“Finn is rubbing off on you,” I state.
“That’s what I say, but he says I was dirty-minded before him, and he just brings it out of me.”
I laugh and nod, even though she can’t see me. “I bet he’s right. You closet freak,” I tease.
“Hey now! This closet freak is helping you out.”
“Who’s a closet freak?” I hear Finn’s voice in the background. Abbie mumbles something I can’t make out. She probably covered the mouthpiece on the phone.
“Go get freaky with your man,” I tell her, ready to hang up.
“Okay, but think about what I told you.”
“Thanks, Abbie.” I hang up, replaying my coffee date with Easton. Date? Could I call it that? It was casual, two old friends—exes?—catching up. What I am certain of is that the same butterflies he used to awaken in me have been going off in my stomach since I saw him.
Today, Easton confessed he still thinks about me. Am I willing to make the same confession to him? Because he’s the face I’ve always seen when I imagined my future, no matter how impossible it seemed.
Easton
Fuck yes. I am singing along to one of Knox’s songs on the radio, high-fiving myself for asking Faith out. She may not have said yes explicitly, but she will. Sitting across from her today was heaven. I always wondered what her life had become. If she had forgotten about me, the boy who sped too fast down dirt roads, fixed up old bikes, and stole her heart.
This past year has been hard. Everything was a mess after my dad died. I always wished he had come back to Everton before he passed. I tried to convince him to visit when we learned about his illness, but he refused, saying he wanted to stay close to home just in case.
A few days before he passed, I went by their house to see how he was doing. My dad was lying in bed with his eyes closed, so I sat in the chair next to him, thinking he was asleep.
He surprised me when he started speaking about regrets in life. That day he made me promise to live my life without any regrets, go after the life I want, the girl, the job, anything. He said he wished he would’ve listened to me and gone to Everton one last time.
Something snapped inside of me when he closed his eyes one final time and took his last breath. I guess it’s true what they say about seeing your life in a different way when you’re lying on your death bed.
Taking my dad’s advice, I looked for jobs in Everton, surprised there was an opening at Town Hall. The only thing that stopped me was leaving my mom alone. Despite the times I told her to come with me, she refused to leave her job.
“It keeps me going, Easton,” she said. “It’s only fair for you to chase your dreams like I did and like your sister is doing.”
So with her blessing, I called Mr. Powell and applied for the position, obviously more than qualified since I was one of the candidates for Junior Partner at my firm.
I’ve only been here a few days, but the guilt of leaving my mom sometimes gets to me. I call her often, to the point she’d told me to stop calling and interrupting her classes.
My dad was her whole world. With him gone, me back in Everton, and my sister, Allyson, helping her company start up their new office in Spain, I don’t want my mom to feel alone.
What a way to turn my good mood into a downer. Shaking away thoughts of grief and guilt, I drive up the road that leads to the ranch and park my car.
“Where were you?” Camden asks as soon as I walk into the house.
“I went to church and to visit this old barn I used to love. Faith was there, and we went for coffee and talked.”
“Ah, I should’ve guessed.” He smiles and shakes his head. “Did you bring me coffee?” Camden raises an eyebrow.
“No, you were too busy sleeping to come with me.”
“You know I’m not much of a church guy. I thought I would’ve woken up earlier with the time difference, but I was out.” He scratches the side of his head. “How about I jump in the shower, and we have lunch?”
“Sounds good.” I sit on the couch and lift a leg onto the cardboard box in front of it. I really need to finish furnishing this place. Fortunately, I bought the basics when I got here, starting with beds and a sofa. The rest has been slow-going.
I grab my phone and search through social media. I left some friends in Virginia, but Camden is the only one I’m really close to. As I scroll, I see a picture of my sister in some huge park in Madrid. She’s been having a great time in Spain, and sometimes I wonder if she’ll move back or make her temporary overseas job permanent.
I drop a quick comment on her picture and keep scrolling. I need to buy a TV as soon as possible. Stores are closed today, but tomorrow I’ll make it a point to start shopping for furniture and a new truck—time to trade in the Porsche for a heavy-duty Ford.
“Where should we eat?” Camden walks into the living room, running a hand through his wet hair.
“Uh… Wanna dry your hair first? It’s like sixteen degrees outside with a windchill of like negative a thousand.”
“Nah, I’m good, man. Not afraid of a little cold.” He puts on his coat and lifts his eyebrows, waiting for me to stand.
“Okay…” I shrug and smirk. There’s only one way to learn about northern Wyoming’s weather—experience it for yourself.
As soon as we step outside, Camden curses and zips up his coat.
“I thought you weren’t afraid of a little cold,” I mock, unlocking my car with the key fob so he can jump in and complain some more.
“Shut up.” Camden places his hands over the vent as soon as I start the car and the heater turns on.
I chuckle and pull out of the long driveway, back toward the center of town where I just came from.
“How did it go with Faith? She’s hot, man.”
“Watch it,” I warn, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.
“Hey,” he lifts his hands. “I’m just stating a fact. No worries, I’m not going after your woman.”
“She’s gorgeous, perfect. I wasn’t sure what it would be like to see her again, but it felt like we were right back in the same place before I moved.”
“She’s single then, I take it.”
I nod, focusing on the road. “Yup. I asked her out, so I’m hoping to have dinner with her after you leave.”
“Good for you. I don’t need you getting drunk again and crying about this woman.” Camden laughs.
“If I weren’t driving right now, I’d punch you. That happened one time in college.”
“And it will live on forever in my memories.”
“You’re an ass,” I deadpan.
It was my twenty-first birthday, and I got piss drunk. Suddenly, I started talking about Faith, how I missed her and babbling some other stuff. God knows what I said, but Camden was there to witness it. He reminds me about it every so often, but now that he’s met Faith, I have a feeling it will become a recurring thing.
I park the car a block away from Cowboy’s Place, a diner I used to love coming to when I was a kid. Camden mumbles something about the cold and lifts the collar on his coat to block the wind from his neck. I chuckle, knowing he’d freeze his ass off, and lead the way to the diner.