took me with them. I’d done online schooling and barely stayed anywhere long enough to make friends. I’d felt like a literal rolling stone. The one friend I thought I had turned out not to be much of a friend, but it took me a long time to figure that out.
Casey had been through her own challenges and had confided in me. Now, I felt like I’d let her down. I didn’t even know how to explain what my experience was and why I struggled with it. I took an unsteady breath and told the truth as best I knew how. “My parents were RV influencers. They havean online channel and do the whole thing. I hated it, likehatedit. They were part of the early wave when that kind of stuff was taking off online. They have millions of followers. They post stuff on there and travel. But when I was with them, the videos that got the most publicity, and therefore the ads, were ones that I was in. So, that was my life.” My throat ached with the emotion I’d kept corked tightly inside.
It was difficult to explain how the pervasive loss of all privacy for so much of my late childhood and adolescence felt so traumatic.
“Ohhhh.” Casey’s mouth twisted to the side. “That doesn’t sound great,” she said slowly.
“It definitely wasn’t great,” I said earnestly. “My parents are still doing it, and they’re disappointed that I refuse to be part of it anymore. Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t tried to adopt a kid just so they can produce more content.” That last word—content—was laced with all the bitterness in my heart.
Casey was quiet for a few beats. When I met her gaze, sadness flickered in her eyes. “That sounds really shitty.”
“It was—” I paused, pondering my words. “Lonely. I mean, all I knew was being with them in the camper and being on camera for everything. We were all over the Internet with cute little clips. There were tons of people commenting, but I—” I took a deep breath, letting it out in a soft sigh. “I didn’t have any friends. We were always on the move, traveling all over Alaska. We drove down to the lower 48 every winter. I’ve never even had a boyfriend. My parents kept saying I had so many people who cared about me online, but they were just comments on posts, and that’s not a friend.”
Casey blinked. “Oh, Luna.” She stood from the table and rounded it quickly, pulling me into a hug. Casey gave great hugs. She squeezed tightly before stepping back. “You have friendsnow. Everyone loves you here. And, you need to go on a date! It doesn’t have to be a guy. What’s your flavor?”
I burst out laughing. “My flavor? I’m pretty sure it’s guys, but I don’t need to date. I just want to live my life quietly and peacefully. Just having friends and being in one place is amazing.”
She smiled as she sat back down across from me. I took another swallow of my coffee. “This is so tasty. I still can’t believe the blackberry works with this.”
Casey waggled her brows. “Do you think the donuts are cool enough for us to have one?” she asked, eyeing them.
“Of course.” I reached over, spinning the tray around. “Should we sprinkle powdered sugar on them?”
Casey grinned. “Yes, please!”
Whenever I made batches of donuts, there were always a few bits of dough left over, so I made small ones for the staff here. Casey was partial to the cake donuts with powdered sugar. I slipped off my stool and snagged two plates and the small shaker of powdered sugar.
A moment later, Casey took a bite of one, letting out a happy hum. “So good!” she enthused after she finished chewing. “How did you learn to bake so well if you were growing up in an RV? I know there are fancy RVs, but still, it seems like the kitchen situation would be limited.”
I laughed softly. “I made do. It was one of the few things that my mom let me do off-camera. My grandma taught me how to bake when I was little. She’s the reason I’m back in Willow Brook.”
“Is she here?” Casey asked.
“Yup, I live right next door to her. I was born here. My grandma has some health issues, and I’m a little worried about her, so I wanted to be close to her.”
“Is she okay?” Casey looked worried.
Every time I considered this, a little spurt of anxiety went through me. “Well, she’s in her seventies and—” I took a quick breath, taking a bite of my donut and chewing my anxiety away. “She let me move in beside her in a little cabin she used to rent out on her property. Her mind is still ringing on all bells, but her knees hurt all the time, and I worry about her falling.”
“Oh, Luna, that’s not easy.” Casey’s warm gaze held me. “Anything you need, I will do it.”
“Can you turn back time and make her about twenty years younger?” I teased lightly.
