Sapphire frowned in confusion. "What does he grow?"
"Technically, the farm is his dad's, and his dad used to raise cattle, but he got sick, and it became too much for him," Hayden explained even as he turned the truck onto a narrow private road running alongside the field. "When Vic went back to help, he sold the cattle and started growing lavender in the fields."
Sapphire's eyes widened, and she looked back at the fields. The stumpy little bushes were perfectly lined up in the drab wintery field still covered in patches of snow. She imagined them as vibrant lavender bushes growing in the sunshine. It must be beautiful in the summertime.
"What does he do with it?" she asked, unable to keep the wonder from her voice as she peered around Hayden's stocky frame out his window to see how far the fields ran.
Grey eyes flicked to hers, and not for the first time, Sapphire wondered what the man looked like under all that unruly hair.
Hayden turned his focus back onto the road, the muscle under his jaw ticking slightly. "He sells it," he said crisply.
Shields up. Defenses at 40%. She imagined Hayden's mind screaming that to all his cells and nerve endings, making sure that no human emotion escaped the man.
With a deep exhale, she turned to Joel, who sat watching her, his eyes flicking from her to Hayden, not missing a single thing. Understanding and something a little…cold glinted in his gaze before he masked it with his usual warm smile.
"Vic sells the lavender to a couple of vendors who use it to make oils, soaps, and beauty products."
Sapphire nodded, that made sense.
"We're here," Hayden's gruff voice interrupted them.
Looking up, Sapphire watched as the flat grassy land beside the road changed into gentle sandy swells. Ahead she could see the dark grey undulating mass of water.
Pulling the truck to a stop at the end of the road where two weathered wooden pylons stood holding a slack rusted chain between them, Hayden shut off the engine.
Clapping his hands, Joel rubbed them together. "Come on, let's go freeze our balls off."
This time Sapphire allowed herself to smile fully.
Joel's eyes widened, and a wolfish smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Absolutely worth it," he growled just under his breath.
Grabbing her hand Joel tugged her gently from the truck until she was standing on the soft sand next to him. Freezing wind whipped around the sandy dunes and met them head-on as they trudged through the make-shift path beyond the pylons.
With no apparent intention of letting go of her hand, Joel carefully guided her through the tall brown bushes that grew hardily through the arid sand. With each step, the sounds of the waves lapping the flat shore grew louder. The biting wind cut through her jacket and whipped through her hair, sending it into wild disarray around her face.
It was glorious.
Closing her eyes, Sapphire let Joel pull her along closer to the water as she let the purifying cold wind wash over her. In this moment, right here, she would let the sea breeze take her anger toward her mother away. She would let it whisk her worries of the future out to sea. She would even allow herself to enjoy the warmth of Joel's big, callused hand in hers, holding her safely without guise or motivation for more. Right now, he was just her pseudo-uncle taking his niece to the beach. Her smile grew larger as she looked at the back of Joel's head and his tousled golden hair fighting against the wind that would dare mess it up. She would allow herself to enjoy this feeling of safety and comfort. But something was missing.
Looking back over her shoulder, Sapphire watched as Hayden slowly followed them. His dark hair blew around his face as he took each step. With his hands buried deep in his pockets, his broad back seemed to hunch forward into the wind. Ahead of her, Joel was his brother's complete opposite, head up and carefree, holding onto her and leading the way while Hayden was—left behind. A twisting pain gripped her heart.
As if sensing her looking at him, Hayden's grey eyes looked up from the ground cutting directly into hers, and she saw the stark need shine in them before the stony anger she was so used to from him covered the errant emotion up.
Lifting her hand, she dug her feet into the sand, and Joel stopped ahead of her, but she did not look at him. Keeping her eyes on Hayden, she watched as leery hesitation stopped the man in his tracks. Like a wild wolf, the man looked at her, then to her offered hand, and for a second, she feared he would ignore her silent offer—reject her. Her pulse was beginning to thump louder in her ears, trying to drown out the winter waves at her right.
Tentatively, Hayden stepped forward in the compacted wet sand pulling his hand from his pocket until he wrapped it warmly around hers.
Happiness, she could not trust herself to understand, wrapped up her arm from their combined grip and straight into her heart. Matching his steps along with Joel's, both men kept her secure in their grasp as they all marched side by side along the cold beach.
If anyone could see them, they probably looked ridiculous: two adult men holding a young woman's hand between them as if she were a child. But Sapphire didn't care. The feeling their presence gave her as they trudged up and down the coast, looking at things that washed up from the unforgiving grey sea onto the equally dismal grey shore, was something she could not put into words. Maybe this was what little girls felt like with their uncles or fathers. Perhaps, she would never know. She just knew it was gloriously overwhelming to the senses to be surrounded by such masculine protection and warmth. She never wanted it to end.
A powerful sneeze suddenly broke her grips with the men as she leaned forward and covered her face with her sleeve. Blinking, Sapphire looked back up to see both men turning promptly around on their heels.
"Time to go, goldilocks," Joel announced as he turned her by the shoulders.
Grabbing her hands again, Hayden and Joel guided her back to the truck despite her protests that she was fine.
