As I park across the street from the bookstore, the irony hits me like a ton of bricks. I am again in front of the bookstore, just like I was the first morning back in Sweet Haven. Only this time, I'm not storming in all riled up but rather walking in sheepishly to say sorry. 

I hate apologizing, but when I owe one, I give it. 

I park and hustle over. It's quiet even though it's late morning. I breathe in the sweet country air and then finally open the door. It's new, a big double door now with brand-new frosted glass. The inside is still empty but clean, much cleaner, and I can see they are prepping to paint.

"Wow, it's really coming along," I mumble as I take it all in.

"You're not here to rain down hell, are you?" James's deep voice seems to fill the space as he looks up from the drafting table Oliver showed me in the corner.

"Afraid not. I'm here with apology muffins and apple butter, though," I offer as I hold up one of the bags.

"Oliver told you the plans here then?" James assumes as he steps over. 

"Yeah, I have some muffins for him too. Where is he?" I ask as I glance around the space.

"It's a weekend off for the crew. We're hitting the ground hard next week," James explained. "Oliver will probably be late. They all went out last night, and they got Oliver to go with them. I'm guessing he's feeling it this morning."

It's strange to picture Oliver out with an entire construction crew partying at a bar. I just can't see it.

"You can trust me with both bags," James says with a glimmer in his eyes.

"You sure about that?" I laugh.

"I promise I won't sample too many of my son's."

"Best he's going to get, I guess. The blueberry ones are Olivers, and apple cinnamon are yours," I say as I hand him the bags.

"Apology accepted," James says as he opens it and smells the appley scent fills the air.

"I really do mean it, James. Listen, no matter what the plans were or weren't. I had no right to come in here yelling at you like that, so really, I am sorry."

"I accept your apology, and I appreciate the gesture," James says with a shrug. "I apologize I was I was short with you at the bar. Wasn't about you so much. I was on edge about Oliver coming back for that meeting. It literally meant everything, and you and his entire past were right there at the bar waiting for him."

"I do understand that. He told me how on edge he was that night, too," I say. "The duplex project. Did that meeting go well?"

"They did a lot of listening but didn't give anything away as far as how they were feeling," James says with a groan. "So we just have to wait for the call now."

"I'm sorry I bought all the stupid rumors about the condos. What he's really doing with them is amazing."

"It is," James agrees. "Every project Oliver does has an emotional value to him, too. The retirement homes are for his grandpa. But this place, it's -"

"For me?" I fill in, albeit cautiously.

"Not just you. For both of you, for your childhood. For the longest time, he couldn't come back and face it, but he finally can," James says as he looks around. "This was his dream project, something he started playing around with on my computer one summer as a teen. When he came to live with me, it was getting him to start planning that dream project, that finally got him out of bed."

I gulp as a pained look crosses my face. "He started it way back then?"

When he said we would never be anything to each other ever again?

"He always knew that he would want you in his life again someday. For the record, I pushed him a few times to reach out over the years. He was both stubborn and scared, mostly scared."

"You pushed him to call me?"

"Of course, I did. You were his best friend. My hope for him was for him to find himself and then talk to you when he was in a better place."

"I assumed you hated me just as much as Kris does. Even more so now after how I acted towards you."

"No, I don't, and neither does she," James argues.

"Yes, she does."

"She hates that Oliver was hurt in the end, but we both knew it would happen."

"Seriously," I raise an eyebrow. "You didn't even know me or Oliver that well back then."

He cringes at that, and so do I. Shit, I just got done saying sorry to this guy.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that," I say quickly.

"It's alright, you're not wrong. My choice to leave the state and be closer to my family after the divorce put a strain on Oliver and me when he was young. I tried hard to make it work with him despite it, but I should have lived closer. I regret that, but my son and I are good now, so I don't dwell on it."

"I don't have any place to judge you. I understand seeking your hometown after a divorce," I say as understanding washes over me. "Coming home was so comforting to me. The sameness of this town was what I needed. That's why I flipped about the changes."

"Aha," James nods at that. "I understand that. I've been through two divorces, and I get it. They suck."

"Yeah, they really do," I agree.

"For the record, I didn't mean it to be an insult saying we knew a breakup would happen. You were kids; that's how those things usually end up. The thing is, you and Oliver getting together was something Kris and I both always feared."

"But why?" I ask as my brows furrow with confusion.

"Kinsey, you and Oliver were instant friends as toddlers. We loved having you over or bringing Oliver to your place. We all and by that I mean all of us, your folks too, loved watching the two of you. From that very young age, he looked to you to guide him socially. You'd even speak for him and boss him around. We all laughed and thought it was cute," James says with a smile. "But, as you aged into children, Oliver spent more time at the farm, and the two of you became inseparable. I knew that would happen, but Kris started to worry. She didn't know if it was good for Oliver that he only had one friend. We didn't want him to become codependent on you."

"We depended on each other because everyone else bullied us. What else could we do?" I question.

He frowns at that, and a flash of regret passes over his face. It'd have helped Oliver to have his dad around to show him how to stick up for himself, and we both know that.

"I know, and that's why Kris encouraged me to try and get him into sports and stuff like that when I had him in the summers," James explains. "That only furthered our rift, though."

"He thought you didn't like him for who he was," I tell him.

"I know," James sighs sadly. "We did talk about all that eventually."

"I'm glad," I say quietly. "But I admit it hurts to know you and especially Kris were against us the whole time." 

"It wasn't that we were against you. Please don't think about it like that. What Kris and I worried about was Oliver never getting to know other kids and finding other friends, interests of his own, an identity essentially, outside of just you and him," James explains. "We worried about you two never knowing anyone or anything but each other, especially as you entered the dating age."

"I mean this with no offense, but it wasn't your or Kris's place to judge," I say firmly but as polte as I can. 

"As his parents, yes, it was," James stresses.

Okay true, I guess. 

"Well, we did meet other friends and dated other people before we got together, so like I said, you and Kris were wrong," I can't help the touch of defensiveness in my tone. 

Sure, Olly and I were close, but we weren't codependent. Kris probably saw that on some afternoon talk show one day and decided on it.

"I was really happy about that," James says with an earnest tone. "I was so glad when Oliver told me to he found a new friend, Hunter, and from there, his social prowess seemed to grow. I was thrilled he had other interests and even a few friends. Stunned when I found out he was dating someone but really happy about that too."

"You really were in the loop on everything," I comment with a note of surprise. 

"Kris always kept me updated," he confirms. "Speaking of, it's very awkward how Brandi keeps batting her eyelashes at me."

I laugh at that. "She's a little creeped out too. I think it's safe to say she'll stop now."

"Thank God."

"I'm going to keep teasing her anyway," I quip with a smirk, and he cringes. 

"But you do see how you were wrong right?" I add in a more serious tone. "We did all the things you wanted before we dated."

"You each barely even dipped your feet into dating someone else," James laughs lightly. "But yes, I was happy you did that much first. I was rooting for you two at that point, despite my ex-wife's concerns about how it would end. I wanted Oliver to be happy, and I wished him the best. That I promise. I was never against you two."

"But Kris was?"

"Not against you, but she had major concerns. I told her to support you two and to keep them to herself."

"She did, but I could always tell..." I trail off. "It was Hunter, right?"

"Not just him," James says. "She was afraid that you both chose each other because it felt safer than the alternatives." 

Wait... what?

"That's no.... Kris was so far off." I say with sight head shake.

"Just her take," James offers in that soft, soothing tone. "But I'll give you this advice. Sometimes if you look back with an open mind, you see things with fresh eyes."

"I know you were meaning well, but you're going off assumptions Kris had and there was a lot she didn't know."

"I believe that," James agrees. "And for the record, Kris adored you. She just worried. Oliver was a bright kid with the world ahead of him but was also very sensitive and unsure of who he was."

"Until now," I say quietly. "I assume he ended up going to Harvard, right?"

"He did," James confirms with a proud smile. "He's done incredibly well for himself."

"He found himself outside of me just like you said, and he's thriving," I comment. 

 Unlike me, floundering with no clue what I'm doing.

"In some ways, but not every way, and time has passed, Kinsey. It's interesting that all four of you are here all these years later, isn't it?" James questions.

Before I can contemplate that, the door opens, and Oliver walks in looking a bit frantic, his hair disheveled, and his tan pants a tad wrinkly, but what melts my heart are the glasses perched on his nose. I nearly squeal, Olly, at the sight of him.

"I am so sorry, Kinz. I slept late, and my head is actively trying to kill me," Oliver groans.

"It's fine, we can talk later," I offer. "You have the weekend off, go back to bed and sleep it off."

"I haven't taken a day off in five years," Oliver says as he runs a hand through his hair. "I wanted to look over the plans one more time and then..."

"You're taking the damn day off today," James cuts him off.

"Dad, there's too much to do."

"There's always too much to do, but we aren't doing any of it today."

"Listen to your dad," I say firmly. "You eat yet?"

"I had a bagel this morning," Oliver says as he stifles a yawn.

Ugh, Amber's perfect New York bagels.

"Well, it's getting close to lunch now. Let's go get you fed. it'll help."

"I really ought to.."

"I wasn't asking," I say, taking Oliver's arm and pulling him towards the door, and I hear James chuckling behind us as we leave.

**** 

"So where are we going?" Oliver asks as I drive us down the main street in my mom's old van.

"I don't know, should we go to some fancy place and make up fake identities again?" I ask.

"That was fun, Miss Gloria VanHausen," Oliver is grinning.

"I can't believe you remember the name," I say. "What was yours again? Nickalos Worthington or something?"

"Nickalos William Worthaton the third," Oliver recalls. 

"Oh right, worth a ton" We both laugh at the memory.

We left Kris's party on New Year's Day when I felt the unease coming off her in waves over the sudden news that Olly and I were a couple. It felt even more disheartening because my dad had a similar stunned and unsure reaction. He kept saying how Olly was with another girl just a day ago, but he just didn't get it. My mama was happy for us, at least.

We decided to forget all the bad feelings and just have fun. It felt like the perfect day for our first date. But since it was a holiday, nothing was open. We drove for miles till we found a restaurant that was. It ended up being a really fancy place, so Oliver and I invented rich identities. We pretended we were visiting family from England and even ordered tea. It was a blast. I don't think we ever laughed so hard.

We repeated the tradition the next year, with new names and a new back story. I hoped it would be something we'd do every New Year's Day...but that was the last year. 

I glance over at Oliver, who is typing something into his expensive-looking phone, the sun hitting his watch and making the diamonds on it shine.

I can't deny how well he did without me in his life.

"It's about Julian, but I'll fill you in once we get to the restaurant," Oliver says quietly, and I gulp.

I'd almost forgotten why I even came to see him today.

"So where to? The old fancy dinner club we used to go to is shut down," I say sadly.

"Course it is," Oliver says with a frown. "Honestly, I get tired of all the expensive places anyway. I could go for something like chopped steak right now."

"Well, you could've told me that before I drove past Carl's," I comment as we reach the highway that leads out of town.

"Carl's isn't that great anyway," Oliver shrugs. "There's a little roadhouse diner I stopped at on the way here. Red Door Diner, I stopped for the name and damn it was good."

"I love the Red Door Diner!" I agree happily as I merge to get off on the correct exit.

We're silent for a while as I drive until we reach the parking lot, it's mostly empty so I park right up front.

"You want some Tylenol for your head?" I offer as I start to unzip my purse. 

"Took some already," he groans. "I was just fine until they brought out the shots."

"That's the usual story," I say with a smirk as we get out.

We head right into the brightly colored but tiny diner. The scent of the steaks sizzling on the grill embraces us both, and I see Oliver's eyes light up.

Red Door is a tiny hole-in-the-wall diner, more so a truck stop as this highway gets a lot of freight traffic. it's lived in with scuffed-up wood floors and torn-up old vinyl booths, but the food is all that matters, and it's fantastic. They are known for great grilled food and amazing southern comfort sides, with huge portions. You don't come here on a diet, that's for sure. 

It's a seat-yourself place, so I lead us to a booth, and we get settled in as a server comes by to greet us.

"Hey, Y'all. I'm Sue Ann," she flashes a big smile. "Can I get you some drinks to get started?"

"I'll just have an ice water," I say as I watch her flash a big smile at Oliver, who easily returns it.

"Sweet tea would be perfect if you have it," Oliver says. 

"We sure do, made fresh this morning."

"I guess it's my lucky day then, Sue Ann. I would love some," Oliver says with that big, warm smile he was flashing at Amber last night.

"Coming right up," she says with a slight blush on her cheeks.

 Oliver is now Mr. Charming? I guess I see it. He is ridiculously good-looking and well-dressed, even in slightly wrinkled pants. The glasses add a touch of relatability to him that adds to the overall look. Although the way he keeps fidgeting with them, I bet he doesn't feel the same.

Sue Ann didn't lie. Within a minute, she's back with our drinks and a few menus, then says she'll be back soon to take our orders.

We both glance down at the big bright plastic menus with a picture of their award-winning ribs on the front.

"Ribs huh? Oliver remarks. "You and Hunter come must come here a lot then?"

"Yeah, we used a lot when I was home for a weekend during college," I say as I study the menu. Not that I need to. I always get the same thing here: mac and cheese with their short rips on top of it, and once I confirm they have it, I slide it off to the side.

"So, you and Hunter, never... " he leaves it unsaid the awkwardness of it filling the air. "Like at all...?" 

"Nope, never."

"Hm," Oliver mumbles as he makes a show of studying the menu.

"What is Hm?" I demand in an annoyed tone because he damn sure knows I hate that.

"Just surprised," he says. "You're awfully cozy, a lot more than you used to be."

"We got that way after all the dark period I went through, we did this road trip, and I was falling apart through most of it, but it helped going places, doing things. I slowly got back to living. Eventually, I guess we just found comfort in the flirting and cuddling and all that, but it never went past that."

"Didn't expect you to be that stubborn."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing, never mind, but you can't seriously be telling me Julian and Amber were all good with you two. Obviously, Amber wasn't."

"She talked to you about Hunter?"

"No way, it's weird enough for me that everyone in town knows my history. I don't need to bring it up. But the tension with you two was obvious, and you told me she doesn't like you."

"Well, she may have had reasons not to like me," I confess. "But she still could have met me halfway in trying to get along."

It may have even helped ease the tension she had about me with Hunter if she had. But I guess in the end, we all make mistakes, and we just never know how bad the ripple will be from them until it's done rippling.

"Sorry, but I can't blame her for that, if her husband was calling you his little darling and touching you all the time," Oliver says, then sips his sweet tea like he's commenting on the weather.

"Are you kidding me..." I take a breath and calm myself. "Of course, all the flirting and stuff came to a stop when we were each married."

I am irritated but not surprised he's making assumptions, he always loved doing that.

"We respected our spouses," I add in a tense tone. "Besides that, I lived two hours away. We only saw each other here and there when I came home, and Julian and Amber were always there. Other than that, we occasionally texted and rarely even talked."

He gives no expression, shrugs his shoulder once, and leaves it at that.

Sue Ann then comes back to take our orders, giving him an easy out to drop it. He used to do that a lot, check out of the argument because he hated having them. Oliver was a let's revisit it later once we have time to think about it, type. Where I always wanted to talk it out right away until the issue felt settled. It was a very frustrating thing for both of us.

"So Julian, what's going on?" I ask.

"I called last night, and they're already digging into it today," Oliver says. "Carefully so they don't alert anyone. They'll likely have a warrant to search the offices, computers, and stuff by Monday."

"Wow," I say slowly. "This is all going to happen fast."

"It is," Oliver says in a warning tone. "They can't give them time to hide anything."

"I understand now," I assure him. "I'm not going to warn him. What he did was awful. I just needed a minute, I guess, to let that all sink in. I mean, he was my husband. It's hard to see him doing this stuff."

"I can imagine it is," Oliver says softly. "I'm sorry if I was harsh about all that. I take that stuff so seriously, but I didn't stop to give you a second to take it in."

"I get it, it's okay," I assure him.

"Julian called me today about his car. Said he has a few buyers and is pitting them against each. An obvious lie, but that's okay," Olive comments. "At this point, I don't want him to sell it or you to take any money. We need to make sure when they come talk to you, you are honest. The first you heard was from me when we started meeting about debts, and once you realized his possible criminal activity, you opted out of taking any money from him."

"They're going to come talk to me?" I ask nervously.

"Yes, but you'll be fine. You didn't do anything wrong here," Oliver promises.

"What if they think I was in on it? Could I go to jail?" I feel my heart racing, and Oliver suddenly has my hands in his, squeezing them lightly.

" I would never put you at risk like that. They'll only want to know if you know anything," Oliver assures me in a calm and steady voice, and I feel my nerves start to ease up.

"What do we do if he does sell the car?" I ask.

"Let's hope he keeps being his selfish self and dragging his feet," Oliver says.

"And if he doesn't?"

"We just put off meeting about it with him," I find his steady brown eyes gaze behind his glasses and focus on it as he talks. "This will go fast, Kinz. They won't waste time on this."

Julian will be in prison... but it is what he deserves after ripping all those people off.

"Will everyone get their money back?" I ask.

"Not all of it, but they'll try and get most of it back to them."

The server returns with our plates and wow, they look and smell good. Oliver's chopped steak is on a cast iron tray and sizzling, smothered in bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms on top of mashed potatoes. His eyes light up eagerly as it set in front of him. My mac and cheese is what dreams are made of, gooey and rich with a mound of spareribs piled on top.

"Enjoy!" Sue Ann says as we start digging in.

It's so damn good we don't even talk for some time as we stuff our faces, other than to say yum and try this when we share some bites.

Oliver's phone, however, keeps going off, and he's been texting here and there throughout the meal, so much for an actual day off.

"More stuff about Julian?" I question in between bites.

"Mm no, something else I'm working on," he mumbles, his attention focused on his phone, which then rings, and he gives a frustrated sigh.

"I got to take this," He says apologetically.

"It's okay, go ahead," I offer.

Oliver is speaking quietly but urgently into the phone as he heads outside. "Murphy, come on, I know it pro-bono, but it's a surefire win. The guy had a career-ending injury. That alone will earn him sympathy, never mind he was just trying to help his wife.-- It was just pot. They only locked him up to set an example. He has kids..."

His voice trails off as the door shuts, and I drop my fork on my plate as my mouth drops open.

"You okay, Hon?" Sue Ann asks as she comes to refill our drinks.

"Yeah, just fine, we'll take the check," I offer the best attempt I can at a smile as she scurries off.

Kids, career-ending injury...

Is Oliver trying to help Billy?