Page 55 of Moonlight & Matrimony (Oak Ridge #2)

Luca

? Beautiful Things - Benson Boone

W e pull up to the airport drop off area, Rylin asleep in the backseat of my truck, cocooned in her unicorn blanket. Ivy reaches for the door, not sparing me a glance. It’s been three days since I made love to Ivy, and two days since she decided to leave me.

I’m not sure why her revelation took me by surprise.

After all, I’ve known for a long time that everyone leaves, eventually.

I always knew I could never be enough to make her stay, no matter how much I willed it.

Oak Ridge is irreparably tainted by the monumental grief of her past, and for that reason, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her to stay.

Instead, I offered to drive her to the airport, though the words tasted like acid on my tongue.

Hanging my head, hands clutching the steering wheel, I steel myself before stepping out of the truck. The lead in my boots keeps me rooted to the spot, begging me to ask her to stay. Shaking myself out of the fog, I round the truck to set up the stroller for Rylin.

“Here, let me,” I say, nudging Ivy out of the open passenger door to carefully scoop Rylin into my arms. Stroking a hand over her curls, I hold her tight to my chest for a moment, soaking in the warmth of her sleeping form and doing everything in my power to keep the tears at bay.

I didn’t cry when Ivy told me she wanted to leave.

I didn’t cry when I loaded their bags into the truck.

Not even when we pulled up to the airport. But this… this might break me.

Once she’s settled in her stroller, I tuck the blanket around her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead as I struggle to keep my emotions from spilling over. I can’t imagine living without them. The hollowness in Ivy’s eyes breaks me. “Don’t go,” I plead.

She doesn’t respond, but I can see the tears gathered along her lashes as she steps closer, wrapping her arms around my waist. I lean my head down, inhaling her familiar scent, but she’s gone before I can commit her to memory.

“Luca, I can’t…” Her words trail off as she clings to the handle of Rylin’s rainbow suitcase.

Her face is streaked with mascara and her posture slumped in resignation.

It’s selfish to try and keep her here, and I know that.

I inhale a shaky breath, steadying myself to do the only thing I can do now. Let them go.

“Go, Ivy Jo. Chase your peace, then come back to me when you’ve found it. And while you’re gone, I’ll keep right on loving you.”

Ivy gasps, eyes shining with something like sympathy, telling me everything I need to know. She turns on her heel, grasping the handle of Rylin’s stroller as my girls disappear into the terminal, leaving me a broken shell of a man, once again.

Once I’m back in the driver’s seat, I let myself break. The agonizing sounds are muffled as I cry out my hurt and frustration, slamming my hands on the steering wheel as I stare out at the runway.

“It’ll never be over for me, Ivy Jo Roberts. Not in this lifetime or the next.” I whisper to no one in particular. “I’ll wait for you.”

When Sienna left me, I thought I understood what loss felt like; thought I understood how my mother felt when my dad abandoned us — but it was nothing like the feeling of losing Ivy and Rylin.

It’s like having the whole world at your fingertips one minute and the next it’s being washed away by the tide, like it was never within reach in the first place.

It’s a tragedy of my own making. I spent so much time trying to keep Ivy at arm’s length, and now all I want is to hold her and never let her go.

But it’s too late. I pull out my phone, not for the first time, watching the blinking green dot near Boulder, Colorado, before I place it back in my pocket.

“You okay?” Miles asks.

I look up from the blueprints I’ve been staring at for god knows how long. Scrubbing a hand along my overgrown beard, I respond, “That’s a loaded question.”

“You have to believe she’ll come back, man.”

I force a chuckle. “And what gave you that impression?”

“I’d like to think I know Ivy. She’s hurting right now, in ways that most people will never understand, but she won’t be able to stay away for long. Everyone who loves her is here, including you.”

I don’t deny his accusation because I no longer have it in me to pretend I didn’t fall fast and hard for both of them. “I never told her. At least not in the way I should have.”

“So show her. If that means mailing a thousand paper cranes to Colorado, do it. If it means building her a fucking house at Whispering Oaks Ranch, I’m on board.

If it means flying your ass out to the mountains to fall on your knees, wear some shin guards.

But for fuck’s sake, stop sitting here like a wounded puppy.

Fix yourself and be the man she needs you to be when she comes back. ”

“Goddamn, Miles. I had no idea you had all that in you. A thousand paper cranes, huh?”

He laughs. “I know a thing or two about a thing or two. I just never took you for a man who would give up so easily.”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t be what she needs.”

“You’ve been exactly that for a long time. How can you not see it?” He shakes his head in exasperation. “Look, I’m about to get all mushy, and if you tell anyone, I have a nail gun with your name on it.”

“That’s dark, man.”

“Shut up and listen. I’ll only say this once.

” I nod in acknowledgement, silently signaling for him to continue.

“Ivy always did a great job of hiding just how fractured she was. I saw through it. Paige did, too. But we didn’t push.

You came along and suddenly she’s opening up, talking to people about what she was going through, and letting us in.

She leaned on you because you felt like a safe haven.

And I could be wrong, but I think she gave you that same peace. ”

“She felt like… home,” I admit.

“Maybe she just needs a reminder. In the meantime, you’re about to burn holes in my blueprints, dude. Get back to work.”