is genuine, and a flutter of hope passes through my chest. Maybe, just maybe, I have one more chance with this woman.
14
Presley
“What was that all about?”
I’m genuinely confused at what just went down between Keaton, his brother, and Lily.
We sit at their recently vacated table and I take a long pull from the latte I ordered. The sweet vanilla and creamy milk give me energy I wasn’t aware I needed, and suddenly I’m so hungry I don’t know how I lasted so long without food. I put down the coffee and dig into my egg sandwich, sighing as the first bite hits my tongue.
“We might need to bring snacks to yoga next time.” Lily smiles at my cavewoman antics, but I still see the sadness lingering in her big blue orbs.
“Do you want to talk about Bowen?” I can be a bit nosy.
She blinks at me. “No one ever just comes out and asks me that in this town. It’s actually kind of refreshing … both that you know nothing about our history but also are here if I really want to talk about it.”
And now I’m super curious what the heck happened between those two, because if the whole town knows … it must be pretty bad. But Lily and I are just forming a friendship, and I don’t want to pry.
“Listen, I’m not going to make you tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m just letting you know I’m here for you.” I pat her hand.
Look at me, the city girl turning into a country bumpkin … I’m touching strangers and offering up shoulders to lean on. Who am I? In the months since moving to Fawn Hill, I’ve asked myself that question more times than I can count.
And I’m kind of surprised that I feel the most like myself, whoever that is, since I’ve been here. The small-town life suits me more than I ever thought it would.
“Bowen and I were high school sweethearts. I don’t know how much you know about the Nash brothers … but Bowen was much like Fletcher when we were in high school. Dangerous, rambunctious, a risk-taker. We were young and in love and felt invincible. And it led to … a horrible accident. We were involved in a car accident and both almost died. It … ruined both of our lives in several ways.”
She looks so upset that I think she might cry, and I move to sling an arm around her shoulder and hug her close.
“I am so sorry, Lily.”
Blowing out a shaky breath, she nods a thank you at my comfort. “The worst part is, it ruined our relationship. I thought I was going to marry Bowen, we might have been in high school but I knew that I knew. Since the night of the accident, he won’t speak to me. Won’t even look at me … but I still love him.”
This last sentence is whispered, and I see the tear trail down her olive-skinned cheek. Her pain is palpable, and in that moment, I wish I could take it away.
Lily clears her throat. “Jeez, I didn’t mean to unload my life story on you.” She wipes a tear and moves out of my embrace, so I swing my chair back around to the other side of the table. “How do you know Keaton, anyway?”
It’s my turn to grin uncomfortably and have nerves wrack my body. “We, uh … we went on a date.”
Her blue eyes go wide. “You? You went on a date with Keaton Nash?”
I’m slightly offended at the tone of her question. “Yes, me. Why, am I totally out of his league?”
“No, if anything, he’s out of yours. It’s just that Keaton doesn’t date, not since his ex, Katie, left him two years ago.”
I tap the side of my coffee cup. “Ah, the dreaded baggage. I think I hit a nerve when I asked about that on our date last weekend.”
Lily makes a sympathetic face. “Putting aside my association with the Nash brothers … I’ll just say that Keaton is an absolute sweetheart. He’s down-to-earth, clearly you can see how attractive he is, and he’s got a great gig going here taking over his father’s practice. But, about two years ago, things really went south for him. He had been dating Katie, who grew up here too, for a long time. They were Fawn Hill’s young golden couple; they bought a house together, she brought him bagged lunches to the office, and it was