Page 41 of Crossed Lines

“Why are you doing this?” she whispers.

“What do you mean? I thought you’d be hungry.”

“You know what I mean, Beck. I’m trying to keep my distance. Why do you keep pulling me back in?” she asks.

I turn to her. “I’m not trying to make this harder on you. I guess I was just hoping we could still be friends.”

“You’ve made it very clear that you’re Sawyer’s friend, not mine.”

“That’s not true. Of course, Sawyer and I have more of a history together, but I’ve known you forever. I’d consider us friends, too. Wouldn’t you?”

She hesitates before finally nodding. “I guess I can be your friend.”

“Come on, we can both be adults about this, can’t we? Just because we have an attraction to one another doesn’t mean we have to act on it.”

I hate the words coming out of my mouth. It’s so much more than an attraction. But if I want to spend any time with Willow while I can, I need to say this. I don’t want to just be her friend, but I have to.

She sighs. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I can do that.”

“Good. Now go relax while I work on dinner.”

“Do you need help with anything?” she offers.

“Nope. Just go hang out with Jade. These burgers shouldn’t take long.”

She nods and gives one last look before leaving me alone in the kitchen. Once she’s gone, I exhale. That went better than I’d hoped. Hell, she even looked me in the eyes again. We’re getting somewhere.

I head out back and fire up the grill. Once I get the burgers going, the girls join me outside. They must’ve followed the smell. They kick a soccer ball around while I focus on the grill. I love this piece of land that Brooks let me have. I pay him for it, but it’s certainly not what it’s worth. At the time we made our agreement, I was a single dad and needed all the help I could get. I’ve tried to revisit my payments with him, but he won’t hear of it.

The backyard of this house is completely open to the ranch. There’s no fence so I can see for miles. It’s so peaceful on nights like tonight when I’m out here and just need to clear my head. My problems always seem so small when the world looks this big and beautiful.

The burgers cook quickly, and then I’m calling the girls to the table to eat. I figure we’ll eat outside since it’s such a nice night. Willow helps me grab chips and burger toppings from the kitchen before we all sit down.

“This smells amazing,” Willow says, eyeing the burgers

Jade sits next to her. “I’m so hungry!”

I hand out their burgers before I make my own.

The girls tell me about their day. They went to the library this morning. Jade has been working really hard on reading. She’s right on target for her grade level, but my girl wants to be the best.

Jade gets halfway through a story about some old lady she saw in town when my phone rings. Her eyes light up. “Is it Mommy?”

I look down at the screen. “Yep.”

Jade grabs my phone and answers the video call from Gemma before she runs away from the table. Gemma has called every single night since she’s been gone. I know she misses Jade and vice versa. Jade is having a great summer, but no one could ever replace her mom.

“How is Gemma doing?” Willow asks.

“She’s good. Haven’t talked to her much, but I think she’s a little homesick for Blue Haven and she misses Jade a lot.”

“I can imagine. I know I’m gonna miss Jade when I leave, and she’s not even my daughter,” she says, looking toward where Jade is now sitting in the grass talking to Gemma.

It’s always in the back of my mind that Willow will be leaving. I think it’s only three and a half weeks now until she’s gone. The reminder makes my stomach twist. I’m going to miss seeing her every day.

“Jade is going to miss you, too. So will I,” I say.

Willow turns and gives me a sad smile before she focuses back on her food. “Are you ever sad that things didn’t work out with Gemma?”