Blaise Evans hasn't been back to Adair, Kentucky in eleven years, but finds herself in her rural Kentucky hometown after a series of tragic circumstances and unforeseen surprises. At only nineteen years old, she is doing her best to balance family...
I walk briskly and shove my hands in the pockets of my coat, shivering in the brutal cold. I feel the bearded stranger's eyes on me, but I refuse to turn. I don't pull my phone out until I round the corner and ensure I'm out of his line of sight.
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I smile warmly at his last message. He's so bossy. But he's also so good at saying exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it. Always has been.
I look in the mirror and carefully apply a coat of lip gloss. I run my fingers through the ends of my long, dark hair, smooth my coat down and take a deep breath. Shutting my eyes, I visualize the waves. I can do this.
My phone vibrates again.
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I smile. Exactly what I needed to hear.
I exit the drug store and am halfway down the block when I see Wyatt leaning against his police cruiser. He removes his aviator sunglasses, smiles wide, and pushes off the side of the car.
Wyatt has always been good looking, but Instagram photos don't compare to seeing him in person. Everything about him, from his golden blonde hair to his megawatt smile to the badge secured on his chest, is shiny. Add to the equation the way that man fills out a uniform, all broad shoulders and hard muscles, and he could literally be the police department's poster boy.
He moves toward me with purpose, and a young mom wrangling a squirming toddler turns her head to watch him walk by. She looks disappointed when he scoops me up in a bear hug and twirls me in a wide circle in the middle of the sidewalk.
I've known Wyatt Montgomery since the day I was born. He's been my best friend for as long as I remember. But I've only seen him in person once since the day my dad and I left Adair, Kentucky eleven years ago.
I kept in touch with Wyatt over the years, first by cards and letters, then email and phone calls, and more recently social media and texts. He was one of my first Facebook friends. I watched him graduate college from the comfort of my couch hundreds of miles away. He gave my junior prom date a lecture over Skype. It's an unconventional friendship rooted in modern technology and a deep history.
