I turned my head and nodded solemnly at Chad. But of course, that wasn’t enough. I watched as his eyes widened and he looked from me to Matt and back again. Then he stood up and began marching towards us.
Okay…Let the shit show begin.
I had no choice but to pull myself together. Matt stood up before I did, his left hand pulling me up beside him. “Hey, Chad.” He said, confidently holding his right hand out. I watched as my brother’s eyes widened even more in surprise at the obvious confirmation that we were there together.
“Matt…I’m so sorry for your loss, man.”
Matt nodded solemnly. “Thank you. Look, I know it’s been years, but for what it’s worth, I appreciate you coming out today.” Matt answered, ever the professional. I guess all that high stress litigation had him able to conceal anything. I, on the other hand, was shitting in my pants.
Chad turned to me. “Didn’t expect you, Carly. Thought you headed back to New York.”
I opened my mouth to answer but Matt did it for me. “Change of plans. She’s with me now.” He said, still holding my hand in his.
“Clearly.” Chad pursed his lips and nodded his head. “Again, my condolences.” He continued before turning on his heels.
I watched as he walked back to his seat and gave Christy the full scoop on the news. Her hate filled eyes bore into me even more.
“Turn around and ignore them.” Matt whispered in my ear. “Last I checked, you didn’t come here for them, right?”
“Yes, of course. I just…they make everything so difficult, it’s hard…” I whispered.
Matt squeezed my hand. “I know, baby. We’ll talk about it later.”
Just then, a vibration came from my pocket. I had only planned to pull out my phone to disable all notifications when I saw it. A screenshot from Chad. In a second, everything became even more twisted.
How did he even still have this? It was an old screenshot of a text that I had sent him years ago, gloating about being with Matt and enjoying how much it pissed Christy off. Dread suddenly filled my heart and constricted my lungs.
I looked up, my eyes pleading with him not to do this. But my phone buzzed again.
You’d better show up and do as the will states, Carly. If you don’t, Christy will have all the proof she needs about her suspicion that you purposely stole her boyfriend.
Whatever, Chad. That’s not even a threat. It was years ago, she’s engaged now. She won’t care.
Lol. Have you met our sister? She will make sure that Matt never looks at you the same way again.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I threw my phone in my purse. My eyes filled with tears as the priest began to speak. I didn’t deserve a man like Matt. I was supposed to be here for him, and my family drama just kept following me everywhere. The sooner I stopped this charade, the better.
Chapter 30
MATT
The ceremony was not for me. It was for them and for him. Dave shed a few quiet tears while the town nodded and wiped tears from the corners of their eyes. I sat…still, quiet, as stoic as I could, and just waited it out. Having Carly by my side was soothing. But I knew that after today she was planning to leave for New York. I wasn’t really sure where she was in her head, though. Sometimes, it seemed like she was unsure about leaving, other times, it was like she couldn’t get out of here fast enough.
Yet, despite the mixed signals, things had been different between us during our time in Maple Cove. We had morphed into an everyday relationship type of comfort, and I had to admit that it felt good. Yet, I still wanted more from her. There was going to be some tough conversations when all this was said and done. Not to mention that I was starting to feel bad about betraying Dave. For all the shit we had gone through over the years, things had definitely changed between us, and I was starting to like this comfortable place we were at. With one exception. Every time he proudly introduced me and my fiancée to another friend of his, the pride in his eyes made the guilt in mine that much harder to bear.
If I had to guess at how long we sat in that church, I probably would have been off by hours. The whole thing just felt surreal. Numb from the day’s events, it took a few hours before it hit me. On the way back to the farm, it was just the three of us again. And that’s when it hit me the hardest. I had chosen to sit in the back with Carly while Dave drove. With our hands clasped and resting in Carly’s lap, I couldn’t help but shiver as Carly brushed her thumb back and forth over my hand. Such a simple gesture, but it tipped me right over the edge. The more I fought to suppress it, the harder it was to keep my emotions in check.
“Hey…” She whispered, reaching out to touch my cheek. “How you feeling?”
The lump in my throat was threatening to do more than just make me uncomfortable, so I simply shrugged. Carly took that as her cue to slide over and snuggle into my side. Wrapping an arm around her and burying my face in her hair, I let myself sink deeper into the reality of the situation.
My mom was gone and I hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye.
***
A couple more days passed without me even noticing. Each day the same as the last. Or maybe they weren’t, I couldn’t be sure. The only thing that remained constant was Carly. I found myself looking for her at night, reaching out to hold her as we slept. Holding her hand under the table as we ate. And even on the day that we scattered Mom’s ashes on the hill overlooking the pond, Carly had been at my side. Initially, I had expected her to leave after the funeral. I hadn’t asked her to stay longer, but words couldn’t express how thankful I was that she had. But of course, nothing lasts forever.
“Listen…Matt…we need to talk.” Carly said to me the evening after we had scattered the ashes. As soon as she spoke, I knew where the conversation was headed. Carly had been slowly pulling back the last two days. Physically, she’d been by my side, but emotionally, things felt like we had taken a few steps back. Whenever I reached for her, she complied, but only for a moment before stepping back into that safer friend zone.
That night, we were sitting outside by the firepit. Dave had shut himself up in his study for some unknown reason and it was just Carly and I outside.
“I know we do…but can I go first?” I needed to take charge of the situation.
Carly just shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to tie her hair up in a messy bun.
“I know being here has been tough, but it’s over now. I’m ready to head back to the city tomorrow and I was hoping that…”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Matt.” Carly began. “When I first came back to Maple Cove, I expected to be in and out in a matter of days. Instead, I somehow entered into a hurricane from the moment I turned off the highway. Don’t get me wrong…reconnecting with you has been…well, it’s been a lot. And honestly, it’s messed with my head.” She stopped for a moment to inhale. Wanting to reassure her, I immediately moved myself over to be closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. But her hands flew up in protest.