“I was afraid you wouldn’t answer.”
When she looks at me, her eyes are full of some unnamed emotion. It sparks a desire in me to fight whatever demon has put that look there. I lift her chin. Her skin is so soft under my touch. My thumb strokes her cheek as I gaze into her eyes.
“Never be scared to call me. Don’t hesitate to ask me for what you need, what you want. I know I walked out,” I say, gulping, “but it wasn’t walking out on you. And I will never do that to you again. I swear to God.”
“I know you won’t.”
“What?” I say in disbelief. “I mean, you’re right, I won’t, but you know that? You believe me?”
She nods, turning her head to kiss my palm. Her lips tremble against the rough skin on my hand, her hand shaking ever-so-slightly as she holds it.
“I do believe you,” she says softly. “But that doesn’t fix everything.”
I pull her into me, trying to put her, me, our life back together with my embrace. Her arms find my waist, and I hold her in the middle of the driveway, swaying back and forth in a moment I’ll never, ever forget. The feeling of my world careening back into focus, into the places it should be, nearly drops me to my knees with my girl in my arms.
“I should go in,” she says, looking up at me.
“It’s cold in there.”
She shrugs and I see her start to slip away from me again. Frantic, I struggle to find a way to stop it.
“Let’s go for a drive,” I suggest.
She looks at me warily.
“It’s just a drive,” I promise. “The house can warm up and then I’ll drop you back off, if that’s what you want. What can it hurt?”
“You won’t try to make out with me or anything, right?” she teases. “Because I know that look in your eye, Tyler Whitt.”
“Only if you ask,” I wink, opening the door to my truck and watching her climb in. Before I shut it, I lean in and whisper into her ear. “Hey, E.”
“Yeah?”
“Please ask.”
ELIN
It’s like your favorite sweater on a crisp winter day or the smell of your grandmother’s apple pie at Sunday dinner. It’s walking into your childhood bedroom, even though you haven’t been in there for ten years, and knowing exactly where your possessions are because that’s your space. That’s your room. That’s home.
Being in Ty’s truck as we drive out of town and hit a back road, dust flying off the tires as the asphalt turns into gravel, is the same thing. My heart finds a rhythm that’s eluded me, my body releasing the rigidity that’s stretched over my shoulders. I can breathe, here, with him, in this old truck.
I glance over my shoulder. He has one hand on the steering wheel, the other on his thigh. His hair is a mussed up mess, the dark locks sticking up everywhere. It’s reminiscent of how it looks in the morning when he rolls out of bed, and I have a hard time keeping my hands to myself. Watching him get dressed and undressed used to be the best part of my day.
The ice around my heart, the wall I’ve so carefully constructed, is crumbling. I feel it. As much as I want it to be there to protect me, I like the feeling of . . . this. It’s the warmth of being me, of being part of a relationship that’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. Even though things have been rocky, this is my life. I know it. I feel it. I want it.
He catches me checking him out and smiles, reaching across the console and taking my hand in his. Flipping my hand over, he rubs his thumb across my palm and focuses his attention back on the road.
“You wanna know something?” he asks, his voice deep and crackly.
“Sure,” I say, watching his eyes squint as he turns the truck up the lane to Moon Mountain, a hill that overlooks Dugger Lake. It’s our favorite parking spot, one that we’ve used countless times since Ty got his license. “I said no making out!” I laugh, taking my hand away from his.
“You did not. You asked if I was going to try and I said not unless you ask. I’m hoping if I set the mood right, you’ll ask,” he smirks.
The truck hits the top of the hill just as the final rays of sunlight stream from the sky. The lake that the hill overlooks ripples in the breeze, the green cattle fields surrounding it shining with the dew that’s beginning to settle.
“It’s so beautiful up here,” I say as Ty turns off the ignition. It’s silent, absolutely still, and I pop open my door and hop out.
The air is clean yet chilly, but I don’t have time to take in the cold. Ty opens the tailgate and picks me up and sets me on it, settling between my legs with a hesitant smile on his lips.
“You are so beautiful,” he says, stroking my cheek.
“Charmer,” I giggle, unable to resist the handsome face in front of me.
He laughs and takes his place beside me, his knee touching mine as our legs swing off the end.
“Feels like we’ve done this a time or two,” he points out.