He’d put his heart on the line for her. He’d bared heart and soul to her, and she’d turned away from all he’d offered, basically doing to him what people had done to her for her whole life. She’d walked. She sucked in a breath, feeling a new wave of grief. “I messed up,” she murmured. “Big-time.”
“Not with me you didn’t,” her grandpa said genuinely.
She held on to his hand. “Thank you for that. But you’re not the only one I hurt today by thinking only of myself.”
“Levi?”
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “He told me that what he and I have is real.”
He nodded. “I could see that in his eyes.”
“I walked away,” she whispered.
Her grandpa nodded again.
“You’re . . . not surprised.”
He let out a rough laugh. “After all you’ve been through, no one would be surprised to know you don’t trust love. But, Jane, people are going to love you just for being you. You don’t have to run from it or be scared by it. I know you’ve had very good reasons to do and feel both of those things in the past. But you aren’t your past.” He cupped her face. “It’s okay to let people in, let them love you. It’s a beautiful thing. You don’t have to live in the shadows of your past anymore. Once you realize that, you’ll be able to stop shoving it deep, where it festers inside you.”
She wanted to stop. She did. But could she? Was it that simple?
“That boy loves you. Go to him like you came to me. He’ll listen. Then you’ll listen. Just like we did here, you and me.”
She gave him a watery smile. “Funny, that was his advice to me to begin with.” She covered her face. “I handled it badly. I’m not sure he can forgive me. I’m not sure I would if I were him, but he wanted something real with me, and now I know I want that too, more than I could have ever imagined.”
Her grandpa stood up and offered her a hand, and then a hug that she really needed. “You’ve got a lot of people here who care about you. You’re not alone. This time, every time, it’s your choice to stay or go.”
She hugged him tight, but he pulled back and gave her a shoo gesture. “Go. Go do what you need to.”
She turned and started down the path, only to stop short, nearly tripping over her own feet.
Levi’s truck was parked at the end of the driveway. She could see his tall silhouette in the fading daylight, Levi leaning against his truck, presumably waiting for her.
It was snowing lightly, individual flakes floating in the air, silently making their way down in slow motion, sparkling on the ground, the trees, in Levi’s hair, dusting his shoulders.
He looked like the rest of her life.
He’d asked her where he stood in the lineup of her jobs and her love of going far and wide. She hadn’t answered. She’d been too scared.
She’d lied to herself about that.
But she knew exactly where he stood in the lineup. She would choose him, any day, always. Swiping the tears off her cheeks, she moved closer, her boots crunching on the snow. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He looked at her with a self-deprecating smile while a light gust of wind playfully ruffled his snow-glistened hair. “I thought maybe you might need an Uber or tech support.”
Though his tone had been light, his eyes were anything but. “Maybe I just need you,” she said.
He studied her. “I’d like to think that was true, but you don’t often let yourself need anything or anyone.”
“I know. I was an island, and I was good at it.” She shook her head. “But coming back here this time, bonding with Charlotte, my grandpa. You . . .” She held his gaze this time. “Being alone doesn’t hold the same appeal anymore.”