The line, p.22
The Line, page 22
“I know you’re scared, Eve. I’m scared too,” he whispered. “I’m scared of how I feel about you. Sometimes, it’s overwhelming, so encompassing, this feeling, but there’s no one in the world I want to be scared with but you.”
I clutched the phone in my hand, Cole’s words washing over me, bathing me in sweet, sweet tenderness.
His frustration was palpable. His words were grave and final, and I immediately knew that this message was different from the others. He was done waiting.
“I need to see you. Please,” he begged, his husky voice punching me right in the feels. “Meet me, baby. You know where.”
The familiar beep played in my ear and I hung up, a ringing in my ears. I knew exactly where he wanted to meet; I just didn’t know if I could.
I lay in bed until morning but didn’t sleep a wink.
My brain whispered, It’s impossible. It’ll never work out.
My experience said, He’ll hurt you. He’ll abandon you, just like the others.
But my wildly beating, hopeful, love-filled heart screamed and wailed against my rib cage. Go to him. Try. At least try.
And, sometimes, the heart just can’t be ignored.
Momma Lou dropped me at the Everly Woods Train Station at eight on the dot the next night, and for the first time, I walked up to the ticket counter and bought an actual train ticket. Canton, Georgia, was the destination. With shaking hands and weak knees, I boarded the train, feeling like I had tiny ants crawling around in my stomach. I didn’t let those stop me from walking up the aisle, perusing the open seats, and searching for him.
The train looked exactly as it always had. Brown, worn-looking seats flanked the dirty, blue carpet of the aisles. The familiar stale smell made my gut churn, but I reminded myself that, yes, everything there was the same. But me—I was different. My low ponytail swung as I looked from seat to seat. I pushed my hat low on my head. I tugged my navy T-shirt down to smooth the wrinkles. My sandals flopped down the aisle with every step. My stomach didn’t growl in hunger. I was clean. I was happy. I was scared to damn death, but I was in love.
I smelled him before I saw him. His earthy smell set me equal parts at ease and on fire before I could even put my eyes on him. My stomach calmed, and I forged ahead until I saw a white Stetson seven rows up and on the left—the exact seat he had been sitting in four years ago.
I picked my pace eager up to get to him, but still, my mind played the short seconds I raced to him in what felt like slow motion, like I was wading through quicksand. I couldn’t get to him fast enough.
The moment I pushed in beside his seat, his eyes met mine, all hot and warm like melted milk chocolate, and, God, I wanted to eat him up.
“Do you need a seat, miss?” he asked, grinning, his eyes gleaming.
I bit my lip, trying not to smile at his game.
I put my hand on my hip. “See something you like, Cowboy?” I asked, replaying the night we’d met right there in that same spot.
He slowly shook his head, his grin fading. Tenderness smoothed the fine lines of his facial features. “No,” he said with finality. “I see someone I love.”
I took the seat next to him and told myself to be brave, fearless, daring. “I love you, too,” I whispered on a quivered breath, tears shimmering in my eyes. Upon removing my hat, I set it in my lap and nervously fiddled with the brim.
He beamed at me, every shiny tooth in his mouth showing. He grabbed my fidgety hands in one of his and brought them to his mouth to kiss them. “What took you so long?” he mumbled against them.
I shrugged playfully even though my words felt heavy with importance. “It took Everly Woods a long time to figure out who she is,” I said lightly, jokingly, but it was one of the most serious statements of my life. “It’s a girl’s prerogative to be late, Cowboy,” I said, trying to lighten my previous words. With ants back in my belly, I looked away, my emotions too high.
Holding my jaw in his hand, he maneuvered my head back to his, our faces mere inches apart. “And who is she?” he asked, his face serious, his eyes demanding all the answers.
He wasn’t going to let me cover my feelings with jokes and sass, and I thought of the night on Cole’s front porch at Preston’s when he’d accused me of playing him and Joe. When he’d asked me the very same question. I hadn’t known the answer then, but I thought I did now.
I breathed deep, garnering every bit of courage I carried in my minuscule body, which wasn’t much, but it would have to do.
“She’s Momma Lou’s Little Bird.” My voice trembled, and I cleared my throat so I could continue. “She’s Joe Preston’s daughter. She’s Cole Briggs’ Eve,” I finished on a rush, relieved to have said it all but so afraid of what it all meant.
The train started to move, and Cole laid his forehead to mine on a deep exhale and closed his eyes. “Yeah.” He smiled. “Yeah, I like that.” His minty breath drifted across my lips, and I felt some of my fears being left behind on the platform we were rolling away from.
I leaned forward, wanting a taste of the mint and man.
He moved his lips back an inch but kept his forehead to mine. “Ask me,” he ordered, and I giggled, pressing my nose to his.
“Are you gonna kiss me or what, Cowboy?” I sassed against his mouth.
And he did. He slammed his lips to mine, his hand at the back of my head pressing me closer, like he couldn’t get enough of my mouth. He nipped at me, ate at my lips, whispered his love for me, told me that he missed me—all right on the very train line we’d met on years ago. It was like a dream.
I had a long road ahead of me. Joe and I had a lot to work through, and even though I was as scared as a person could possibly be, I knew what I wanted. And that was Preston’s, my cowboy, Cody. I wanted them all.
The line had brought us together, irrevocably entwining our fates. Destiny had written our names in the stars, reuniting us in the strangest and most magnificent of ways. And love had steamrolled her way in, barreling over us and healing us in unspeakable ways.
Ten Years Later
“Margaret Louise Briggs, if you do not stop jumping on every bed in this house.” Eve yelled upstairs, and I laughed to myself.
Maggie was six years old and the spitting image of her mother. She had come into the world kicking and screaming, demanding food and love, and hardly sleeping a damn wink, and most days, she was still much the same, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything. She was her momma through and through, and I felt beyond blessed to have two gorgeous, strong-willed women to keep me in line.
I stepped back from the photo I’d just hung over what used to be the front counter of the bed and breakfast, only it was now the entrance to something Eve and I had been working on for almost two years—a horse riding camp free to children in the foster care system.
Eve had always been eager to give back, and today was finally the big day. When Jane had retired a few years ago, we couldn’t decide what we wanted to do with the space. Joe, Eve, and I had put our heads together and come up with a plan that made us all feel good. We were all nervous, but Eve seemed to be the worst of us. I knew how important this day was to her, seeing all of our hard work and planning come to fruition.
I heard Maggie’s boots thunder across the ceiling over us, and I shook my head.
“How’s it look, Grey?” I asked, gazing down at my favorite guy. He was ten now, and the older he got, the more he looked like Austin.
He stared up at me. “It looks awesome, Uncle Cole. Aunt Eve looks so pretty,” he said dreamily, and I thought sometimes he loved her more than he loved me.
I studied the photo again, nodding in agreement. She looked more than pretty. It was our engagement photo. We were on the railroad tracks outside the Everly Woods Train Station at sunset. Eve was leaned up against my side, wearing a pale-blue sundress and brown boots, her head tilted up towards me, her profile stunning against the backdrop of the pink sky.
Eve had been firm in her resolve to have our engagement photos there. Me? I hadn’t been so sure. Yes, it was the place we’d met, but it was also the source of so much pain and suffering for her. When I’d told her that, Eve had only shaken her head and smiled before saying, “It’s where I fell in love with you,” like that somehow negated all the bad that had happened to her there. And the thought of that made me so proud of how far she’d come.
“What time are Mom and Dad coming?” Grey asked as we made our way off the front steps.
“Should be here in just a few minutes,” I answered, happy they had let him stay last night with Maggie.
He’d kept her entertained with movies and popcorn so that I could calm Eve the hell down about today. Grey was a great kid, and a lot of that had to do with how amazing Austin was with him. Luckily, Austin had hightailed it home with his tail between his legs when Greyson had been just a year old. Marla had taken him back, because even though my brother was a selfish bastard at times, she still loved him. And they’d been good ever since. I was happy for them.
Maggie came thundering down the stairs with all the grace of a one-thousand-pound elephant. She ran to me, her pink boots on the wrong feet, which made her journey harder than it needed to be.
“Oomph.” She slammed into my legs.
I picked her up so we were eye level.
“Hey, Daddy,” she beamed up at me, and I chuckled at the sight of her toothless grin.
I raised my eyebrows. “You know your boots are on the wrong feet, right?”
We had this conversation at least once a day.
Her smile fell, and her eyes lit with snark. “It’s how I like them, Daddy,” she said with finality, and I shrugged before putting her down.
“I’ve been telling her all day to fix those boots, but all she’s done around here is act like a damn monkey, jumping on all my clean beds,” Eve said, coming down the steps.
And, just like every time my girl came into the room, my pulse kicked up a notch and I lost my breath. Ten years and a baby later, my woman was still fucking gorgeous. I was the luckiest man in the world.
Maggie made monkey noises and jumped around the room. Eve rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss the small smile playing at her lips. She adored our stubborn daughter as much as I did. Even when she was misbehaving.
I pulled her under my arm, and she studied the photo on the wall.
“It’s perfect there. It will tie in with the whole train theme,” she said.
I nodded. It would. Railroad signs, tracks, and big trains looking like they were coming out of the walls were the decor for the house. In fact, next to our photo, over the front desk was a large sign that said, All aboard, and every bedroom had a train set with a track set up on the floor for the children to play with. I had to admit that Eve had done a great job making it cool for the kids.
“The place looks amazing,” I said into her hair, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re amazing.”
She melted against me, and I knew I’d eased some of her tension, though it was short-lived because Joe’s booming voice sounded from outside, which set her spine straight again.
“Where’s my girl?” he shouted at the top of his lungs outside, and Eve and I both laughed.
“He acts like he doesn’t see her every day,” Eve pretended to complain, but she loved the attention he slathered on Maggie. She loved the way Joe Preston loved his granddaughter. It meant everything to her.
We’d been living together in the big house with Joe since we’d been married underneath the peach trees in the orchard seven years ago. There was plenty of room there, and Eve had wanted to stay with Joe in case he’d needed her. That was her excuse, anyway. I knew the truth. She needed him close, and that was fine by me.
“Better go see what your papa wants before he yells all my hard work to the ground,” she said, looking at Maggie.
Maggie took off towards the front door, with Grey on her heels. “I bet Papa has cookies,” she threw over her shoulder at Grey as they ran down the front steps.
I noticed cars pulling in around the old bed and breakfast. “You ready for this?” I asked.
Today was our official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The children wouldn’t be there until the beginning of summer, which was still a month away, but we expected the whole town of Canton to come out and support Eve’s endeavor, even the mayor.
She looked nervous but beautiful as she fidgeted like she did. She touched her back pocket and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
Eve didn’t like crowds and big attention, but she knew that this place needed it to get the grants and funding required to run a place like this.
“Let’s do this.” I ushered her outside. I had a surprise for her, and I couldn’t wait.
Beau and Cody were finishing up the final touches on the front porch when we passed by.
“Looking good, guys,” Eve said giving them a wink.
I didn’t know if she meant the painting or the guys themselves, but I gave her ass a little smack as punishment anyway. She shamelessly flirted with them every chance she got, which was plenty because they lived in my old cottage-style home behind the big house. She did it to get me worked up, but I knew that those two were harmless. They were too much in love to pay Eve any mind. Still, I pretended to get into a snit because my jealousy made Eve hot, and hot was my favorite way for Eve to be.
People were starting to fill the place in droves, so I steered Eve back towards the big house, where her surprise was waiting. Joe sped along behind us, Maggie on his lap and Grey hanging on to the back of his wheelchair for dear life.
We rounded the corner, and then Eve stopped dead in her tracks.
“Oh my God,” she cried, placing her hand over her mouth. Then she was gone, sprinting across the yard, her arms flailing. “You came!” She threw her arms around Momma Lou.
Momma Lou cradled her face in her palms and wiped Eve’s tears away with her thumbs. “No crying, Little Bird,” she said, smiling, tears in her own eyes.
Eve stammered over her words, emotion making them clumsy and cluttered. “But how… I thought you couldn’t come? Who has the kids? How did you get here?”
“You don’t worry about me, baby girl,” Momma Lou soothed. “Today is about you and this special place.”
“Lou, Lou!” Maggie yelled, running towards Eve and Momma Lou.
They all clutched each other close. I smiled smugly, feeling like the best husband and father ever.
The rest of the day went off without a hitch, and anyone and everyone we loved was there to witness Eve’s big day. We cut ribbons. We ate too much food. We drank wine and celebrated a huge success for the small, cold, hungry girl from the train.
And, when we unveiled the large sign at the front of the new camp house, my eyes stung with too much emotion because it made my heart so full. It was like everyone we loved really was present, even my momma. I read over it again and again, with more pride in my heart than words could describe.
Welcome to The Line—where you’ll make enough memories to play for a lifetime.
THE END
Momma: I thought a lot about you writing this book and how lucky I was to have you. So, thank you for always being there for me. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t call you up when I needed you.
Kelly Markham: It’s been a rough year, but you did it. And you did it with a grace I greatly admire. It makes me so proud to be your friend. And you did it all, helping me and encouraging me and supporting me. Thank you. Your friendship is so incredibly special to me.
Miranda Arnold: You’re my Cody. Making friends late in life is hard, and I feel so fortunate that fate was on our side. Who would I discuss makeup tips with? Who would share my love of food? Who would listen to me ramble on about the characters in my head? Big imaginary hugs. That’s the best I got, sister.
Aly Martinez: I’ll probably always have to put you in my acknowledgements since you’re my author momma. I don’t know what I would do without your advice. Thanks for answering all of my questions. Even the dumb ones. But, mostly, thanks for being hard on me when I need it. For not sugarcoating shit and telling me to quit whining and write. Sometimes, a girl needs someone to snap her out of it, and you’re that person for me. Thank you.
Ashley Teague: I’m so glad we’ve become more than author friends through this whole writing thing. It’s been so priceless to have someone to come up through the ranks with. Your advice and support mean so much.
Danielle Palumbo: Girl. What would I do without you? Your help is so invaluable to me in so many ways and in so many different facets of my life. You’re priceless, and anyone who doesn’t tell you that is a fool! I love you, and I cannot wait until our next trip together.
Jamie Schlosser: I can’t believe how fast our friendship grew the past couple of months, but I am thankful for it. Thanks for showing me your crazy and beta reading this book even though beta reading is no fun. I’m counting down the days until we’re actually together. Thank you for smelling plane farts for me.
Megan Cooke: Thank you for your amazing beta notes, and I’m so glad this crazy book world has made us friends. I cannot wait until June!
Amber Goodwin: Your help has been invaluable to me. Thanks for pimping me nonstop. Thanks for sharing and spreading the word every day! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
The most awesome beta readers ever, Nicole Sullivan, Nicole McCurdy, and Erin Fisher: I know how busy you all are with your own lives, so thank you for taking the time to read and support me. You guys are rock stars.
Amor Caro: Thanks so much for the pep talks and for offering to proofread The Line! You are awesome!
Aubrey Brenner: You are a missing word finding bad ass. I can’t thank you enough.
Bloggers and Readers: I know I’m a newbie around here, and I’m so incredibly honored and amazed by the love that See Through Heart was given. I hope you guys love this one, too. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for being a part of this amazing community. Just…thank you.
