Chapter 86: Would He Ever Come Back?
I walked through the garden for a few moments, looking around the bigger hedges and bushes, trying to find Ethan, but I didn‘t see him anywhere.
It was like he had vanished from my life again.
With a hand over my baby, I walked back home and went inside, closing the door behind me.
It seemed so lonely inside now. Not long ago, Soren and I had been sitting at the table eating dinner, laughing, and having a good conversation about our day. Now, the entire house seemed still and quiet.
“What was Ethan even doing here?” | asked myself aloud. I had no idea.
He said he‘d come there to see me, but why?
How did he even figure out where I was?
I wanted to talk to Ethan again. I wanted to find him and make him sit down and answer a thousand questions.
But that wasn‘t going to happen.
I lay backward on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if I‘d ever even see him again. There was a chance he would just go back home. Perhaps all he wanted was to see me, and now that he had, now that he knew that I was alive, he would just turn around and head right back to Madalynn‘s open arms.
Madalynn… and her ring.
I decided there was nothing more I could do, so I got ready for bed.
However, In my restless dreams, I kept seeing Ethan again but not being able to speak to him.
When I woke up, I couldn‘t stop thinking about him.
Seraphine was there to check my vitals, and Lola was tidying up the cottage. We were all friends, but I knew | couldn‘t talk to them about this. I couldn‘t risk them finding out the truth about my past.
Thad left that all behind.
Or at least, I thought I had.
“Ro?” Seraphine asked as she put her stethoscope back in her midwife bag. “Are you okay? I‘m done checking the baby, and you usually ask me a thousand questions. Today you‘re just staring off into space.”
“Oh. I‘m sorry.” I shook my head, smiling at her. “I guess I‘m just distracted this morning.”
all right?” she asked me, and I knew from the twinkle in her eye that she was prying. “I know you had
“We‘re just friends,” I reminded her. I ran a
of course,” she said. “It
me feel. Was I ready
fuzzy form of a man next to me came into view, but I wasn‘t quite sure who he was–was it Ethan, or
imagined that the experience would be very different based on who it was next to me. Soren would be so supportive. He‘d probably manage to make it fun. Ethan, on the other
just fine. I‘ll be there with you
the images out of my mind.
have questions, let me know. Your baby is healthy, and you‘re young and strong. I‘m sure this will be a perfectly normal birth where everything will go as planned, and before long, you
finish packing her bag. I knew she had some other patients to see that day. I had other things to
and I needed
to hurry and finish,
flowers. At least, that was what I told myself I was doing… but honestly, I was looking for
looking
reduce me to this
teenage girl, pining after a
he didn‘t answer. Sol cut some flowers
as I
be wonderful. Thank you,” I told her, still
come here if he wasn‘t going to
as I took the vase full of water
window as I went to set the vase
spilling
Lola also cried out. “I‘m so
Miss Ro. Let me get a broom and mop. Pregnancy can make your
needed to clean up my mess, and I backed away from the glass
reached for the broom.
waving me off. “You could
to injure myself, though I felt awful that I’d created such a mess for her
I was a
as
night passed, and I still didn‘t
in the garden, looking for any sign of him while I pretended to prune the trees, but I didn‘t see any trace. No footprints, no lingering scent, no
was beginning to think that perhaps he hadn‘t actually
garden, I had decided I just needed to get on with my life. Whatever it was that had brought Ethan back into my life for those few fleeting moments, he‘d gotten it. Now
sat in the baby‘s nursery, sewing the blanket, staring at nothing as Seraphine organized the drawers
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