Chapter 23
Ethan
I could tell Marlowe was going through a thing or two. She’d pushed me away earlier, instantly signaling she needed time to process. I decided to make it easy on her and left without putting up a fight. Besides, I’d done enough fighting.
Marlowe had always needed space to deal with things. Even as kids, when she didn’t get her way or her brothers teased her, she’d fume for show, then retreat to lick her wounds. She always sprung back.
But that was then and this was now. We’d lived years apart from each other, forming new habits. As much as both of us had changed in small ways, I believed at our core, we were probably the same as we’d always been.
She despised caroling. So what? Public, cheerful singing wasn’t for everyone. None of that mattered—whether she liked holiday stuff or not. I needed to show her how seriously I considered our relationship. I would support her no matter what.
The town square emptied out as her family dispersed and the shops closed for the night.
“You’re coming with me,” I told her.
She held up her car keys. “But I drove.”
“Murdoch likes his alone time. You’ve been keeping him busy. Come on.”
She followed, but with skepticism. “We’re not going to more light shows, are we?”
“I promise, no torture.”
I set the truck’s heat to a healthy blast and set off. She flipped on the holiday station.
“You don’t have to bother.” I went for the stereo’s digital keypad. “You’ve been through enough.”
She stopped my hand with hers. “I…like this song.” She cleared her throat. “It’s okay.”
I doubted she was serious, but maybe? “It’s a good snow soundtrack.” I liked this sort of snow. Light and fluffy before the heavier stuff came through and required a snowplow. And…it was romantic. I was a sucker for early snowfalls leading into Christmas. With my favorite girl at my side, this made for another moment I’d remember for a long time.
We didn’t have to go far to reach the destination.
Marlowe perked up beside me. “Ethan, you can’t be serious. You’re taking us back to high school?”
I drove past the blocky structure to the surrounding sports fields. All the way to the farthest corner of the parking lot bordering the football field. Opposite the field, gentle hills dotted with scattered pines created a pleasant view.
“We used to hang out here.” The realization unfolded as she spoke. “When Ashe played football and we got bored, us kids were allowed to run around out here as far as the tree line.” She squinted through the dark. “And later, in high school, we’d lay in the grass over there.”
She saidwe,though it was she and her friends without me most of the time. In front of us, the overhead lights cast a soft stage for the snow to swirl.
Marlowe sank into her coat. “It’s still pretty, just like I remember.”
“Yeah. I always liked how this area didn’t get built up. I come out here to think. Sometimes, I come here and read.”
“You do that now? You sit in a parked car at a high school and read a book?”
“Not during school hours. I’m not trying to be creepy. Call me nostalgic, but I get clarity when I come here.”
“I didn’t think you liked high school.”
Her experience differed from mine. “I didn’t love every second of it, but I didn’t mind it.” I craned my neck to look at our former school building. “See those windows there on the second floor? In American Lit, I’d stare out the windows to these trees. I wanted to be out here. Working with my hands.”
“You always loved the outdoors.”
“The tree farm made sense to me. It’s not easy work, but it’s always come easily for me. I’ve worked the tree lot in some way since I could walk. It’s my life. I figured I could stay in Crystal Cove and, you know, keep the same life going. If I’m honest, I’ll admit I always felt like a piece was missing.”
“A Costco?” Marlowe grinned.
