AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dillon shrugged. “If you want to wait, I can help.”
“We’ll be fine.” Macy stood up and kissed him on the top of his head, clearing away the dishes.
I spent my last night in the laundry room, staring up at the ceiling, too excited to sleep. I texted Mike when it became apparent that I would be lying awake all night. He texted back immediately.
Thinking about the cabin, I texted.
Do you have a TV? he wrote.
Yes. A small one.
Do you have any lamps?
Maybe. I don’t remember, I answered.
We went back and forth about our day, about how we were going to organize things in the cabin, and about our jobs. I told him Lindsey was picking out China patterns already. He sent back three laughing emojis and one heart.
I was finally able to sleep, hugging my phone to my chest. By tomorrow, I would be able to cross the hall if I wanted to talk to him. We could lie in bed together and let our thoughts wander. We could make love anytime we felt like it. It made me nervous to be moving this fast, but it also felt right. I had been down in the dumps in Austin for too long, emotionally. This could be just what I needed.
Icouldn’t wait to get up and going the next day. Macy barely had time to feed the kids breakfast before I was jumping on her to get going. I hadn’t felt right for the past few days, and my stomach protested all the movement. I had taken it easy on breakfast, but there was still something sour down south. I wondered if it was the stress of the move or if maybe I was coming down with something. I didn’t want the kids to get sick, so I kept my distance except when they hugged me goodbye.
Climbing into the car with Macy, I winced.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“My stomach isn’t happy,” I said, rubbing it above the seat belt.
“Too much excitement?” Macy asked.
“I think so,” I agreed.
“Let’s get moving. I want to be home by lunch.” Macy shifted into gear, and the car chugged down the hill toward the road.
“Am I doing the right thing?” I asked suddenly.
Macy put her foot on the brake, just about to emerge from the trees. “Should I turn around?”
“No,” I said quickly, “keep going. I said I would share the cabin, and I will. At least for now. I think I’m just scared.”
“That makes sense.” Macy nodded. “I don’t know how much you know about how Dillon and I met, but it was under less-than-ideal circumstances.”
“Oh?” I asked. I knew nothing about their relationship, other than that they were happy together. I had always thought it had been something romantic like a secret cruise or spur-of-the-moment vacation that had taken them off the grid for several months.
“We had to share our cabin before we even knew each other,” she said. “And it was hard. I admit, I got angry sometimes.”
“At Dillon?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine anyone getting angry at him. He didn’t do much or say much beyond providing support to his family.
“Well, I didn’t know him then,” she repeated.
“So, you’re saying I should do it?” I guessed.
“I’m saying I understand that it’s scary. You don’t have to do it, but if you want to try it out for a couple weeks, you can always use us as an excuse if it doesn’t work out.” Macy pulled onto the highway, headed for Nashville where we could rent a U-Haul.
“I really like Mike,” I said dreamily. I couldn’t help it—just his name on my lips made me feel all warm inside. “But I thought I liked Greg when I moved in with him, and that ended disastrously.”
“Greg is not the same as Mike,” Macy said firmly.
I sat back in my seat, thinking about Mike’s expert caresses and Greg’s sweaty palms. They certainly weren’t the same. And Macy was right—I could always go back to couch surfing if it didn’t work out. Or Mike had suggested staying until I found my own place, if that was what I wanted. It seemed like there were enough possibilities that I wasn’t boxing myself in. But if that was the case, why did my stomach still seem so fragile?
