Page 8 of Home to You
Cole took a sip of his water, his straw slurping against the bottom of the glass. “Did you find her after school, Dad?”
“No, I didn’t find Eden.” The second her name left my mouth, I knew I’d fucked up.
Every eye at the table snapped to me, and the air got real still. I felt heat creep up my neck, and I shifted in my seat, suddenly feeling like I was some sort of animal on display at the zoo.
Colt blinked. “Eden?”
Nash’s fork clattered against his plate as he set it down, his eyes narrowing. “Wait.Eden Jamesis Cole’s new teacher?”
Cole looked between us, confused. “You guys know Miss James?”
I scrubbed a hand down my face and let out a beleaguered sigh. The heat crawling up the back of my neck was scorching. I did not want to have this conversation. “Sure did, bud. Knew her years back.”
“Did you go to school together?” he asked, practically bouncing in his seat.
Nash chuckled under his breath.
“Nah, we … uh …” I grabbed my glass and gulped down a mouthful of water, trying to buy myself some time.
Gage leaned forward in his seat, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “She and your dad used to date.”
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath, my shoulders dropping as I resigned myself to the interrogation I knew was coming.
“Language,” Nash reminded me, but his voice was more amused than reprimanding.
Gage let out a low whistle and shook his head. “This is better than television.”
Colt leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, his mouth turned down in a scowl. “She’s back?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, catching my brother’s stern gaze.
While I’d been in love with Eden, he’d loved her, too. Not romantically, mind you. More like a sister. When he found out I was going to ask her to marry me, he let out a whoop so loud that our deaf old dog started howling. Later, after I confessed that she’d turned me down and was moving home to Chicago, he stormed out of the room. He’d never mentioned her name in my presence ever again.
“Wait! Miss James was yourgirlfriend?” Cole asked, his voice pitched high with excitement. “Like, for real?”
“Yeah, bud. For real.”
Cole’s head was tilted to the side like he was trying to solve a puzzle. I didn’t know what he must have seen in my expression—the tightness around my eyes, maybe, or the way my back had gone rigid—but suddenly his excitement dimmed and his expression turned thoughtful, almost protective. “Did you love her?” he whispered.
The table went quiet.
I stared down at my plate, my throat tightening. I could feel my brothers’ eyes on me, waiting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cole looking at me with those wide, innocent eyes that missed nothing. My hands were shaking slightly, so I gripped mywater glass harder. The silence stretched until I felt like I might choke on it.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “I did.”
And the rub of it was I wasn’t sure I’d ever stopped, though god knew I tried.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jake Mercer wasthe last person I expected to see when I stepped out of the front doors of the school at the end of the day. He was leaning back against the front of his truck, one boot crossed over the other, the fingers of his right hand drumming a restless rhythm on his folded arm. The brim of his hat cast his eyes in shadow, but I could see the tension in the set of his jaw.
We hadn’t spoken since the fundraiser meeting a few days ago, and the few times I’d seen him at drop-off and pickup, he’d barely spared me a second glance.
As I approached, he looked a bit unsettled … as if he was sorting through a tangle of thoughts and not coming away with any answers.
I stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. “Hey,” I said, my tone cautious.
He cleared his throat and pushed off his truck, meeting me at the curb. “Hey. You got a minute?”
