Page 74 of Timber Ridge
Her words hit home. “Maybe. I guess I’m afraid of making the wrong decision. What if I go back and things fall apart?”
May sighs. “Your mother was the same way, always looking for signs, always waiting for the perfect moment. But life doesn’t work like that. Sometimes, you have to make your own signs. You have to take risks.”
“But what if it’s the wrong choice?”
“Staying in a place that makes you miserable, waiting for some cosmic intervention. Is that the right choice? Honey, that’s just a house. Your mom isn’t in it. And the job, it’s just a job,” she says. “Your soul is telling you what you want. Sometimes, the universe doesn’t give you a sign because it wants you to take control, to make your own destiny.”
I sit with her words for a moment, letting them sink in. “You’re right. I’m scared.”
“Don’t give up everything out of fear, Timber. Your mother did the same thing.”
“And she died alone and lonely,” I say, the truth of it settling heavily in the silence that follows.
“Exactly,” May says. “Don’t let that be your story, too. You’ve got a chance to build a life with people who love you. Don’t waste it waiting for a moment that might never come.”
After we hang up, I sit in the quiet house, her words echoing in my mind. I think about my mother’s decisions, how she was always waiting for the right sign, and how that led her to a life of unfulfilled dreams and loneliness. I look around at the house, the peeling paint and creaky floors, the physical remnants of her unfinished plans.
My life in Arizona is like a half-existence. The job brings no joy. The empty house holds more ghosts than comfort. I have a chance to build a different life, a life with Kane and Hailey, a life filled with love and purpose. But that means taking a risk, stepping into the unknown without waiting for a sign.
I think about Amanda and the time she’s had to build a relationship with Hailey. I gave them space, but enough is enough. If it's not working now, it never will. Hailey needs me, and so does Kane.
I have an opportunity to write a different story, to choose love and connection over fear and solitude. The decision isn't easy, but May's wisdom lingers, guiding me. Slowly, I begin to see that the time to act is now, not when some elusive perfect moment arrives.
Chapter Thirty-Three
KANE
The past few days have been a blur. I’ve let Timber’s calls go to voicemail, listening to her messages that never say she's coming back, only that she misses me. I meant it when I said she needed to make up her mind, but the uncertainty is like a heavy burden pressing down on me. I'm miserable without her. Her absence haunts every corner of the house, every quiet moment. Hailey keeps asking about her, and each time I tell her we’ll talk to Timber soon, it feels like a lie. I’m just waiting for Amanda to leave so I can pick up the pieces of that as well. I can't force Timber to come back, and I wouldn’t want to. She needs to choose this life, choose us, on her own. But the waiting is tearing me apart.
Amanda visits late one night after a date, her eyes brighter than I’ve seen in weeks. She looks at me and points to the couch. “Take a seat, Kane. I’ve got something to tell you.”
I sigh, bracing myself for the inevitable. She’s leaving. It’s been written all over her face for days now. “When will you go?”
“I truly came back hoping to make a go of it, Kane,” she says in an uncharacteristically soft voice. “But I squandered too much time chasing my dreams. Honestly, I’m not cut out to be a mother. I don’t like babies. I don’t like toddlers. Kids from four to twenty are tolerable, but still not my favorite.”
As her words sink in, a swirl of emotions overtakes me. Relief floods my chest, knowing the chaos she’s brought into our lives will finally end. But there's a sharp edge of bitterness too—she showed up just long enough to destroy everything I’d built with Timber. I can't shake the fear that she'll return again someday, bringing more upheaval.
But for now, I focus on the immediate reprieve. At least now, we can start to move forward again, pick up the pieces, and rebuild what was lost. The path ahead won’t be easy, but it's a path we can finally begin to walk.
“You came back because you said Hailey needed a mother—her mother,” I argue, my anger bubbling to the surface.
Amanda shakes her head. “Not a mother like me. I’m selfish and shallow. She’s got a mother—her name is Timber, and she’s perfect. And if you don’t do everything it takes to get her back, then you’re a knucklehead.”
“You’re the reason she left.”
“I know, and I’m sorry about that, but this was good. With her here making it easy, I might have muddled through motherhood for a few more months, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Timber or Hailey. She left so I could sink or swim. I sank like a boat full of holes. I mean, how many times can Hailey watch that show Frigid?”
“It’s Frozen, and it’s endless, but I’m not sure that’s why Timber left.”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get her back. You two are perfect for each other.”
I blink, taken aback by her blunt honesty. Amanda, the one who messed everything up, is now telling me to go after Timber. A mix of anger and hope churns inside me.
“It’s not that easy. Timber believes in signs,” I mutter, more to myself than to Amanda.
“Then send her one,” Amanda says. “Maybe I can stop by from time to time and be the aunt who gave birth to Hailey or some shit like that, but I’ll never step into the mother role.”
I stare at her, the bitterness I’ve been carrying suddenly shifting. Her words, unexpected and raw, resonate with a truth I can’t ignore. Despite everything, she’s right. Timber is perfect for Hailey, and she’s perfect for me. And if Amanda, of all people, can see that, then maybe it’s time to act.