“Yeah, my face blows up like a balloon.” He huffs, and I laugh, then snort.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. I just can’t imagine your face all swollen.”
A teasing glint shines in his eyes as he grins. “Yeah, well, it’s only happened a few times, but it isn’t pretty.”
“I love them. Makes me feel like the garden is healthy when there are bees around. I’m planning to plant some wildflowers around the apple tree outside. I want to try to promote pollination to see if it increases fruit production. You know, one-third of the world’s crops depend on bees for pollination. Without them, we’d lose many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Plus, they remind me of her.”
“Is that why you have a bee hair clip?”
I look at Sutton, a frown coming to my face. “How did you know?”
His shoulders lift slightly, like it’s obvious. “You wear it in your hair almost every day.”
“I used to.” That weight on my chest is back.
“What happened?”
“It broke when I was mugged. It was the one thing I had left of her, and now that’s gone too.”
Sutton’s jaw tics. I stand, moving to the drawer in the kitchen and pulling out the tissue, placing it on the table. Unwrapping it, I show him the beautiful jeweled clip now broken in about three places.
“I thought about getting some superglue, but I don’t think it’ll work.”
Sutton eyes the broken pieces before looking back at me.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” His voice is low, tender, as he looks over the broken pieces.
“It’s fine. It’s just rhinestones. I mean, real black diamonds are expensive, but they’re also associated with strength, mystery, and boldness. In medieval Europe, they were believed to ward off evil. I probably could’ve used their help in this instance.” I try to lighten the mood a little.
A sympathetic look changes his expression. “How did she die?”
“Car accident. About five years ago.”
“And your dad?” My eyes meet his immediately, and his face hardens like my own.
“I think when she died, a little bit of him did too.” I leave it at that. There’s nothing else to say. That I hate that when Mom died he gave up? On life, on James, on me. That he married the first woman who threw herself at him and let her stay in the house ever since? Mom held the family together; she was our queen bee, and when she died, so did our family.
“I never really knew my dad. I remember him a little, but I think the last time I saw him, I was probably about James’ age,” Sutton shares, and I wait, knowing there’s more. “He wasn’t nice, not to Mom or Sawyer or me. He tried to reach out to me a few years ago. Obviously, he heard I was doing well for myself and wanted to reconcile.”
“Did you?” Is forgiveness something you can give a parent when they left you when you needed them the most?
“No. That part of my life is over. It was over the minute he walked out on Mom and us boys. He left us broke, hungry, struggling. That’s not a man. A man looks after his family. Protects them. Loves them. Nothing else should matter but them.” Sutton’s words hit home so fiercely, it’s like a gut punch.
Taking a deep breath, I work up the courage to ask, “Can I trust you, Sutton?” I feel that I can. I’ve shared more with him tonight than I have anyone else here in Whispers.
He reaches for my hand, nodding slowly with his eyes never straying from mine. “Can I trust you, Nikki?” My words come back to me, and that’s how I know I can. We both have things to lose in this.
Our hands stay intertwined among the pizza boxes and plates, the fire illuminating us both in a golden light, the quiet among the forest surrounding us.
“Your secrets are safe with me, Tinker Bell.” He lifts my hand to his mouth, kissing it gently, and little by little, my guard lowers and my walls come down.
18
Sutton
It has rained all night. After sitting around the table with Nikki once we finished dinner, I helped her clean up and left her the moment I saw her stifling a yawn. And me? I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. My sleep here in Whispers is so good. Deep. Rejuvenating. This small town is proving to be good for more than I first thought.
I find that I’m no longer in a rush. To leave. To live. My pace has slowed. I appreciate the small things. I appreciate Nikki. Her smile. Her snort-laughs. The way she knows things about everything. The way she kisses. Especially the way she kisses… Now the idea of leaving Whispers doesn’t feel like the right move anymore. The thought is sobering. My life is in LA. My work, too. But family, friends, connections, Nikki… they’re all here.
