“Rosebushes cause a lot of damage.” Aaron shrugs, but he looks like he’s waiting for me to get up and walk out on him.
I glance over at the table where Katrina is with her friends. “It’s sad that those women are so miserable and they’re willing to stay trapped in it because they don’t want to lose their comfort. I was the same way. I used to spend ridiculous amounts of money getting my hair and nails and whatever else done. I needed the brand names and the status that came with all those things. I’m embarrassed by the way I used to act and the things I put value on. It took losing it all for me to finally see that all of it was an illusion. A mask to hide all the discontent.” I blow out a breath. “Sorry, that was a tangent you didn’t need. What I’m trying to say is that if anyone should be uncomfortable, it should be that woman, not you. I don’t want her to put a damper on our date, so if you want to go, we can go, but I don’t need you to take me home unless that’s what you want to do.”
“I don’t want her to ruin our evening either.”
“Okay. So we don’t let her.” I slide my hand across the table and touch the tips of his fingers.
His shoulders relax, and he curls his fingers around mine. I see something vulnerable lurking behind his eyes. “You’re a dangerous woman, Teagan.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you make me want to believe in the future.”
I want to ask more questions, but our dinner arrives.
I’ve learned something new and important about Aaron, though—there are layers to this man, secrets and vulnerabilities. I want to uncover all of them and teach him that he can and should be loved, not in spite of them but because of them.
CHAPTER 15
TWO LIVES
Aaron
The week after our date night passes in a blur of sleepovers and late nights. As much as I want to stay at Teagan’s Friday night, I don’t. I have to be up early on Saturday morning, and she seems preoccupied with the farmers’ market proposal. I already know she has a hard time sleeping, and I don’t want to make that worse by keeping her up late and making too much noise when my alarm goes off at an ungodly hour. I’ve noticed she has to take medication daily. At first I thought it was birth control, but those typically come in those perforated packages, and the prescriptions I’ve seen in her medicine cabinet are in regular bottles. I don’t want to snoop, but I’m assuming one of them must help her sleep.
So I leave her place around eleven, feeling like crap over the disappointment on her face. But we both could use a decent night’s sleep, and I need a night on my own so I can shift mental gears.
I get up Saturday morning, pack an overnight bag, and hop in my truck, leaving Pearl Lake behind. I need the two-hour drive to clear my head. I don’t know how long I can reasonably keep this from Teagan. Or if I should. Hell, I’ve been keeping it from my mom ever since I dropped out of college. So keeping it from Teagan is kind of a given, seeing as they work together, and how unfair would it be for me to put my secret on her like that? It’s another layer of complication and one of the reasons I haven’t allowed myself to get close to anyone in a long time.
As soon as I pull into the driveway, the front door flies open and a little body comes flying down the front steps, skipping the last two. He nearly falls over and jump-hops around while he waits for me to park the truck. Jamie’s mother rushes out after him, yelling for him to stay put so he doesn’t end up under my tires.
Jamie has his mother’s eyes and hair, but I can see so many similarities to me in him too. We have the same smile, same nose. I step out of the truck, round the hood, and crouch down as he comes barreling toward me, nearly tripping over his own feet.
“Yay! You’re here!” He throws his arms around me, and I wrap him in a hug, dropping my head and breathing him in. The more time that passes, the less he looks like his mom, and the harder it gets.
“I missed you, kiddo. How you doing?” I set him back down on the ground. “You’re getting so big! I think you must have grown a whole foot since I was here last month.”
“I lost a toof!” He pokes his tongue in the space where one of his front teeth should be.
I look up at Lydia and arch a brow. “Seems kind of early for that.”
“He lost it playing hockey with the kid down the street. About a year earlier than it was supposed to, so he’s going to have toothless school pictures for a while.” She ruffles his hair and accepts a hug from me.
“You doing okay? You need me to take him to an orthodontist or anything? If it’s not covered by your plan, I can take care of it.”
“It’s fine. I took him to the dentist, and she said it’s not a big deal, he’s just going to be minus a tooth for longer than usual.”
“Okay. But honestly, Lydia, if you need anything, you need to tell me.”
“You already do more than enough.” She threads her arm through mine and rests her cheek on my biceps, giving it a squeeze. “We missed you.”
“I missed you guys too.” I drop a quick kiss on the crown of her head and let her guide me into the house.
“Grampy’s coming for dinner, and we’re having burgers and corn and tater salad. I got a new LEGO set! Will you help me build it?” Jamie grabs my hand and pulls me away from his mother, guiding me toward the living room, where a box sits on the table.
“Of course I’ll help.” I have a present for him in the truck, and I’ll have to go back and get it for him once we’re done with this project.
“He’s been so excited. He’s had it for a week and refused to open it until you got here.”
“That’s a whole lot of patience.”
“I wanted to make it with you, and Mommy doesn’t understand the struct-tons like you.”
Lydia leans against the doorjamb, watching for a moment as Jamie tears into the box, freeing the instruction manual and the bags of pieces. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Root beer?”
“I want a root beer!” Jamie’s eyes light up.
“What’s the magic word?” I ask him.
“Please can I have a root beer, Mommy.”
“Two root beers, coming right up.” Lydia tosses a wink my way and heads to the kitchen, leaving me and Jamie with our LEGO project.
I don’t get back to Pearl Lake until Sunday night. Spending time with Jamie is fun but also mentally and emotionally exhausting. I wish I lived closer so I could see him more often than I do, but Lydia’s family lives in Chesterton, so she won’t move this way.
I brush off Teagan for the next couple of days, not because I don’t want to see her but because I do. I want to forget where I’ve been all weekend and lose myself in her.