Page 11 of Let Me Keep You

“Maybe some coffee for your old man?”

I grin and shake my head. “Of course. Let me brew some, and I’ll bring you a cup.”

“That’s why you’re my favorite daughter.” He rolls out from underneath and smirks.

“Nice try. I’m your only daughter.”

I start the coffee maker and straighten up the cups and napkins on the table for the customers. Main Street Bakery, a few blocks down, delivers fresh pastries every morning at eight and will be here any minute.

As soon as I unlock the front door and flip the sign, the phone rings. Minutes later, Mrs. Wright comes in with a dozen donuts and chats for a moment about the weather before leaving. I bring my father a cup of steaming hot coffee and a chocolate eclair before going back to the front desk.

My day is nonstop, and if I’m not on the phone, I’m at the computer or going over invoices with customers. I’m able to take a thirty-minute break for lunch, and that’s when I walk to the café on the corner and check my phone.

Katie

Tyler’s back in town. Have you seen him yet?

I suck in a breath when I see his name on the screen. Everleigh told me he planned to return, and while it’s been on my mind, it didn’t hit me until now. My anxiety spikes at the thought of running into him and how awkward things will be between us.

Gemma

No. You?

Katie

Nope.

The last time I saw Tyler Blackwood was twelve years ago. I was crushed when he left town after we spent three months together. It was the most amazing summer of my life, and then he broke my heart. I was in love with him, had given him my virginity, and was ready to spend the rest of my life with him.

But I wasn’t enough to make him stay.

I knew he was only staying temporarily and had planned to move, but I had hoped he would stay for me. The day he left was the last time I heard from him.

Brokenhearted doesn’t even brush the surface of how I felt for months after. Katie and Everleigh picked up the pieces and forced me to move on. Being his sister, Everleigh was just as sad to see him go. The letters Tyler sent me while he was in the Army were all I had left of him.

When he kissed me for the first time, I swear my heart stopped. As corny as it sounds, I’d fallen in love with him long before that kiss. After years of getting to know him, spilling my deepest and darkest secrets, and complaining about boys and school, he went from being a brotherly figure to someone I connected with on a level I never knew existed.

We hadn’t seen each other in years or even talked on the phone, but those letters changed me.

I still have them stuffed in a shoebox in the back of my closet. I should just throw them away because I’m engaged, but I can’t. Those letters are a part of my past, and at times, when I’m down and get drunk on wine, I pull them out and re-read my favorites.

It’s self-sabotage, but I’ve only done it a few times. When I’m feeling uncertain about my future or want to reminisce about those years, I’ll dig them out. The tears usually come so fast I can’t even read the words on the paper.

My moments of weakness would happen when Tyler was on my mind and heart. I really believed he’d never return. The night I learned he’d been sentenced to five years in prison, I knew the prospect of seeing him again was slim to none.

I’d always held a sliver of hope, but by then, I realized I needed to move on, so I did. I honestly figured that after serving his time, he’d go back to Vegas and continue living his life in Nevada. But Everleigh mentioned a month ago he was moving home, and my stupid girl brain got anxious all over again about seeing him. I felt like a teenager again.

Katie

Think it’ll be weird when you do?

Gemma

Probably a little, but hopefully I won’t run into him that much anyway.

Katie

Well, if he’s going to live with Everleigh for a while, you might. Plus, he’ll be around town. It’s not like we live in NYC.