She had fallen for Christian a long time ago, but she’d been hiding from her feelings because she was scared. She couldn’t just plug him into the hole left by Mack. She had to find a space in her heart for both of them.
She turned on the twinkle lights Christian had left up and let her body sway. Music fed her soul. Dancing here was better than any stage she could dance on. Here, she had a one-person audience, and though she’d never be able to hear Mack clap and cheer her on, she’d always know he was here, supporting and loving her from a distance she wished she could see across.
The song changed to one that reminded her of Mack. Of the time they had tried to do a star lift. She grinned, remembering, and then the first tear fell. The first gave way to the second, and then to what felt like a million. Every good moment with him and every bad one too.
“I miss you,” she cried.
In her heart she heard him respond,I know.
She brushed the tears away and flung her body through the air, letting her body work through the pain. It didn’t hurt as much as it used to. Maybe she had Christian to thank for that. She’d never allowed herself to open up to anyone before him, but now, she wanted to. Because … she loved him.
She paused mid routine.I love him. But he thinks I don’t.
He’d been patient and honest with her, but she had done nothing to reciprocate. She thought back to when he’d brought her that heating pad. He’d said he wasn’t good enough for her, that he had problems. But didn’t everyone? If he could be patient with her struggles, she could be patient with him. She didn’t want to be a prisoner to her fears anymore.
She wanted a relationship with him. And she wanted it to last. She wouldn’t keep one foot out the door anymore. That had never done her any good.
It was time to take a risk.
She needed to find him.
“I won’t let him replace you,” she whispered into the air as she shut off her music.
“Let him.”
Maizie’s head spun around. But there was no one here, just an undeniable feeling of peace.
Let him? Replace you? No way.
Let him love you,Maizie heard again.
Okay.
* * *
The wind rippedand roared through everything on the farm, and Christian was growing more anxious by the second. He needed to hurry and finish feeding the cows, and whether she liked it or not, he had to check on Maizie. His stomach had been in constant knots since starting chores, and the only way to be free of them was to make sure she was okay.
But this storm was making everything take longer. It had come out of nowhere and looked like it was trying to take the farm down with it. A huge tarp blew across the road, and he struggled to pull it back against the wind. A tree in Grandma and Grandpa’s yard was threatening to blow over, and metal was banging every which direction.
He’d never experienced wind this strong. In the city there were barriers, but out here there was nothing but wide open plains with a few small mountains in the distance. He prayed that everything would be okay.
She’s not okay.
The thought struck him out of nowhere. Something was wrong with Maizie.
Go to her, someone yelled to him, and he looked around, but there was no one.
Go now!
Christian ran to the truck. Maizie had to be at the barn. She was always at the barn. He kicked the truck into drive and roared through the fields. He looked for the barn up ahead, but a sickening feeling jumped into his stomach when the normal peak of the barn didn’t come into view when it should have.
He rounded a small hill to find a pile of boards and rubble lying where the barn used to stand.
“Maizie!” he screamed, over and over again. The truck couldn’t go fast enough. The tires skidded to a stop near the wreckage, and he jumped from the truck.
“Maizie!” Fear ripped his voice apart as he ran around the fallen boards. A small glimpse of blue caught his attention, and he dashed to it.
“No!” He tore the boards off of her, but her frail body lay in a lifeless heap on the dirt. “No!” he screamed into the storm clouds.
