Dustin watched her walk away under Willa’s and Lucky’s amused gaze.
“I don’t think she liked you having Kaley’s phone number,” Willa teased.
His smile widened. “I don’t think she did either.”
He continued to talk to Willa and Lucky as Jessie talked to the librarian. Dustin knew her well enough that her friendly expression masked the growing turmoil she felt at not remembering the encounter. As she walked back toward him, he knew he was right as he saw her rub her temple.
“You okay?”
“Yes, it’s just so frustrating how I can’t remember something so important.”
“You will.” Willa gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s a start, at least.”
“Hopefully, I’ll start remembering more—” She suddenly broke off. “I need to go say goodbye to Drake, Bliss, and Darcy.” She left them staring after her.
Dustin tried to talk to her afterward, to ask what was wrong, but she kept avoiding him.
When Logan ran up to tell him that he was ready to go home, Dustin unashamedly used him to grab her attention.
“Jessie, I need to get Logan home. He has school tomorrow,” he rudely interrupted her as she talked to a young woman who worked with her at the daycare.
Jessie gave Logan a hug and told him, “I was so proud of how you started the hymn.”
Logan blushed a fiery red. “Thank you.”
Her response to his own goodbye was different. Her cool tone signaled that something about him was bothering her, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was.
When he and Logan got home, Dustin went to check on the plants while his son did his homework. Greer had offered to go, but he was playing with Rosie. Grabbing his hat off the wall, he told him that he would.
At the sectioned-off clearing they planted their weed, he moved from row to row, reaching down to random weeds. They needed to get the plants pulled before a frost came. He should have already done it, but work and Jessie had divided his attention.
He built up a sweat despite the cool autumn air. The beating sun had him taking his shirt off and hanging it around his neck as he worked. Occasionally, he would use it to wipe the sweat away.
Gathering the weeds he pulled, he placed them in a bag he had hidden in the bushes. Satisfied the plants were thriving, he decided to call Logan’s grandmother and see if she was up for a visit from Logan.
Crawling out, he walked back to the house, where the smell of fried chicken had his stomach growling.
He was going up the steps as Jessie was coming out.
“You visiting Holly?”
“No, I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a minute?”
“You want to stay for dinner? We can talk when we get done eating?”
“No, I’ve got dinner ready at home. I won’t hold you up. I don’t want your dinner getting cold.”
“You had all afternoon to talk to me, and you ignored me.” Dustin backed down the steps, so Jessie could come down. “What’s so important that you came here instead of texting me?”
“Because I need for you to understand that I need you to stay away from me. I don’t want you pretending in public that we’re a couple when we’re not.”
His face hardened. “So, it’s okay for you to touch me when you need my emotional support, but anything that could make us look like a couple is a no-go?”
“Can we have this conversation without anyone listening?” she hissed through clenched teeth, grabbing his hand and leading him around the side of the house.
“What’s wrong with us looking like we’re a couple? We are.”
“No, we aren’t. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You saved my life, Dustin. The last few nights together allowed me to get to a clearer mind. I haven’t been sleeping that much, just cat naps.
“If your nightmares are as bad as mine, then I don’t know how you could stand it for all these years. I admire you for being able to handle that. It could be that I’ve been so tired that my brain hasn’t been functioning properly, and it’s starting to heal in bits and pieces. All those years we spent as playmates made me feel safe and cared for enough to sleep. But it’s an illusion, just like us pretending to be a couple when we aren’t.”
Her eyes dropped to his chest, avoiding eye contact, then quickly skittered away. Dustin had been with enough women to recognize when one was attracted to him. He had an idea what was going on and had no intention of making it easy for her.
Hooking each of his thumbs into a belt loop, he gave her the illusion that he was patiently waiting to agree with whatever bullshit she was spouting out to him.
“We both know that emotionally I’ve been a wreck since the kidnapping. But today, I think I’m starting to get straightened out, and I don’t need you being my support system anymore, even though I really appreciate everything you’ve done,” she clarified hastily, then droned on with more bullshit. “In the long run, it’s not healthy for me to become dependent on your support. It will only lead to confusion and hurt feelings.”