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“We would have used it back then, and it would have been warm and dry, and had adults there who maybe could have helped you and your brothers, Joe.”
He nodded. Joe had thought just that when he’d started putting the proposal together. “We would have,” he said, watching her walk around the space.
There were four sets of bunks, and an open-plan kitchen/dining area, with a lounge and bathroom facilities through separate doors.
Bailey came back to where he stood.
“It’s like a different property to the one I grew up on. You must be very proud of what you and your family have achieved here.”
“We are. It took a lot of work, especially as we’d been apart for so long, but we got there eventually.”
“How long were you away?”
“Eight years on and off. I came back whenever I could.”
He saw the questions in her eyes, but she didn’t ask where he’d been for those years.
“I’m glad you showed me around, Joe. Thank you, but I should get going now. I’ll save the ride for another day.”
She went to walk around Joe, but he cut her off by stepping into her path. “Are you scared of me, Bailey?”
She looked up at him, her expression controlled.
“No. But it’s time for me to leave, Joe.”
“I think you are scared, but what really terrifies you is that I make you feel things you don’t want to feel.”
“Step aside, please.”
He didn’t, couldn’t; instead he stepped closer.
“I’d never hurt you, Bailey, you don’t need to be afraid of me.”
“I know that.”
“How do you know that?” He cupped her cheek, running his thumb over the soft, heated skin.
“Because the boy you were was far more dangerous than the man before me.”
“That kind of makes sense.”
“Plus, the anger I’ve carried toward you was unjustified, I know that now, and maybe I carried it for so long because I wasn’t happy. Whatever the reason, some of what you explained today has helped me understand why you didn’t write back.”
“But only some?”
“Let me go, Joe.”
Never.
“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” he said. “You wanted me to be the best I could be, and I hadn’t done that. In fact, I’d done the opposite.”
“It’s done. We can move on now.”
“Can we move on as friends?”
“Joe, my life is one hell of a big mess right now, and I really don’t need any more complications.”
“I wasn’t always a complication, I was a friend.”
