“I’m surprised you got up this early,” Thorne says aloud. He’s got his hearing aids in, and with us being so far away from the road, he rarely has trouble understanding what’s being said.
“I needed a distraction. Shit’s been weird lately,” I admit.
Leaf shoots me a sympathetic glance. “You want me to make you a drink?”
“Say no,” Thorne answers quickly. “He’s been experimenting with pickle juice again.”
Leaf smacks Thorne’s stomach with the back of his hand. “Excuse you. I’m not making you drink them. Let me live.”
Thorne grabs him and pulls him close. “No, but you kiss me with pickle mouth, and that’s disgusting.”
Leaf kisses him, then shrugs. “So? I’m not going to kiss Dex, and he’s not kissing anyone else right now.” He glances at me. “Are you?”
‘No,’ I sign quickly. I don’t trust my voice not to betray me. Ihaven’t kissed anyone in a week, but that’s not to say I won’t in the future if I ever see Rome again.
Fucking Rome.
“You want a drink or no?” he asks me again, and I shake my head.
“After we finish. Then you can make me something weird.”
Leaf swipes his hands on his butt. “Deal. Okay, well, we should get to work.”
“Where do you want me?” I ask.
Leaf gives me a slow up and down. “The barn. I have a bunch of garden beds that need to be put together.” When I pull a face, he waves me off. “They’re not complicated. They’re like Lincoln Logs—no drills or anything like that. It’s just tedious work.”
“Babe,” Thorne says.
Leaf waves him off. ‘Trust. He loves it.’
‘He’s not wrong,’ I answer, using my hands. I do love the tedious shit. Anything to keep my hands busy and mind occupied. Especially now.
“Just drag them out here when you’re done. Thorne and I are going to dig the trenches so we can set them in the ground.”
I give a little salute, then make my way toward the brand-new barn, which isn’t currently housing any animals. They’re experimenting with chickens this year in an attempt for Leaf to redeem himself, but it’s still warm enough for the coop to be outside, so the barn is empty.
It’s a wide, expansive room with a high ceiling and an AC unit, so it’s blessedly not like a sauna. As I sit down on the soft dirt, I pull the nearest box close to me.
This isn’t exactly how I pictured my weekend going. I think of a thousand better things to do than this, but all of those things will lead me down a path I don’t need to go down. Soinstead, I’m going to build the best fucking planters Leaf and Thorne have ever seen.
And if I’m lucky, I won’t think about Rome.
Not even once.
I’ve put together one and a half planters when a shadow falls across me from my place on the floor. My eyes swivel up, and the screwdriver I’m holding falls onto my leg.
Rome is here, looking so fucking good. He appears both unhappy and surprised to see me in here.
Well, fuck him. If I’d known he was coming to the farm today, I’d have tried to look a little nicer than I do. The holey shirt I’m wearing and the two-day-old scruff I’m sporting aren’t really doing me any favors.
His gaze drifts across me, and then he looks away, his jaw clenching.
I stare at him, refusing to give him an excuse to ignore me this time. He’s been avoiding me all fucking week, and even though I let him, I still want my damn answers.
I need to ask him what the fuck he’s doing with me. Why he’s so intent on icing me out when we burn so brilliantly when we’re together. Why he left for three fucking years without even a scribbled note saying goodbye.
When his gaze meets mine, I lose my nerve and instead ask, ‘Why you here?’
