Read Online Can't Let Go by Jessica Lemmon - Free Book Online Page A

him again.
    He missed Sadie so bad, it hurt. When she’d called Saturday, it killed him to break their date. But with his family packed in the house, and his mother telling him she had something to discuss with him after everyone left…well…Aiden couldn’t leave.
    That was the night she’d told him about Oregon, about how his father couldn’t make the trip to see the care center because of work. She wanted Aiden to go and he hadn’t hesitated to say yes. So he spent the day packing and helping his mother pack.
    Had he escaped to see Sadie, he knew he wouldn’t be good company. What nerves Harmony hadn’t frayed, Evan had, making smarmy remarks in her presence that Aiden had to curb before the rest of his family found out about the divorce. And Angel had dropped a bomb on Aiden—asking him to keep it to himself, of course—that she was in a serious relationship with one of her coworkers back in Tennessee. She’d eluded that there’d be invitations to a wedding coming soon.
    After digesting all of it—the diagnosis, the family drama, the future nuptials rushed for his mom’s sake…Aiden realized he’d put off Sadie as long as he could. Now he was at the airport, with plenty of privacy and enough time on his hands to solve world peace.
    He was out of excuses.
    He dialed Sadie’s number.
    *  *  *
    “The Electric Slide” echoed from the depths of Sadie’s purse. She dropped her keys and bag on the couch and riffled through it until she located the ringing electronic, her heart hammering. And not in a good way.
    You have to answer it.
    “Hi.” The fear quaking in her gut made her voice sound thin.
    “Hi.” Aiden was silent for a second. “I’m, um…I’m in Oregon.”
    Okay. Wow. That wasn’t…she had no idea what to do with that. “Oregon? Like…the state of Oregon?”
    “Yeah. I can’t get back to Ohio by tonight,” he said. “I wanted to tell you in person but…”
    “This is about Harmony.” Sadie paced, realizing she was blurting out words she shouldn’t be saying. “You’re getting back together with her, aren’t you? I knew it.”
    “Sadie…”
    “I knew it the day you called to say you saw her. I mean, I didn’t know but I suspected—”
    “Sadie.” His tone was so firm Sadie shut her mouth. “Mom’s cancer is back. They gave her three months.” His voice was tight, like he was trying to keep from crying. Which was what Sadie felt like doing right now.
    Sadie sank into her living room chair. “I’m so sorry.”
    “My family came into town and she told us. Mom expected Harmony to be there. It would have been weird if she wasn’t since…”
    He didn’t seem to be able to finish his sentence. “Since your mom believes you’re still married,” Sadie said.
    “Yeah.”
    He explained the holistic facility, mentioned something about herbal treatments, acupuncture, and meditation classes. “Mom’s fighting it on her terms this time around.” He took a steadying breath and blew it out.
    Sadie’s own breaths were shallow. Something else was coming. Something worse. How was that possible?
    Aiden lowered his voice. “Sadie, I’m going with her.”
    She recognized that sound. The sound of her entire world splintering and crashing down around her. The last time this happened she’d turned her wedding invitations into confetti. “Why?” she whispered, knowing she shouldn’t ask. She didn’t care. She needed to know why the man she loved was moving across the country.
    “Dad can’t stay here because of work. I’m the only one of my siblings not working right now who can afford to take off for three, six, or eight months.” He added quietly, “However long it takes.”
    Eight? Eight was a lot of months, she thought, vaguely aware of the selfish bend of her thoughts.
    “Odd how things work out,” he said, suddenly introspective. “Maybe things happen for a reason, you know? Maybe Harmony cheated on me so I’d leave my business. So I’d be free to do this