Page 55 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

Tammy scoffed. “To talk some sense into you. Obviously you need it after what that demon spawn of a woman said.”

“She’s wrong,” Henry said near my ear. “She’s so wrong.”

“I—she’s not, though. I’ve completely messed up your schedule. You’ve pushed yourself too far for me, and I’m not worth that.” Henry’s arms tightened at my words.

“Wren—” he began, but I wasn’t done.

“Tammy also has her daughter back! She doesn’t need me anymore.

Neither of you need me.” Henry pulled away, his eyes as wide as Tammy’s.

Neither of them knew what to say, so I continued.

“Over time, you’ll forget me.” My throat felt tight as I said the words, but I had to get them out. “Go back home, I’ll be fine.”

“That is the biggest pile of bullshit I’ve ever heard in my life.” The words sounded like they were from Tammy, but they were from Henry .

Now it was my turn to be shocked. “But?—”

“Wren.” His hands were tight on my shoulders. “I know your mother played on your fears, and I know it brought back thoughts you used to have, but you have to know deep down that this isn’t true.”

It was hard not to believe him when he was in front of me. Here he was, in Nashville with Tammy. They’d driven three hours after I left. They hadn’t forgotten about me at all.

“I want to,” I struggled to say, but emotions were bubbling up.

Ones I couldn’t ignore. “But I can’t do this again.

I can’t care about someone and have them leave me when they’re done.

And I care about you both . Too much. If I stayed and then you were done with me, I don’t know if I could handle it. ”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Henry said.

“But I messed you up. So many times. I’m not for you. You deserve someone who’s more feminine, who’s willing to?—”

“Be what your mother wants?” he asked. “That’s not what I want, Wren.”

“You’re perfect the way you are.” Tammy’s voice was softer than I’d ever heard it. “I’ll tell you that every day if you come home.”

“But you have Kelsey now, you don’t need?—”

“It’s not you or her. Besides, she came back to meet you.”

“Why would she wanna meet me?”

“Wren,” Henry added. “Who wouldn’t? You brought back the library?—”

“I’m not worth it,” I said desperately. “Guys, if I wasn’t worth it to my own mother, then why would you care?”

“She said you weren’t ...” Henry’s eyes were wide.

“What the hell did she mean by that?”

“I don’t know, that I wasn’t worth her trying? That I wasn’t worth anything? At this point, it all feels the same. And I must have done this somehow. She wanted me at one point, and then she didn’t.”

“Wren,” Tammy said, getting into my line of sight. “When we talked outside of the library, I told you what I thought of her. What did I say?”

I closed my eyes and thought back to it. “You said it was ... her problem.”

“And it’s her problem now,” she said. “She’s the unfit parent. You’re not unfit to be loved.”

I knew that. I did. But I was so scared . Scared of feeling like I had when she said all of this to me. Scared of being someone’s regret. Scared of giving it my all and it not being enough.

“Wren. Are you happy being back?” he asked. “If you need space, say the word and we’ll leave.”

“I didn’t agree to that,” Tammy said.

“But if it’s what she wants, she can have it.”

That was the Henry I knew. His voice was finally back. Was he okay?

I needed to know what had happened. I needed to know how he felt about all of this.

Tammy looked at me. “Is that what you need? Do you need time to think?”

I’d had time to think, and the whole time, I was thinking of them. What Mom had said shook me to my core. It made me rethink everything I’d grown out of.

And I’d run.

They’d followed.

“I . . . don’t want space.”

“Thank God,” Tammy said.

Even Henry’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Okay,” he replied. “I’ll stay here with you until you’re done with what you’re working on.”

“What? No. You have things to do.”

“My choice, remember? I know your mom didn’t choose you, but we do. And we will.”

“Why?”

“It’s what you do when you love someone.”

“Real love,” Tammy added. “Not whatever the hell your mother says she does.”

My body was warm, something I didn’t think was possible with how awful things had been.

“You don’t need to stay,” I began.

“Wren, let me help.” The tension was back in his voice, and I rushed to explain what had happened.

“You don’t need to stay because I canceled my project.”

Both of their eyes widened.

“But you said you were excited to work on it.”

“I was ... a while ago. But today I went to see a house that I could have easily turned into something different. But they didn’t want that ... and neither did I. I thought I could fix something and feel like myself. Now I just wanna be home.”

“Sounds like you did the right thing,” Henry said softly. “And we’ll get you home.”

“And to be clear, you’re stuck with us.” Tammy pointed at me. “If you run off again, we will find you.”

“I think I’ve learned my lesson.” And I had. I’d left to try to protect myself, but I didn’t need protection. I had everything I needed back in Strawberry Springs.

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