“What happened to us, Lori? Why wasn’t love enough?”
It took a long time for her to answer. “Sometimes, that’s just the way it is, I guess.”
“That’s no answer.”
Lori stretched to set her mug down on a coaster lying on the end table beside her chair. “It’s the only one I’ve got, and frankly, I don’t know that it matters at this point. You’re getting married next month and—”
“The wedding’s off.”
Her mug rattled against the table. “Uh…”
“Not permanently,” he continued. “We’re delaying it. A work thing has come up.”
“You’re delaying your wedding because of work?”
The judgment in her tone put Chase’s back up. “You sound like my mother.”
He set his glass down hard, shoved to his feet, and began to pace, to rant, giving voice to the words that had been piling up on him throughout the evening. “I love my mom and dad, and I hate more than anything to disappoint them, but I am who I am. They taught me to be bold. They taught me to reach for what I want. They can’t complain when I do it. My mom shouldn’t cry!”
“You made your mother cry?”
Chase raked his fingers through his hair and shied away from both the question and the memory. “So I live life on the edge, but you know what? It’s damned thrilling. I love it! I love doing what I do and seeing new places and meeting new people and experiencing new things. Bad things can happen to a person in Eternity Springs, too, you know. I could get attacked by a bear walking from the garage to the house. I could have a tire blow at the wrong time and go plunging off the side of a mountain. Hell, I could slip on ice and crack my head open on the way into church on Sunday morning. I don’t have to be overseas to encounter a dangerous situation. I don’t want to look back in twenty years and regret not taking advantage of the opportunities that came my way. It’s Hidden River Gorge. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime ride. I can be bored and boring when I’m old!”
Lori held up her hand. “Wait a minute. Do I have this right? You postponed your wedding in order to go river rafting? And your bride is okay with it?”
“She’s the star of the show. Of course she’s okay with it.”
“Wow. Just wow.” She stared at him for a long moment as though he were a puzzle piece she couldn’t figure out. Or maybe a bug. A bug in her oatmeal. Her cold oatmeal. Finally, she said, “Wow. I think I’ve figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
“The answer to your question.”
“What question?”
“About what happened to us. Why love wasn’t enough.”
He shot her a bleary, wary look and waited.
Lori unfolded her legs from the chair and rose. She picked up her mug of milk. “It’s like this, Chase. I love margaritas, but tequila gives me heartburn. I love bacon, but it clogs my arteries. I loved you, but you were no better for me than tequila and bacon.”
“The romance of that statement overwhelms me.”
“It’s the truth of the statement that’s important. When it came to the kind of life we wanted to live, we didn’t see eye to eye.”
“But we felt heart to heart,” he fired back. “That should have conquered everything.”
“They call it reality TV, but there is nothing real life about it. You aren’t the Bachelor. I’m not the Bachelorette. We are Chase and Lori who needed something from each other that we weren’t able to give and remain true to ourselves. That doesn’t make one of us right and the other wrong. It’s that we weren’t right for each other.”
She crossed the room to him and took his hand. “I’m glad we had this talk. It’s been long overdue.” She went up on her tiptoes to press a quick, bittersweet kiss against his cheek. “I wish you much happiness, my friend. The people who love you understand you were born to run—after all, your parents named you Chase, right? How apt was that? So go ride your white water. Reach for your stars. Chase your
It took a long time for her to answer. “Sometimes, that’s just the way it is, I guess.”
“That’s no answer.”
Lori stretched to set her mug down on a coaster lying on the end table beside her chair. “It’s the only one I’ve got, and frankly, I don’t know that it matters at this point. You’re getting married next month and—”
“The wedding’s off.”
Her mug rattled against the table. “Uh…”
“Not permanently,” he continued. “We’re delaying it. A work thing has come up.”
“You’re delaying your wedding because of work?”
The judgment in her tone put Chase’s back up. “You sound like my mother.”
He set his glass down hard, shoved to his feet, and began to pace, to rant, giving voice to the words that had been piling up on him throughout the evening. “I love my mom and dad, and I hate more than anything to disappoint them, but I am who I am. They taught me to be bold. They taught me to reach for what I want. They can’t complain when I do it. My mom shouldn’t cry!”
“You made your mother cry?”
Chase raked his fingers through his hair and shied away from both the question and the memory. “So I live life on the edge, but you know what? It’s damned thrilling. I love it! I love doing what I do and seeing new places and meeting new people and experiencing new things. Bad things can happen to a person in Eternity Springs, too, you know. I could get attacked by a bear walking from the garage to the house. I could have a tire blow at the wrong time and go plunging off the side of a mountain. Hell, I could slip on ice and crack my head open on the way into church on Sunday morning. I don’t have to be overseas to encounter a dangerous situation. I don’t want to look back in twenty years and regret not taking advantage of the opportunities that came my way. It’s Hidden River Gorge. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime ride. I can be bored and boring when I’m old!”
Lori held up her hand. “Wait a minute. Do I have this right? You postponed your wedding in order to go river rafting? And your bride is okay with it?”
“She’s the star of the show. Of course she’s okay with it.”
“Wow. Just wow.” She stared at him for a long moment as though he were a puzzle piece she couldn’t figure out. Or maybe a bug. A bug in her oatmeal. Her cold oatmeal. Finally, she said, “Wow. I think I’ve figured it out.”
“Figured what out?”
“The answer to your question.”
“What question?”
“About what happened to us. Why love wasn’t enough.”
He shot her a bleary, wary look and waited.
Lori unfolded her legs from the chair and rose. She picked up her mug of milk. “It’s like this, Chase. I love margaritas, but tequila gives me heartburn. I love bacon, but it clogs my arteries. I loved you, but you were no better for me than tequila and bacon.”
“The romance of that statement overwhelms me.”
“It’s the truth of the statement that’s important. When it came to the kind of life we wanted to live, we didn’t see eye to eye.”
“But we felt heart to heart,” he fired back. “That should have conquered everything.”
“They call it reality TV, but there is nothing real life about it. You aren’t the Bachelor. I’m not the Bachelorette. We are Chase and Lori who needed something from each other that we weren’t able to give and remain true to ourselves. That doesn’t make one of us right and the other wrong. It’s that we weren’t right for each other.”
She crossed the room to him and took his hand. “I’m glad we had this talk. It’s been long overdue.” She went up on her tiptoes to press a quick, bittersweet kiss against his cheek. “I wish you much happiness, my friend. The people who love you understand you were born to run—after all, your parents named you Chase, right? How apt was that? So go ride your white water. Reach for your stars. Chase your
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