one hand the number of times she and Liz had met. However, the amount of time they spent chatting on the phone was endless. It had started when they decided to work together to throw Sarah her bridal shower nearly two years ago. They had met for the first time at the shower.
It wasn’t too much later that tragedy struck and they were meeting again.
This time, for the funeral.
It was then that they vowed to keep in touch. So they had. As always, their mutual concern for Sarah was at the center of their conversations. It was Liz who let Gretchen know just how miserable Sarah was in Crawford. It was also Liz who, even though she knew she would miss her friend like crazy, suggested to Gretchen that Sarah needed a major change.
After Liz had filled Gretchen in on the details of just how miserable Sarah’s life had been, she had fully agreed. Sarah always kept up a stoic front when she was around her sister. Not once had she mentioned the harassing she had endured after Aaron’s death. Just the thought of it made Gretchen livid.
It was Liz who had carefully put the idea into Sarah’s head that she should move back to Laurel. Gretchen was completely on board with the idea. Cole Montgomery, however, had not been part of the initial plan.
It was only when Sarah had asked Gretchen to look for some paperwork regarding the farmhouse that she had run across a box of keepsakes Sarah had kept under her bed. Sarah was a bit like her grandmother in that way. She didn’t like to get rid of anything. That particular box held photos of her and Cole. Gretchen had quickly flipped through them, feeling certain Sarah wouldn’t mind.
If she hadn’t just looked at the photos of him, she never would’ve recognized him. In the photos with Sarah, his hair was unruly. He’d sported the messy but sexy look and he’d worn it well. Now, his hair was close cropped. Respectable. His cheekbones were a little more defd. all of him was more defined.
Photo after photo showed Sarah looking at Cole with nothing but adoration.
The only other person she had ever seen her sister look at that way was Aaron. But now Aaron was gone. Forever. And Sarah, Gretchen and Liz feared, was having a hard time letting go. Not that she thought Cole would replace Aaron. It was just that she was sure Cole still held his own place in her sister’s heart.
It was Gretchen’s mission to make sure that someday soon, he would own her heart completely.
No matter what had happened between them all those years ago, Gretchen knew one thing was certain. Her sister had been completely, wholly in love with Cole. When Gretchen spotted Cole the very same afternoon that she’d leafed through those photos, her mind had begun to spin a web of possibilities. After that, she’d started spotting him all over town.
“By the time you and Sarah met, she was with Aaron,” Gretchen easily explained. “She had no reason to bring up Cole. He disappeared from Laurel when he graduated. Then Sarah left the following year when she graduated. They haven’t seen each other for a long time.”
Gretchen didn’t feel the need to bring up the way he had left. How he seemed to have simply vanished, leaving her sister broken-hearted.
“”Remind me why you think this is a good idea,” Liz said with a sigh.
“Because Cole was her first love. And you never forget your first love. And okay, maybe she wasn’t exactly excited to see him. But she did show some emotion. And we both know that’s got to count for something,” Gretchen pressed. For far too long now, Sarah seemed to be just… existing . Maybe seeing Cole hadn’t exactly brought a smile to her face but it had at least ignited some emotion.
“Gretchen,” Liz said patiently, “you can’t make two people fall in love.”
“I’m not going to make them do anything. I’m just going to remind them—”
“Hold on,” Liz interrupted, “how do you even know this guy will be interested?”
Gretchen tapped her fingers against
It wasn’t too much later that tragedy struck and they were meeting again.
This time, for the funeral.
It was then that they vowed to keep in touch. So they had. As always, their mutual concern for Sarah was at the center of their conversations. It was Liz who let Gretchen know just how miserable Sarah was in Crawford. It was also Liz who, even though she knew she would miss her friend like crazy, suggested to Gretchen that Sarah needed a major change.
After Liz had filled Gretchen in on the details of just how miserable Sarah’s life had been, she had fully agreed. Sarah always kept up a stoic front when she was around her sister. Not once had she mentioned the harassing she had endured after Aaron’s death. Just the thought of it made Gretchen livid.
It was Liz who had carefully put the idea into Sarah’s head that she should move back to Laurel. Gretchen was completely on board with the idea. Cole Montgomery, however, had not been part of the initial plan.
It was only when Sarah had asked Gretchen to look for some paperwork regarding the farmhouse that she had run across a box of keepsakes Sarah had kept under her bed. Sarah was a bit like her grandmother in that way. She didn’t like to get rid of anything. That particular box held photos of her and Cole. Gretchen had quickly flipped through them, feeling certain Sarah wouldn’t mind.
If she hadn’t just looked at the photos of him, she never would’ve recognized him. In the photos with Sarah, his hair was unruly. He’d sported the messy but sexy look and he’d worn it well. Now, his hair was close cropped. Respectable. His cheekbones were a little more defd. all of him was more defined.
Photo after photo showed Sarah looking at Cole with nothing but adoration.
The only other person she had ever seen her sister look at that way was Aaron. But now Aaron was gone. Forever. And Sarah, Gretchen and Liz feared, was having a hard time letting go. Not that she thought Cole would replace Aaron. It was just that she was sure Cole still held his own place in her sister’s heart.
It was Gretchen’s mission to make sure that someday soon, he would own her heart completely.
No matter what had happened between them all those years ago, Gretchen knew one thing was certain. Her sister had been completely, wholly in love with Cole. When Gretchen spotted Cole the very same afternoon that she’d leafed through those photos, her mind had begun to spin a web of possibilities. After that, she’d started spotting him all over town.
“By the time you and Sarah met, she was with Aaron,” Gretchen easily explained. “She had no reason to bring up Cole. He disappeared from Laurel when he graduated. Then Sarah left the following year when she graduated. They haven’t seen each other for a long time.”
Gretchen didn’t feel the need to bring up the way he had left. How he seemed to have simply vanished, leaving her sister broken-hearted.
“”Remind me why you think this is a good idea,” Liz said with a sigh.
“Because Cole was her first love. And you never forget your first love. And okay, maybe she wasn’t exactly excited to see him. But she did show some emotion. And we both know that’s got to count for something,” Gretchen pressed. For far too long now, Sarah seemed to be just… existing . Maybe seeing Cole hadn’t exactly brought a smile to her face but it had at least ignited some emotion.
“Gretchen,” Liz said patiently, “you can’t make two people fall in love.”
“I’m not going to make them do anything. I’m just going to remind them—”
“Hold on,” Liz interrupted, “how do you even know this guy will be interested?”
Gretchen tapped her fingers against
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