“Heart Springs is a place I never wanted to fall in love with.” I pause, heart thudding. “But Kade? There was no fighting that. Loving him feels... inevitable, Abbs. And loving them both feels like forever.”
She squeezes my hand and lets out a slow breath. “Sounds like a done deal to me, babes.”
“What would it even look like, me staying here and you back in New York?”
She smirks, shaking her head. “For one, I knew you weren’t coming back the second you left.”
I gape. “How?”
She bumps her shoulder into mine. “Georgia, you’ve been chasing a family since you were little. You just thought it had to be the one that gave you your name. But you didn’t want answers out here. You wanted to be loved. Cherished. No strings. No conditions. It’s what we all want.”
“Abby…”
She turns to me, eyes serious. “I love you. And I’m so damn proud of you. For everything. For coming here. For trying. Even if it didn’t look like you imagined, you still found what you were looking for. A big, messy, honey-covered family. A cowboy. A baby.”
My chest aches.
“So what are you gonna do about it?”
I look out over the town that’s slowly become my home.
Every instinct I’ve ever had tells me to run. But for the first time in my life... I want to runtowardsomething, not away.
Love. Home. Them.
The only question is... am I brave enough to do it?
Chapter Fifty Three
Four Digits and a Chance
Beatrice Archer: Meet me at Snug as a Mug today at three. Please, sweetheart. I know you’re scared, just… try.
Every inch of me is shaking. My palms are clammy around the cup I’m not drinking from, and my heart is thundering so loud I’m surprised no one else in this coffee shop can hear it.
But I’m here, waiting not so patiently for the lecture I’m sure I’m about to get. One I deserve.
Right on time, Bea walks through the door already scanning the busy coffee shop. As soon as her eyes find mine, her whole expression crumples. She doesn’t hesitate—just crosses the room and pulls me into a hug so tight I can barely breathe.
“Georgia,” she whispers. “I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart.”
My broken heart finds a way to break a little more at that.
“I’ve missed you too,” I choke out, meaning it with everything in me.
When she pulls back, my breath catches in shock.
She’s crying.
And not the silent kind of misty-eyed tears people dab away with a tissue. These are real tears, heartbreak and grief and worry etched across her face, and I realize… Bea really cares for me.
Like a mom would.
The kind of mom who squeezes your hand too tight. The one who shows up, even when you’re the one who left. The one who loves loud and doesn’t let go.
I hold my breath, waiting for her to order a drink and return to the table. Then I hold it until she’s finally settled and staring at me with a soft, patient expression that hits me right in all my messy feelings.
“How are they?” I blurt.
