Chapter 24
“Wow. I didn’t realize all this was out here.” Zoe gazed out the window of Tim’s truck as they passed miles and miles of trees interspersed with open fields.
Tim glanced at her from the driver’s seat. “You’ve never been out this way?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, we may have come out this way when I was in high school, but I haven’t since I’ve been back.”
“I wanted to ask…why did you come back here instead of opening a bookstore in Arizona?”
“My family is all out here on the east coast. As difficult and trying as they are, I love them. My oldest nephew is twelve and my youngest niece is five. I missed seeing them grow up. Plus, the rent was cheap.”
She loved when his dimple popped out. It made him look younger and a little mischievous.
He twirled one of her curls around his finger. “Lucky for me then.”
“How far out do Jase and Bree live?”
“They’re only about thirty minutes to downtown Raleigh, but when you get off the highway and away from all the towns, it makes it seems a lot farther.”
He slowed and turned onto a hard-packed dirt road.
“How far off the beaten path are they?”
“Not that far. This is the back way to their house. It cuts across their property. You used to have to drive all the way around to get to this part, but Bree made Jase put in a road from the house to the pond so they didn’t have to drive around to get to it. It had the added benefit of providing a shortcut to the house.”
They rounded a bend in the road and the pond came into view. “Wow. I’d prefer to drive by this every day too.” She squinted at the water’s edge. “Is that a grave?”
Tim slowed the truck to a stop and put it in park.
“What’s wrong,” she asked.
He shifted in his seat so he was facing her. “The grave is Jase’s best friend. They grew up together and served in the Army together. He took his life a few years ago.”
“Oh.” She glanced at the headstone.
She’d lost two friends to suicide. They hadn’t been really close friends, but their decision had still impacted her deeply.
“Jase took it hard. For a while, my sister, my parents, and I worried that he was going to do the same.”
“He got help?”
“He got Bree.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Bree drew him out of his shell. Helped him heal, got him to go to counseling, and helped him get better. Sometimes I can still see the shadows in his eyes, but they’re fewer and farther between than they used to be.”
“He’s lucky he has her,” she said quietly. Having the right person in your life made all the difference in the world.
“He is.” He threaded his fingers into the nape of her neck. “Just goes to show you—all a good man needs is a great woman.”
Her. He was talking about her. She’d never had anyone look soulfully into her eyes, but that was exactly what Tim was doing. The depth of his emotion poured from his gaze. He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone and lowered his head to hers, kissing her gently.
When he pulled away, she was sure her own eyes were full of cartoon hearts.
“Ready for barbecue?” he asked.
“Definitely.”
