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“The first thing you should do is reach out to Andrew. You owe him an explanation.” I gently tell her.
Penny puts her hands on her face where mine were and nods, “I know.”
“Then you’ll also have to talk to your mom.” I shudder, and she giggles amidst her tears.
“You know my mom,” she says. “Martha is not going to be happy.”
We both laugh. “You’ll get through it. All of it. Everyone will eventually get over what happened today. Don’t worry.”
She lets out a deep breath, followed by a chuckle. “I can’t believe I fell off a cliff in my wedding gown, and you were the one to save me. If I didn’t know better, I would think this would be a plot to one of the romantic comedies Sean would star in.”
A smile falls from my face as I realize I almost changed my mind on this hike several times because it was too hot. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t show up. I feel a shiver run through my body at the thought.
“Can you stand now?” I ask.
“I think so,” she says, trying to stand. I pull her up gently. Thankfully, she doesn’t wobble this time.
“Can you walk?”
“I guess I won’t know until I try,” The smile she gives me is fragile but determined. She takes a few steps forward.
“It looks good,” I say, grabbing my backpack and Tex’s leash. “Let’s go. Ladies first,” I sweep my arm out, and she walks ahead.
“All I want to do is go home, shower, put on my pajamas, and stay in my room for a week.”
“Before then, you have to go to the hospital.”
“I don’t want to go,” she groans. “I feel better. Can’t you just take me home?”
I gently grab her arms and turn her to face me. “Penny, I know you’re ashamed of what happened today, but you just fell off a cliff; you have to go to the hospital to make sure that everything is okay. Understand?”
She sighs and nods before continuing down the trail again. I see a black Ford pickup just before we reach the mountain base. “Is that your truck?”
“Yes.”
I walk her to the truck and look under the rear bumper for the hide-a-key. It’s exactly where I remember it, and a small smile creases my face. Some things never change.
“The keys are still in the ignition,” I hear her say.
I open the back door, and Tex hops in. I lead Penny to the passenger side, and she slides into the seat. I walk to the driver’s side and slip behind the wheel. When I look at her, I see her staring off into space. I can see she’s still struggling with everything that happened today. I want more than anything to help her relax.
“Nervous?”
She glances at me with an arched eyebrow. “How would you feel after leaving your fiancé at the altar and falling down a cliff?”
“Yeah, I guess I would be nervous too,” I chuckle. I start the engine and head toward the road.
Maybe I can’t understand what she’s going through, but I empathize entirely with her fear. I also feel guilty that, deep down, I’m happy that she didn’t get married. I feel like a terrible person, but I can’t help but feel relieved that the one woman I’ve ever loved didn’t marry another man, even if that man was once a friend of mine.
“Can we go right?” Penny asks when we reach a fork in the road. The left side is shorter, but it takes us past the church. I understand why she would rather choose the longer ride.
Without saying anything, I bear right. Penny eyes me. “Not asking why I didn’t want you to go left?”
“Couldn’t be the building with the steeple now, could it?” I grin as she laughs at me.
“Y-yes.”
“I’ve got you, Pen.”
