“Who’s there?” Mia asks, her voice inquisitive. “I can’t tell if we’re happy or mad about whomever it is showing up unannounced.”
Mia has been my best friend since our freshman year of college. We shared a dorm room and hit it off the day we first met. We were inseparable after that, until our lives wentin different directions. Mia lives in Aston now, where she’s officially settled down with a single dad, who her father coaches.
Talk about a plot twist.
They’re very adorable together and his daughter is a fiery little girl who keeps them both on their toes. I’ve never seen Mia more happy than she is with him and I know he treats her well. I’m happy for her. Mia Landry deserves nothing but the best and I think it’s safe to say that she’s found it.
“Um… Jace.”
Mia’s silent for a second. “Your brother’s friend? The one you said you had a crush on when you were younger, right?”
I suck in a deep breath and blow it out in a rush. “That would be the one.” I pause, swallowing roughly as I watch him pull his truck up by the house. “Can we not talk about that crush though? I’ve moved on from that.”
“You didn’t tell me he was back in Sugar Hill.”
Taking a step back, I move out of sight and duck inside the barn. “It must have slipped my mind.”
Mia and I haven’t really had much time to catch up since I got home. Caleb took her on a trip and she just got back late last night. Our communication has really only been through text and I was waiting until we spoke on the phone to tell her everything. Not that much has happened, but still.
“I was waiting until we had the chance to talk on the phone.”
“Well, we’re on the phone now.” Mia lets out a soft laugh. “So, spill. I need all the updates.”
Jace climbs out of the truck and pauses by its side. My breath catches in my throat and my lungs momentarily forget how to work. He stares at the barn, directly through the doorway to my left. I don’t know if he saw me or not when he came down the driveway.
“Hello?” Mia’s voice through the phone brings me back to what I was doing..
“Sorry, I’m here.”
Jace lingers beside his truck for another moment, his gaze still trained on the barn doors. Finn steps out of the house, calling Jace’s name, pulling his attention away. He turns to find my brother on the front porch, then heads over to him and they disappear into the house.
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Curiosity washes over me and I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing here.
“Sorry, I had to make sure he wasn’t coming into the barn,” I say, dropping my voice lower. “There’s honestly not that much to tell. I ran into him in town when I was dropping Finn’s dog off at the vet.”
“I heard about his early retirement.”
My lips part as I’m about to ask her how she knows, but then I remember. The man she’s dating is a professional hockey player and her father coaches the team. Of course she would know.
“Yeah. Jace isn’t really forthcoming with anything personal, so he hasn’t said much about it. Not that I’ve been around him that much,” I add in a rush.
“Yeah, okay.”
“I really haven’t. He came over for dinner the other night and my brothers had a fire and we all hung out.” I pause, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I glance back through the doorway, noting that the coast is clear. I slowly step under the threshold, walking back through the barnyard. “Then I ran into him at the hardware store and we made a deal to help each other.”
“Oh my gosh. Tell me more about this deal.”
“He’s going to help me at the shop and I’m going to help him…some way.”
Mia lets out a low whistle. “Some way?”
“Not like that,” I laugh, shaking my head. “He’s going to figure out what I can do to pay him back. It’s just transactional.”
I walk across the yard, making my way over to the front porch. There are no signs of Finn or Jace, although his truck is still here. Instead of going inside, I sit down on the third to last porch step.
“Is he single?” she asks, her voice hopeful. “You know, we never did find your future husband at any hockey games. Perhaps we weren’t looking in the right places.”
“Oh, please,” I laugh, shaking my head as I roll my eyes. “That ship sailed. I don’t think I’m looking for a future husband anymore. A good fuck would suffice at this point.” The floorboards behind me groan and my spine stiffens, my entire body immediately falling rigid. My lungs constrict, my heart pounding faster inside my chest.Oh my god.“I’ll call you back, Mia.”
