Page 63 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

“I’m not going to change my mind. Not even next year.” Not ever.

He sighed. “I think I need some space. It’s not really about her. I mean, it’s not just about her. It’s all of it. I’m sick of living in your shadow. I want my own life. It’s lonely here. It’s so fucking lonely.”

My heart twisted. “Okay,” I said slowly. “What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking maybe I could try Asheville for a bit. A year. See how it goes.”

Asheville was the closest city to Hart’s Ridge, but it was still an hour away. “What would you do in Asheville?”

“I don’t know. Get a job. Rent an apartment downtown. Make some friends.”

“Kind of rash, isn’t it? Bethany gets a boyfriend, so you decide to leave town?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. This is just the kick in the ass I needed.”

“When would you go? There’s no rush, you know.”

“As soon as I find a job and a place to live.” He laughed. “Iwantto rush. It feels like I’ve already been waiting too long.”

Yeah, I knew the feeling. All too well.

“I don’t want to leave you in the lurch. I know Goat’s Tavern is struggling to keep up with all the customers. I can wait until you find someone to replace me.”

I shook my head, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “No, you’re right. You’ve already waited too long. You shouldn’t have to wait any longer.”

“Thanks, Luke.”

But, crap. We couldn’t both take off. I had already been planning on looking for more help to cover me while I was hiking the AT. But this was too much. One of us had to stay.

And it had to be me.

“Ethan,” I said, my voice rough.

“Yeah?”

“You can always come home again. No matter what. Always.”

Chapter 25

Bethany

“EthanBartholomewBuchanan,getyour ass over here and stop avoiding me.”

I put my hands on my hips and attempted to shoot laser beams from my eyeballs to the back of his dark head. He froze like a startled deer.

“I hate it when you use my middle name,” he muttered, not turning around.

“Then don’t give me cause to,” I told the back of his head, and then felt bad about the way his shoulders drooped like a chastised child.

I had been hunting him all morning. Goat’s Tavern was closed for Christmas Eve, but normally he could still be found hanging around the property somewhere. But he had made himself scarce since Jasmine had hauled him and Luke outside for a talking to. He wasn’t at home, he wasn’t at the bar, and his truck wasn’t parked at any of the trailheads.

He was clearly avoiding me, and I wasn’t going to put up with it. Not from my best friend. We had been friends for too long to let something so stupid come between us. He owed me a conversation.

And I owed him an apology.

Even if I had to cram it down his stupid stubborn throat.

But now here he was, getting coffee at Hot and Wired, like everything was perfectly normal. I wasn’t about to let him get away.

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