Read Online Now a Major Motion Picture by Stacey Wiedower - Free Book Online Page A

hell do you want, Ashley?” She recoiled slightly, as if she was afraid he might physically push her from the doorstep. “I have nothing else to say to you. Please just leave me alone.” His voice broke on the last word.
    “I just wanted to explain,” she said. “Apologize—”
    Apologize? He stared at her as if she had six heads, her words making no sense. They’d both been there that night. No matter what had happened—and the details were still fuzzy—no apology could change it, and no explanation could fix the hell it had made out of his life.
    “I don’t want an apology from you, Ashley. I just want you to go.” He met her eyes. “And this time, don’t come back.”
    He shut the door softer this time, but with a definitive snap.
    He never saw her again.
    The next day, he made the excruciatingly long drive home to drop the double whammy on his family that not only had he left school, but the wedding was off. He never gave his parents the details, but he knew they’d surmised what had happened. They lived in a small town. There were no secrets.
    He knew he’d let them down, too.
    They didn’t say a word about his decision to drop out of school, probably because he didn’t look as if he could take it. Misery was etched across his haggard face, grief palpable in his blood-shot eyes. Even then, in the midst of his pain, he realized what a blessing it was to have supportive parents.
    His mom tolerated his misery until it ran its course, not protesting when he stayed shut up inside his room for the better part of two weeks. His youngest sister, Nicki, still in high school, rolled her eyes a lot, but didn’t hassle him, so he knew things looked as bad as they felt.
    Just before his would-be graduation date rolled around, his dad sat him down and delivered the speech that ultimately got him back on his feet.
    “Son,” he said, “I know how things seem. I might know it a little better than you think.”
    His father’s story shocked Noah with its frankness. His parents had been high school sweethearts, the classic love story. Growing up with their example, he’d never doubted he and Amelia would make it through college, through life, grow old together. He’d witnessed, in Geoff Bradley, a more mature version of himself.
    But in his most vulnerable moment, his dad told him something he’d never known and never would have suspected. His parents’ marriage almost hadn’t happened. In their case, it was Melanie, his mom, who’d self-destructed. After she’d agreed to marry Geoff and as the date of their wedding neared, she’d gotten cold feet. She’d called the wedding off, left town. She’d even started dating someone else.
    “I waited, Noah,” Geoff said, his eyes wistful. “I knew, I always knew, that we were right. It didn’t matter what she did or what I did. When things settled down and she was ready to come back, I was here, waiting for her.
    “If things are right, Amelia will wait for you, too. Have faith in that. But whether that happens or not, you can’t destroy your life. If she comes back, son, you’ve got to give her someone to come back to.”
    It was hard to argue with that, even knowing as he did that Amelia wasn’t coming back. He didn’t exactly find a renewed zeal for life at that moment, but he did start figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other again.
    Noah sighed, his mind flashing back to Erin, back to the present.
    I’ve waited long enough , he thought.
    He’d make the call.
     
    * * *
     
    He still waited until Sunday night to dial the number he’d saved in his phone. He wasn’t really up on the rules of relationships, but he knew he didn’t want to appear too eager. As he clicked “send,” his fingers shook. Seriously? Grow a pair, Noah. Where the hell had he been all these years?
    He steeled himself as the phone began to ring.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, Erin. It’s Noah Bradley.”
    “Well, hey, Noah,” she said, a hint of surprise in her voice.