Page 90 of Teach Me How

His tone is too harsh. Anxiety swirls in my stomach. “I mean… I thought you’d be interested…”

“If you want to play games, leave me out of it.”

“I’m not playing games.”

“Trying to get me to guess, as if this is fun for me.” He shakes his head. “If you have something to tell me, just tell me.”

He closes the distance between us, standing close enough that I can smell the soap he uses, the sunshine in his hair.

“Has anything changed?” His breath feathers across my neck, his low voice sending a shiver down my spine.

He’s not just asking about Jonah.

He’s pointing out that the roadblock between us is still there. I’m still moving and he’s staying.

Nothing has changed. Not one bit. Which makes me clinging onto him look almost a little bit cruel.

60.

Skyler

I’m standing outside because if I go back in, people will notice my bad mood.

It’s not a new thing, but today, it’s worse.

I’ve been unhappy for a while now. It’s been harder and harder to keep a smile on my face.

My friends tolerate me because we go way back, but I’m not the same guy I was in high school. I’ve been introduced to the realities of life, and it hasn’t made me a better man.

Reese never promised me a damn thing.

I knew what her intentions were from the very beginning. Looking back, she was so damn brave to put herself out there like that. She figured out what she wanted to change and went for it. Reputation and pride be damned.

Me? I’m choking on my pride.

Josh joins me. He’s got little Belle in his arms; Dusty’s dog follows on his heels. Ed, it seems, is also a fan of Belle.

“Thought I’d find you out here.” He holds his beer bottle away from Belle’s reaching hands.

I swirl my tumbler of bourbon and turn my gaze back out to the field. It’s shorn close. Bo cuts the fields closer than we do, but he doesn’t go back and use the stalks for silage like my dad does.

“You and your dad get done with Harvest?”

I nod, sipping my drink. “A few days ago. We were a little behind since I took that trip, but the weather held out, so it was all good.”

“Yeah, I never thanked you for that.”

I look up at him, surprised. “Thanked me?”

“For taking Reese out to Boulder.”

My ears heat up. Shame settles in my belly like a brick. “I went out there for work.”

Josh nods knowingly. “And your Denver visit just happened to align with her interview.”

His tone suggests he knows I went for her sake. I’m sure he’s assuming it was some sort of brotherly impulse. Because if he knew the truth, he probably wouldn’t be standing there smiling at me. He’d have his hands around my throat.

He leans against the railing, letting Belle play with the scruff on his jaw. “Do you think she’ll be okay out there?”

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