The Noel Bridge

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

T he next morning, Alicia gave Evelyn a squeeze in the doorway of the apartment as she stood next to her packed bags. She couldn’t deny how wonderful this trip had been for her, and Evelyn had had a lot to do with it.

“Text me to keep me posted on when you’re coming back for good. I want to throw a party,” Evelyn said.

“I will.” Alicia couldn’t wait to get her plans for moving in motion.

“And if you need me to do a walk-through anywhere to scope out living spaces, just let me know.”

Alicia gave her another hug. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”

Evelyn squeezed her tighter. “Need any help?” She pointed at her suitcases.

“I’ve got them. The rental is already started and waiting at the curb, and Leo’s meeting me downstairs to say goodbye and help me get my bags in the back.”

“I can’t wait until you’re in Noel permanently.” She wrinkled her nose fondly at Alicia .

“Neither can I.” The sense of a plan for her life rushed through her, and she couldn’t get out the door and onto that flight to Savannah fast enough. The quicker she got started with everything, the quicker she’d be back here, where she belonged.

“Have a safe flight.”

“I’ll call you when I get there.” Alicia gathered her bags and went downstairs to meet Leo, who was already waiting on the sidewalk. The snow hadn’t melted much, and she had to dodge a few piles to get to him.

“Hi,” he said, grinning as if he were biting back more than just the one word.

“Hi.” She stepped up to him, leaving her bags behind her.

“Dad sends his best.”

What a Christmas miracle it was that Leo could give her that message. When she’d arrived, Dean’s future lay in the balance, just like hers. But they’d both made it through unscathed.

“That’s sweet.”

“Come back as soon as you can,” he said, leaning down and giving her a kiss. “And if you need anything, I’ll be on the next plane.”

“I might take you up on that,” she said, not wanting to get into the SUV. “I’ll get everything done as quickly as possible.”

Leo wrapped his arms around her. She relished the feel of his embrace as the icy wind blew through them, making her shiver. He squeezed her tighter. Torn between freezing in his arms and rushing to the airport, she opted for the former just a little longer. She’d be with him again soon enough, she told herself.

He opened her car door. “Hop in. I’ll get your bags. ”

She climbed into the Tahoe and popped the hatch for him.

“You got everything you need for your flight?” he asked, heaving her suitcases into the open back.

She peered at him through the rearview mirror. “Yep.”

He shut the hatch and came around to her side.

She put the window down. “You have my address, phone number, email…”

He laughed, the playfulness in his eyes making her stomach flip.

“Yes, I got your text this morning. I can contact you in every possible way.”

“I just wanted to be sure you could reach me if you need me,” she said.

He leaned in. “See you when you get back.”

“Bye. For now.” She kissed his lips and put up her window.

Leo blew her another kiss and then jogged across the street to his SUV.

A warm sense of joy swam through her all the way to the airport. She hardly noticed the steps as she returned the rental car, paid the extra fees, checked her bags, and boarded the plane. Her book in her lap, she finally felt like she could read for hours again, but instead of grief distracting her, her mind kept wandering back to Leo and all the wonderful people she’d seen on her trip.

When Alicia got to her Savannah condo, she was greeted with a vase of two dozen red roses sitting in front of the door. She plucked the card from the holder and opened it .

I miss you already.

Leo

With a giddy grin, she dropped her bags inside her condo and lifted the vase into her arms. She set the stunning bouquet on the entryway table and surveyed the space with a new perspective. Even though she’d decorated it, the rooms looked like Bo. She couldn’t see herself in any of them anymore. Was it because Noel had brought her back to the woman she’d always been, the one before Bo?

She lugged her suitcases into the bedroom and began to unpack, making piles of dirty clothes on the floor and hanging up the ones she’d washed at Evelyn’s. She threw the dirty lump into the washer and went into the living room, where she settled on the window seat that overlooked the street outside. All the ice was gone. A couple of people went in and out of the shops, and a few cars passed by. It occurred to her how the view didn’t fit her either after her trip. The only thing that seemed like her were the roses on the table.

Bo, if you’re here , I do love you, and if you had anything to do with my visit to Noel, thank you for helping me. The pain of losing him and the future they could have had together was still there, but where she used to feel a void, she now had so many things to look forward to.

The silence in the condo still bothered her, so she got up and turned on the TV.

“I knew this would happen.”

She whirled to view the television screen. It was just the line of some actor on a show she’d never seen before, but the words gave her goosebumps. She looked around the room and smiled, remembering the woman’s explanation about the bridge. Our loved ones are available to us all the time .

She blew a kiss into the air, feeling Bo’s support around her like a heartfelt hug.

The rest of the evening, Alicia didn’t feel so alone. She finished unpacking, ordered herself some dinner, and tidied up. Then she contacted a real estate agent via email and asked what she needed to do to list the condo. Bo would want her to sell it, because she was the one who was still there. It was her decision to make.

Maybe that was what Bo had known would happen—that she’d move on, find happiness, feel whole again. He’d want that too.