Page 24 of Friends are Forever (Teton Mountain #6)

T wo days later, Reva sat behind the wheel of her SUV in the Moose Chapel parking lot, fingers curled around the steering wheel. The evening air was crisp, her breath ghosting lightly on the windshield as she exhaled. She hadn’t even turned on the engine.

Inside the church, the folding chairs were already stacked, the coffee urn scrubbed clean, the faint echoes of murmured prayers and clinking mugs still fresh in her mind. Tonight’s AA meeting had been different. Raw. She had stood and said words she hadn’t uttered in years—not even to Kellen.

“I made a big decision that is going to affect me and those I love in profound ways. I’m scared. Not that I made the wrong decision, but that I’m not strong enough for what comes next. And I can’t fix this by working harder, planning better, or pretending I’m more resilient than I am.”

The room had nodded with a kind of sacred understanding, but now that she was alone, the vulnerability pressed heavier on her chest than any mountain.

Her phone buzzed against the console.

A group text.

Lila: “Rustic Pine. Tonight.”

Capri: “No arguments, Nygard. We know you’re busy. But it’s been nearly three weeks.”

Charlie Grace: “We’re ordering your favorite burger. So, no excuses.”

A laugh—sharp and unexpected—bubbled out of Reva’s throat.

Guilty as charged. She had been a bit distant since returning from Georgia, and on purpose.

No one knew her better, and she simply wasn’t ready to risk having to tell them.

Not yet. But leave it to her girlfriends to know when she needed some fun.

She wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket and put the car into gear.

The Rustic Pine’s weathered sign swung lightly in the breeze as Reva pulled into a vacant parking spot.

Through the wide front windows, she spotted them immediately—her girls—huddled in their favorite corner booth.

A candle flickered between them, catching the glint of Capri’s earrings and Charlie Grace's tumbling curls.

Reva hesitated on the sidewalk, suddenly unsure if she could handle this tonight—the looks in their eyes, the tenderness she wasn’t sure she deserved. But then Lila caught her gaze through the window, smiled softly, and mouthed, “Come on.”

Taking a deep breath, she exited her vehicle and made her way to the entrance.

She pushed through the door, the warm rush of old wood and laughter enveloping her like a blanket. Annie Cumberland stopped polishing some glasses and waved from behind the bar. Someone—probably Nicola Cavendish—was butchering karaoke in the back room. All of it so achingly familiar.

“Hey, stranger,” Capri called, sliding over to make room.

Charlie Grace patted the chair beside her. “Look at you, showing up late and still scoring the best seat.”

Reva sank into the offered seat, the weight of their welcome undoing something brittle inside her. Before she could say a word, Lila reached across the table and set a thick, dripping cheeseburger in front of her, complete with onion rings stacked like a crown.

“We’ve missed you,” Lila said simply.

Reva picked up the burger with shaky hands and took a bite, the smoky flavor exploding across her tongue. Goodness, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

They let her eat in peace, chatting about everything and nothing—like Nicola Cavendish’s latest mishap when her Yorkie helped herself to the dessert table at the library luncheon, Bodhi West’s latest rafting mishap, the Knit Wit ladies scheming to get Fleet Southcott a retirement party he swore he didn’t want.

But eventually, the conversation circled back, like a river curving toward the sea, inevitable. They sat in companionable silence for several seconds before Charlie Grace cupped her hand around her beer mug and leaned forward. “When were you going to tell us?”

Reva blinked, caught off guard.

How did they already know?

Reva swallowed, wiped her mouth, and set the burger down. “I wasn’t sure. I guess...I was hoping the decision would somehow make itself.”

Capri arched an eyebrow. “And here I thought you were allergic to indecision.”

That pulled a nervous chuckle from Reva. She looked around at their faces, all so dear, so deeply etched into the story of her life. How could she find the words?

“We know something is up with you.” Lila glanced between the others for confirmation. “We can tell.”

“And it’s more than your Grand Memaw…or needing to replace Fleet,” suggested Charlie Grace. “Are we right?”

Reva pressed her palms against the table to steady herself.

“Kellen and I are moving to Georgia,” she said finally. “Lucan needs deep family roots—the kind I was grounded in. And my Grand Memaw left me Sunnyside Acres.” Her voice cracked. “She trusted me to carry our family’s heritage forward.”

For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of Reva’s news settled over them, heavy and sharp. Charlie Grace was the first to move, reaching across the table to squeeze Reva’s hand, her eyes glassy with emotion.

Lila swallowed hard and offered a tremulous smile. “If it’s what you have to do, we’ll stand behind you. Every step.”

Capri, usually the boldest, leaned back in her chair, blinking fast. “We’re losing a piece of us,” she said quietly. “But we’re not losing you. Don’t you ever think that.”

Around the table, heads nodded. The bond between them might stretch across states, but it wouldn’t break.

“Thunder Mountain without you?” Capri added, her voice unusually soft. “That’s like a river with no water.”

Lila blinked fast, trying and failing to keep the tears at bay. “You’re this town’s anchor, Reva. And ours. Always have been.”

Reva rubbed her temple. “I’m not sure I even know how to leave. I don’t know who I am without…this.”

Charlie Grace smiled through her tears. “You’re still you. You’re simply planting new seeds somewhere else.”

“And anyway,” Capri added, tossing a cocktail napkin at her. “Don’t think for a second you’re escaping us. We’ll show up in Georgia uninvited with casseroles and lawn chairs if we have to.”

Reva laughed, the sound rich and a little wobbly.

Annie dropped off a tray of milkshakes without asking, her slight smile threaded with compassion. “On the house,” she said before retreating to the table next to them.

“You know what this means,” Capri said, leaning in conspiratorially. “You’re getting a going-away party whether you want it or not.”

“Biggest shindig since Verna Billingsley’s ill-advised llama festival,” Charlie Grace added.

Reva shook her head, but her heart soaked it in—all of it.

“Life pulls us in different directions,” Lila said with a soft smile. “But love...love keeps the roots alive no matter how far you go.”

The words found a place deep inside Reva’s chest, settling there like an ember catching flame.

Later, after the milkshakes were drained and the last of the fries had been picked at, they lingered in the parking lot under a sky smeared with stars.

The wind stirred Reva’s hair, carrying the sharp sweetness of evening. She tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, reluctant to end the night.

Capri slung an arm around her shoulders. “You’re not losing us,” she said fiercely. “We’re stitched into your story. Permanently.”

Charlie Grace held up her phone. “Group text stays active. No excuses. Weekly updates. Pictures mandatory.”

“And Zoom calls,” added Lila.

“With margaritas in hand,” Capri offered. “And lemonade for you.”

They laughed, they cried, they promised.

And Reva, standing under the faded glow of the streetlamp with her forever friends beside her, realized something true.

Distance changes a lot of things—routines, conversations, the small, easy moments you take for granted. But real friendship—the kind built from years of laughter, heartache, and everything in between—doesn’t unravel just because the map says you’re far apart.

That kind of friendship just stretches...and somehow, it holds.

At least she hoped so.