“Have you been talking to Em on the phone?”

“Not really. I’ve text her a few times and I’ve tried speaking to her but she’s always dodging my calls. Why? What’s the deal man? Quit beating around the fucking bush and come out with it.” I was starting to get pissed.

“Harper said that Emilyn is back in town.”

“Why? Are her parents okay?” That was the only reason I could see her go back.

“I don’t know. She isn’t there because of her parents. She went back and is living with Harper.” I was so confused now. Kyler was grinning like an idiot. “Apparently when she went home early after the reunion, she caught West in bed with another woman, and they’re getting divorced.”

All the oxygen was sucked out of the room. Why the hell hadn’t she said anything to me? She’s so damn stubborn, she probably didn’t want me to worry about her. “Are you sure?”

“Yep, and now’s your chance dude. Maybe you should fly out there with me and go see her.”

“I need to try calling her again. I don’t know if flying out there is so wise though. Emilyn has always had her pride and me just showing up could just push her further away. We haven’t talked about how we left things the night of the reunion.” I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. Grabbing my cell I decided to text her. I wanted to see if I could get her to admit it to me first. My pulse was racing. I couldn’t even imagine what she must’ve been going through. After the shit I pulled on her, to then catch her husband cheating… I knew I needed to tread lightly.

F: Hey, how are you doing?

E: Great! Thanks for asking.

I let out a frustrated growl. Stubborn woman! I needed to change tactics. How could I get her to tell me what was going on?

F: Anything new going on? I still think we should talk instead of txts.

E: Nope. Nothing new. Sorry not a good time Finn. I’ll let u know when.

F: I’m getting impatient Em. Not going to wait 2 much longer.

E: Pls Finn not now. What’s new with you?

Oh sure, change the subject. She really was going to make this difficult.

F: Just work. Home. Work. Home. Chicago nice? Maybe I should plan a trip. We can meet up and u can introduce me to West.

E: NO! That’s not a good idea Finn. I told u I’ll tell u when I can talk. Listen I got 2 go. TTYL.

Fuck! She wasn’t going to give. I knew she’d always been a private person, but this was me. Why wouldn’t she just talk to me? But as much as I would go out of my mind not going home with Kyler, I knew I needed to stay home and not push her. He could always find out some stuff for me. Let the waiting game begin!

My first few days at Beans went smoothly. I’d thought about waiting to tell Rose that I was pregnant—I didn’t want to drop the news on her right after hiring me—but I also didn’t want to ask for time off for doctor’s appointments without her knowing why. My sense of honesty won out and I pulled Rose aside during my break on my first day. She was surprisingly supportive. She told me to let her know if I needed time off not only for doctor’s appointments, but also if I had any morning sickness or was too tired to work. I still didn’t know how I’d got so lucky finding such an understanding boss. My co-workers were also pretty great.

I was scheduled to see my doctor the next day to get my STD results, find out my due date, and to make sure that the baby was developing well. As the news of my pregnancy settled in, I couldn’t help but feel excited over the prospect of being a Mom. It was what I’d always wanted, and although it may not have happened in the manner that I’d dreamed, I was still having a baby and I loved it already. I’d convinced myself that with the help of Harper and my parents, this child would want for nothing. My parents were shocked for all of two seconds before my Dad hugged me and my Mom burst out in tears, squeezing me so tight that my Dad had to pry her off of me. I’ll admit I had been nervous about telling them the news. I’d felt like a pregnant teen telling her parents that she was knocked up by her high school boyfriend.

I had yet to call West and tell him the news. He obviously had a right to know, but I was nervous that he would want custody. After the way things ended, I didn’t feel like I knew him anymore and I couldn’t even guess what his reaction would be. What would I do if he wanted to get even with me by fighting for custody? I didn’t know what to expect, and this frightened me.

Harper and I were sitting at the dining room table eating spaghetti, when she brought up Finn. I’d thought about him quite a bit since I’d left West. He’d been calling me sporadically and we’d texted a few times. The other day he really pushed talking to me on the phone but I just couldn’t. I didn’t trust myself not to fall apart on the phone and blurt everything out. It wasn’t his problem to fix. Finn had his own life, and I saw no need to drag him into my drama.

“So, Kyler emailed me at work today. I guess he’s coming back to town in two months and wants to take me out to dinner to talk.”

She had my full attention. “What did you tell him?”

“I said sure. I don’t see any reason why we can’t go eat. But I swear if he mentions the night we had sex, I’m going to rack him in the nuts.” She said too casually twirling her noodles onto her fork.

“Does he know I’m living here?”

“No. I assumed you wanted to keep that on the down-low but it’s possible someone else in town could give him a heads up. But Emilyn you can’t keep all of this a secret forever.” Something didn’t seem quite right when she’d denied that Kyler knew about my breakup with Weston, but I couldn’t pinpoint it and so I decided to let it go.

I set my fork down and leaned back in my chair. “I know… I just don’t want everybody to know.”

“You don’t want everybody to know, or you don’t want Finn to know?” She cocked her eyebrow.

She had me and she knew it. There was no point wasting breath denying it. “Fine, I don’t want Finn to know. After the way I left things, I just think it’s best that everything that has happened stays in the past. I need to move on. Raising this baby and getting my life back on track are my main priorities. I just think it’s time I really let Finn go.”

Harper grabbed her wine glass and chugged what was left. She set it down and pointed her finger at me. “You are absolutely right! And if you don’t want me to tell Kyler, then I won’t.”

I smiled and thanked her, but felt a twinge of pain. Even when I thought I’d given up Finn, I realized that I actually hadn’t. Was I capable of letting him go? Maybe, maybe not, but I knew I needed to try.

“No I don’t want you to tell him. Kyler can come into town, you two can have dinner, and he doesn’t even need to see me. Do you know how long he’s planning on staying?”

“He said he was thinking about buying a house here so he can be closer to his parents. I suppose he’s planning on talking to about me being his realtor, but I have no idea how long that’s going to take.” She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal but it was a very big deal. If Kyler came back—even if it was only on a part time basis—Finn was sure to follow. Great! Just another stressor I didn’t need.