I headed back toward my trailer and felt eyes on me. I looked around, finding Valerie using her stabilizer for her phone to make videos. She was filming me with an intensity that made my shoulders tighten. Then she waved. “That’s going to be awesome on our TikTok,” she shouted across the field.
I didn’t care if I looked like a muddy monster in video. Trying to shake off the unease around her lately, I made an exaggerated Hulk smash pose for the camera. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.
The connected path between my property and Amber’s was shaded with the late day sun, but a flash of gold put me on alert. It was probably just Lucy coming over to investigate. Their Great Pyrenees had been known to wander around my property as well.
I glanced back at Valerie to make sure she wasn’t still filming me. She was looking down at her phone, probably reviewing the footage. I took the opportunity to walk over and check it out.
I ducked between the line posts and followed the path toward the Dalton farm. I heard footsteps and the sway of branches of the trees that canopied the path.
“Amber?”
The footfalls paused.
“Is that you?”
She peeled back one of the big evergreen boughs. “Hi.”
“Why are you sneaking around?”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “I was just curious.”
“And didn’t want to talk to me?”
“Of course not.” But I could see the truth of it on her face.
I wanted to go over and gather her in, to push away that disquiet vibrating off her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fit to touch anyone, let alone her.
She was wearing an oversized hoodie that fell to her thighs over a pair of stretchy yoga pants that must be a prerequisite to be a female these days. The short, ugly boots reminded me of high school. Hell, the entire ensemble reminded me of those old days. Her new shorter hair was pulled into pigtails, and she could have passed for a college coed.
My chest hurt just looking at her.
How could I miss someone so fast?
“Gonna fill me in why you’re pushing me away?”
Her gray eyes went huge. “I’m not.”
“Sure about that?”
“I have other things going on, Tate. You’re not the center of my world.”
I wished I was, but she was right. Too bad, I didn’t believe that particular excuse. I had a feeling it had more to do with the videos of us all over TikTok. I wasn’t one to scroll for anything other than sports videos or the occasional cat compilation with funny narration, but even my feed had been full of people talking about it.
Not just video of us, but people picking apart every little thing about us.
After I watched one, the internet gods continued to give them to me without my permission. The rabbit hole I fell into was embarrassing, but I couldn’t stop watching them. Mostly because I actually got to see Amber in her Ambrose setting. The stage where she shined so brightly, but after knowing her most of my life, I could see a few of the cracks in her glittery armor.
When the smiles were forced, where the interviewers went too far, and how intrusive the paparazzi could be when she simply went out to dinner with friends.
She needed Haven even more than she needed me.
Didn’t make me want her any less though.
I backed up. “No, I’m well aware of that.”
She stiffened. “Where exactly did you think this was going?”
“I don’t know. Did there need to be a plan?”
