“Davis has cancer?” Her usually bright eyes flicker to mine.
I nod, swallowing back the bile rising in my throat, and look down at the table. “Yeah.”
“And you want to go see him?” Raine’s voice is laced with disbelief. Ryland, Raine, and Olivia all shift in their seats to study me.
“No, I don’t want to, but everyone else seems to think it’s the only option for me. I’d like to know what you think I should do.”
Come on, Raine. Have my back here. Help me explain to Olivia why I shouldn’t go.
“It’s not about what I think you should do but whatyouthink you should do. I can only imagine how you must be feeling right now, and I don’t blame you for wanting to avoid him. If it were me a few months ago, I’d want to avoid him too.”
“What about now?” I ask.
Raine sucks in a breath, blinking a few times before focusing her gaze intently on mine. “Running away from my problems for ten years taught me a valuable lesson. When you avoid your pain, you’ll never be able to heal. After learning that, I think I’d go so I could finally move on from the hurt that he’s caused. That's whatIwould do.”
“You’re telling me that you’d go see Davis on his deathbed? Even forgive him for all the evil things he’s done, when we both know he doesn’t deserve it?” I shake my head as an odd twinge of disappointment pierces my chest.
I look over at Ryland, who’s watching Raine, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he pulls her in closer. Ryland saw firsthand how controlling and hurtful my dad was. His own father treated him and Zane in a similar manner before his mother took action and removed them from the situation when they were young. Surely he’d back me up.
“You deserve to heal from this,” Ryland adds, his brows furrowing as he gives me a knowing look.
Raine returns her attention to me as she continues.
“Does he deserve our forgiveness? No. He doesn’t, Luke, nor will I ever be able to forget the anguish he inflicted on us both. I’ve been fighting with myself for quite some time to let the pain go. I’m still working on it. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
She exhales a shaky breath, reaching out to hold my hand, giving it a squeeze, and I turn to face her. “Luke, forgiveness isn’t always for the person who’s in the wrong. It can be for us. It’s freeing. Since I've forgiven my mom, the weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Look at us now. We have a good relationship—something I never thought would ever be possible.”
“I don’t want a relationship with him.” I press my lips together tightly.
“And by the way it sounds, there isn’t time for one,” Olivia adds.
“I’m on your side here,” Raine adds, her gray-blue eyes shining with tears. “Wouldn’t it be worth it to try to be able to let this go?”
“Raine, do you want to go with Luke instead?Ifhe decides to go,” Olivia asks. I twist in my seat until I can see her. She looks at me and blinks, worry coloring her delicate features.
“I’m sorry, I have to work.” Raine exhales with a frown.
“You’re self-employed. Couldn’t you move things around?” I ask.
“Right before Christmas? There’s no way I can do that, especially at the last minute.”
We stare at each other for a long moment until Raine slumps into her seat, looking defeated. There is something about seeing her look so small, cowering into herself like she used to do when we were kids, and I realize then that I need to do this. Not just for me or for Davis, but for Raine and everyone I love too.
As I look at the three faces around me, something shifts inside me. A sudden clarity washes over me, as if God is showing me the truth of the situation, not the version I’ve been clinging to. I finally give in to everyone’s advice and make up my mind.
“It’s okay. Olivia is coming with me.”
I glance over at her as she moves closer beside me, leaning her head against my shoulder. The warmth of her presence settles me, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel a sense of peace.
Chapter Eight
Olivia
“Are you serious?” I shout, tossing my hands into the air as I get another wrong answer in trivia.
“Just let me answer the next one. I’m not about to lose to the group of golden girls,” Wren says next to me, squinting her eyes in disapproval.
We are at the Covewood Lounge, one of the two bars that are located in town, which sits just a few blocks from The Groovy Bean, on the main street that leads in and out of the town square. In the warmer seasons, different types of ferns spill out from the window boxes that help to bring out the age of the building, covering up small cracks.
