Chapter 13 #2
Jace guides me out of the rescue after they take the kittens back, and I don’t protest as he helps me into his truck. My hands are folded in my lap with his jacket still around my shoulders. Jace is quiet as he climbs into his side, but after he starts the engine, he glances at me.
“Are you okay?”
Corkscrewing my lips to the side, I give him a quick nod. “I’m just tired.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t push the issue. “If you want to close your eyes, I’ll wake you when we’re at your house.”
I force a tight smile onto my lips. “Thanks.”
Jace’s eyes linger on me for a moment. It’s like I can feel them as I turn away from him. I rest my head between the seat and the door frame and close my eyes. After a pregnant pause, the truck starts to move from the parking spot and the music turns up a few notches.
I don’t fall asleep, but I don’t trust myself to speak.
It’s not rational, but all I can think about is those two helpless kittens.
They’re exactly where they need to be, getting the help they need, yet I can’t help but wonder how bad of shape they’re in.
They both looked rather emaciated on top of the brewing infections.
What if they don’t make it?
Time passes and my mind swirls, obsessing the whole way home before I feel the truck slow to a stop. A lump lodges in my throat and I suck in a deep breath, attempting to shove down my emotions as Jace puts the truck into park.
“Willow.”
Tears burn the corners of my eyes as I slowly turn my head to look at him. I press my lips into a flat line, trying to stop the tears from falling, but they do anyway.
“Hey,” he murmurs, leaning across the center console to cup the sides of my face. His thumbs brush against my skin, catching the tears as they fall. “Hey. What’s going on?”
“What if they don’t make it?”
His eyes widen slightly as his brain plays catch up and he realizes what I’m talking about. “Have you been thinking about them the entire time?”
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I give him a quick nod.
“Oh, Will,” he breathes, his lips tugging downward. “I think they’re going to be okay. The vet is going to do everything they can to make sure that the kittens get healthy, and then they will go to a good home.”
“You don’t know that, Jace.” I choke on the words, my voice barely audible as a few more tears fall. Jace catches them with his thumb.
“I will make sure of it,” he presses as his gaze fixes on mine, unwavering as he stares back at me. There’s a comforting warmth to the way his eyes burn through mine.
“Do you promise?”
“I do,” he says. “I promise.”
“And you’ll tell me if something happens to them?”
The space between his eyebrows crinkles. “You only want to know if something bad happens?”
“Yes,” I dip my chin, blinking back more tears. His hands linger on the sides of my face. “No news is good news. I wish I could give them a home, but you know my mom is allergic.”
“Okay.” His expression softens. His thumb slowly strokes my cheek, his touch burning my skin. “Whatever you need.”
My throat bobs as I swallow roughly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so emotional over something like this.”
“No, don’t do that.” Jace’s eyebrows tug downward as he subtly shakes his head.
I didn’t realize how close his face was to mine until this moment.
He’s less than a foot away and I’m fixated on the swirls of green in his irises.
“You have the biggest heart and I never want to hear you apologize for that.”
He slowly searches my eyes, and his lips part as a soft breath escapes him, fanning across my face.
I can’t help myself as my attention falls directly to his mouth.
My heart pounds inside my chest, knocking violently against my ribcage.
His hands drift lower, thumbs grazing my jaw as his fingers dance along the sides of my neck.
“Willow…” he breathes, my name falling from his lips like the softest wish. Now it’s my turn to search his eyes. The inner corners of his eyebrows lower and he works the muscle in his jaw. His chest rises as he drags in a deep, conflicted breath.
Then, as if he experienced a static shock, he drops his hands from my face. He shifts his body away, sitting back in his seat as he clears his throat and drops his gaze down to his hands in his lap. “You should go inside.”
“Hey, Will.” His voice breaks through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. “We’re done for the day.”
The grey cat on the desk comes back into focus. My throat constricts, and my heart thumps a little harder as a lightness floats through my chest. I look up to find Jace standing on the other side of the receptionist’s desk.
“You went back for them.”
His brow furrows. “What?”
“The kittens.” I pause, all of it finally clicking into place. “I never heard anything about them after that night, so I had assumed they survived and were adopted.”
Jace is silent for a moment, his expression softening as the corners of his mouth twitch. “They were.”
“Why did you go back for them?”
“Why do you think?” The faintest of smiles drifts across his lips.
“I knew how worried you were about them, and after hearing about them both losing an eye and Dr. Grey having such limited vision, I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not someone would want to adopt a package deal like that.
” He pauses to sigh. “I knew you weren’t able to give them a home at the time, no matter how much you wished you could. ”
My lips part and a ragged breath escapes me as I’m momentarily overcome with emotion. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
A sheepish grin crosses his lips as he lifts his shoulders. “I figured you’d eventually figure it out.”
I snort. “And what if I didn’t?”
“Well, then I guess you never would have known.”
My eyes narrow, and the would-be tears turn to laughter, escaping me as giggles. “Jace Miller, that is just cruel.” Shaking my head, I raise my eyebrow at him. “Who hurt you?”
Jace chuckles, walking around the front of the desk as he scoops up Dr. Grey. “I’ll see you later, kid.” He disappears around the corner, heading back to his aunt’s office and leaving me in the front of the clinic.
A smile tugs on my lips as I lift the bag of pastries and set them on the counter for him to find, then walk back to the front door.
Pausing with my hand on the handle, I glance back, my eyes drifting down the hallway.
Jace is coming back out of the office. He stops and finds me across the clinic about to walk out.
He doesn’t break eye contact as the corners of his lips slowly lift.
That smile, the one I always secretly hoped would be for me, leaves me breathless, like the oxygen is being sucked out of the room.
There's a distance between us and an invisible string tugs on the inside of my ribcage, urging me to close the gap, but I don’t.
“Should I meet you at the shop in the morning?”
I don’t stop the smile that drifts across my face. “That would be good.”
“Okay.” He adjusts the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. “I’ll see you then.”
My eyes linger for another breath before I force myself out the door. I can’t wash the stupid grin from my face and as I hop into my car, a soft laugh escapes me.
I can’t believe he went back for them. He knew how worried I was about those damn kittens so he made sure he was the one to give them the home I couldn’t.
What else has he done that I don’t know about?