Free The Fear of Letting Go by Sarra Cannon

wanted to go to Boston, but I wanted her to stay in Fairhope. I think part of me knew that if she left, things were over between us, anyway. So one night, Bailey and I were the last two on the yacht after a big party, and it just sort of happened. I know it makes me sound like an asshole, but I was just having fun. Things with Leigh Anne had gotten complicated and there were all these expectations for us. But with Bailey, it was simple. At least at first.”
    “We all make dumb mistakes when we're teenagers,” I say. God knows I made a lot of them. Worse ones than cheating, that's for sure.
    Silence stretches out between us, and I listen to the waves crashing against the shore below. The tide is coming in, and in the distance, the white peaks of the larger waves roll forward and disappear.
    “You were right, though,” he says after a while.
    “About what?”
    “About my future being all cinched up,” he says. He finishes his beer and sets the bottle down behind him. As he moves, his leg brushes against mine and he leaves it there, his warmth pressing against me. “My parents have had it all figured out since I was a little boy. I was always supposed to go to school here in Fairhope so I could do an apprenticeship at the company, double-major in business and economics, and take over some of the smaller duties after graduation. We haven't talked about dates, but when he's satisfied I have a good grasp on how things are run, Dad will retire and leave it all to me. I'm supposed to settle down here in Fairhope with my own house here in town, pick a wife and have a couple of kids just like they did. Mom and Dad will keep their fingers in every aspect of the business, and I'll be their dutiful little puppet, playing out their game exactly as I've been programmed.”
    “You don't sound too happy about that.”
    “How could I possibly complain about an empire being handed to me? I don't even have to earn it. I just have to say yes, and it's mine,” he says. “I'd be an idiot to walk away from that life, right?”
    “I can't even begin to answer that question for you.” I'd never once thought about whether Preston wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. “I guess I just assumed it was what you wanted.”
    “Everyone does,” he says. “No one ever thinks to ask me if it's what I want, because of course it's what I want. Who wouldn't want a multi-billion dollar corporation handed to them?”
    “Not me,” I say with a laugh. I set my empty beer beside his. “I can't even wrap my head around the concept of a billion anything, and I certainly wouldn't want the responsibility that comes with it.”
    “Some days I feel exactly the same way,” he says. “I look at Penny and Mason and see how happy they are now, and I wonder if I would be happier if I just walked away from it all. Built a simpler life without the headaches and pressure.”
    “Trust me, being poor is no picnic,” I say. “I know Penny and Mason have made a lot of changes, but that doesn't mean there are no more headaches just because they stopped driving fancy cars. If you think for one minute having less money in your bank account—or no money for that matter—makes life easier, you're even more clueless than I thought you were. I'm not trying to dismiss what you're going through, but until you've been in a position where you have no idea if you're still going to have a place to live next week, you have no idea what it's like to be without money.”
    “Is that how you grew up?”
    I shrug, a knot in my stomach tightening. I don't want to talk about how I grew up. “Let's just say there have been times in my life where I had to go a few days without food,” I say.
    “I can't even imagine that,” he says softly.
    “Then we're even,” I say. “Because I can't imagine having a billion dollars and owning five different cars.”
    He laughs. “I only have two cars.”
    “Oh, only two?” I say. I cut my eyes toward him and nudge him with my