Dave woke up the next morning with Edie in his arms. She'd held him for hours during the night. After telling her about Lila and Paige, he'd laid his head in her lap and cried. Now she knew his horrible secret. Except, now that he'd finally told someone about it, Dave realized his secret wasn't so horrible after all. The loss of his wife and daughter was tragic, and it would hurt for the rest of his life, but the beautiful revelation he'd had, in bed with Edie, was that he wasn't alone. There were people in the world that understood his pain, and with help he'd be able to deal with that pain, even if at times it seemed impossible.

Edie woke up and felt Dave's arm around her waist, his body pressed up against hers. It meant so much to her. They'd both stayed. She'd never seen a man break down so completely, at least not that close up. No man had ever stuck around long enough to bare that much of his soul to her. She always thought it would make them less somehow, or make them unattractive to her. She thought it should have frightened her, but the opposite was true. His flaws were as beautiful to her as hers were to him, especially seen from the inside out, and she found it comforting. Now there was no more hiding, and no more guessing. Each knew exactly where the other was coming from, every issue they dealt with and how it might affect everything they say and do.

They'd shared all of their darkest secrets in one night. On any other day, with any other couple, it might have been too much to handle all at once. For Dave and Edie, it meant the hard part was over. Holding hands, making love and being together was what would heal them. No reason to go back to Fairview and face the past. The future was open to them now, and the only way for them to go was forward.

Edie turned over to face Dave. Their eyes met as she settled back down. Her head rested on her pillow, and they searched each other's faces for a clue about what they were thinking. Dave could only think of one thing to say.

"Good morning. I hope."

Edie smiled, gently stroking the side of his face with one hand.

"It is." she said. "It's a very good morning. How do you feel?"

"Different." Dave said. After a moment of thought, he added to his answer. "Better." It was the truth. "You?"

"Those two words sum up the way I'm feeling perfectly." said Edie. Dave responded by moving over her, kissing her lips. They'd only known each other one day and one night, but he could no longer call her a stranger. He felt love for her already. Edie felt it too, and when their good morning kiss ended they wrapped their arms around each other and squeezed.

"I want to be with you." Dave said softly. He raised his head so he could look into her eyes again. He'd been praying that she felt the same. "There's a flight leaving from the airport in two hours. It's supposed to take me to the next city on my tour. If you tell me you want to be with me too I'll cancel the whole thing."

It was a romantic thought, but Edie was not an optimist lately. Not like Dave. It was hard for her to see a happy ending, no matter how she felt in the moment. All the times she'd dared to hope, she'd been hurt. The intensity of the night she shared with Dave was starting to catch up with her, and the pessimist in her heart was starting to make excuses.

"Dave..." Edie said carefully. "I think you should cancel your tour regardless of how I feel about you."

It was a fair and level headed bit of advice. Dave nodded, intending to follow it.

"And?" he said with an upbeat smile. "How do you feel about me?"

Maybe we're only meant to spend this one night together, so we can save each other. Maybe wanting more will ruin everything we achieved.

And maybe you think too much.

Edie thought about what to say, but all her maybes did was lead her in circles. Thinking about love never got anyone anywhere. When it came to love, there was doing and not doing. You either opened your heart, or you didn't. Edie remembered then that her heart was already open. He'd already been inside of her. There was no going back.

"I want to be with you too." said Edie. "But I'm scared." Total honesty.

"So am I." said Dave. "So we might as well be scared together. Right?"

Edie reached up with both hands to touch the sides of Daves face. She'd never met anyone like him. His smile was sincere, and he talked about jumping into a relationship with her like it was just so easy.

Could life really be that easy? Edie wondered. Dave answered her with his smile, without saying a word.

Just be honest, smile, and let it be easy.