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Prologue
Paul Haggerty was finally back in Grants Pass after alin River and there was an ache in his chest he just couldn’t ease The last six months had been hell
Paul had gone to Virgin River back in the autumn to help finish Jack Sheridan’s new house Much to his surprise, he discovered Vanessa Rutledge was living in Virgin River with her father and younger brother while her husband, Matt, served in Iraq She was pregnant with Matt’s baby and lookingher had re” he’d had for Vanessa since first laying eyes on her all those years ago But his best friend was the one she had married Then life went into fast forward
Just before the baby was born they all had a video conference with Matt The call was mostly for Matt and Vanni as it was the first tiot to say a quick hi and when it was Paul’s turn Matt had said to hi over here, look after Vanni”
It couldn’t have gone hdad the first week in December It had been a terrible time and Vanni had asked Paul to stay until the baby careed, and all that tiether so Vanni could lean on him But the strain of the situation, his secret love for Vanni and his grief for his best friend ate him alive
He thought going home to Grants Pass would ease the pain or at least distract hiht out drinking with so painfully loaded, only added aheart He felt like a dead h the sleepless nights
Without thinking too much about it, he called a woman he’d been out with a couple of times Terri He needed the distraction of soht up in his drama What qualified Terri was that their friendship had been easy; there was no clinging, no expectations Plus, she used towoman, twenty-nine years to Paul’s thirty-six Terri was the only woman he’d been out with in a couple of years, and he hadn’t talked to her in six , but he hadn’t been paying attention
He started out the conversation with, “Hey, Terri Long time” He asked her to dinner, but first confirmed that she wasn’t in a relationship—he didn’t want to complicate her life
She laughed at that “I wish,” she said “No boyfriend, Paul In fact, I’ve hardly gone out in the past few o someplace quiet and low-key, just catch up” This was just the response he’d been hoping for and he’d been so grateful
Paul rang her doorbell and when she caotten how pretty she was Se eyes, she flashed hiot his attention a year ago She laughed that wild laugh of hers and threw her arreat to see you! I can’t wait to hear your excuse for disappearing for months!”
“Hey, remember Rosa’s? That hole-in-the-wall Mexican place? How about we go there?”
“Love it,” she said
Paul stared straight ahead as he drove theers on the steering wheel and shifted in his seat; ht When they walked in the door, Terri pointed to a dark, corner booth and said, “Back there” And when they sat down she said, “You’re not a real talkative guy, Paul, but it’s obvious so”
“I just got back to town fro”
She was shaking her head “No, it’sto say anything, but you have dark circles, like you’re not sleeping Since I haven’t seen or heard fro I did You act like you just got out of prison Go ahead—I’ood listener”
That was all it took He ordered hilass of wine for Terri and let it spill Best friend, dead Best friend’s wife pregnant Hi his best to hold her up
“Good God,” she said, shaking her head “You could have calledhorrible and not having anyone to talk to can s so much worse”
“I feel like a real jerk du on you now,” he said
“Well, save it I’edies and heartaches And if you don’t get it out, it’s going to eat a hole in you”
“That’s how it feels,” Paul admitted “Like I sed acid Matt and I becah I have two brothers but Matt was an only child, so he spent more tiether—he stayed active while I went to the reserves I think my mom and dad were hit as hard by his death as I was But his wife…Aw, Terri I’ve never seen anything so painful Here she was, about to have their first child, and she would cry until she eak and dry All I could do was hold her But it orse at night when the only sound in the house was Vanni sobbing in bed”
Terri reached for his hand “Paul…”
He held her hand while he talked “When the baby cauess It was the worst and best thing I’ve ever done, seeing that baby being born It made me so proud to hold Matt’s baby” He looked away and blinked back ee, beloved husband, father, brother, son, friend That brother part—that was for me, for us, the brothers in arone and I just can’t see this way then Vanni must be torn to pieces”
Right then the food was delivered, but they didn’t eatup with Matt, playing football, driving their parents’ cars too fast, trying to hustle girls with little success, enlisting in the Corps after two years of college and Matt’s parents going absolutely, totally, cosmically nuts “My parents weren’t happy, but Matt’s were out of their minds Matt’s mother was convinced that I’d talked Matt into it, but the truth is, that’s what he wanted Period I went along because I didn’t want hi in alone Or maybe I didn’t want to stay behind without him My mom used to say ere joined at the hip”
Their plates were taken away, and they lingered over coffee while Paul continued to reminisce Pretty soon they’d been in that corner booth for a couple of hours
“I’ve never lost anyone that close,” Terri said, her eyes liquid “I can’t iine how hard it must be You should have called me, Paul You shouldn’t have shouldered that alone, without support”