“Candela? Really?”
I hadn’t spoken to Candela since her dramatic departure with Dirk.
“Uh-huh. And do you know what else?”
“What?”
“She’s getting married, Audrey!”
“Married? To whom?”
“To Dirk.”
I groaned. “Seriously?”
“Actually, he’s cleaned up now. They both have. Candela looks fantastic! Dirk took over his dad’s garage a few months back, and he’s been doing custom bikes. It’s going really well for him. Apparently, some celebrity musician just ordered one.”
“Really? Who?”
“She was pretty evasive about it, but I think it was Keith Urban.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Anyway, she still feels really shitty about what happened—you know, the day when she stormed off. But she really wants you at her wedding. And even though she can be a real shit sometimes, she’s still Candela. She’s practically family.”
“I know,” I said, biting my lip.
“Will you come back?”
“When is the wedding?” I asked cautiously.
“Uh, well, it’s kind of late notice. You know what Candela’s like . . .”
“How late?”
“Well, it’s not this Sunday—”
“You are fucking kidding me.”
“It’s the Sunday after that,” Lucy finished. “Can you make it?”
I didn’t get much sleep that night. I kept tossing it over in my head. I could always come back here after the wedding, I thought. The road trip could wait a few weeks. But already I could feel a tightness in my chest, as though something was pulling me back into the past. Like when you’ve driven halfway to a dinner party and you have to double back home because you remembered you left the iron on.
The next day, Graham and Dale came back. Apple raced out to greet them, and I followed closely.
“Hi, honey!” Graham called out as he scooped Apple up into his arms. “Hi, baby, Daddy’s home. Did you miss me?” In response, she licked his face with great enthusiasm. After putting her down, he wrapped me in one of his iron-grip hugs. Dale had come up behind him, and he planted a firm kiss on my cheek before grabbing my hand and twirling me around.
“Welcome back,” I laughed.
I helped them with their luggage, and we made our way back into the house with Apple running around clumsily at our feet.
“The house looks wonderful!” Graham exclaimed when we got inside. “Exactly like how we left it.”
“The antiques are all done as well. I hope you’ll be happy with them.”
“I’m sure you did a fantastic job, honey.”
I put the kettle on, and soon we were settled on the couch, sipping cups of chamomile tea.
“So how was your flight?”
“Long and tedious,” said Graham. “It’s good to be home.”
“Amen,” said Dale.
Apple interjected with two sharp barks, and we laughed.
“So, Audrey,” said Dale. His eyes had a mischievous glint to them. “Rosie says you’ve been spending a lot of time with Gabe.”
“I have,” I admitted. “Gabe’s been wonderful.” I thought about my dilemma and was hit with a sudden avalanche of emotion. It must have shown on my face because the two men exchanged a worried glance.
“Trouble in paradise?” asked Graham cautiously.
I sighed. “Well, there’s something I’m wrestling with at the moment.”
I brought them up to speed with my predicament: the road trip I had planned with Gabe and Candela’s wedding.
“I see,” said Dale with a frown. “What do you think you’ll do?”
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”
“Why can’t you do the road trip with Gabe after the wedding?”
“I suppose I can,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip.
Dale gave me a questioning look. “Audrey, I hope I’m not out of line here,” he glanced at Graham, “but we get the feeling that you were running away from something back home, and that’s the reason why you came out here.” He held up both hands. “Just an outsider’s perspective.”
I smiled at him. “You’re not an outsider.”
Graham put his arm around my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“And you’re right. I was running away, and I’ve been dreading the idea of going back home. But I think I’ve gotten past that. I think I’m ready to face my demons head-on.”
“I thought there was something different about you,” said Graham.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s like you were this—no offense—wisp of a girl when we left. Like you were a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. But you’ve blossomed into this beautiful young lady. It’s quite a transformation.”
“In other words, you look like you’ve really gotten your shit together,” said Dale.
I laughed. “It’s the mountain air.”
“You’re a regular Heidi,” said Graham with a wink.
I grinned and sipped my tea.
“Or maybe it’s because of Gabe?” Dale raised his eyebrows. “Nothing makes your cheeks glow like young love.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘love,’” I said quickly, feeling a jolt of panic at the word. “I mean, I adore Gabe and all . . .” It was true. I thought the world of Gabe. Finding him was an incredible stroke of luck, but it still didn’t come close to what I felt for Rad, not by a long shot. At that moment, I realized I still felt it. I didn’t know where Rad was or what he was doing. I didn’t know whether he had moved on or not, but all of a sudden, I knew it was something I had to find out.
“There’s someone back home, isn’t there?” said Dale, reading my mind.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Honey, if you haven’t fallen head over heels in love with Gabe by now, it’s pretty clear you’re still hung up on someone else.”
Late that afternoon, I heard Gabe’s car pull up, and with a sinking feeling, I went outside to greet him.
“Hey,” he said, as he got out of the car. The backseat was already bulging with supplies for our trip.
He must have caught the look on my face. “Audrey, have you been crying? What’s wrong?”
I told him about my talk with Lucy and Candela’s wedding.
He drew in a deep breath after I finished.
“Boy, talk about bad timing.”
“I know.”
He shook his head. “I guess you’re going, then?”
“She’s like a sister to me. I can’t miss her wedding.”
He nodded. “No, you can’t.”
“I suppose our road trip can wait until I get back? What do you think?”
He looked so dejected that I felt tears spring to my eyes. “Audrey, I would be more than happy to wait if I thought for a second that you’d be coming back.”
“Gabe—” I started to say.
“I suppose I was always meant to go on this trip alone.”
“Don’t say that.” The tears spilled over. “Don’t.”