It tookme until we were out of Pittsburgh and on the highway back home until it hit me. I was about to visit West Creek as myself for the first time. With eyeshadow and my favorite tight jeans and with my…
With Blake by my side. And soon, Casey, too.
He steered his truck down the highway, and the sunlight was bright on the white snow that blanketed the fields we passed and coated the trees. I suddenly felt exposed and caught, like even just going to the motel, I was going to risk someone I grew up with seeing me or, even worse, catching me and Blake together.
I sucked in a deep breath, then corrected myself. No. That wouldn’t be worse because it wouldn’t be bad. Who cared? I could run into my second grade teacher, my high school nemesis, or even my mom, and it honestly would be okay.
I looked to Blake. He had sunglasses on, but I could still see the strain on his face. He was so worried about Casey, he probably wasn’t thinking about anything else. And the second I started thinking about us again, the three of us, all of the other stuff disappeared anyway.
Reaching across the truck seat, I squeezed his bicep, then rubbed my palm up and down his arm. Blake grunted under his breath, which I knew meant he appreciated the touch.
“You’ve been looking out for Casey for a long time, haven’t you?” I asked Blake. “I knew that, but I think I’m really realizing it now.”
Blake’s jaw tightened as he drove. “Yeah, I guess,” he said with a rough voice. “You know, he really needed someone. In college, figuring his life out, I just knew he’d be okay as long as I gave him a little extra support. And he’s good for me. He makes me happy, too, so it’s not like I’m doing charity or anything.”
I smiled. The way he was still a little shy about caring for Casey was charming to me, like it made him embarrassed to admit how good he was. “When I was a kid, and I saw you and Peyton and the whole family figure out how to come together and help Casey, I really remember that. I remember thinking, I hope if I’m ever in trouble, I have people who care about me that much, too.”
“Sure you would,” Blake said with a nod. “We’d all be there for you, no doubt about it. Just like family.”
My heart warmed. Moving to Pittsburgh and deciding it was time to explore myself, I thought I was losing my past. I thought I had to leave parts of my life behind if I wanted to become who I was meant to be. But driving back to West Creek with Blake, suddenly, it was like the opposite was true.
My guys had always been there. We were just waiting until the time was right.
