Someone else was going to buy her grandmother’s house, and live in it. But her life wasn’t there anymore. She had memories there. She would always love the time that she had there. She would always be grateful for it. It had been her other refuge. But Justice was the biggest one.
She felt like she had been a little bit wimpy since that night in the barn. In that she hadn’t told him yet that she was in love with him. It almost seemed silly. Because it seemed so obvious to her that what was between them was so much deeper than anything else. So much deeper than anything they’d ever been. Than she’d ever been.
But as scary as it had been to think about how sex might upset things between the two of them, the idea of introducing feelings that she knew Justice wouldn’t be comfortable with was terrifying. Because it was the unknown. There were very few things about him that were unknown. But the deepest part of him, the way that he held himself at a distance, was something she didn’t have all the answers to. Didn’t know the intricacies of. Because of that, it was just a terrifyingprospect. Putting herself out there like that. She really didn’t know what he would do. He was her best friend, and she knew so much. But she was reminded of the way he had reacted when he’d seen that cave.
She had never known that fear existed inside of him. And if anything had ever spoken such loud volumes about Justice, it was that.
She’d been friends with him for most of her life, and she didn’t understand that.
She sighed, and looked out the window, just as she heard the sound of tires on gravel. It was Justice.
She assumed he had been out working. His whole schedule had changed since she had moved in with him. He didn’t stay out all night. He didn’t get up quite so late. It was a very different experience of Justice King.
He was dressed up this morning, black pants and a button-up shirt. It was strange.
He opened up the door and took his hat off, which was even weirder. He was acting like he’d just walked into a church.
And for one second, her heart lifted. Because maybe this was it. Maybe he loved her too. Maybe he was going to ask her to marry him. It made sense. They made sense. She had never really loved anyone else, not in her whole life. She had never really wanted anyone else. It had just taken years for her to be brave enough to see the truth of it. But maybe he was brave enough now too.
She moved toward him, not even thinking, and reached her hands out.
“Hey,” he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.His lips were cool, which was strange. Or maybe not, because it was winter outside. But it did feel weird. It made her heart sink just a little bit.
“I’ve got something to tell you,” he said. But he smiled. So it had to be good.
“What?”
“I went to the auction this morning.”
She frowned. “You did?”
“I bought the house.”
For a minute, her head went completely fuzzy.
“You bought the house.Myhouse?”
“Yes. Because you’re special, and you didn’t deserve what happened. And after everything... I wanted to get it for you.”
She was fighting to get words out, fighting to breathe. “You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can. I don’t have a mortgage here. So, it’s fine to pay for that.”
“Buthow? You had to pay with cash.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Denver fronted me the money. It isn’t a big deal.”
“Six figuresisn’t a big deal?”
“No. Not between us. Anyway, I have it. I have some investments of my own. I just needed time to access the accounts, sell a few stocks, so I’m going to pay him back.”
It was such an amazing gift, really it was. He had given her her grandmother’s house. But she didn’t feel happy.
Because she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to leave this life here. She wanted to get closer to him, and this was him moving him farther away.
His grand gesture was lovely in so many ways. But it was also ending them.
Ending this.
