“He’s still mourning the death of his wife,” she reminded her mother.
“I’m not sure I’d put too much emphasis on that. Everyone needs someone to love. And you said it happened a year ago. That’s enough time. You need to learn to let go of your past and move on. Wipe the rejection off your shoulders and press forward without a single glance back.”
“Forget my past?”
“The parts that aren’t good, yes.”
“What if I fall in love and he doesn’t love me?”
“Then you feel the pain and you keep trying. Don’t shortchange yourself. If you want to find real love, you have to stop shutting off your emotions. Feel them, no matter what the outcome may be.”
“Is that what you’d do?”
“As soon as I met your father, I stopped having to do that. But before him? Sure. I was with men who disappointed me. I was hurt. Everyone gets hurt. You have to fail before you succeed, I guess. Isn’t that what all the motivational speakers say? Isn’t that what you’d say?”
Yes, it was. “I don’t speak anymore.”
“Macon told me. I hope that someday you take it back up. You’re a good speaker. You inspire people. When you believe.”
“But I don’t believe in the same things I used to,” she said. “Life doesn’t always go the way you want it to.”
“No, it goes the way it’s supposed to.”
Meaning, her fiancé and the lawyer weren’t meant to be. Her mother had found true love. Savanna had always known that, and now her parents’ love was an inspiration. And also a damper on her mood. Would Savanna ever find true love?
“Do you feel like he’s the one?” her mother asked.
Savanna lowered her head, not certain what the answer was to that.
“Is it different than the other two?”
Something warm and radiant swelled inside of her. “Yes.” She couldn’t help beaming with the reply, breathy and flushed.
“Then why the long face? He’ll come for you. You wouldn’t feel this way if he didn’t make you, which means he feels the same way.”
“He’s already found the love of his life, Mom. And she died.”
“Has he been with other women since she died? A lot of men don’t wait, you know.”
More warmth enveloped her. “No. He hasn’t.”
“He sounds faithful, Savanna. Like a rare find...if he can clear his name.”
* * *
Late the next morning, Korbin hacked into Tony’s business network. He spent more than an hour going through financial records. It all appeared on the up-and-up, as the agent had said. He studied all the contractors. They all seemed legitimate, contracted to work in corporations all over the United States. There was one in Colorado.
Korbin saved copies of all the contracts on a flash drive anyway. Stuffing that into his jeans pocket, he went to the living room window, thinking of Savanna. She was always on his mind. It was just a question of how close to the forefront of his consciousness she made it.