efforts to go deeper with Angela, but she hadn’t been ready, hadn’t known what to say. But now? Something in her cried out for bonding with the only woman other than Sherry who knew what it was like to have loved—and lost—a Jamison man.
Yes, indeed. This trip was doing weird things to her.
After a mile of dashing down the ambling path, Angela grabbed her sides as she decreased her speed. “Whew. I need to catch my breath. Sorry.”
Her sister-in-law slowed to a walk, sighing. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go so fast.”
“It’s good for me, right?”
Eva lifted her arms over her head, the bottom of her ribs protruding when she breathed in. “It’s easy to lose sight of why we’re here sometimes.”
The woman who had instigated this entire thing because of her husband—who had created a memorial out of her life—was losing sight of her purpose? Whoa.
Angela, on the other hand, had initially come for her children, and they’d seemed to thrive here. Even Kylee. But what about Angela herself? True, she felt she was in the process of changing, but as things shifted within her, she found more to explore. About her needs and desires. About her life with Wes. About his death.
Eva pulled the rubber band from her long hair and ran her hands through it, smoothing out the top before creating a messy bun piled on top of her head. “Angela, are you and Simon a thing?”
That’s definitely not where she thought this conversation was headed. “No.” Given how much time they spent together, it wasn’t a ridiculous speculation. And there was no doubt they had chemistry. Angela felt it every time he was near, like the static shock kids knew would come after going down a plastic slide at the playground.
It wasn’t just the physical attraction, though. He understood her soul. Oy, how cheesy did that sound?
“Oh. I just assumed.”
“I think he’d like more, but it’s just not practical.” If nothing else, she could always fall back on that reason.
“Why not?”
“He lives here and I live in New York, for one. And I’ve got the kids to consider.” Her children seemed to love Simon and his children, something she hadn’t predicted. In fact, she’d expected Kylee to be suspicious about their relationship, but it hadn’t happened. Maybe her daughter was too busy obsessing over her own relationship woes to be concerned about Angela’s—though as far as Angela knew, she hadn’t seen Ethan again since that day in the coffee café.
“So.” Eva twisted her hands. “If you lived in the same place, and you didn’t have the kids to think about . . . you’d date him?”
Where was she going with this? “I haven’t really thought about it. But sure, I guess. Maybe.” If she could ever let herself fall in love again.
Because, despite all odds, she had still loved Wes at the end—even if she couldn’t forgive him for dying.
“You don’t feel like it’s too soon? Like you’d be disrespecting Wes’s memory by giving your heart to someone else?” Eva’s words might have sounded judgmental, but her tone did not. In fact, it sounded like . . . a plea.
Ah.
There was no denying the way Marc felt about Eva. It had been obvious whenever he looked her way. “Eva, are we still talking about me and Simon?”
Her sister-in-law bit her lip and shook her head.
Did she want Angela to ask more? Or would she freely share if willing? Angela didn’t want to unwittingly push Eva away, not when they were finally opening up to each other.
They rounded a corner, and the house came within view. Zach and Lilly played on the dock under Sherry’s watchful eye.
It made her feel better whenever Simon took her hand and squeezed in a friendly way, so Angela did the same to Eva.
Her sister-in-law stopped walking and gave her a full-on hug. Wetness spread against Angela’s shoulder, and Eva inhaled a shaky sob.
A fondness for her sister-in-law filled Angela’s chest. The woman certainly cried more than Angela did, and she had no clue what it was like to be a tired and stressed-out mom, but right now, in this moment, more drew them together than split them apart. Because they shared a mutual pain, an emptiness where there used to be a husband. That was a bond that could never be broken.
Wherever the wind took them after this, they would always be family.
Angela gave Eva one last squeeze and pulled back, swiping the mascara streaks from Eva’s cheeks. “How