Page 47 of Reclaimed Roots

It had felt sogoodto talk to her.

Until she bolted. Mumbling something about needing to grab something from the office and ran.

She was good at that.

"Jasper?"

I jumped at the sound of her voice. Turning, I saw her standing a few feet away, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"I didn't expect to find you out here," she said. "I thought you went home."

I gave a half-shrug, not trusting my voice. My gaze drifted back to the stump, and my throat spasmed.

Natalie followed my line of sight, and a soft gasp escaped her lips. "Oh, the tree..."

"Yeah. It's gone."

A yawning silence expanded between us, filling the surrounding air. I could practically taste its weight on my tongue.

"I can't believe they cut it down," she whispered.

"It was dying. Rotting from the inside out."

Just like us.

The thought hovered in the air, unvoiced but understood. We had been so full of life and promise once, our bond as sturdy and unshakable as that old oak. But then everything went to shit, the rot setting in until there wasnothing but an empty shell, a hollow reminder of what we used to be.

"Jasper, I..." Natalie's voice cracked, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. But she didn't say anything. She shook her head, at a loss for words.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I'd reached my boiling point, just like Chase had said I would. Except this time, Iwasin a screaming and throwing things mood.

"What happened, Natalie?" I demanded. "I asked you tomarryme! And you said no! No, wait—you didn't just say no. Youfledthe fucking state! Fuck! What do you expect from me?" I threw my arms wide, groping for a gesture big enough to convey my frustration.

"We were eighteen, Jasper. I was scared!"

"Scared of what, Nat? As if I'd ever let anything bad happen to you!"

"I know that! It wasn't about that."

"Then what was it about? Explain it to me, because I sure as hell don't understand. We had plans, Nat. Dreams. A future together. And you threw it all away like it meant nothing!"

She flinched at my harsh tone, tears now streaming down her face. "It meant everything to me, Jasper. You meant everything to me. That's why I couldn't do it."

I stared at her, uncomprehending. "What are you talking about?"

She took a shuddering breath. "I wanted out of Sable Point so badly, Jasper. I had all these big dreams—travelingthe world, pursuing my passions, making something of myself. And I was terrified. Terrified that if I married you, I'd be stuck here forever. That I'd have to watch you work on the orchard day in and day out while my own aspirations withered and died."

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, pleading for understanding. "I couldn't bear the thought of resenting you because I felt trapped. So I did the only thing I could think of. I broke both our hearts instead."

A choked sob escaped her lips, and she buried her face in her hands, her slim shoulders shaking with the force of her cries. "I'm so sorry, Jasper. I was a coward. I was young and stupid and scared and I-I ran. And in the process, I destroyed the best thing I've ever had."

I shook my head before she even finished speaking, a bitter laugh escaping my throat. "You think I would have chosen the goddamnorchardover you? I'm not saying it wouldn't have been hard to leave, but damn, my parents have three other kids to take care of shit here. Jesus, Natalie, I would've gone anywhere, done anything, as long as I had you. That's all I ever wanted."

"I know that now," she whispered brokenly. "I told myself I was doing the right thing. But I was wrong, Jasper. I was so wrong, and I'm sorry."

The anguish in her voice cut through me like a knife. My anger drained away, replaced by a bone-deep weariness. "You're sorry," I said quietly, "but sorry doesn't change anything."

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