“You grew up here?”
We walk the long stretch of gravel driveway that leads toward a single-story log cabin. The property is nestled in a grove of pine trees overlooking Payette Lake. Minus the plateau mountains, it looks so much like Bear Lake my heart squeezes tightly in my chest.
I haven’t stopped replaying what Hailey said back at the restaurant, treating her words like a fortune cookie for my life.
Not everyone is looking on the other side of the fence. Some people notice the beauty in their own backyard.
I’ve spent a long time wondering why I wasn’t enough for Teddy. But Hailey freed me from that thought tonight. I know now… Iwasthe other side of the fence. Nothing I could have done would have changed that fact.
Miles was safe, her first friend, the right choice. What she needed from him I couldn’t give her. And I don’t blame her anymore.
With my eyes locked on Hailey, my first thought isWhat if you’re my right choice?
It’s a dangerous thought. One that I nod away like the stringof a balloon that’s been freed to the sky when she says, “You want to see inside?”
A dusty old mat with a birdhouse print touches the front door. She slips a small gold key from beneath the rubber bottom and fits it into the lock, turning it then pushing the door open.
The place is as rustic on the inside as it is on the outside. Every piece of furniture except for the couch looks handcrafted from knotty pine. Large woven rugs in rich browns and greens blanket the floors.
I set the pizza box on the kitchen counter before approaching the fireplace hearth. There’s a picture on top—Hailey in a green cap and gown, embracing an eccentric-looking woman’s waist. Aunt Karen, I’m guessing.Where are you, Jack?
If I didn’t think commenting on it would hurt her feelings, I would tell her right now what a prick move I think skipping her graduation was. At least my parents did that much.
“Any chance your dad is coming back here?” I ask, spinning around to face her.
“He’s married to his work, remember? He rarely leaves his office at the barracks. He even put a cot in there. Chooses to sleep on it over his king-sized bed here.” She points to the first room in the hallway, where there’s not a wrinkle in the bedspread.
“I mean,Iwouldn’t pass up the king. But I can’t say I understand everything there is to know about Jack Hart.”
“Me neither.”
Our mutual chuckle fades into a semi awkward silence. Here we are, alone for the first time, no one to interrupt us, and I’m not sure what to do next. I know what Iwantto do. I haven’tstoppedthinking about kissing her since it happened the first time. But now that it’s been eleven days, I don’t know what she’s thinking.
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth as she takes abreath. Her eyes flit to my mouth and linger there, studying the shape of my lips.
If I start kissing her now, I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
I break our trance and flick my eyes out toward the big bay window in the kitchen. “You should show me that rope swing.”
Her cheeks turn to my favorite color, and her braid flicks down her back. “Okay,” she says.
On an outstretched limb of a pine tree overlooking the lake, two woven ropes knot at the top and thread down through the sides of a wooden plank. She runs her hand down one of the frayed strands and sweeps the layer of pine needles covering the seat.
“I’m not sure this is all that safe anymore.” She tips her chin to the sky, inspecting the threadbare jute.
“I’ll catch you if you fall,” I say, holding the swing steady for her.
She wraps her slender fingers around the rope and scoots back onto the seat. It wobbles slightly and she turns her chin to peek at me.
“I promise,” I add, and press my hand to her lower back as her feet lift off the ground.
The higher she goes, the more she clings on for dear life, until her feet touch the clouds. Her braid oscillates with the wind as she grins over her shoulder. It’s the freest I’ve seen her since meeting her three weeks ago. And that look on her face? Well, it steals a piece of my heart I’m not sure I’ll ever get back. I’m not sure I evenwantit back.
“Do you ever wish you could fly without having to be afraid of the failing part?” she asks with her eyes closed.
The answer hangs on the tip of my tongue. A confession.
You make me feel like I can fly.
