Page 24 of Pillowtalk

Aaron

The tree removal went well into the afternoon, what with the entire town making an event of it. Chelsea and Dan hadn’t come around until about four o’clock, right as Aaron and Sawyer were dragging the last piece off to the side of the road. Then, of course, they were all invited back to the B&B for more food. The light in Kennedy’s expression was enough to convince Aaron to tag along, even though he was jonesing for a cool shower and a beer. If only he hadn’t been stopped by Mr. Douglas.

“Nothing works,” he told Aaron as he stepped up to his truck. “The fuse went up in smoke. Would you mind taking a look?”

Aaron smirked, his specialty not exactly in electrical, but he wasn’t a novice in that arena, either. “Sure thing. Give me thirty minutes to wash up?”

Mr. Douglas stuck his hand out in gratitude. “No problem at all. Thank you.”

Aaron waited until he was well out of hearing range to let out the long, disappointed sigh he was holding in. Kennedy was across the road with Sawyer and Dan, covering her mouth as she giggled at Sawyer’s buoyancy and Dan’s embarrassment at whatever was said. Spending more time with her was the one thing he shouldn’t be doing, yet it was theonlything he wanted to do. He shook his head and patted the seat for Charlie to jump in. The door on his truck clanked as he swung it shut, which grabbed Kennedy’s attention.

“You heading to Chelsea’s?” she called across the road.

He forced a smile. “Nah, got somewhere to be.”

His wicked heart leapt underneath his sweat-soaked shirt, and it beat erratically as he saw her lips pull down in the corners. She waved an unenthusiastic goodbye, which he returned before hopping into his truck and chugging down the road to his place. He hoped she wasn’t thinking he was avoiding her on purpose, but maybe it would be best if she did think that. After last night, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to avoid her on purpose again.

—

The clouds were starting to roll in, but they were white and wispy—the calm before the storm Aaron was sure would hit within the next twenty-four hours. They always came in threes; when they were kids, Jared always blamed Vicki Harding for it because she was a storm junkie. He’d said that she most likely went out and did a three-day rain dance every once in a while. The theory held up, because after Vicki left town to chase the scariest storms of all in the Midwest, Lyra Valley didn’t see a storm for nearly a year. They came back with a vengeance, though.

Aaron held out a hand to Charlie, telling him to stay while he went to the Douglas place. Granny Douglas was getting up there in age, and with Charlie still in training, Aaron didn’t trust him not to jump up where he didn’t belong.

“I won’t be long, boy,” he assured him, then patted his head before heading out.

He tried talking himself out of it, but logically, driving past the B&B was the fastest route to the Douglases’. He idled at the fork in the road, and ultimately decided he’d wasted more time than necessary arguing with himself. The B&B would most likely still have a few townspeople inside and out, chatting and enjoying the sun before they all went back to their homes to hole up for the night. The chances of seeing Kennedy in the crowd were slim to—

A faint hue of pink caught his eye as he passed the boathouse near the edge of the lake, and of course his attention was full on the beautiful woman with her hands wrist-deep into her hoodie pockets, slowly walking back toward the B&B. His foot let off the gas without him really noticing, and he wondered if she had been thinking of spreading Jared’s ashes, or if she had done so already and was just there talking with him. The absence of the urn shouldn’t have sparked his curiosity like it did; she’d spent all afternoon without it, but it was the only thought that crossed his mind.

An ache rose in the pit of his stomach, and he focused on the road ahead of him, pressing down on the accelerator until the SUV left a trail of dust in its wake. He wasn’t sure if he believed in an afterlife. He wasn’t sure what was next, if anything, but when Kennedy had jokingly offered the ashes up for him to apologize to, he did consider it. He’dseriouslyconsidered it. If by chance Jared could hear from some unknown space, then Aaron wanted him to know.

He took a deep breath, glancing up to the rearview mirror, at the pink dot in the distance and the wide lake behind her. Wherever the ashes were, Aaron knew the docks were where Jared would be if he could be anywhere. His grip tightened on the wheel, and he steeled himself in his decision. After the Douglases’, he’d stop, visit the lake, and finally say to Jared what he’d wanted to say for years.

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