He lunges, and I scream.
“Jade. Jade, wake up, baby.”
My eyes snap open, and as they adjust to the room and West above me, my rapidly racing heart slows down. It was just a dream.
“Hey, you’re all right. I’m here. It was just a dream.” West’s voice soothes me, and I begin to cry at the thought of losing him.
“I got you.” He cradles me into his arms and plays with my hair until I eventually drift back off.
I roll over, turning into a hard wall of warmth, and it takes me a moment to realize the wall is West. My eyes shoot open, and I gasp as I remember the dream from last night. I watch the rise and fall of his chest and relax. Snuggling into him, he snakes his arm around me and I peek over at the clock when I see the sun only just beginning to rise. It’s 5a.m. Giving up on falling back asleep, I let my mind spiral.
I need to tell West about my past and who I am. If this is really Adam, and he has found me, I can’t put the people I’ve grown to love in danger. I won’t do it again. I don’t think I could survive a second time if anything happened to them.
I have loved the life I’ve built here in Lavender Falls, and I am so incredibly proud of what Sarah and I have accomplished with the bakery, but if I need to run and leave it all behind, I will. I’m not risking their lives. And I know that if I asked for help, Nick would come.
When the sun has risen and shines through the bedroom window, I quietly creep from bed and head downstairs to take solace out on the patio.
The birds chirp and the river flows by, creating a little piece of heaven while I think about what to do. I have fallen so in love with West, and it would kill me to walk away from this. But is it better for me to tell him the truth and put him at risk? Or should I run now before it’s all too late?
The slide of the patio door has me glancing up to the top of the deck, where I see West step outside carrying a mug of coffee.
“You weren’t in bed,” he says, handing me the cup. “Here, let me start a fire. Everything is damp out here. Are you cold?”
I snuggle into the blanket I brought with me and shake my head. “The cool air feels nice.”
“I hope you got some sleep last night?’ he questions, sitting down next to me.
“Sorry about that,” I apologize, feeling embarrassed.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Not right now.” I smile sadly, nestling into him.
We sit in silence, enjoying the calm of the morning as I look out at the water and let my worries go for another day.
It’s a quiet day. West and I spend most of it in his room lost in one another. After Mason, I wasn’t sure I’d ever have this kind of intimacy, but West has kept his word. He worships my body and makes me feel beautiful, scars and all. I’m not sure how I will give this up. In such a short amount of time, West has got me to open up in more ways than I ever imagined. He is the kindest man with the biggest heart, and I fear that he is going to hate me when he learns that I’ve been lying to him.
Warm, strong arms, wrap around me and I lean into him.
“It smells amazing in here,” he says, peeking over my shoulder.
We’ve been invited over to Cade’s house for dinner tonight, so I thought I’d make a pie to bring. I chose to do a lemon blueberry after West mentioned it being Cade’s favourite. I finish adding the blueberries to the top, and then with a few hours to spare, we spend the rest of the afternoon back in West’s bedroom entangled in each other.
Since Cade just lives across the road, West pulls out his side-by-side for a quick ride there. I haven’t been in a side-by-side since I was a teenager. I forgot how much fun it was to feel the wind in your hair. Pie secure on my lap, we pull up in front of Cade’s house and I notice a few others parked next to ours.
My stomach sinks at the realization this might be the last time I see his family. I feel like I’m deceiving them all and my stomach rolls with guilt and shame.
Hopping out of the side-by-side, I place my feet on the gravel road and look up in awe at Cade’s place. His house is just as beautiful as West’s, but in a totally different way.
I’ve seen it a handful of times from the road, but never up close. Nestled on rows and rows of rolling fields sits a stunning two story white farmhouse with black trimmings and a big wrap-around deck. There is a giant two bay garage on one side and a red barn on the other. Though I don’t see any animals, the driveway is lined with white fencing.
“Yay! Uncle West is here!” shouts a tiny voice that I recognize as West’s niece.
The kids come barreling around the house, launching themselves into West’s arms.
“Hey, you little tornadoes. You remember Jade?” West asks, turning them around to face me.
“Hi, Jade,” the little boy, Hudson greets me.
