Free Anywhere With You by Britney King Page B

Still, I didn’t write back for nearly a week or so, mostly because I didn’t know how to respond. Also, I needed to be sure of my position.
     
    To: Amelie Rose
    From: Jack Harrison
     
    Subject: I think I know…
     
    Dear Amelie,
     
    What’s going on in your life that I shouldn’t ask you for advice?
     
    Please tell me that you’ve slowed down on the drinking. I know you’ve always been a girl who likes to have fun—but still, I worry.
     
    Also, I need to tell you that you were right about the whole Jane situation. She is nice. And you know what? She’s never once asked me for anything, or pressed me for more, and I like that about her.
     
    I still miss you,
    Jack
     
    It took Amelie three long weeks to respond, so long that I almost picked up the phone and called. I can’t tell you how many times I refreshed my email just to see if her name would suddenly appear. Finally, one day when I’d just about given up hope, it did.
     
    To: Jack Harrison
    From: Amelie Rose
     
    Subject: Thinking is not good enough…
     
    Dear Jack,
     
    Sorry for the delay in my response. I’ve been on location and (quite literally) working my ass off.
     
    No reason to worry, I don’t even have time to slow down for a drink these days—although I must remedy that because it does sound nice.
     
    Thinking you know is not good enough. You don’t have to have your future all mapped out—but don’t play with people’s hearts, Jack.
     
    I know I’m not one to speak on the subject of jerking people’s hearts around… It’s just that if your Jane is a widow, with a kid, then she’s already had more than her fair share of that.
     
    Get your shit together, my friend.
     
    Do the kind thing. Love her. Just make sure it’s not all for selfish reasons.
     
    Talk soon,
    Amelie
     
    I read her email and realized how much I hated it when she was right. Especially when it was something that I didn’t want to hear. And perhaps I’d been overthinking ‘the Jane situation’ anyhow. It’s not like she was asking for a commitment.
    I didn’t contact Amelie, and she didn’t contact me again for two months following that last email. I’d had enough, and I assumed she had, too. More likely, what else was there to say?
    But nine weeks later, I picked up the phone and called her. By then, I’d had enough of playing games. Also, my father died.
     

     

Ten
    Amelie
    Who ended up saving who?
    I flew out of Boston and made it to Austin within fourteen hours of getting Jack’s call. I had been shocked to hear about his father. I mean, I knew he’d had heart issues in the past, but I just hadn’t expected him to drop dead like that. And quite frankly, I’m sure neither did Jack.
    I was as sick as I’d likely ever been on that flight to Texas. My palms were sweaty, I was dizzy, and I’d been unable to keep anything down. I had barely eaten over the previous two days and my whole body ached. It certainly wasn’t the best time to be leaving town, but what else could I do? I’d told him when he’d called that I would come. I just hadn’t said how soon I’d be arriving.
    All I knew was that I had to go. Jack needed me. He wouldn’t have called, given everything that had happened, if he didn’t. From the airport, I went straight to his apartment, without checking into my hotel to sleep, which is what I’d really wanted to do. What I hadn’t accepted was that I was in no shape to help anyone else. At this point, keeping one foot in front of the other seemed to take every bit of energy I had in me. By the time I reached his apartment, I was green, nauseated, and numb. My head was spacey, my timing delayed.
    Recently, I’d started a new medication to treat my bipolar disorder. Ian had insisted that it was time I do something to fix ‘the problem.’ He’d said he knew a doc who would help me, and honestly, I was so desperate to get off the bottle that I probably would have said yes to just about anything. All I knew was that I