Page 94 of All I Want is You this Christmas Final

“What did you do?”

“Jared’s had a letter from Ian in his drawer for two years.”

“Whoa, wait. This sounds intense. I’m going to need coffee. Want some?”

“Sure, thanks.”

“Vance? You want coffee?” Olive yelled loudly.

“Yes. Hi, Anna Beth,” he hollered back.

“Hi, Vance. Your friend is making me nuts.”

“Okay.”

Anna Beth shook her head as she trailed behind Olive into the kitchen. “I just couldn’t believe it, you know? I sat there, wondering what they’d been saying, how long were they corresponding...I guess, I lost my mind a little.”

“What did it say?”

“To help me when I came back to Snowy Springs in any way he could.”

Olive snickered as she pressed the button on the one cup coffee machine. “I bet he didn’t mean to help you out in bed.”

“Can we not joke about this? I haven’t even gotten to the craziest part.”

“Go on.”

“There was another letter for me with Jared’s. It wasn’t opened, so I know he didn’t read it, but it was basically Ian giving me his blessing to be with Jared.”

Olive clapped her hands, stalling when Anna Beth grimaced. “That’s good, right? I know you were a little nervous about moving on and I know you loved Ian, but you can love more than one person.”

“That’s what Ian said. He thought my falling out with Jared had to do with him and that I’d always loved Jared.”

“Whoa, that is some heavy intuition.”

“But it’s not…”

“Don’t lie to yourself. You love-loved Jared since we were kids. It might not have been fully fleshed out, but can you say you didn’t have feelings for him?”

“No, I can’t,” Anna Beth grudgingly admitted.

“So, you found letters, you read them, and then…”

“I went off on him for keeping secrets and told him I needed time to process.”

“Wait, you pulled a Jared?”

Anna Beth made a face. “Shut up.”

“Ian sending a letter and Jared hanging onto it doesn’t seem so bad.”

“I think I may have been running on some pretty heavy emotions, since we’d just slept together.”

“Girl, you let him sneak in them jeans and you didn’t tell me!” Olive squealed.

Anna Beth’s cheeks burned. “Because I found the letter right after. God, Olive, it was so bad. He drove me home in complete silence.”

“So, you acted like a douche. Just tell him you’re sorry, give him a happy, and all good.”