Page 57 of Postmarked December

Slowly, savoring the moment, she picked off the green wax seal and then opened the flap, the familiar handwriting coming into focus.

“What does it say?” Marion asked.

“It says, ‘I love you more than words, so I’ll keep them short for this message. While you might think it’s the end, it’s just the beginning.’” She looked at Marion. “Even after he’s gone, he can read my mind. I’ve been thinking about how I need to step fully into my new life.” She laid her hand on his final message, which felt like his blessing.

Heather spent the rest of the evening with that thought rolling around in her head. Once everyone had gone up for the night, she lay on the comforter in her bedroom with her journal open. After a few minutes of contemplation, she wrote:

Dear Toby,

I can’t express how thankful I am for all you’ve done for me. Only you could come back and make this happen. But I’m at a loss as to what to do next. For a brief moment, I thought I knew, but now I’m not so sure. I suppose that, just like I did after you left us, I’ll put one foot in front of another and blindly take the next step until it becomes clear.

Love you.

She closed the book and set it on the nightstand. The unknown was uncomfortable, but it was all she had now, so she’d better get used to the feeling.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next day, after a big breakfast, Heather and Marion sorted the food, placing cold items in Anthony’s cooler to get them home and packing the rest in bags and loading them into Heather’s car. Anthony had let the fire in the fireplace burn down and was using the poker to flatten the embers.

When they’d packed, turned off all the lights, and locked up, they said their goodbyes.

“I’ll run all the cold food over to you once we get home,” Marion said, holding Scarlett’s carrier.

“Thanks.” Heather put her hands on her hips and surveyed the cabin. Well, Toby, this is it.

Marion took a step toward Heather and put her arm around her. “See you when we get home.”

“Okay, drive carefully.” Heather stroked the kitten’s head through the grate.

“You too. Follow us home if you want to. We’ll make sure to wait for you as we go.”

“That would be great in this weather.”

They got in their vehicles and began the long drive back to Nashville. The whole way, Heather’s mind was swimming with all she’d done over the holiday. What had started as a dreaded few weeks of grief had turned into something so much better, thanks to Toby.

The only question left was Nick. But she was starting to believe it wasn’t really a question at all. He’d made things pretty clear with his silence. She hated that what they’d started would end with her never knowing. Even if he wasn’t truthful, she wanted to know, and she was angry with him for putting her through this, knowing what she’d dealt with.

She was also upset with herself for believing so easily that he’d been a good guy. Apparently, she had a lot to learn before getting back into the dating world. The only silver lining was that she hadn’t had time to cry over her complete lack of judgment. Toby had kept her too busy. But she did worry about what might happen emotionally once she was back in her quiet apartment.

When she pulled into her parking deck, it was nearly dinnertime. She unloaded her car and went inside. Without unpacking, looking for dinner options, she dug into the bags of dry food Anthony had packed into her car for her, but all she had were cookies, crackers, and chips since Anthony had taken the cold items home.

She started loading the snacks into her pantry and was thinking of calling in some Chinese food when her phone rang. She didn’t know the number. Hoping it might be Nick on a new phone or something, she answered.

“This is Alex Branson from People’s Entertainment. I’m calling back to see if this is a better time.”

She should’ve marked his number when he’d made the last call. Weren’t the days between Christmas and New Year’s still the holiday? Did these people ever take time off work?

“I know you said you’d like to keep your life private, and we are aware of the fact that Toby did as well, but there’s been a development that I think you might want to weigh in on, and I was hoping to get a quote from you as to how you feel about it.”

She stopped unpacking, a bag of pretzels in her hand. “What development?”

“My circles are abuzz about a project that’s supposed to be a new perspective on Toby’s life, and we were hoping to give you the opportunity to set the record straight and provide your side of the story. We aren’t sure exactly what information will be released, but we wanted to verify a few details regarding Toby’s cancer and what the battle was like from your perspective.”

She barely heard what he was saying, her mind snagging on his mention of “a new perspective.” How would anyone have any real perspective at all on Toby’s life? Certainly, any secondhand information would be full of holes and only partial truths.

“Someone’s doing a story on Toby without having requested an interview with me?”

“That’s right.”