CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Come on, it will be fun.”

I tucked my feet under me and relaxed further into the pillows on the bed while eyeing Kenzie, who had her shoulder propped against the doorframe. She’d been standing there for the last couple of minutes, begging me to go to Logan’s birthday get-together. The only thing I wanted to do was sit and dwell over what had happened in Eli’s office.

I was pretty sure that he was as intrigued by me as I was by him; I saw it in the way he’d looked at me. With those intensely dark irises he’d pinned me with a stare so heated I’d felt my insides melt. But I’d also seen the hesitation in his eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that Eli’s heart had been wounded by someone.

That sent my mind in a completely different direction. The instant I’d left his office, I couldn’t stop wondering about Molly’s mom and the possibility of another woman in his life. I’d even gone as far as asking Kenzie if she had any information. After she’d teased me for a good couple of minutes, she disappointed me by saying she only knew that Eli had trust issues and that Molly’s mom wasn’t in the picture.

I didn’t understand why, but that bugged me. To me, it would have made more sense if the woman had been dead because I couldn’t fathom how anyone would choose to not be in their kid’s life. Especially a kid as spirited as Molly. That little girl had stolen a piece of me the very first time I’d seen her, she took even more at the diner.

The excitement had rolled off her as she described to me how much she’d loved going to the gallery with her dad, and how badly she’d wanted to create colorful images herself. It was endearing to hear that she’d rather sit and color than play on a tablet or any other device. She kinda reminded me of myself at that age. I hadn’t cared about the shows on TV or what new game was popular; I’d only wanted to paint.

“Earth to Zoe.” The laughter in Kenzie’s voice told me I’d spaced out again. I’d done a lot of that today. I chanced a look her way, my suspicion confirmed as soon as I noticed the grin on her face.

I felt heat creep up my neck and settle in my cheeks. “What?”

With a little snort-laugh, Kenzie shook her head. “Will you change your mind if I tell you Eli’s going to be there, too?”

Yes. “No.”

My friend started cackling like a crazy lady. “Oh my goodness, you are such a bad liar.” As suddenly as it came, her laughter stopped, her face deadly serious. She pushed off the frame and wandered closer. “Listen, Zoe,” she sat down on the mattress next to me. “After what you told me today, I don’t want to leave you alone.”

I sat up and hugged my friend tight. “I love you for caring so much.” As I pulled back, a grin tugged at my lips. “Just for you…I’ll go.”

Kenzie stole a glance at the open door before meeting my gaze again. “Why don’t you tell Eli what happened? He’s a cop, he can help.”

With a vehement shake of my head, I scooted away from her as if she had some disease. “You promised you’d let this go.”

“I know, it’s just—” She looked down at her hands. “Zoe, I can’t sit and do nothing when it’s clear as day you’re hurting.” Her eyes snapped to mine, unshed tears on the cusp of rolling down her cheeks. “You’re here because you didn’t feel safe in your own home.”

The truth in her words hit me like a punch to the gut. That’s exactly it; I ran away from the only place I was supposed to be safe. Kenzie was right, I had to do something, but she was wrong about involving anyone else. This battle was mine and mine alone.

“Kenzie, for the sake of our friendship I am begging you to leave well enough alone.” Reaching forward, I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Focus on this wonderful life you’re building here. I’ve been through far worse before and I made it out just fine.”

Swiping at her eyes, Kenzie patted my hand resting on her shoulder. “I get why you think you need to do everything alone, I really do, but one of these days you’ll see that accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s the exact opposite, actually.” She pushed to her feet and walked to the door where she paused to glance at me over her shoulder. “You deserve so much more than what you allow yourself to have.”

I stared at the empty doorway for the longest time, unable to get her words out of my mind. When we arrived at Logan and Harper’s place an hour later, that one sentence still rolled around in my head. Kenzie knew my history, knew I was too broken to be loved and still she thought I deserved it. I never dared to dream that someone like me could find happiness; it was so much easier to simply not feel than to risk the small piece of me that wasn’t damaged.

As we made our way to the front door, Kenzie hooked her arm through mine. “I’m sorry I pushed. I know you can get through anything, you’re the most resilient person I know.”

I wanted to bump her shoulder with mine, however being as short as I was, I ended up poking her arm. “I’m sorry I’m stubborn.”

Her eyes went wide and she pressed her hand to her chest as she pretended to be surprised. “What? You’re stubborn? I couldn’t tell.”

“Haha, very funny.”

After Kenzie unhooked her arm from mine, she draped it over my shoulder in a sideways hug. “Please promise me that you’ll come to me if things become too much. I’m here no matter what.”

“I promise.”

Before we even made it up the porch steps, the front door flew open. “About damn time! What took you guys so long?” Harper playfully asked.

In front of us, Brett shook his head and simply said, “Women.”

“Hey!” Kenzie extracted herself from me to smack her husband’s ass. “Should I tell them the real reason why we’re only arriving now?”

Brett snaked an arm around Kenzie’s waist and tugged her close. “I wouldn’t, sweetheart, unless you want them to get jealous.”

Both Harper and I burst out laughing. “You two are the worst.” She turned her gaze to me, “I feel sorry for you, they must be driving you nuts.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I winked playfully and added. “I was actually thinking of getting a room at the guesthouse Kenzie stayed at that time her car broke down.”

We continued to laugh as we walked through the house to the back door that led to their deck. I absolutely adored their set up. The deck was large with comfortable looking couches arranged in a way that would allow for intimate conversations. They had a mini fridge on one side and a grill on the other.

As I lowered myself onto one of the seats, I scanned their spacious backyard. Flynn was having a ball on his jungle gym; climbing on one end, sliding down the other. Their giant rottweiler was playing along as if he was a human kid, too. I kept searching but there was no sign of Eli or Molly anywhere. The disappointment was too strong to ignore.

“We haven’t officially met—” I looked up to find the youngest Jackson brother staring down at me, arm outstretched. “I’m the prettiest Jackson brother, but you can call me Chase.” His smile was bright and wide, I was certain it’d drawn a few ladies to their knees.

I slipped my hand in his, “Zoe.”

Chase plonked down onto the couch beside mine, “Brett told us that your gallery burned down. Man, that sucks. Lemme know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

Kenzie had told me how big-hearted these people were, how willing they were to lend a helping hand. I’d always thought she was laying it on a bit thick. Guess I was wrong. “I will, thanks.”

He then proceeded to ask me all kinds of questions regarding my gallery, including what kind of art I’d showcased. It didn’t seem as if he was making conversation merely for the sake of it, he looked genuinely interested. I enjoyed explaining everything to him; this was my passion, it always brought me immense happiness whenever I talked about it.

I’d always believed that nothing could top that feeling, I was proven wrong the instant Molly appeared out of nowhere and launched herself at me. Her arms wound around my neck as she hugged me. I was momentarily stunned before I came to my senses and returned her embrace.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Miss Zoe.” She pulled back and melted my heart with her toothy grin and bright eyes.

“Wow, that was quite the greeting.” She lowered her head at my words, making me realize that she might’ve thought I was scolding her. Pressing my fingers under her chin, I guided her eyes back to mine. “I liked it a lot.”

This girl’s smile packed a punch, I felt it deep inside my chest. “Okay.” Her ponytail swished back and forth as she took in her surroundings. “I brought all my stuff, will you draw with me later?” she sweetly asked as soon as she focused on me again.

“You bet.” You know how adults always said something just to appease a child? This wasn’t like that at all. I really wanted to sit and draw or color with her. In fact, I was half tempted to tell her let’s just go now. Unfortunately, I knew I had to adult first.

I kept my eyes on Molly as she skipped down the steps to join Flynn on the Jungle Gym. For the first time in my life, I wondered what it would be like to be a mother. Did that warmth blossom in their chests every time their children wrapped their arms around them?

My thoughts were confusing the crap out of me. I turned my gaze back to Chase to continue our conversation, but almost gasped when I found Eli’s intense stare trained on me. How had I missed him taking his brother’s seat? I took a deep breath through my nose in an attempt to calm my racing heart. Big mistake. I’d wanted to take fresh air to my lungs but ended up teasing my senses with Eli’s manly scent. It was masculine, woodsy, and fresh; I wanted to shut my eyes and take another deep whiff.

“Hi.” That rich baritone of his coated my insides with warmth, when he added a lopsided grin to the mix I feared spontaneous combustion.

“Hi,” I repeated like a moron.

That weird thing where we just stared at each other happened again. Tiny pinpricks of electricity started at the base of my neck and danced down my spine. Was he feeling it, too? My lips suddenly felt dry, my tongue darted out, licking along my bottom lip. Eli’s eyes grew darker as his gaze dropped to my mouth.

“What are you drinking?” I almost jumped in my seat at the suddenness of Logan’s voice. He was standing next to Eli’s seat with his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

With his brows pinched together, Eli cleared his throat. “Soda’s good, thanks.”

“Same for me.”

Logan looked from his brother to me, then back at Eli again. He smacked his brother twice on the shoulder before they shared a look I had no hope of understanding. With a grin, Logan then cheerfully said, “Coming right up.”

After his brother disappeared into the house, Eli’s focus was on me again. “Sorry to hear about your gallery.”

For a second I was stunned that he even knew, but then I remembered Chase telling me that Brett had told him. “I still can’t believe it’s gone,” I admitted honestly, and apparently my admissions weren’t over as I babbled on. “It’s strange, you know? It feels like I’m going to wake up at any moment and find that everything was nothing more than a bad dream.”

His eyes roamed the yard until they settled on something. I followed his gaze to where Molly was clapping her hands at something Flynn had done. “Yeah, I am familiar with the feeling.” He sounded thoughtful, I was curious to know what thoughts were running around in his mind. I couldn’t bring myself to voice that question, though.

While his attention was elsewhere, I took the opportunity to study him. He looked so…put together. Every single strand of his dark hair neatly in place, the scruff peppering his jaw didn’t look wild or unruly. My fingers twitched with the need to touch. My gaze dropped to his mouth; the way his whiskers framed his lips made them look utterly inviting. I wondered if he’d thought about the kiss or if he even remembered.

My own lips tingled as I recalled the feel of his mouth on mine, the way he’d cradled my face. The feel of his skin beneath my palms…I remembered everything. My brows drew together as I shook my head slightly. I needed to reel in my rampant thoughts before I did something stupid like act on them.

Luckily, the rest of our friends chose that moment to appear. Kenzie and Brett squeezed in beside me while Chase plonked down next to Eli. After handing me my soda, Logan snaked his arm around Harper and guided her onto his lap. Conversation flowed immediately. Since Logan owned an auto shop and Brett was his mechanic their topic of choice was cars, or rather how serendipitous it was that cars breaking down were the reason they got closer to their women.

Yeah, they lost me a bit there.

“Sorry I’m late, guys.” Lizzy’s cheery voice filtered through the air as she emerged from the house. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Chase straightening in his seat. Curious, I leaned closer to Kenzie, “Are they dating?”

“Who?”

“Lizzy and Chase.”

Kenzie laughed softly. “No, and I honestly don’t know why. I’m pretty sure that even a blind man would see the chemistry between them.”

She wasn’t wrong; there was nothing subtle about the way they were glancing at each other. Lizzy snatched Harper’s beer and leaned back against the deck railing. When Harper glared at her, she simply lifted her shoulder and said, “What? You can share his—” jerking her head in Logan’s direction, she continued, “You guys share everything, anyway.”

And just like that, conversation started up again. Chase asked me more questions about the gallery, the more I talked the more relaxed I became. As the hours ticked by and the sun disappeared, the men decided it was time to grill the meat.

By then I was so comfortable with these people, it felt like I’d known them for years. It was the first time in months that I felt normal, hope blossomed in my chest. Kenzie, Harper, Lizzy, and I were in the middle of discussing the beautiful lace bodice on Harper’s dress when my phone vibrated.

I was still smiling as I reached into the little hidden pocket of my dress to retrieve the device. As soon as my thumb swiped over the screen to unlock it, the world started to spin.

 

Unknown Number: Why aren’t you home? You’re not hiding from me, are you? You know I’ll find you.

 

Air. I needed air…if only my damn lungs would work. Everyone’s words melted together to become incoherent babbling that sounded distant. Someone said my name; I had no idea who. My eyes roamed over the blurred figures in front of me as I desperately tried and failed to get air into my lungs.

“I have to go.” The words were mine, but my voice sounded…strange. I felt myself turn around and place one foot in front of the other. With every step I took, I picked up my pace until I was running through the house and out the front door.