(Complete) Joe Walch was in love with the girl of his dreams. Everything was perfect until it all changed...
Ella Burke had a wonderful family, a job she loved and a man she was completely in love with until her dreams were shattered.
Can Ella lear...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Joe felt like he hit pay dirt when he discovered he and Ella had the same free block. They were never so lucky before.
He walked into her classroom and found her busy on her laptop.
"Can I help you Mr. Walch?"
"Only you can, Ms. Burke." His innuendo didn't get past her, as she frowned at him.
"Did you talk to Caleb?"
"No, I think I'll take him out to dinner. Food is the only thing he comes out of his room for."
"He'll make friends and settle in." She assured him.
"Yeah, I hope so... You didn't ask me any questions yesterday?"
"Yes, I did, but they were about you and Caleb."
He walked up to her desk and leaned across and took her hand. He always loved the way her small hand fit in his large one. It was as soft as he remembered. She didn't resist and looked down at their joined hands. Ever so lightly he brushed his fingers up the smooth underside of her forearm.
"Goosebumps!"
Just that slight movement gave her goosebumps, as he predicted.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Fine, you proved your point, but since you were gone so long, I'd forgotten."
Joe felt slighted. "I remember everything about you. I did have trouble remembering your sober voice."
"Stop! I'm not proud. Hey, I have a question if you loved me..."
Joe interrupted. "Present tense... love."
"Whatever... Why did you tell me to stop calling?"
He looked her in the eye. "That's easy. There were two reasons, the first because she would get pissed and go crazy. The second was because it was so hard to hear your voice. The night you called about your grandfather nearly killed me."
"What about after you left her?" Ella's eyes were full of hurt.
"This answer is a lot harder. I wanted to call you the night her baby was born, but I was too angry and afraid. I couldn't face losing you for good knowing you'd reject me. After I finally got her out of the house, I wanted to, but then Owen told me you were always with a guy. At the same time, I was dealing with Caleb. He's been a full-time job. I really thought I'd see you at the wedding, but then I found out you hated me."
"Why did you come back and show up that night?"
"To apologize and to live without any more regret. I regret the whole damn time I was away from the moment I left and didn't bring you with me. I didn't want to live with the regret of not trying to win you back. If I try and fail, then at least I tried."
"Do you think you're failing?" She asked deadly serious.
"Some moments I do, others I don't. The things giving me hope are you talk to me, you sighed, you care about Caleb, and just now the goosebumps."
