“I stopped at the store on the way over here, then I realized you weren’t here, and I called Beau, and then he called Andy, and well…” Jackson chuckles softly, his warm breath ghosting over my cheek. “I bought the ingredients to make my mama’s pie. I was thinking… maybe we can plug the oven in and bake it.Then maybe, if you wanted, we could leave the oven plugged in so that we can cook together when I come over.”
I know exactly what he’s doing. Two-months-ago Harper would’ve been pissed off, would’ve kicked and screamed, but current Harper sees Jackson’s point. Maybe I can loosen the reins a little and stop controlling every aspect of my life so carefully.
“Okay,” I agree.
Jackson spins me around with a wide, painful-looking grin. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I pause and kiss him softly on the mouth. “You’re doing all the stirring, though.”
I’ve never seen Jackson move so fast.
14
JACKSON
Iknow that sayingI love youto Harper isn’t a magic fix nor is he saying it back to me a cure-all. The rest of my life will be spent proving to him that I love him, that I’m staying, that he’s worth being kept by me. Maybe one day he’ll get it, maybe he never will, but the pursuit of making him feel loved is enough.
Especially with the way he loves me back. It’s the little things with Harper. The way he burrows into me when we cuddle in bed in the mornings, seeking my warmth when his body is still freezing cold. The tilt of his lips when I’ve said something funny but he loathes to laugh, giving me satisfaction. The way he listens raptly to me as I talk about some sports thing that I know he doesn’t really care about, but he cares because it’s a passion for me.
December in Florida isn’t much different from October or November. The heat is a little less intense, but everything else remains the same. Green grass as far as the eye can see. Only the trees are a little more bare, but it’s still so very alive.
The farm apparently throws holiday events every weekend, similar to the autumn festival where I realized I needed Harper with an intensity I’d never needed another person before.
The perfect date spot.
Plus I’ll get to see all my best friends.
Minus Benji because he’s still on a world tour with Nolan.
“Get in the car, loser!” I shout from the window of my car.
Eli wrinkles his nose but still happily skips towards the car. “That’s very mean.”
“You were dawdling.”
Eli huffs in annoyance. “I was locking the front door.”
“Are you living in the big house now?” I tease.
Eli slams the door shut and aims a glare at me. After dealing with Harper, Eli seems like a kitten. I just grin under his barely restrained fury at my gentle ribbing.
“Yes, I moved into Colby’s house last weekend,” Eli quietly admits, as if saying it out loud might curse it. Sweet boy.
“Big step! Everything is going well, I take it?”
The car rumbles down Beau and Trevor’s gravel driveway, kicking up dust in the rearview mirror. I’m going to need a serious detail after this weekend between here and driving to the farm.
Eli hums while restlessly tapping his fingers against the window. “It’s going great. Almost too good, you know?”
I nod in understanding as we come to a stop in front of Trevor’s place. “I understand that.”
Eli angles his body in the car so he can look at me, eyes squinted in the late afternoon sun. “How about you?”
“Oh, I’m going to marry Harper one day. Absolutely no doubt.”
Trevor runs out of the house, tugging on a flannel over his thin T-shirt. His blond hair is up in a loose bun and his grin is soft as he climbs into the back seat.
“’Sup, assholes?” Trevor sings.
