Page 71

The anger inside me flickered like he’d blown on it. “So, it took you a whole two weeks to figure that out?”

“Yes. And also… it might be good for me too.”

“How’s that?”

On the screen, Jimmy Stewart, at this point an embattled banker, was running around the bank as a mob of people crowded him, demanding their money back. I wanted that too. I wanted to back out of everything. To start over.

“It’s kind of… complicated,” Will said, suddenly sounding kind of awkward. “It would make Remy happy. Plus, it might be good for her to see that I know what I’m doing, you know?”

Suddenly my chest hurt. Remy. “Will—it’s all fine and good having her see her dad go on dates. But what happens when it ends?” Even though we were talking about the end of a fake relationship—one that was still hypothetical, even—it felt crushing, somehow.

“Remy needs to see what it means to end a relationship with someone in a way that’s healthy,” Will continued. His voice was slightly strained. He wasn’t just talking about Remy and her relationship with her boyfriend or the fact that they broke up and got back together a dozen times a week. It was his divorce. It had been hell on him. So bad he’d decided he’d never try again.

“Okay,” I said, simply.

“Wait, how did this turn into me asking you?”

Laughter bubbled up inside of me, like a pressure release valve. “You’re desperate, I guess,” I said.

For a moment we both said nothing.

Now that Will had agreed, I thought I’d feel differently. Excited. Optimistic. Instead, I felt empty inside.

“So…” I said. “I guess this means we need to go on a date. Or more dates?”

“I guess.”

Then, on the other end of the line, a tinny voice echoed.“Last stop…”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Just getting off the train, about to drive home.”

I straightened, genuine alarm going through me. “You’re driving home in this?”

Outside, through the gap in my bedroom blinds, snow whirled. It had thickened.

“Hey, I grew up on these country roads, remember? Besides, I have snow tires. Chains in the trunk, too.”

“You can’t drive through a blizzard!”

“I can’t stay at the train station, Michelle,” he said, his voice soft.

A vice gripped my chest at the thought of Will getting hurt. Sliding off the road.It was just normal concern for another human being. That was all. But it didn’t feel normal. It felt like a fist gripping my heart.

“Maybe you could stay in Millerville?” I suggested, hating the way my voice sounded.

“Maybe… but Barkley Falls is only another half hour from there.”

I grimaced. The country highway was windy, especially past my place. It got kind of hilly between here and Barkley Falls, and I had to pay close attention even in good weather. I was about to beg him to think about it—there were a couple of chain hotels in Millerville, I knew—when he spoke.

“Michelle?” He sounded hesitant. I heard the sound of train brakes, the rustle of his coat. He was leaving the train, heading to his car.

“Yeah?”

“Maybe you could stay on the phone with me for a bit? I have this headset thing in the car. It would be… nice to have company on the drive.”

Then I’d know if he was okay, too.