Page 51 of The Comeback Road
“Are your legs broken?” he asked him.
“Some best friend you are,” Sloan grumbled, and went over to pour himself a cup. But I was still stuck on what he just said. “Can we rewind? What do you mean, cooking the meals?”
I saw Jace elbow Sloan roughly in the ribs, shoot him a sideways glance of annoyance, and throw his words back at him. “Some best friend you are.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange because it reminded me so much of mine and Magnolia’s friendship. “So, the meals?” I asked again, and Jace let out a long sigh.
“Magnolia said you weren’t eating.”
As simple as that. Jace had heard I wasn’t eating, and he had made it his mission to make sure I was fed. There was a sudden clarity that washed over me. Jace had been quietly taking care of me for weeks, quietly working on the house during the day, spending nights in his car, cooking all my meals. He’d been putting my needs before anyone’s for weeks, even when I wasn’t ready to see it.How did I miss this?
Our gazes locked in on each other, and I felt the air bristle with electricity. I was about to get up and make my way to him, but Sloan had to ruin the moment by speaking, “Uh…should I leave?” he asked. And before we could answer or take our eyes off of each other, Magnolia came bounding into the kitchen in a flurry.
“Oh, good! You’re awake! I want to do something with you today,” she said.
“Me?” I asked.
“Yeah. That is, if it’s okay.”
“You finally going to show her?” Sloan asked as he handed her coffee.
“Show me what?” I wondered aloud.
“The Bar-kery.” Sloan smiled, and my heart skipped. It was Magnolia’s dream project that she’d been working on for months, and I’d left before she could really get the ball rolling. I had been so caught up in my own struggles that I completely forgot about it. Completely forgot about the fact that life kept going, despite the fact that I had tried my best to put mine on pause. I hated that I hadn’t been there for Magnolia, hadn’t been a part of her excitement or been around to celebrate milestones with her.
“I can’t believe I missed out on this already…Of course I want to go.”
Magnolia flung her arms around me. “Thank you. I can’t wait to share this with you.” She released me after a few seconds.
“When do you want to go?” I asked as I stabbed the pancakes that Jace had put in front of me, and took a bite.
“Oh my god, this is so good. Sloan, you’re such a liar. Every meal has been so good.” And Sloan scoffed at me. “Do you have any idea how many hours he’s spent watching YouTube tutorials? Magnolia and I had to set ground rules when he wouldwake us up at 3 a.m. with a new pesto pasta that we justhad to try.”
“Don’t worry, that only happened twice. The second time, I saw things I’ll never be able to forget.” He rubbed his eyes, and I just sat there, taking in the scene around me. The easiness, therightnessof it all. There are times in life when you have such a moment of peace that you want to bottle up the feeling and save it for rainy days. That was one of those moments.
“Hours, huh?” I sat, looking at Jace in wonderment. No one had ever done anything like that for me before, and I felt like I was going to burst at the seams.
“Maybe we should go now before Jace goes all caveman and doesn’t let you leave, hm?” Magnolia tapped my arm, breaking me from the trance we were in.
“Sure, let’s go.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Lexie
I slid into the passenger seat of Magnolia’s truck. The familiar scent of vanilla and coconut from her air freshener wrapped around us, and I let the comfort of it wash over me. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.
“Ready for the Bar-kery?” Magnolia asked, excitement threaded through her words.
I nodded, unsure if I was more excited about seeing what they’d come up with so far or the fact that I was leaving the house and spending time with Magnolia. I wanted to reconnect with her after everything that had happened. The unspoken truths that had been uncovered still lay between us, and I knew she wasn’t pushing because of how far into myself I had fallen.
Magnolia turned the key in the ignition, and the truck’s engine purred to life. As we pulled out of the driveway, she glanced at me, and her expression went from excitement to seriousness. “Lexie…about…yesterday and, well, everything.” I sucked in a breath and prepared myself for her anger, but instead, I was met with something else. “I just wanted to say, I was upset with you at first. Like, really upset. I felt like my bestfriend had ghosted me. I didn’t understand, and when you came back hurt, I realized you had been doing something far more important than returning my texts. And then I heard everything you said to Luke, and, well…I get it. I understand everything. I would’ve made the same decision if it meant keeping people safe. If it meant keepingyousafe, I wouldn’t have even thought twice about it.”
Her words hit me like a soft breeze on a hot day, refreshing and necessary. I opened my mouth to respond, but she continued.
“I just…I missed you, you know?” Magnolia admitted. I hated the way her voice trembled as she continued. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something had happened to you.”
I felt a lump form in my throat as I turned to her, and I felt myself swell with gratitude. “Thank you, babes. That means more to me than you can imagine.”
