Page 51 of Crossed Lines

“You don’t have to clean that up.”

“I know. I just…” I trail off, not knowing what to say.

“Willow. Stop cleaning. You’re off duty now. Relax,” he says.

My shoulders slump, and I stand from the floor and sit on the couch. I plop down and pretend like I’m completely unbothered by sitting here in the dark with the man who has been haunting my dreams since I got back to Blue Haven.

“So, what are we supposed to do now?” I ask.

“We could just… talk. Do you want a beer?”

Talk? He wants me to sit in the dark and talk to him? For what? So I can fall even more in love with a man I can’t have? Great.

“Sure, I’ll take one.” Although I’m not sure drinking and being alone with Beck is a good idea. At least it’ll give me something else to focus on.

He hands me the bottle and sits on the chair next to the couch, putting as much space between us as he possibly can without sitting in another room entirely. If I weren’t so nervous, I would probably laugh. It’s as if he’s scared to be too close to me.

“So, what do you wanna talk about?” I ask.

“Are you excited to go to Italy?”

Ok, easy topic. Keeping it neutral. I can do that.

“So excited. I’ve always dreamed of going to Europe, so when this popped up as an option, I jumped on it. It’s even better that I get to go with my best friend.”

“Do you know what you’ll be doing there yet?”

“Kinda. Since we’re education majors, we’ll be spending a good amount of time working on teaching English. There are still a few parts of our schedule that are being finalized. I was able to send in my final payment this week, though. I can’t thank you enough for hiring me and for keeping this a secret from Sawyer for now,” I say.

“No need to thank me, Wills. You’re doing me a favor. You’ve been so good to Jade this summer. She’s going to miss you when you leave. I’m going to miss you when you leave.”

As much as I would hate for either of them to be sad, I’m happy that Beck will miss me. I hope he does.

“It’s been a fun summer. Just what I needed, honestly. I’ve been so consumed with school and living my best life at college and staying as far away from this place as possible that I forgot that I actually do kind of like it here,” I say.

“I didn’t realize you wanted to leave so badly,” he says. I guess I kept it mostly to myself. Sawyer knew. I assumed he would’ve told Beck, but maybe he didn’t.

I nod. “Yeah, just… too many bad memories, you know? I always thought that I would leave and never come back, but being here… I don’t know. It’s different seeing this place again after being away. I think I appreciate it more now.”

“Do you think you’ll come back after you graduate?” he asks.

I shrug; the question has been on my mind a lot lately. If you had asked me a year ago, my answer would’ve been a quick “no.” But now, I’m not so sure. I like being close to Sawyer. And being in Blue Haven reminds me of my parents, for once, not in a bad way. I feel closer to them here, and it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to. While I know I don’t have to live in the city my parents chose to build their life in, I can’t help but admit they picked a good one.

“I don’t know. I’m not opposed to it. I guess it’ll really depend on the job market,” I say, going with an easy excuse.

He nods. “Makes sense.”

“What about you? Will you ever leave Blue Haven?” I ask.

“Nah, I doubt it. This is all I’ve ever known. I’ve never had the itch to leave.”

“You think you’ll stay at Moonlight?” I ask, taking a big sip of my beer.

“I think I’ll be here as long as Brooks allows it. I couldn’t ask for a better job, and this place feels more like home than anywhere else.”

I can totally see that for him. Beck belongs here. He belongs with the horses. It wouldn’t be Moonlight Ranch without him.

“Ace asked about you today,” Beck says, but he sounds annoyed by it.