Page 8 of The Leaving Road
I made my way downstairs and realized I had yet to go to the store. I started looking through the cabinets in hopes that I could find something, anything.Luckily, an old box of Earl Gray tea sat in one of the long-forgotten cupboards. I cleaned and found the old teapot, added the water, and silently prayed to whoever might be listening that the gas stove still worked. The flames turning on led me to let out a whoop of happiness.
“Tea, babes?Tea?”
“Okay, picky princess, I haven’t had the time to go to the store yet. You’ll just have to deal for the night.”
She huffed in frustration and pointed her red-painted nail in my direction. “Tomorrow morning, first thing, we are going shopping.”
I shuddered at the thought of going into town, but I guess it didn’t matter now. There was no way after Lori’s visit last night and my breakfast meeting that half the town didn’t already know I was back.
I had always thought that if Sloan were here, he might reach out to me. He tried calling and texting in the first weeks after I left, but I didn’t even read them. I knew that if I spoke with him, I would cave in and accept any excuse he gave. I was that in love with him, but there were no excuses good enough. Then, when my resolve almost broke, I blocked him and never allowed myself to look back.
“We’re going, babes. You can’t live on dust and old tea.”
I couldn’t help myself; I rounded the kitchen island to her side and grabbed her in another hug—and this one she returned without a moment of hesitation.
“Not that I don’t love this, but you must tell me what happened. I’ve known you eight years now, and I can count on my hand the number of times we’ve hugged, and I can tell you, not once have you ever initiated physical contact. Two hugs in under an hour? You’re about to send me into full-on panic mode, babes. Talk to me.”
I sat on the stool next to her and went through my last twenty-four hours: the drive, seeing Lori out by the dock, seeing Momma and Papa Tuck, what Momma said to me about running, what the lawyer said. Then, I showed her the letter from my dad. When she finished reading, she had a puzzled look on her face as if she were trying to make the pieces fit. After a few minutes of her processing everything, she finally spoke.
“That’s some shit, babe…some real shit.”
“That’s all you got for me?”
She laughed. “You want me to lie to you to make you feel better? Or do you want my honest advice?”
I blew out a breath, my heart sinking. “You think I should stay.”
“I think you’ll regret it if you don’t.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think I can do it alone again, Lex. I don’t think my heart can handle it…”
I felt her shudder next to me. She was there when I fully shut down last time, so she understood what I meant.
“Babes, who ever said you were going to be alone?”
She smiled at me and told me what she was thinking.
Chapter 6
Magnolia
I watched the sun rise as I sat on the dock, my mind going over Lexie and my conversation from last night. She said she would stay here with me for the next two years.
Lexie had sold some software programs and was very wealthy. She did some small jobs to fill her time, but she could work from anywhere. I brought up the fact that we had apartments, and I had a job with a contract. She informed me that all contracts had an exit clause, and she would put her lawyer on itaftershe had me email her a copy of my contract. She told me we could hire companies to ship us our things, and that we could work everything out if I wanted to stay.
She also told me that if staying really wasn’t an option, she would give me the money to start my own clinic and be a silent partner. I almost smacked her for even suggesting I take money from her. She reminded me that as much as she was here for me, I had always been there for her as well.
After we said our goodnights, I spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about what to do. My phone rang, and I was momentarily confused about who would be calling me at six-fifteen in the morning. A quick glance at my caller ID told me it was Mr. Jensen. I had sent him an email at three a.m., asking him to call me so I could ask some questions, it didn’t matter what time.
“Mr. Jensen,” I answered
“Ted, please.” He sounded more awake than I would have guessed for this early.
“I’m sorry I sent you that email so late; it wasn’t an emergency. I can wait for normal business hours.”
“Nonsense. Please ask me your questions.”
I felt a warmth next to me and noticed Lexie had woken up and had come down to join me on the dock, carrying what looked like two cups of tea and a blanket.
