Yesterday had been so perfect that it was hard to keep in mind all the reasons why she couldn’t let herself fall for the man.
Maybe it was all meant to land us right back here,a little voice whispered now.Maybe it’s okay…
“Nice that it’s not snowing too hard,” Cash said as he joined her.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s so pretty, like a snow globe.”
“My mom says that,” he said fondly. “And she’s right, of course. I don’t think I ever appreciated how beautiful this place was until I’d been gone a while.”
Bella nodded. She hadn’t ever really left, but she had no trouble believing that.
“Have you ever lived away from Sugarville Grove?” he asked, as if reading her thoughts.
“No,” she admitted. “I’ve been here all my life.”
“Smart girl,” he said, nodding. “I should have guessed.”
“Some would sayboring girl,” she laughed. “It probably wouldn’t have hurt me to see more of the world.”
“I can save you the trouble,” Cash said. “It’s not worth leaving for, believe me.”
“Will it be hard for you to go back out there?” she heard herself ask him.
“It will,” he said, his voice suddenly serious. “I don’t want to leave him. I’ve missed so much already.”
Her heart twisted at the idea of leaving Cody. She hadn’t really even been caring for him for that long, but he’d been special to her from day one.
“I know what you mean,” she said.
“He’s an amazing kid,” Cash said. “And that has nothing to do with me. Your cousin did such a great job, and you’re doing a great job too.”
“He really is a great kid,” Bella agreed. “And he needs a lot of support right now. I worry sometimes that I’m not enough.”
It felt good to admit the truth, though she was pretty sure he would just make some reassuring noises back at her like everyone always did.
“Why do you say that?” he asked her seriously.
“Well, he hasn’t even cried with me yet over his mom,” she told him honestly. “Not openly, at least. I’ve heard him at night once or twice. But he doesn’t talk about her much either. He’s not ready to share his grief with me. I don’t know what to do to let him know it’s okay.”
“How does he react when you cry?” Cash asked.
“Well, I… don’t,” she said. “Not in front of him, at least. I need to be strong for him.”
Her words hung in the cold air between them for a moment. It had all made sense in her head, but now that she was hearing it out loud…
“I don’t know anything about parenting,” Cash said after a moment.
“Of course you do,” she told him. “You and all those siblings of yours grew up with the sweetestparents in Sugarville Grove. You’ve probably seen it all. More than I have, at least.”
“I think maybe he needs you to cry,” Cash said plainly. “He needs you to talk about it.”
“Why?” she asked.
“So he’ll know it’s okay,” Cash said. “And he still might not cry in front of you. But you’ve got to keep her alive for him by talking about her.”
She stopped in her tracks, thunderstruck.
“It can be hard sometimes for boys to express their feelings,” Cash went on, shrugging. “I think it’s why we like rock. You’re allowed to say how you feel if you sing it or scream it. It’s kind of a life hack.”
