Chapter Twenty-Three

Returning from the grocery store, Oakley methodically put away each item, unable to shake the sadness and worry that followed her like a dark raincloud for the past couple of days. Keeping busy helped. That way she didn’t think. Yeah, right. She constantly thought about Tanner and their argument. As much as she lectured herself on the need to get over it, her mind stubbornly stuck to it, replaying the scene like a bad record. She woke each morning reaching for him and went to bed each night with tears in her eyes, missing him more than she thought possible.

Worse, she had no one to lean on. Sure, she could call her parents, even Dr Miller, but they would say the same thing—patience and time.

Not like she could do much else right now anyway. Tanner had run off on another mission to who knew where and might not return for weeks. He’d be out of touch during that time and would probably ignore her calls, even if he received them. No. She was on her own with this one.

Pride and routine kept her going. Most days she held her head high and lectured herself to quit being a lovesick fool. She’d done what she had to do and would live with the consequences, whatever they turned out to be. Her only hope resided in the old adage that absence made the heart fonder. Perhaps the time apart would cool Tanner’s temper and sweeten his disposition toward her. If she got real lucky, he might actually think everything through and realize that while her actions were a bit unorthodox, her motive was sound.

If not, she could look back on the few wondrous days for great memories.

With a shake of her head, she forced the dreary thoughts away. No sense wallowing in the past. She could only move forward. Experience had taught her that particular lesson well.

She placed the last item in the fridge then pulled out the new squeaker toy for Hercules. One squeeze and his head perked up. Oakley smiled when he trotted over, grabbed his new gift with that huge mouth and carried it back to his mattress. Squeak, squeak, squeak. From the sounds of it, he seemed to like the small replica of a giraffe. “Let’s hope this one lasts longer than the last.”

He ignored her, enthralled with biting down on the body of the stuffed animal.

With him settled, she headed to her laptop to check for any questions from students. Everything else fell into line, including tests and scores. All that remained would be a few loose ends on behalf of the students, usually the ones begging for points to bolster their end of semester grade when they did badly on the final.

An email with a familiar address immediately caught her attention. Sarah. Shakily, she opened it, holding her breath until scanning the contents. Oakley smiled in relief and happiness for her old roommate as she considered the request for a meeting between them.

Sure she wanted to see her old friend again. But that meant returning to a past she’d tried so hard to leave behind. She held no illusions that the topic of what had happened seven years ago would come up, probably jostling some ghosts in both their closets. Uncertainty flared.

Isn’t that what you asked Tanner to do? Talk about what happened? Meet his demons head on?

She lifted her chin with resolve. She typed so quickly her fingers flew over the keyboard with acceptance of their meeting that afternoon. It’s not like she had anything else to do. Besides, no day like today to get the awkward and uncomfortable over with. Tough sledding before you hit the flats. She clicked the send button before she could change her mind.