Page 16 of Reclaimed Roots

JASPER

I stood there like an idiot,staring after Natalie as she walked away. Her scent lingered—coconut and vanilla. She clearly still used the same shampoo.

Get a grip, Jas.

Shaking my head, I turned back to the truck and hefted another crate of supplies. My boots crunched over the dirt path as I made my way deeper into the leafy sanctuary of the orchard.

This place had always been my whole world. The rich, loamy scent of the soil, the gnarled trunks and twisted branches, the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze... it was all seared into my bones, my blood. Part of me in a way nothing—and no one—else could ever be.

I deposited the crates near the equipment shed and straightened, rolling my shoulders to work out the kinks. It had been a long morning already. I was up before dawn to get a head start on the day's chores. Not that I was complaining.Work stopped my mind from wandering down paths it shouldn't.

Like to a certain dark-haired girl with soulful eyes and a smile that still had the power to undo me.

Christ's sake. I'm pathetic.

I snagged my gloves from the truck bed and tugged them on, ready to lose myself in the rhythm of thinning the fruit. It was a bit early to be doing it that year, but there was this one patch of the west grove that seemed like it couldn't wait to start setting. Normally it was a task Elliot would take on. But since he was busy overseeing the new irrigation lines and Dad considered himself a full-time video euchre player, I figured I'd volunteer. God knows Chase wasn't going to.

It was mindless work. My thoughts drifted as my hands moved on autopilot.

So much for work providing a distraction. My thoughts kept circling back to Natalie. I couldn't escape the memory of her standing there in the orchard, all soft curves and tousled hair, looking at me with those big, wounded eyes.

I never meant to hurt you.

I gritted my teeth, plucking apple after apple as I tried to drown out her voice.

She never meant to hurt me. Well, wasn't that fucking nice of her.

I knew I was being unfair. We were just kids when everything fell apart between us. Reckless, impulsive, so goddamn sure we had all the answers.

I thought I knew what love was back then. That all-consuming, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of infatuation that hadyou convinced the world began and ended with one person. I truly believed it could solve anything.

God, how naïve I was.

Because the truth was, love wasn't some magical force that conquered all. It didn't stop people from making shitty choices, from breaking hearts and shattering trust. Love didn't mean a damn thing if you weren't willing to fight for it, to put in the hard work day after day.

And Natalie walked away. Plain and simple.

I paused my plucking, chest heaving. My hands were streaked with dirt, gloves torn in a few places. There was the familiar throb in my lower back that came from a day of physical labor.

This was my life. Sweat and calluses, endless chores, and maintenance. No grand dreams, no lofty ambitions beyond making it to the next harvest with the trees intact.

It wasn't a bad life, all things considered. Satisfying in its own way, pouring energy into something tangible. Something that was here long before me and would remain long after I was gone.

Maybe that was why Natalie left. She couldn't be content with the simple pleasures of a place like Sable Point, with a life tied to the land and the changing seasons.

She'd always had bigger dreams.

I couldn't blame her for that, I guess. For wanting more than I was able to offer her at eighteen.

No, what I blamed her for was the way she went about it. The utter disregard for my feelings or anyone else's. Shedidn't just leave Sable Point behind—she burned every bridge on her way out, making damn sure there was no going back.

Until now. Until her dad's death forced her to come back and face the fallout.

Memories crowded in, and I shook my head as though trying to dislodge them. Natalie, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief as she pulled me into the tool shed, her soft lips trailing kisses along my jaw. Natalie breathless with laughter as we raced through the moonlit trees, hand in hand. Natalie in tears the night before she left, clinging to me and swearing she'd never love anyone else.

Bullshit. All of it. Pretty lies to soothe her own conscience.

"Yo, Jasper! You deaf or just ignoring me?"

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