Chapter Forty-eight
Not every relationship would work itself out. Most would fade away into the air, and would join the ranks of all the let downs and disappointments.
Severine adjusted her shorts and stared at the field around her. The urge to bolt and drive back to where she belonged became a tempting thought in her head. If she could, she’d wrap yellow CAUTION tape around her heart, to keep her real emotions confined.
Birds chirped loudly in the trees around her, and the sun started to rise in the sky. It was going to be a clear, sunny day. The weather should’ve been enough to make her happy. Spring was a runner-up to winter. After a brutal winter it was a necessity. And after the winter she had just experienced, she needed the sunshine. But she couldn’t enjoy anything. Her heart was beating too fast.
Right now, in the early morning, it was still chilly. Goosebumps grooved underneath her skin as she waited. An hour had passed and still there were no other people around. Just her. Severine’s doubt seeped in, but she stood still and tried to listen for any noise.
Jayni had met her at the front of the farmhouse and had quickly guided her to the back of the farm, toward a red barn. The minute it came into view, Severine smiled widely. Thayer’s story played in her mind as she followed the bumpy lines of the name Sloan written across the backboard. Like he had said, his jersey number was up there in faded letters, along with his NBA dream.
Severine walked away from the hoop and stopped where the gravel became faded. A slight indention in the ground was the only indication that someone else had stood there once. As she stared up at the barn, her smile couldn’t fade away. Even if she walked away from this journey, she finally got to see where a dream began.
The crunching of gravel was light, but Severine heard it instantly.
Thayer rounded the corner of the barn and halted when he saw her. Dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt, he appeared to be a person enjoying a nice summer stroll. Slowly, he approached.
Severine’s heart hammered with every dribble of the ball in her hands. Her hands shook, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the casual attitude for too much longer.
“I’ve made ten out of twenty-five,” she passed the ball over to him, “what does that make me?”
He grabbed the ball instantly. Maybe it was habit, but casually he dribbled the ball in between his legs, as he walked closer to her. “It makes you mediocre.”
Standing in front of him without touching him was torturous. Her hands twitched to reach out. Severine instead ate him up with her eyes. The sun rose to his height and made his gray eyes seem almost clear. He stopped in front of her, waiting for her to make the first move.
Severine swallowed and gave him a small grin. “I’m here.”
“In Missouri,” Thayer observed. He moved closer and grinned.
Severine snatched the ball away from his cocky hands and twirled it between her fingers. “If I have any more time for myself I’m going to explode.” She held the ball behind her. “Are you still waiting?”
“I did that for you. So you wouldn’t blame me for anything.”
Severine’s voice broke. “I never blamed you.”
“Not now, but maybe you would later.”
“You gave me time, and I’m here. I still want something for us.”
Thayer scratched the back of his head and looked away. “Even with knowing my family’s story?”
“Even with that,” Severine conceded.
“And Macsen?” Thayer asked.
“It won’t ever be comfortable between us,” Severine admitted. “I think the two of us know that, but the discomfort is worth it if I can be with you.”
“Why do you want to be with me, Severine?”
Her hand skated up his shirt and rested above his heart. “I like what beats within you. You give a good show, Thayer Sloan. But remember, I saw you first.” Severine used his words. The same words he had tortured her with months before.
Thayer’s arm looped around her and grasped her back firmly. “You give a good show yourself.” His hands curved against her cheeks and between them the ball dropped. Severine smirked. “But now that you’re here, there’s no other way for you to go.”