“Alright, girls,” Easton chuckles, swinging Jade around like a rag doll as she scream-laughs from all the enjoyment, “how about some lunch?”
Oh, that’s right. I was hungry.
Nodding, I try to put on my best nonchalant smile. “That sounds great.”
Reminiscing on our past has my heart doing things I wasn’t prepared for, and my stomach is going all flip-flop.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to eat when it’s doing that, but I have to try. The idea of Easton knowing he’s throwing me off makes me feel weird, like my pride won’t allow it.
While the time we shared together back then was otherworldly, seeing Easton like this, knowing that he’s moved on with his life, makes it seem like it was nothing more than a summer fling to him.
But it meant the world to me.
Pull it together, Hazel. Yeah, you were crushed when he left. But he’s different now. You’re different now. It’s done. There’s been too much time and too much distance. Get over it.
Easton stops swinging Jade, who is so dizzy she nearly collapses, and then picks her right back up and begins to carry her inside.
When I start to walk up to them, my phone buzzes repeatedly in my pocket, and I know I have a call.
“I’m right behind you!”
I pull out my cell phone, noting that it’s another unknown number.
Don’t answer. Don’t answer.
But I do. Because Ialwaysdo.
It’s another dead-air call. Just like always. I stand there frozen in the backyard as I hang up and tuck the phone away in my pocket again.
“You coming?!” Easton calls out, a slight flicker of worry on his face.
I school my expression, waving at him with a bright smile. “Yup! Forgot my book!”
Rushing back around to the other side of the hammock, I retrieve my book from the grass, thankfully for the convenient excuse. As I jog up to the back door, I’m sure to keep my expression and mood light.
I don’t need Jade nervous, or god forbid, Easton actually worrying about me. I’m sure it’s nothing. And even if…even if it’s not, I moved. I moved to Red Lodge.
What are the odds that someone would want to bother with tracking me down all the way out here? I’m not worth all the trouble.
But as I step inside, my stomach is in knots, and I’m even less sure about this lunch we’re supposed to have.
NINE
Hazel
It felt good to be outside after being cooped up in my apartment working on my manuscript for the past few days. Easton had some time off, so he spent it with Jade, and now we’re all hanging out at the park.
Even more, I know I needed some time around other humans. I got two more dead-air calls over the week, and I’m shaken, to say the least.
Fresh air, sunshine. I’ll clear my head, and everything will be right as rain.
Though, I will admit I never really understood that metaphor. What exactly was right about rain?
“Watch out! I’m going to gobble you all up!”
Easton starts running after Jade and a few of her friends who met at the park for a playdate, and I can’t help but laugh. He’s acting like an old troll, and the girls are squealing with delight.
I can’t deny the warm feeling in my chest as I watch him with them. He’s gotten a bit more comfortable with his niece, and it’s times like these that he’s at his best.
