this.”
“I think it’s about time we should. After all, she is the reason we are where we are today.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. You were the one who was here when I was hundreds of miles away waiting for any kind of word from you. When the only word I got was through her.”
He drew in a deep breath and held it, trying to reign in the confusion he felt.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t be a coward about this. Not now. Kelly isn’t standing here to facilitate our words anymore.”
“That’s right. Kelly’s not here at all.”
“I know. And in spite of everything, I miss her so much.”
“In spite… What are you talking about?”
She proceeded as if she were walking on eggshells.
“Haven’t you ever wondered what happened to us, Logan? Did you ever wonder how our friendship fell apart? I don’t mean Kelly and me. Not the three of us. You and me.”
He stared at her for a long moment. He had wondered. The woman who’d left Rudolph as a teenager, crying in his arms that she would do everything in her power to come back, him promising her the same, was staring up at her now. It amazed him how the years melted away in an instant. He wondered if he’d ever see this side of Poppy again. And now he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“Just leave it in the past, Poppy. It doesn’t matter now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to talk about this. And no amount of looking at that photo album is going to change a thing.”
“That’s just it, Logan. We don’t talk at all. We haven’t in years. Think back. We let Kelly do all our talking for us. I still don’t know exactly how that happened. And now that she’s gone, when you have the chance to actually say something to me, yell at me, curse me, to finally talk for ourselves, you just avoid me.”
“We’ve just spent the last two days together.”
“Talking about the flood and work and Keith needing a bath or breakfast. Anything but what we need to talk about. I could have been anyone lugging those branches yesterday or cooking in your kitchen today. You avoided talking to me. With me. You just talk at me as if I were some stranger.”
He started to protest but she broke in before he could utter a word. “Think about what’s gone on here. We haven’t seen each other in years and all you have to say is ‘we have no food in the kitchen’ or ‘would you mind watching Keith’. We need to talk, Logan.”
“No, we don’t.”
He started to turn away, but she stopped him.
“Is that what it was like with you and Kelly? Did you ever get angry or argue about anything? Or did you just take everything she said at face value?” She shook her head, knowing the truth without his answer. They both knew Kelly too well. In the end, she answered for him. “Of course you didn’t. I know I did. Why would I have any reason to believe otherwise?
“Kelly was as steady as the day was long. She never rocked the boat. That was Kelly’s way. But it was never your way, Logan. We argued plenty and we laughed and talked. All of that made us closer. That’s what made us such good friends.”
He sighed and turned to her. In his eyes Poppy saw truth and a war waging that Logan didn’t want to fight. And she could hardly blame him after the tragedy he’d gone through in the last year.
“Kelly wasn’t like you, Poppy,” he said, his whole body showing defeat.
“Why do you think I came back here, Logan?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. You knew the moment I pulled into the driveway. There’s some unfinished business between us, something that was brewing long before I left South Dakota all those years ago. Things we should have said, but didn’t because we were too young and naïve. You knew it and so did Kelly. That’s what frightened her so much.”
In the dark room, Logan’s expression should have scared her. But it didn’t. In his eyes, she saw need, something she’d
“I think it’s about time we should. After all, she is the reason we are where we are today.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. You were the one who was here when I was hundreds of miles away waiting for any kind of word from you. When the only word I got was through her.”
He drew in a deep breath and held it, trying to reign in the confusion he felt.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t be a coward about this. Not now. Kelly isn’t standing here to facilitate our words anymore.”
“That’s right. Kelly’s not here at all.”
“I know. And in spite of everything, I miss her so much.”
“In spite… What are you talking about?”
She proceeded as if she were walking on eggshells.
“Haven’t you ever wondered what happened to us, Logan? Did you ever wonder how our friendship fell apart? I don’t mean Kelly and me. Not the three of us. You and me.”
He stared at her for a long moment. He had wondered. The woman who’d left Rudolph as a teenager, crying in his arms that she would do everything in her power to come back, him promising her the same, was staring up at her now. It amazed him how the years melted away in an instant. He wondered if he’d ever see this side of Poppy again. And now he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“Just leave it in the past, Poppy. It doesn’t matter now.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to talk about this. And no amount of looking at that photo album is going to change a thing.”
“That’s just it, Logan. We don’t talk at all. We haven’t in years. Think back. We let Kelly do all our talking for us. I still don’t know exactly how that happened. And now that she’s gone, when you have the chance to actually say something to me, yell at me, curse me, to finally talk for ourselves, you just avoid me.”
“We’ve just spent the last two days together.”
“Talking about the flood and work and Keith needing a bath or breakfast. Anything but what we need to talk about. I could have been anyone lugging those branches yesterday or cooking in your kitchen today. You avoided talking to me. With me. You just talk at me as if I were some stranger.”
He started to protest but she broke in before he could utter a word. “Think about what’s gone on here. We haven’t seen each other in years and all you have to say is ‘we have no food in the kitchen’ or ‘would you mind watching Keith’. We need to talk, Logan.”
“No, we don’t.”
He started to turn away, but she stopped him.
“Is that what it was like with you and Kelly? Did you ever get angry or argue about anything? Or did you just take everything she said at face value?” She shook her head, knowing the truth without his answer. They both knew Kelly too well. In the end, she answered for him. “Of course you didn’t. I know I did. Why would I have any reason to believe otherwise?
“Kelly was as steady as the day was long. She never rocked the boat. That was Kelly’s way. But it was never your way, Logan. We argued plenty and we laughed and talked. All of that made us closer. That’s what made us such good friends.”
He sighed and turned to her. In his eyes Poppy saw truth and a war waging that Logan didn’t want to fight. And she could hardly blame him after the tragedy he’d gone through in the last year.
“Kelly wasn’t like you, Poppy,” he said, his whole body showing defeat.
“Why do you think I came back here, Logan?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. You knew the moment I pulled into the driveway. There’s some unfinished business between us, something that was brewing long before I left South Dakota all those years ago. Things we should have said, but didn’t because we were too young and naïve. You knew it and so did Kelly. That’s what frightened her so much.”
In the dark room, Logan’s expression should have scared her. But it didn’t. In his eyes, she saw need, something she’d