Page 30 of Blake Marshall Says He Needs Me

It was something I had been telling myself for years, but it finally clicked.

Once filled with accusation, my voice softened as I spoke, “Shannon, I've been so wrong. I can't blame you for what happened to Sheldon. It wasn't your fault.”

Her eyes, still reflecting the hurt from my years of accusations, softened with relief. "I blamed myself, too, Blake,” she confessed. “For so long, I did.”

I nodded, the weight of guilt and anger lifting from my shoulders. “I know. It's just... I needed someone to blame, and you were an easy target. I couldn't face the randomness of it all. Sheldon was here, and then he was suddenly gone.”

She reached out, grabbed my hand, and threaded her fingers through mine. “Grief made us do and say things we didn’t mean.”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to absorb her words. “It took me a long time to find a way to let go of that anger. It wasn’t bringing Sheldon back and wasn’t making things easier for anyone, especially not me. I took off to New York after high school, buried myself in school, and then work.” Working with Wilder had been just the thing to drown out all the grief and emotions I still had from Sheldon dying. I finally went to therapy a few years ago and worked through everything that had happened.

“I should have kept in touch with you. Found a way to talk to you,” she sighed. “I just assumed you didn’t want to hear from me.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have been ready. Hell,” I chuckled, “I wasn’t ready five months ago when you walked back into my life.”

“But you’re ready now?” she asked hesitantly.

“Are you?” I countered.

She stepped toward me, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. “I’ve missed you, Blake. For ten years, I missed you. I thought about you every day and wondered what you were doing. If your heart had mended from the loss of your brother, and if you had a family of your own somewhere out there.”

I tipped my head to the side. “I’ve only ever loved one girl, Shannon. I needed you back then, and I sure as hell need you now.”

“This is so crazy,” Shannon whispered. “When I look into your eyes, it’s like there wasn’t any time between us. It’s like fate didn’t tear us apart when Sheldon died. It’s like I never left you.”

The wind blew, and Blake brushed my hair off my cheek. “Fate ripped us apart, honey, but it also brought us back together.”

“Missy said the same thing,” she sighed. “Part of me hates fate, and the other part is thankful for it.”

“I think I’m good with fate,” I confided. “It brought you back to me.”

The air between Shannon and me crackled with an unspoken tension. The setting sun cast a warm glow around us, turning the landscape into a canvas of muted colors. It felt like the perfect moment, and I couldn't resist any longer.

Leaning in, I closed the gap between us, finally sealing the distance with a gentle kiss. It was a moment I had longed for that seemed to hold the promise of a new beginning. As our lips met, the world around us faded into the background.

Just as the moment's magic began to settle, a sudden and unexpected interruption shattered the romantic atmosphere. Ba, the sheep standing nearby, let out a perfectly timed baa. It was as if the universe itself had conspired against us. Fate.

I pulled back, my eyes meeting Shannon's, and we both burst into laughter. The interruption was so unexpected, so perfectly absurd, that it became impossible to take the situation seriously.

"Looks like Ba has some strong opinions about fate bringing us back together," Shannon teased, her laughter infectious.

I couldn't help but join in. "Who knew sheep could be such astute critics of human affection?"

Ba, seemingly pleased with its contribution to the comedic interlude, continued to graze nonchalantly, as if to say, "You're welcome."

Shannon and I exchanged amused glances, and our shared laughter became a sweet addition to the memory of our first kiss in ten years.

"Well, that's one way to break the ice," Shannon quipped, wiping away a tear of laughter.

I nodded, still grinning. "Ba definitely knows how to steal the spotlight."

As we stood there, the sunset cast a warm glow over the pasture, and our shared laughter lingered in the air.

Shannon was back in my life, and Ba had been front and center to witness it.

“Do you want to try that again?” I asked. I cupped her cheek, and our eyes connected.

“I was hoping you would ask,” Shannon whispered. “I didn’t want to wait another ten years.”

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