BooksBarbecue
Back Baggage Claim Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. 1. One
  2. 2. Two
  3. 3. Three
  4. 4. Four
  5. 5. Five
  6. 6. Six
  7. 7. Seven
  8. 8. Eight
  9. 9. Nine
  10. 10. Ten
  11. 11. Eleven
  12. 12. Twelve
  13. 13. Thirteen
  14. 14. Fourteen
  15. 15. Fifteen
  16. 16. Sixteen
  17. 17. Seventeen
  18. 18. Eighteen
  19. 19. Nineteen
  20. 20. Twenty
  21. 21. Twenty-One
  22. 22. Twenty-Two
  23. 23. Twenty-Three
  24. 24. Twenty-Four
  25. 25. Twenty-Five
  26. 26. Twenty-Six
  27. 27. Twenty-Seven
  28. 28. Twenty-Eight
  29. 29. Twenty-Nine
  30. 30. Thirty
  31. 31. Thirty-One
  32. 32. Thirty-Two
  33. 33. Thirty-three
  34. 34. Thirty-Four
  35. 35. Thirty-Five
  36. 36. Thirty-Six
  37. 37. Thirty-Seven
  38. 38. Thirty-Eight
  39. 39. Thirty-Nine
  40. 40. Forty
  41. 41. Forty-One
  42. 42. Forty-Two
  43. 43. Forty-three
  44. 44. Epilogue
  45. Afterword
  46. Also by
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About Author

I laughed derisively and said, “Yeah ‘cause that is worth moving for.”

I couldn’t hold back my sarcasm. The idea of Olive sticking around was unfathomable, and I couldn’t make her any promises about long distance. I had to face reality: whatever was happening between us would end, and soon. Most likely I would possibly be broken-hearted, but she would be fine.

Coop stared me down. “Whatever you say, man.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I withdrew it.

Lil Grinch: My parents are inviting everyone over tonight to watch Christmas Vacation if you want to come?

Me: Wherever you are, I’m there, honey.

32. Thirty-Two

image-placeholder

I never answered Logan’s text. I hadn’t heard from Sarah either. It seemed like the whole house was walking on eggshells around me since I ditched dinner last night. Only Finn, Sarah, and Logan saw me rush out of the restaurant, so the rest of my family made their own conclusions about what happened. I eventually moved my work laptop from my room into the living room to try and make a point that I was fine. But this led to Mom bringing me hot tea and telling me everything would be okay, or Taylor sitting next to me and brushing my hair in silence while I worked. At one point, Mom even brought me a tray with the Pillsbury Christmas cookies: snowmen, reindeer, and trees. We used to ask her to make all three because we swore they each tasted different. I think the only reason she went along with it was to get us to hush.

“You guys know I’m fine, right?” Both of my favorite girls nodded but exchanged looks.

“Olive, honey. It’s okay to not be okay,” Mom said sympathetically.

I shrugged. “I know that. But I really am fine. I’ve got Finn.” For the next few days… “And work is good. I promise I’m okay. I just had a momentary relapse last night.”

The looks I received said they didn’t believe me, but the truth was, as long as Finn was there, I was good. I forgot about Sarah or anything else surrounding me. It was all him. Which was why, when I heard his voice echo from the front door, I shot up from the couch and ran to him. Finn opened his arms for me, and I jumped into his embrace, not caring what we looked like to my family. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, squeezing.

“Hey, Grinchy,” he said once he set me on my feet, and I smiled at him.

I pulled him to the couch where Mom and Taylor were, and soon they were swooning over Finn as he spoke. We all sat there, slack-jawed at his deep voice filling the room, telling us stories from his job and how his day was. I could listen to him all day.