Page 79 of Broken Trails
Michael: The truth. Always.
Before I can respond, a knock echoes from the front door. My head snaps up. I glance at the time. Michael’s definitely at work. And yet my pulse trips.
Don’t think I won’t come find you.
Sprinkles bolts under the couch as I stand. I move toward the door slowly, my breath stuck somewhere between my chest and throat. I unlock it and pull it open.
“Surprise, bitch!”
“What the—”
Jeff throws his arms around me with zero hesitation. “Miss me?”
“I—what—” I stammer, still in shock.
Dani slips in from behind, slinging her arms around my waist. “Did you miss both of us, or just the tall one?”
“What, no warning?” I finally manage, voice flat.
“Surprise visits are our love language,” Dani chirps, already walking into the house like she owns the place. Jeff follows, setting two paper bags on the kitchen counter and immediately turning in a slow circle, surveying the room.
“This is cute. Fucking tiny. But cute. The couch is a crime, though.”
“I’m aware,” I mutter, shutting the door.
Sprinkles peeks out from under the couch, then slinks toward Jeff.
He jumps back a step. “Oh my god. It is real.”
“She hates people,” I offer dryly.
“She has taste,” Dani says, watching Sprinkles hiss at Jeff before darting back beneath the couch.
Jeff sighs dramatically. “I have that effect on women.”
“So, this is your little place, huh? Why aren’t you staying with your parents?” Dani asks, flopping onto the armchair.
Jeff answers before I can. “Oh sweetie, that’s a whole other can of worms.”
Dani blinks. “Why don’t I know about this can of worms?”
“I just needed space,” I say with a shrug. “Time. I didn’t want to move backwards after walking out. I needed to hold onto something of mine. Even if it’s this shoebox.”
They both go quiet for a moment. Jeff is the first to speak with a grin. “That’s fair.”
Dani nods. “And very you.”
We sit, and they make themselves as comfortable as they can in the small lounge and armchair. We crack open the overpriced wine they brought and eat from paper containers. For the first time in what feels like days, months, the tension in my chest eases.
“Why the surprise visit?” I ask eventually.
Jeff doesn’t answer right away. He’s too busy swirling the wine in his glass. He finally tops it up, then gestures toward my half-empty glass as if to say, You’ll need it.
“Because if we told you, you’d have said no,” he says. “And don’t deny it. You would’ve made up some excuse about needing space or ‘still settling in’ or whatever half-truth you’re using these days. Spontaneity always works best on you.”
“Whatever,” I mutter, reaching for the wine and taking a slow sip. The taste is bold, unnecessarily fruity. “You two are a menace.”
Jeff flashes a grin that tells me he knows he’s right, then sets his glass down with a deliberate clink on the table. When he looks at me again, the amusement fades. His shoulders roll back, and he squares his expression, lawyer mode snapping into place. I already don’t like it.
