Part Eleven

Waking up that morning in the guest bedroom of the Rigby Ranch alone for once, Asa realised Sara had not returned home and hoped that it meant the date had gone well for her best friend. Climbing out of bed, Asa quickly had a shower and got dressed and was about to head downstairs when she realised that for the first time in a while she felt like she was back to normal, the heartbreak from when she and Hollie broke up far away in the distance and with that thought she grabbed her phone and dialled a number.

"Hey, Asa," Hollie said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, Hollie," Asa replied, the familiarity of her voice sending a pang through Asa's heart. "It's... It's been a while since we spoke," Asa paused. "Sorry, it's taken me this long but it’s been hard, you know?" Asa finally said, her voice low and distant. "But I think... I think we both knew this wasn't going to work out. We both just want different things…"

"Yeah," Hollie agreed. "But... I'm glad we talked about it. That we were honest with each other before we hurt each other more than we already have…"

"I hope you do know, it's not that I don't want to be with you, Hollie," Asa finally said, her voice softer than before. "And... I'm sorry, Hollie. For everything. It wasn't anyone's fault. We just... Weren't meant to be, I guess."

"Yeah," Hollie agreed. "I get it. And I want you to know that... I'm here for you if you ever want to talk or... you know. We’ll always be friends…"

"Thanks, Hollie. That means a lot. And I'm here for you too, you know? Just... be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt again." Asa let out a small laugh. "But... I guess this is how it's supposed to be. We'll just have to find our way, you know? Maybe we'll both find someone who's better suited for us."

"Yeah, maybe," Hollie replied. "You know. I think we're going to be okay. We're both going to find someone who's right for us, but I'm glad we had this time together. I'll always cherish these memories."

"Me too, Hollie. You're such a good person, and you're going to find someone who deserves you. I just want you to know that, no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." Asa told her happily.

"Mason, I see you finally got back from your date with Sara," Molly said with a mischievous tone as she and Anneliese watched as Mason returned back home to their grandparents house.

"Yeah," Mason replied as he sat himself down. "It was... good."

"Good, huh? That's it? You were both gone all night," Anneliese said teasingly.

"Okay, fine," Mason sighed out of not wanting to give the two youngsters more information. "It was more than good. It was amazing. But I don't want to make it a big deal otherwise the two of you are going to get a big head about how you got us together."

"Well, someone had to," Molly said with a shrug. "You two were taking forever to figure it out on your own. And I expect my thank you gift in cash, please…"

"Don't be so greedy,” Anneliese said as she elbowed Molly playfully. “We're just happy to see you happy, Mason. Just don't hurt my sister again."

"I won't," Mason promised. "I care about her too much for that."

"Good," Molly said. "Because she deserves the best, which unfortunately for her is you, big brother." Molly added, causing Anneliese to roll her eyes at her friend while Mason shot his sister a glare of annoyance.

"Very funny," Mason mumbled. "But like you just pointed out, you helped me and Sara which means you care about your big brother," Mason teased Molly back. "You care about me."

"What? Me? I'm just looking out for my bestie," Molly said, throwing an arm around Anneliese's shoulders causing Anneliese to laugh. "And once you two get married, Anneliese and I can be sisters for real."

"Whoa, hold your horses," Mason said, raising his arms. "We just started dating."

"Details, details," Anneliese said with a smile. "But seriously, Mason, we're happy for you. And Sara's a sweet girl. Just remember, if you do decide to put a ring on it, you'll have to get through me first,"

"Don't worry, I'll take it under advisement." Mason told her. "But for now, let's not get ahead of ourselves.”

Returning back to her grandparents home after making sure that she and Mason had cleaned up in the guest bedroom over the barn, Sara found Asa in the kitchen making herself a cup of coffee however her blonde best friend, immediately forgot all about it upon seeing her best friend return home and instead quickly made her way over to her, giving her a hug before sitting her down at the island so that they could talk.

"So, tell me everything!" Asa said excitedly.

Sara took a deep breath, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"It was... amazing," Sara began, her voice dropping to a whisper as the memory of being with Mason still lingered in her mind. "We went to the Farmhouse like you had planned and set us up on."

"And?" Asa said expectantly.

"We had dinner, talked and laughed. It was all so... amazing." Sara said happily.

"And is that it? You were gone all night. I doubt you were talking all night..." Asa pointed out.

"Well, we did more than talk," Sara admitted. "We ended up in the barn and..."

"You and Mason Anderson in the barn, huh?" Asa said knowingly.

"It just happened, Asa. We couldn't help ourselves. I couldn't..." Sara said with a shy smile.

"So, how was it?" Asa asked curiously.

"It was... amazing," Sara replied.

"A-ma-zing?" Asa echoed, drawing out the word. "You keep saying that."

"I know," Sara said softly. "But it's true. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before."

"So, what's the plan now?" Asa wondered.

"We talked about it earlier and we're going to try long distance properly this time." Sara revealed

"Long distance?" Asa said in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. Mason is worth it. And we both want to see if we can make it work." Sara nodded.

"Okay," Asa nodded as she gave her best friend a hug. "But you know I'm here for you if it gets tough just like you were for me.”

“Not that I’ve been much help with that lately.” Sara admitted.

“You did plenty and I’m alright,” Asa reassured her. “Your love life has been a welcome distraction and it’s helped me realise that mine will be fine too.”

“Well then, I’m glad.” Sara happily said. “This trip turns out to have been good for the both of us.”

“It certainly has.” Asa agreed.