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“What’s that supposed to mean?” He glanced at her, where she stood at the kitchen table, bundling vegetables for the co-op.
She peered at him. “Broken hearts don’t mend easily. You can’t just swap one out for a fresh one.”
His skin prickled. Not her too. First Angie, then his brothers had taken him to task over Crystal leaving. They’d given him grief for not having told her about the contract. Like he needed more guilt. “Don’t start with me, Mom.”
“Why not? You’ve done nothing but stomp around for two solid weeks since Crystal left. You’re miserable and acting worse than a grizzly awakened out of hibernation.” She shook her head. “When are you going to face the truth and do something about it?”
He slammed the stepladder legs together and picked up the dirty filter. It’s not like he hadn’t tried. He’d called and texted her, only to find out she’d blocked him. “There’s nothing to do.Even if I wanted to, she made her decision and told me to leave her alone.”
Tsk tsk.“That’s not what it sounded like the last time I spoke to her. She had plans in mind that might have worked out here. And there’s onlyonereason why she would do that.”
A splinter of guilt pierced his spine. He didn’t need to be reminded she’d been willing to change her life for him, before he blew it. When had she discussed the future with his mom? Didn’t matter. Crystal was out of his life. “I don’t want to talk about her. Whatever there was between us is over.”
He picked up the ladder.
His mother tossed a bunch of carrots down and crossed the room to him. “No, it’s not. I won’t stand by and watch you retreat into your dark hole. I can’t take it a second time.”
Zach blinked at the fierce pronouncement.
His mother’s eyes teared. “That girl brought you back to us. I know she drove you up a wall. She also made you laugh, care, and feel. I’d almost given up hope I’d ever see the light in you again.”
So had he. What the hell could he do about it now? She’d made herself clear by leaving. “Look, Mom. It’s for the best. I don’t have anything to offer her, and she lives a completely different lifestyle. You gotta let this go.”
His mom gripped her locket necklace tightly in her hand. The one she always wore that held a wedding picture of her with his dad. “Your father taught you to fight for what you wanted. To take whatever risk it meant and to never give up. You hurt Crystal, and she lashed back. That’s the way arguments go. It’s time to stop licking your wounds and take action before it’s too late. Time to mend fences.”
Zach’s breath stalled.
His mother’s mouth was set in a firm line, and her fingers turned white on the locket she clutched. He’d never seen herlike this. Sure, she’d reprimanded him and his brothers in the past, many times, but this was different. She had a desperate, pleading look in her eyes.
“I can’t lose you again, son. I love you too much. Follow your heart.” She squeezed his arm and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen.
A lump in his throat made it hard to swallow, and he stood, staring at the empty room. That comment about his father had cut deep.
Zach took the ladder outside, propped it against the house, and sat on the porch step. Was he licking his wounds? Why would he go after someone who had shut him out?
The hurt in Crystal’s beautiful eyes haunted him every day, followed by the memories of her body pressed against his and the innocent, trusting way she’d shared all of herself.
From the moment he’d met her, she’d rattled his cage, showing up in her ridiculous miniskirt and heels. She drove him out of his mind with her antics, but it kept him on his toes. She was unpredictable and defiantly independent. Not to mention a smart-ass.
His chest ached at the weight that had dragged him under for the last two weeks.
God, he missed her.
The challenge, the spark, the banter, the…love.
He sat bolt upright.
The love?
Memory after memory tumbled through his mind. Crystal helping paint the spare room, walking with his mom in the gardens, listening to Zach’s stories about his childhood and father. Crystal had come into his life and embraced his family. How could he have been so blind not to realize he’d fallen in love with her?
This wasn’t some spoiled Hollywood fake. She was as real as they came. She’d trusted him and opened up. Made herself vulnerable. She’d been willing to change her entire life to be with him.
His heart ached as it squeezed tight.
Yes, he loved her.
What an idiot he’d been not to see it. She’d made himfeelagain. Maybe that’s what he’d been fighting. If he shut everything down, it was safer. No one got hurt. But his mother was right. Living in the dark was lonely and suffocating. He’d never meant to hurt Crystal. All he’d wanted was to make her happy. Instead, he’d made her feel betrayed and had lost her trust.
