Page 36 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

WREN

RWL Superfan Discussion Central

Jamie McCullough : When are Jude and Wren gonna get back togetherrrrr? I’m so done with the love triangle.

Comments:

Neve Bullock : So ready to see Jude and Wren again. How it should be!

Alicia Parrish : Honestly, she should dump Henry so I can have him.

Kerry Winsor : She’s really happy with Henry, guys. And he’s a super sweet guy! Besides, aren’t we all watching for the library?

Jamie McCullough : Nope.

Alicia Parrish : HA. Not at all.

Kerry Winsor : But Wren’s whole thing is her work? The romance is fun but she’s changing our community for the better! Isn’t that important???

Henry

I’ll be out of town this weekend. I’m sorry, but I need to go visit my mom. She wants updates on the show and how all this happened.

When I got Henry’s text, I tried my best to remember all of the things he’d told me about his mom. The main one was that she didn’t understand him. So when he said he was visiting her because of the show, alarm bells rang in my mind.

When are you leaving?

Eight on Saturday morning. I’ll be back by five on Sunday evening.

It was great that he was so detailed because it made my job easier.

I got to Henry’s house at seven fifty-five on Saturday and leaned against his Honda.

Four minutes later, he was coming out the door and jumped when he saw me. “Wren? What are you doing here? I said I was leaving this Saturday, right?”

“You did. I’m going with you.”

“What?”

“Do you need me to repeat it?”

“Why would you ... You’re resting from the show.”

“And I can rest at your mom’s.”

He shook his head. “That’s not how she works. She’ll be incessant with the questions, loud too.”

That only hardened my resolve. “Sounds like your worst nightmare. You’ll need backup.”

“Wren, this isn’t a good idea.”

I straightened. I hated it when he said that. All I could do was rush to prove him wrong. “I figured the fake dating applied to your mom too. If she’s seen the show, then she knows. And I still owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“But I do. And I’ll find more ways to help you. This is included.” I gestured to his car. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but I rushed to stop him. “And if you boss me around right now, I’ll use the safe word.”

“That’s for sex.”

“And this very moment.” I pointed at him. “Don’t try me.”

“Wren,” he said firmly. “I’m staying the night.”

I held up my bag. “That’s why I have this.”

“We would be sharing a bed. You coming with me would feel ... intimate.”

“There’s a floor.” I shrugged as if it were nothing. I’d planned for this too, but having to actually offer was making me struggle with disappointment. I wanted to share a bed with him more than anything, but I knew he didn’t want things to get complicated, and I had to respect that.

“You have this all thought out, don’t you?”

“I do. You haven’t talked about your mom much, but what you have said tells me this might be a hard weekend. Let me help.”

Henry stared at me for a long time, and I was preparing myself to have to keep arguing with him to do this.

Instead, he walked over to the passenger side and opened the door.

“Help would be nice. Get in.”

“Yay!” I ran to get into his car before he could change his mind, throwing my bag in the back seat.

“So, tell me about your mom,” I said as he got in the driver’s side. “I barely know anything about her other than she doesn’t get you. And that she’s loud.”

“She can’t help it. She’s partially deaf in both ears.”

I blinked. “Oh, does she know sign or anything?”

“No, she’s determined that she doesn’t need it. She has hearing aids, but she doesn’t realize how loud she can be at times. And when I tell her to quiet down, then she can’t hear anything herself. I mostly deal with it.”

“Not this weekend.” I reached into my pocket. “Earplugs. Just for you.”

“That’s sweet, but I’ll survive.”

“Why survive when you can live? And these are blue! Like the hydrangeas you gave me.”

He glanced over at them. “I’ll try them,” he said. “But it might not work.”

“Then I’ll figure something else out.”

Henry let out a chuckle before putting a hand on the back of my seat to reverse out of the driveway. I watched him, eyes trailing over his face before I tore them away.

“So, where are we heading?” I asked.

“Knoxville,” he replied. “It’s where I’m from.”

“I haven’t been there in a while. There are a few suppliers based out of there, though.”

“It’s a nice town. Just ... a lot over time.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“Yeah. I could have made it work, but small-town life is for me.”

“I can see why.” We drove through the square. How many hours had I looked out the windows of the library and admired the town for how cute it was? “I really can.”

“But you love Nashville?” he asked.

A few months ago, my answer would have been yes. In a way, it still was. But I hadn’t missed it since coming here. When I thought about it, life there seemed fine .

Life here was ... warmer, somehow.

“Wren?” Henry asked.

“S-sorry.” I shook myself out of my thoughts. “I do love Nashville. And I have a huge renovation coming up. It’s an old house. I’m going back to my roots.”

“Are you excited?”

“Very. The owners seemed to want a complete gut job when I did the consultation on the phone, and that’ll keep me busy.”

“And after?”

I had barely thought about after. “I’ll be visiting when Mollie has her baby. I can’t let them go without knowing their aunt. And you and I could go to the diner!”

“We’ll make a habit of it,” he said. Henry’s voice was soft, and I wondered if he dreaded the idea of me leaving.

Or if he would miss me at all.

But I couldn’t think about it. Not when he was already heading to a difficult weekend.

“Can I go through your CDs?” I asked. “We need some road trip music.”

“They’re all yours. But please don’t pick the Metallica one. I’m not in the mood for my mother’s favorite band.”

“Noted,” I said as I went through them. I went for one of the newer Lila Wilde CDs. Once I put it in, I looked at the rolling nature out my window and tried to ignore the excitement at being able to see more of Henry.

The open country roads turned into the highway about halfway through the drive and then buildings started popping up. Before I knew it, we were in the city again.

Knoxville was smaller than Nashville, but still had traffic. Henry was a safe driver, though I could see him get antsy as more people were around.

We pulled into a small house on a hill. There was one blue car in the driveway and roses blooming in front of the door.

Henry took a breath. “Here we go.”

“Put these in.”

“I’ll be?—”

“Nope. These will help. You got tense when we hit the city. So don’t add to it.”

Henry slowly took the earplugs and put them in. I tried and failed not to feel proud of myself as we got out.

“There you are!” a voice yelled as the door opened. “We have so much to catch up on, Henry. To think you’ve been on actual TV and I didn’t?—”

A woman with graying brown hair and thick glasses froze when she saw me. She was nowhere near Henry’s or my height, but she had his same facial structure.

“You brought her! I thought you said she was busy!”

“I thought so too,” Henry said. His voice was louder than usual, yet still soft in comparison. “But she rearranged her schedule.”

“Wow.” Henry’s mom walked close, appraising me. The hairs on my arms stood. “You are something. Very different than the woman I imagined he’d bring home!”

And there it was. I was used to it, but it stung each time.

“Mom.” Henry’s voice was flat. “I like her the way she is.”

“It’s not a bad thing! I just expected someone who likes books and is as quiet as he is. You’re still incredible.” She held out a hand. “I’m Colleen Connor.”

“Wren,” I replied as I shook it.

“Now that’s a handshake your dad would have loved,” Colleen said.

“I thought the same thing,” Henry agreed.

“Come in, come in!” She waved us both in the door. “I’m so excited you’re here!”

Henry followed me in, and I tried to observe how he was doing. With his hands in his pockets, he seemed to be doing what he always did.

The tension line in his shoulders wasn’t completely gone, but it was far better than it could have been. He hadn’t been kidding. His mom’s base volume was a yell. I wasn’t sure how he would have fared if I hadn’t stepped in.

Colleen’s house was homey. There was a simple love seat on one wall with a TV and a dining room table set for two people. Despite the small furniture, it felt full. Everything was older, looking like it came out of a nineties magazine, but just like the farmhouse, it was warm.

I’d always been inspired by charm, but usually I would say this needed work. Instead, I felt like it was exactly what it should be.

Maybe my definition of charm was changing.

Colleen turned to Henry, mouth open as if she was about to say something, but then she zeroed in on him.

“What are those things in your ears? Please tell me you don’t need hearing aids already!”

Now Henry tensed. “N-no, Mom, they’re not hearing aids.”

“They’re a gift from me,” I said. “Earplugs, so he doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

“Plugs? Can you even hear?” Her voice grew louder, and Henry blinked against it.

“Yeah. I can still hear pretty much everything. Just not as intensely.”

Colleen hummed. “Weird.”

“They’ll help him have a better time staying over,” I said. “Isn’t the quality time what matters?”

She hummed as she considered it. “You’re right. He’s always leaving early. Maybe these will help. Ear plugs . Who would’a thought?” She shrugged, accepting my explanation easily enough.

“I can take them out if they bother you,” Henry said.

“No,” I hissed. “If they help, we use them. Just like glasses.”

“Wren—”

“She’s got your best interests in mind, huh?” Colleen laughed. “Don’t take them out if they help. I’m just trying to wrap my old head around it.”

I rubbed Henry’s back. “Don’t make it worse just so other people are comfortable.”

“I’m trying,” he said. “This is all new to me.”

“You’re doing great.”