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“I’ll do it, if that’s what it takes. That way you don’t have to be brave – you’d have no other choice.”

“Are you saying…?”

He chuckled. “No. I’m not. But if you look at it from that perspective – you’d do it if you had no other choice. So, why not do it because you want to?”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am – go on, get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Doug.”

“You’re welcome. I just don’t want to see you waste your life. It seems to me that you have a chance at real happiness. When those chances come along, you should grab them with both hands.”

Everly pondered his words as she drove home. He was right; she did have a chance at real happiness. She knew that in her heart. So, why wasn’t she jumping at it?

Because of Ashton? Because she didn’t want to disrupt his whole world in case her relationship with Tanner didn’t work out? That took her back to what Cash had said – was it better to keep him in a small, safe life, than to take a chance on giving him an amazing life?

She glanced at the screen when her phone rang and answered when she saw that it was her mom.

“Hi, Mom. How are you? How are things going?”

“I’m fine. Joe’s doing better. Although, his dad seems to be going downhill.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a horrible thing to say, but it might be for the best. It doesn’t sound like his dad has been in touch with reality for a while, but he understands that his wife died, and he’s not taking it well. He has no quality of life…” Her mom sighed. “Anyway, I didn’t call to talk about that. I want to hear how you’re doing. I didn’t know if I’d catch you; I thought you might still be at work.”

“I’m on the way home. It was quiet tonight, so Doug let me finish early.”

“You fell on your feet when you got that job. Doug’s a good guy.”

“He is. He’s always been good to me.” Everly was tempted to tell her mom about the conversation she’d had with him, but she’d be home in a few minutes, and talking to her mom about it would take a while.

“And how’s our little man doing with Tanner?”

She laughed. “They’re doing great. It’s so cute to see them together, Mom. It’s like watching them fall in love with each other.”

Her mom was quiet for a few moments before she asked, “And what about you, sweetie? Are you falling in love with him, too?”

Everly felt as though she should maybe take more time before she admitted it, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I’ve already fallen, Mom. He’s… everything.”

“Aww. I’m happy for you, Everly. I talked to your dad – he says he’s a great guy.”

“He is.”

“You know it begs the question, though, don’t you?”

“What question?”

“How will you make it work?”

“I think there’s only one way we can make it work.”

She was surprised to hear the smile in her mom’s voice when she spoke again. “I think so, too. You need to move up there.”

“But how?”

Her mom laughed. “By the sounds of it, you can just hop on a jet and go.”