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Chapter 3
Easton
Showing Up When It Counts
Six Years After High School
I hate hospitals—the smell of stale food and antiseptic, the endless stretches of linoleum. But the last thing on my mind is my nose turning up as I stalk through the automatic doors to the main waiting area, searching for the people I know have already been here for hours.
The moment Lennon’s head snaps up and our eyes meet, she stands from her chair, staring at me in disbelief. “Easton?”
Her reaction doesn’t surprise me—she had no idea I was coming. But when my brother Owen called me last night to tell me that Bruce had a heart attack, I immediately left my storm-repair job on the North Carolina coast and drove straight to Garnet Valley.
As a lineman, I’m used to answering the call when people need help. This one was no different. My boss understood the emergency and gave me two days, but I’m already wondering whether that will be enough. Once I have more information, he’s the first person I plan to call.
Lennon blinks as if she can’t quite believe I’m standing here before she slowly walks over to me.
“Wh—what are you doing here?”
“I heard about your dad.”
Her bottom lip starts to tremble. “He’s in surgery right now. We still have a few hours to go.” I open my mouth to respond, but she leaps at me before I can, encircling my neck with her arms. “I’m so glad you’re here, Easton.”
Closing my eyes, I breathe her in, filling my lungs with her presence, taking a hit of her like an addict that’s been clean and now has temptation right in front of them.
It’s been six years since high school, and almost a year since I’ve seen this girl in person. But holding her makes every reason I pushed her away return to the surface.
“Where else would I be?” I whisper to her, squeezing her tighter before placing her safely back on her feet.
She wipes under her eyes, staring up at me. “How did you—”
“Owen called me.” My brother is now the mayor, so he was at the town hall meeting where Bruce had his heart attack.
“Oh.”
I push her hair back from her face before glancing around the room, finding Lennon’s siblings—Hudson, Blair, Nora, and Sloane—passed out in their chairs while Lennon’s mom paces the floor slowly.
“How’s everyone holding up?”
Lennon sighs. “As best as we can. Dad’s surgeon said he needed a double bypass. It’s the best move, but it still has risks.” She glances over her shoulder at her mom. “Mom’s a wreck.”
“I bet. Your parents make romance movies look like real life.”
Lennon’s eyes well with tears. “I know. If Dad doesn’t make it, I…”
I pull her into my chest again, holding the back of her head. “Don’t think like that. If he’s been in there this long, that’s a good sign. Someone would have come out by now if something were wrong.”
She takes a shaky breath. “I still can’t believe that you’re here.”
Her words cut deep even though they’re true—because the harsh reality is, I’ve become an expert at avoiding Lennon Riley in the past six years. Prom night changed everything for me, and the next day, I distanced myself from her because it was the only way I felt I could survive.
If I couldn’t have this girl in the way I wanted her, then I made ignoring her my second full-time job.
That meant working out of town as much as I could, and making sure to avoid her any time she was in town at the same time as me. Lennon took her goal of traveling seriously after graduation, which meant we were both away from Garnet Valley for long stretches of time.
Part of me was happy for her, and the other part focused on pushing the thought of her from my mind completely.
Sadly, Lennon never really fought to fix our falling out either, so we turned from best friends to passing ships, only seeing each other when circumstances forced us to be in the same place.
