Was it wrong that I wondered its source? That I even cared at all?
But each day, I only cared more.
Because I could feel Jace’s torment.
Could feel it radiating through the walls, seemingly becoming greater with each day that passed and we still had no new clues or answers.
It was hard, coming to terms with the fact the boy I’d fallen for, so fast and hard all those years ago, might be right there, standing in front of me.
Hidden behind that same harsh exterior he’d worn then. It terrified me that I was sure I could still see beneath those fortified layers. That I could stretch my hand out, sink my fingers into that kind, kind heart, know him from the inside out.
It sure didn’t help the confusion that the man was kneeling in front of my daughter and securing a tiny, children’s work-belt around her waist.
Bailey was clearly buzzin’ with excitement that she got to help.
Oh goodness.
My hand went to my throat, the emotion coming too fast. It was amazing that I didn’t crumble beneath the pressure of them all.
Sorrow and affection and a million reservations.
I tore my attention from them and looked back at my best friend. At least she was safe.
“What’s going on?”
Courtney smirked. “What does it look like? We’re out here working our tails off while you’re upstairs sleeping half the day away. A little help would be nice.”
Felix laughed beside her, giving a shove to her shoulder and teasing, “Such a ball buster.”
Her grin grew, taunting him, “You have no idea.”
His brows lifted, and his voice dropped. “Oh, I think I do.”
“Mornin’, Faith,” Mack called as he tossed some old, rotted wood onto the growing pile.
He’d checked in with me often, coming by to ensure we felt safe, and made sure other officers were driving by, constantly surveilling the property.
But standing there this morning? He was nothing but an old friend. Someone who cared about me and my daughter.
“Mornin’,” I managed through the awe, trying to catch up to what was happening outside my home, as I realized why they were there.
They all knew I needed the help. That I was feelin’ so alone and helpless and scared.
And they’d all shown up here to help me. To be here in the surest show of support.
Gratefulness surged, filling my insides like a buoy. A promise that they weren’t going to let me drown.
I looked at Mack. “Who put you all up to this?”
Mack laughed as if it were a ridiculous question.
Instinctively, my attention traveled back to Jace, who’d pushed to his feet. The man was wearing a tight white tee and a pair of tattered jeans that teased my mind into thinking wicked things.
It didn’t matter how guilty those thoughts made me feel. How wrong they might be.
I couldn’t stop them.
The attraction that flared in the bright morning light. The energy that flashed when he cast those eyes in my direction.
Standing there as if he owned the place.
Looking better than any man had the right to.
For the last three weeks, he’d been taking stock.
Making lists of what needed to be achieved and the different projects that needed to be tackled.
Not to mention the fact that he paced, watching out the windows, continually ready to step in and protect Bailey and me if anything threatened us.
Sometimes I wondered if he had manifested from the walls. As if he’d been there all along, waiting to be awakened, summoned back into existence.
There to tease and taunt me with ideas I couldn’t keep out of my mind.
He started my way.
The air shivered.
The ground shook.
Oh goodness.
I was gettin’ in deep. Feeling things I shouldn’t.
Couldn’t.
My mind continually traipsing through the memories of what we’d once been and what we’d once hoped to be, stirring them up, tendrils of them trying to crawl up through the dirt where they’d been buried and take root.
Blossom.
Just like those roses that had once been forgotten but had come to flourish.
But that was an impossibility.
As he approached, Jace sent me the softest smile, and still, somehow, it was lined with the fierceness of the man.
A quiver took to my entire body.
Impossible, I tried to remind myself.
Right?
God, I just didn’t know anything anymore.
I shook myself off and returned the easiest smile I could manage with nerves whipping through me as strong as a tree trying to stand its ground in the middle of a hurricane.
“Tell me you didn’t drag everyone I know here before dawn to make them work all Saturday.”
No doubt he was responsible.
“Now why would I go and do something like that?”
Something playful pulled at the corner of Jace’s mouth, something soft that I’d seen coming from him more often over the last week.
Something that twisted through me, made a place inside me glow that should have been forever dimmed.
Bailey’s eyes went wide when she finally noticed me. She raced to catch up to him and then started to trot along at his side. “Surprise, Mommy! We pwans the whole big secret. Jace said we a team.”