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Nick sighed. “Like a thousand dollars.”
“Holy shit,” Winnie said. “Let me know when the next one is. I need to be in on this.”
“No,” Nick deadpanned.
“I wasn’t asking you, asshole.”
“Winnie,” Stella said, rubbing her forehead. “Can we try not to start a fight?”
“I’ve been in Nick’s place for hours. I’m due for one.”
“You could just leave,” he said.
“But then I don’t get to see your face when I insult you.” She put her hand to her chest in mock sincerity. “It’s Christmas, Nick. Let me have something good.”
Nick glared in response.
“They’re insufferable,” I muttered to Stella.
“Literally. At least we weren’t this bad.”
“Hey,” Nick interrupted. “I had to deal with Alden’s longing looks at Stella. I deserve to be annoying for a bit.”
“You’re always annoying,” Winnie added.
“Can you just be nice for five seconds?”
They devolved into squabbling, and I finally turned to Stella, gauging her reaction to all of this. She watched her brother and best friend as if they were a bomb a second away from going off, but she didn’t look as worried as I felt when we finally told Nick.
It would take time for him and me to fully move past everything that happened, but we were on the right track. Our group was finally back together—as it should be.
We would be okay.
More than okay.
Perfect.
EPILOGUE
Redwood Falls was beautiful.The front of it was adorned with a baseball field and playgrounds, but I was heading farther in.
I’d never been on a hike. Reed had tried to get me to go, but he approached it purely from a workout standpoint and wanted to find the hardest climbs. I wanted to enjoy it for nature, and thankfully, my new, perfectly amazing boyfriend agreed with me.
Tennessee’s normal mild winter returned in January. We waited until a warmer mid-fifties day to meet up at the park. I was nervous but willing to give it one shot, even if I only found a few good spots for photography.
Alden was waiting for me at the front of his chosen trail. He looked good today in his jeans and ranger button-up shirt. The hat, especially, did something for me.
“Hey, babe,” I said as I locked my car. “Ready to kill me?”
“This won’t be that bad,” he said with a smile. “I’m not trying to make you hate this.”
“You’re getting back at me for the curry still.”
His smile fell. “You made that way too spicy.”
“I didn’t know you were a baby about spice.”
Alden rolled his eyes. “Or you have way too high of a tolerance. Now, come on. Let’s start this before you chicken out.”