Rory’s decisions made no sense to me either. It was like one day she was my mom, my world, and the next day she was this stranger being sentenced to five years.

Did I have an unnatural fear of failure? Yes. Success felt like a myth. Happiness … an unreachable destination.

And love … well, it was something blurry and always changing forms in my life. I chased love.

Love for my father.

Love for God.

Love for Rory.

But it always felt just out of reach. Until Fisher. With him, I touched love. I held it in my hands, like reaching the end of a rainbow or lassoing the moon.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I got the Forester and the tile shop job. And I missed Fisher. Sometimes I saw him mowing the lawn or working in the garage when I got back from my evening walks or jogs. Sometimes I saw him at the tile shop picking up something.

We mastered courteous.

We perfected our sibling relationship around Rory.

But mostly, I spent my time praying for the crater in my heart to heal and … missing him.

It would have been easier had I stayed angry at him, had I not known everything, had I not felt his love.

“I’m going to Texas this weekend,” I announced to Rory, Rose, and Fisher as we ate pizza and cake on a Wednesday night to celebrate Rory’s birthday.

“Oh?” Rory eyed me suspiciously from her favorite rocking chair on the porch.

“It was a last-minute decision. It’s Grandma’s and Grandpa’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, and their church is having a party for them. They invited me. Paid for my airfare. And they’ll pick me up at the airport Friday evening when I land. Just a quick getaway. I’ll be home Sunday night because I have to work Monday.”

“Well, tell them happy anniversary from me.” Rory wrinkled her nose. “Not that they’ll care. I’m not exactly the favorite daughter-in-law anymore.”

“Do you need a ride to the airport?” Fisher asked. It was a rare moment of us sharing direct conversation instead of keeping our focus on Rory or Rose like usual.

“No. I’m leaving my vehicle at the airport since I’ll be getting in late Sunday. I didn’t want anyone to worry about picking me up.” After talking to my plate because I still couldn’t look him in the eye, I did the impossible—I lifted my gaze to his for a split second.

“Okay.” The hint of a smile touched his lips. It was the Fisher smile I had come to love.

“How’s your new job going?” Rose asked.

“It’s fine. A little monotonous, but the people I work with are nice.”

Rose’s gaze slid to Fisher. He glanced away from all of us.

“I’m not implying my last job was bad or the people weren’t nice.” I should have kept my mouth shut.