Page 61 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
He stops at a ladder Mark has propped against the house. He was using it to fix a piece of trim this week, and he never got around to finishing.
“Ever climbed onto the roof?” Landon asks, jerking his chin toward the ladder.
“No,” I laugh.
“Do you want to?”
I look at the ladder and then back at Landon. Instead of answering, I check to see if it’s sturdy, and then I begin myclimb. Landon stays at the bottom, holding the ladder until I reach the top.
“Who’s going to hold it for you?” I ask.
“I’ll be careful.”
I wait for him at the top, stepping back when he reaches me. The roof isn’t steep, nor is this section very high.
Landon takes my hand and leads me to a spot near the ridge. “How’s this?” he asks.
We can just see the fireworks over the tall trees, and we have the sky to ourselves.
“It’s perfect.”
We sit side by side, the tips of our fingers brushing, and watch the show. After a few minutes, Landon looks my way.
“Yes?” I ask, my focus still on the fireworks though my attention is solely on Landon.
“I like you,” he says, a sentiment that demands I look his way.
He continues, “I liked you the moment you tripped over your chair when you were leaving your desk to show me to the campsite.”
My stomach warms and tightens, but my limbs are loose and languid.
“I like you too,” I say even though I’m scared and elated and a dozen emotions in between.
“Then why don’t we stop ignoring this is happening when we both know it is? I’m not with you because I want to make my family happy. I’m with you becauseyoumakemehappy.”
“And Evie?” I ask because I must know.
“Evie does not make me happy,” he says firmly.
I set my hand over his, and he immediately turns it so our palms meet.
“You could leave anytime now,” I point out. “What if your parents decide they’re done with Gray Jay? That they want to move on early?”
He digs his phone out of his pocket and holds it up. “There’s this really awesome device. It’s called a phone. We can each use one and talk no matter where we are in the country.”
I shake my head. “It’s not the same, and you know it.”
“Day by day, Lacey. I don’t know where we’ll be in a year, but I know I’m here, right now, with you. And I don’t want to waste it.”
Almost every fiber of my being wants to give in and see where this goes. But the part of me that was hurt by Thomas fights. I’m stuck here. I’llalwaysbe stuck here because this is where my family needs me. This might be fun now, but what about in a month? The summer can’t last forever.
Seeing the conflict written on my face, Landon strokes my hand with his thumb.
“Everyone leaves,” I say quietly, looking down at our hands. “They come through, stay just long enough I get attached, and then they move on with their lives while I stay here, stagnant.”
He waits, letting me get my thoughts in order.
“I want this.” I squeeze his hand as I look up. “But I’m afraid if we go there, if we make this real, it’s going to destroy me when you go.”
