I stuck my tongue out as I opened the passenger door and got in. He could make fun of me all he wanted, but I was still nervous. I’d destroyed Jesse two years ago, and while he might have forgiven me, that didn’t mean his mom would.

He turned up the radio once we were on the interstate. I couldn’t help but laugh as he sang along with the songs. Singing was definitely not a strong point of his.

“Are you making fun of my singing?” he asked, pretending to be offended.

“Not at all.”

“Good—because I sing like an angel. I could have made a career out of it.”

“Sure, you could,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

He continued to sing as he drove down the interstate. His mom and Mark lived in Weston, which was about an hour or so away from Morgantown. I stared out the window as we went farther south. This was the farthest away from Morgantown I’d been so far.

I couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful West Virginia was. The hills went on for miles and miles until a larger one blocked out the ones behind it. It was late September, and the leaves were already changing. The colors were striking. Deep reds and burnt orange colors dominated the landscape. Only a few trees held on to their green leaves at this time of year.

I remembered Jesse saying that his mom had wanted to come back to West Virginia to look at the leaves. Now, I understood why. The landscape was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I glanced over at Jesse and smiled. Okay, after Jesse, it was the second most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

He hit the exit ramp at the Weston exit and then turned on to a narrow two-lane road. My nerves were shot at this point. I knew we were close. I glanced out my side window to see us passing a humongous barn with Weston Livestock Auction written across it. I smiled. That wasn’t something to be seen in California—at least, not where we had lived in California.

We continued to drive until the houses started to thin out. They were replaced with wide-open fields. My eyes widened as I stared at the cattle grazing in some of them. It was the first time that I’d ever seen a cow in real life. They were kind of cute.

He gave his signal and turned up a gravel driveway. Trees surrounded us on both sides as we drove down the curvy road. The trees were pretty when they were far away, but it was nothing compared to seeing them up close. Jesse laughed at my excited expression over something as simple as leaves.

“What? I think they’re cool. Did you see the cows back there? They’re so cute!”

“Oh god. You’re starting to act like a girl.”

“That’s because I am a girl.”

“I never would have figured that out if you hadn’t told me,” he said sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to smart off, but I froze as the trees opened up to reveal a large meadow. At the center was a huge house. While it wasn’t as impressive as my mom’s house, it also wasn’t anything to stick your nose up at. Jesse pulled into an empty spot next to a brand new Ford truck.

I looked up at the house. I hadn’t expected something like this. I was so used to Jesse living in a trailer, and for some stupid reason, I’d expected him to live in one here. That was dumb because I knew Mark had money. The house was a two-story log cabin with a garage sitting next to it. The banister around the front porch was made of smaller logs. It looked like something out of a movie.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

We stepped out of his car and started walking toward the porch.

“It is. My mom loves it here.”

“I can see why.”

He laughed. “I thought she was going to pass out the first time she saw this place.”

“I’m glad she found Mark.”

“Me, too. I didn’t think I would be, but I am.”

He reached for my hand and threaded his fingers through mine as we stepped up onto the porch. The front door opened, and his mom came running out.

“It’s about time you decided to visit! I’ve missed you,” she said as the screen door slammed shut. Her eyes widened when she noticed me. “Emma?”

I gave a small wave. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Damn. You guys didn’t make me go through the whole, ‘Emma, this is my mom, Trish,’ again. I was looking forward to that,” Jesse joked.

“What a surprise! I never thought I’d see you again! What are you doing here?” Trish asked, ignoring Jesse.

I glanced up at Jesse. I wasn’t sure how much he wanted his mom to know about everything that had happened with Ally.

“It’s a long story. The important part is that she’s here.”

His mom stepped forward and hugged me. “It’s good to have you around again.”

I hugged her back, relaxing as I realized that Jesse had been right. It was obvious that she didn’t hate me.

She released me and grabbed Jesse to hug him, too. “I missed you, kiddo.”

“I missed you, too, Mom.”

She pulled away and opened the door. “There’s no point in standing out here. I have dinner ready inside. I was worried that I’d made too much, but since Emma is here, we should be fine.”

I followed Jesse into the house. The inside looked much like the outside. The walls were made of logs. A large stone fireplace with a television sitting on the mantel was in the living room. The light brown couch and chairs had images of deer across them. I could tell that Mark was very much an outdoor type of person.

The kitchen was a bit more modern even with the walls being the same as the living room. White tiles covered the floor, and the appliances were all stainless steel. As we made our way to the end of the kitchen, I noticed a man, Jesse’s stepdad, Mark, I assumed, sitting at a large oak table in the dining room.

“Emma, this is Mark,” Jesse said as we reached the table. “I don’t think you two had a chance to meet in California.”

Mark stood and shook my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I said as I looked at him.

His hair was a dark brown with a bit of gray starting to show through. His eyes were a soft chocolate color. He was dressed in simple jeans and a flannel shirt. I glanced at Jesse’s mom to see that she was also in jeans. I looked down at my skirt and white dress shirt, suddenly feeling overdressed.

“Don’t just stand there, you two. Sit down,” Trish said as she took the chair next to Mark.

I sat down in the chair between Mark and Jesse. I folded my hands nervously. While I knew his mom wasn’t angry with me, I still felt unsure of myself. I hadn’t thought to ask Jesse what to say or how much his mom knew when it came to Ally.

I bowed my head as his mom said grace. Once she was finished, we started passing plates full of food around the table. His mom had obviously spent a lot of time on dinner. The table was covered with more food than any of us could ever eat.

“How’s school?” his mom asked as she handed Jesse a plate of pork chops.

“It’s going good.”

“Are you in school, too, Emma?” Mark asked.

“I am.”

“Is that how you two found each other again?” his mom asked.

“Kind of,” I answered. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also wasn’t going to reveal anything about Ally in case Jesse hadn’t mentioned it.

“Kind of?” she asked.

“Truthfully, I came to West Virginia to look for Jesse. I knew he planned to go to college, so I enrolled at WVU because I knew it was one of the biggest schools in the state. I figured that it was the best place to look for him.”

I didn’t mention the fact that the only way I knew he planned to go to college was because he bitched about his mom forcing him to go instead of finishing up his apprenticeship at the tattoo shop.

“That has to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. You better take good care of this girl, Jesse,” Trish said.

“I will, Mom.” Jesse rolled his eyes.

“How long have you two been together? I feel like I’m asking a million questions, but since my dear son never calls me, I’m a bit out of the loop.”