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“I saw you with another guy.” He pulled off the highway and onto the streets of downtown Nashville. “I think I went a little crazy.”
“You broke up with me, remember?” I pointed out in a small voice. The thought that our breakup had done that to him was astonishing. I had felt like crap for the past week, but I hadn’t lost touch with reality. Maybe he really did need cookies and tea more than I did.
“I know,” he said sadly. “But I’m hoping to make things right.”
“Do you think we’re going to get back together?” I demanded.
“Hold that thought.” He pulled into a city parking lot and found a space.
We would have to walk to our destination, but that was okay. The early evening was clear and neither of us had anywhere we had to be. I left my accusation behind as I climbed out of my vehicle. It had been weird to sit in the passenger seat but nice not to be in charge of the voyage.
We walked down the street in an awkward silence. People were everywhere. Families with little children, teenagers in groups, and young adults in their power suits streamed across the sidewalk in both directions. There were dozens of restaurants and bars packed into a three or four block area. Linc directed me to one, a sit-down Mexican place with colorful tassels strung like Christmas lights around the windows.
Inside, the air was cool and the seating arrangement spacious. This wasn’t anything like the little taco joint in Singer’s Ridge. There, the walls were white and the lighting fluorescent. Here, the lights were dimmed and there was a candle at each table.
We followed a waiter to the back of the restaurant to a booth near the kitchen. There were at least a dozen other couples and a few families scattered throughout the establishment. I slid into my seat, accepting a heavy menu. It unfolded into lists of dishes, each one advertised in fancy script. We ordered drinks and were left alone for a moment to decide.
“I want you back, Aly,” Linc said suddenly, letting his menu fall.
“What about, ‘I can’t do this?’” I threw his own words back at him.
“I was a fool,” he said. “I panicked. That night was so good, I didn’t think I deserved you.”
“What changed?” I asked.
“People in this town convinced me that I’ve got something worth giving.”
“Who?” I wondered if there had been more people offering him a sympathetic ear.
“Porter, my dad, Danny, a couple of random people at the diner.”
“You talked about our problems to a couple of random people?” I wasn’t sure if I liked that idea.
“That’s the thing.” He leaned forward, eager to share his epiphany. “They’re not random people at all. Singer’s Ridge is like a family. It’s like a big, overgrown family where everybody knows everybody else and they all look out for you. I didn’t realize it when I first came home. I mean, we all wanted to get away when we were in high school, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“So why did you stay?”
I couldn’t believe we were talking about the town when he should have been explaining how he had found the nerve to hurt me so badly. “I don’t know.”
“Come on,” he insisted. “Most people left, but you stayed.”
“Most people thought anywhere would be better than home,” I admitted.
“But you didn’t?”
“Not everybody left,” I said.
“That’s what I’m saying.” He still sounded excited, as if he had uncovered the meaning of life. “If you just open your heart to it, every single person in town gives a crap.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure everyone cares.”
“It sure seems like it,” he said, winding down. “Anyway, I realized that I don’t want to run away. There’s never going to be another place like Singer’s Ridge for me. I grew up here; people know me.” He shifted in his seat, trying to explain the unexplainable. “When I was at the grocery store feeling sorry for myself, a random customer from the lumberyard just put his hand on my shoulder. It was like we were two parts of the same whole.”
I felt a slow smile creep across my face. “I think you’re reading too much into this.”
“I don’t think so. It just feels like everyone is rooting for me for once.” He shook his head.
