Goodbye Never by Prescott Lane

Author:Prescott Lane [Lane, Prescott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Prescott Lane
Published: 2022-05-01T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LENNON

I glance over at Duke from the passenger seat of his truck. I still can’t believe he’s here. After everything that happened, I never thought we’d be like this again—be friends again.

When he showed up at Chase’s funeral, I can’t even say I was surprised. He’s always been there for me since we were little. He was my playmate, my partner in crime, the one I turned to, the one who always showed up for me. My heart knew he’d be there. That’s the type of man he is.

He’s transferring here, calling in favors, changing his career plans to be my friend, to be by my side while I give birth to Chase’s baby. I know not many men would do that—best friend or not. I’m blessed to have him in my life—to have him back in my life. His absence was something I never stopped feeling, no matter how hard I tried.

He looks over at me, grinning. “Guess you need to sign up for Lamaze class now,” he says.

My baby girl somersaults in my belly. Is she happy about that?

No matter what Duke says, I’m not convinced that Chase would be happy with my choice of birthing partner. Perhaps this is just one more thing I’ll need to ask his forgiveness for. That list is getting pretty long.

But I don’t want to do this alone. My mom did that. I know firsthand how hard that was for her. I think that’s one reason I didn’t tell Duke about the pregnancy. I didn’t want to face the fact that I’d have to give birth alone, parent alone. I was so sad over Chase, and I just didn’t have the strength to face one more thing. But Duke being here makes me feel stronger.

“I need to swing by my parents’ house,” Duke says.

“Why?”

“If I’m going to stay at your place, I need to pick up the rest of my stuff,” he says, turning onto their street.

I’ve avoided driving anywhere near their house since the night of my rehearsal dinner. They tried to reach out to me, but between what they did and what Duke did, I couldn’t hear it. Then Chase insisted I cut off all contact with Duke, and that included his parents as well. When Duke started writing to me after the funeral, I considered reaching out to them, but I didn’t have the energy to deal with anything but my own guilt and grief. Grief is an energy thief. It zaps you from the ability to do the simplest things. Even showering feels like running a marathon when grief consumes you.

“Maybe you should take me home first,” I say.

“I’ll just be a minute,” Duke says.

“Nothing with your mother is a minute,” I say with a small smile.

“True,” he says, pulling into the driveway. “But I’ll be quick.”

Duke hops out of his truck, and my eyes go to the garden. This may be Duke’s home, but that’s my mom’s garden. I open the door, slowly stepping out. “The garden,” I say.

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