Free Without You Here by Carter Ashby Page B

the far right. The ones he might give to the Mission he put in the middle. And off to the left, the one or two he wanted to keep, though he wasn't sure where he should keep them. For now they weren't leaving the closet.
    He stepped backwards and sat on the edge of his bed. He waited to see how he would feel about this new development. It turned out he was okay. A little sad, but okay.
    That night he went to his parent's for dinner. He wasn't invited. Didn't have to be. If he showed up, his mom would feed him. She was awesome that way. It was just the three of them, which was good, but Wyatt waited until Charles went out to put the chickens in their house.
    "Mom, about that girl."
    She was washing dishes. He saw her smile in profile. He leaned back on the counter. "The one you met this past weekend?"
    Like she had any doubt. "Yeah. She's twenty-two."
    "I believe you mentioned that."
    "That's pretty young."
    Liza shrugged.
    "I wouldn't want people to think that I’d just been biding my time so I could chase after a younger woman. Or that I'm some creep having a midlife crisis."
    "What people, dear?"
    "People. Any people. You guys."
    "Well, were you just biding your time to chase after younger women?"
    "Of course not."
    "Are you having a midlife crisis?"
    "I'm forty-two. Don't I have a few years?"
    "Then what's the problem?"
    He swallowed. He honestly didn't know what the problem was. He didn't know what all these feelings were or how to express them.
    Liza turned off the sink, dried her hands, and turned to face him. "You're going to feel guilty, Wyatt. From what I understand, that's completely natural. But you absolutely must lay Amberlee to rest. You think you're doing all this for her, but sweetheart, she's gone. If there's a heaven and Amberlee is there, then she isn't worried about you anymore. And if there isn't, then it doesn't matter anyway. You need to find a way to have a life again."
    None of that connected with him. He knew where Amberlee was. She was with him, like always. She was watching and he owed her his loyalty.
    But telling himself all of that didn't make last weekend go away.
    "What's her name?" Liza asked.
    He hitched a shoulder. "It doesn't matter."
    "Tell me about her."
    He shook his head. "She's too young."
    "If she weren't, would you call her?"
    He sighed. "Probably not."
    "Because of Amberlee."
    He nodded.
    Liza gave a sad smile. "You need to get—“
    "Help. Mom, please don't start in on that again. I just wanted—“  
    She waited. "What? What did you want?"
    "I guess to see how you felt about her age."
    Liza smiled kindly, then. "I have no problem with her age. If she makes you happy, then I love her already."
    He grinned. "She's a lot of fun. I think maybe...maybe I'll give her a call. See if she'll give me some time to get things together."
    "I think that's a wonderful idea. I hope I get to meet her some day."
    He tried to imagine introducing Ettie to his family and found it surprisingly easy to do. He actually thought she'd get along wonderfully with his mom. And his sister-in-law, Diane. Maybe not Cecily. His sister was something of a prude. He wondered what Blake would think of her. He doubted they would ever be best friends since Blake was so straight-laced and Ettie was a bit on the wild side. But surely they'd get along.
    "Maybe someday," he said.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    I had my arms folded on the edge of the car window and my chin resting on them. I’d driven down last weekend, but had been too preoccupied to notice how beautiful it was. Over the course of the two hour drive, the land had gone from flat, to rolling. The highway dipped and curved with the land. The cool spring breeze invigorated me.
    We had to pass through the little town of Hadley, where Wyatt and I had breakfasted. I tried not to think of last weekend. I was with a man who wanted to take me home. That should mean more to me than a fling with some stranger who didn't even want me. It didn't. But it should.
    I tried to