“I’m sure it’s different than you remember. Definitely different than Atlanta.”
“That it is.” She smiles wistfully. “We have to check out all the hotspots around here soon. Maybe next weekend? We can visit my stepdad’s winery, get drunk, then have Rory drive us around town. Does he still have his taxi service?”
“The one and only taxi service in town. Although, his son is taking over when Rory retires soon, so there’s your first bit of news.”
“Tell me more.” She wiggles her eyebrows sarcastically like this is scandalous.
Laughing, I hold my hands up. “Before we get carried away, I must remind you that the Harvest Festival is next weekend. You’ve been gone so long you forgot about the event of the year?”
“I cannot believe my mistake.” Her eyes widen with mock disappointment, and her exaggerated Southern accent is adorable. It makes me want to pull her back against me in a hug and breathe in her flowery perfume.
It’s one of summer and nostalgia.
I’ve missed her.
Her face through a phone screen over the years hasn’t been enough in the slightest.
I swallow and try to steady my voice. “I definitely need to remind you of all things Sunnyville—Lulu’s Diner, Mama Bertha’s pancakes, the works. But let’s start slow and go to Willow’s for my surprise birthday barbecue.”
“You know about that?” Clara smacks my shoulder.
“As Willow’s older brother, I’ve been able to spot her bullshit from a mile away, okay? Like she really expects me to believe she needs me to come over to help organize their kitchen?”
Clara giggles into her hand.
Fuck, I’ve missed that sound.
“It’s so good to see you.” I tense as she steps up to me and smooths the collar of my white coat. “And I’m really proud of you, you know. You did it. You’re a doctor.”
She throws her arms around my neck, and I catch her by the waist.
When she pulls back, she stays close, her lips mere inches from mine. A soft smile plays across them as she asks, “Do you remember playing Operation growing up?”
“How could I forget all the times you purposely touched the edges just so you could stop playing? You were so sick of it because I wanted to play every day, and you knew I hated that buzzer noise.”
“I wasn’t sick of it, per se.”
I scoff as she steps out of my embrace. “All you wanted to do was jump rope, like my two left feet could really keep up.”
She laughs again, her shoulders bouncing up and down. I join in, and our eyes lock as we clear our throats. I hold her stare—it’s innocent.
Two friends reuniting.
We used to spend every day together.
Until she moved away for college.
And after that, across the country with her husband.
But now, she’s back, and in just a few minutes, she’s already made it seem like she never left.
My heart recognizes her.
The truth is, my heart has beat for Clara Morgan since we were kids. It stopped fully beating with every step she took down the aisle to another man.
With every mile that took her away from me.
She squeezes my arm, then walks toward the door, calling over her shoulder that she and Jacob will meet me at my sister’s for the party.
I nod, at a loss for words, as I watch the one who got away walk out the door.
Two
Clara
“Oh my God. You’re here.”
“Willow!” I squeal, feeling every bit the teenager I was when we last hung out. My wedding was so chaotic, I barely saw her. At the funeral last year, I didn’t register her or anyone else.
I run toward her, and she wheels herself along the path in her expansive backyard. We meet halfway, and I lean down to squeeze her in a tight hug, rocking sideways as we talk over each other with excitement. “How have you been? How is Zach? Tell me everything.”
We giggle as we pull back, neither of us making any sense in our hysterics.
Instinctively, I squat to meet her at eye-level, and she grips my arms. “Tell me, how are you? How is it being in Sunnyville again after all this time? Please don’t tell me you’re already bored after living it up in the city.” She smiles, her eyes wide and full of happiness.
“We’ve had plenty of excitement this week with travel and making sure I found Jacob’s water guns in one of his many boxes. He said he couldn’t come to this party without them.”
She watches Jacob with kind eyes. “He’s got a lot of spirit, that’s for sure. Gets it from his mama.” She winks at me, and her eyes frown in the corners. “How are you doing? Really doing?”
Being here, seeing her and Dax, thinking about the last couple of years—it all makes my eyes water.
It’s been tough. Ups and downs, and although I’ve been telling everyone I’m fine, I can’t hide my feelings from Willow. I’ve known her most of her life, after all—she’s like a sister to me.
I wipe at a stray tear, my emotions swirling inside me like a tornado. “It’s been hard, you know? An adjustment, but I’m making it. I have Jacob and my parents and Andrew and Izzy.”
“And Dax.”
“And Dax,” I repeat, shaking my head. Jacob ran off with “Uncle Dax” the minute we walked through the front door. Jacob almost knocked the apple pie from my hands when he jumped into Dax’s arms.
I glance over her shoulder. Dax and Jacob are chasing each other with water guns, using people as shields. It’s a sunny, warm day in the middle of August—I knew Dax wouldn’t be able to resist playing with Jacob and his water guns. Even though we’re now in our thirties, some things never change.
I turn my attention back to Willow, who’s watching me curiously. Shaking the gleam from her eyes when Zach stands behind her, a hand on her shoulder, she says, “And us. You have Zach and me too, if you
