8. Hazel
EIGHT
Hazel
The sun is shining brighter than it has all summer, it seems, and I have to admit that it’s nice to be outside enjoying it with Jade.
I’m usually cooped up in my office with my laptop, and even though I’ve still been working on my novel, I’ve been doing it in the company of a ten-year-old.
Sure, my daily word count is down a little, but surprisingly, it works out. We hang out for a bit in the mornings when it’s not too hot, and then Jade and I sit in the same room while I type, and she reads.
I…kind of love it.
As usual, Easton is at work. Today, he’s working from his home office, but I still try to bug him as little as possible.
When he’s out doing the bodyguard thing, it’s a bit easier, but as the CEO and owner of his business as well, he’s got all the paperwork and shit that goes along with it.
It’s a little funny to consider the two very different parts of his job, but it makes sense to me. Easton has always been good at the physical protection thing, and he’s smart, determined.
Setting up his own firm was the perfect fit.
And you really need to stop thinking about him so much.
I sigh, shaking myself as I refocus on the book I’m reading in the hammock with Jade. We were both looking forward to this since she had that fever a few days ago, and I won’t ruin it by being distracted.
But who am I kidding? Easton almost kissed me the other day, and it’s been on my mind pretty much 24/7.
The wind rustles past us as we lounge in the hammock, and I shut my eyes, concentrating on the relaxing feel of it against my skin.
“Did you used to date Uncle Easton?”
I nearly fall out of the hammock, launching Jade out along with me, but thankfully, I catch my balance and look at the girl with wide eyes.
“Excuse me?” I furrow my brow, setting my book down on the ground. “Where did that come from?”
Jade shrugs, turning down the corners of her mouth. “I don’t know. It just seems like you did or something. Like you used to, you know, like like each other.”
And what precisely am I supposed to say to that? Christ.
Answering that question could be very loaded, and I don’t know how much Easton has told Jade about our past.
But I’m not about to lie to her. The truth always comes out anyway.
“Umm, yeah, actually. We did date. A long time ago.”
Jade shoots up in the hammock, nearly dumping us again. “I knew it! What was it like?”
Oh god. Here we go.
“It was fine. You know, normal relationship stuff.”
My heart is hammering against my ribs now, and where I was getting a little hungry before, my appetite is gone now.
“Tell me about it!” Jade puts her hands in front of her chest, pleading with me to give her details, and damn her for looking so cute.
“Oh, jeez. Okay, okay. Well,” I think about what could be an appropriate story for a kid to hear, “we met at a restaurant here in town, actually. Red’s.”
Frowning, Jade creases her brow and smirks at me. “That’s a bar, Hazel. I know what a bar is.”
Embarrassment flares, and I rub the back of my neck. “Oh, right. Well, yes, we met at a bar. Your uncle was getting a drink, and I happened to walk up to the spot next to him to order, too.”
“Then what?!” Jade’s face is the picture of excitement again, and I can’t help but smile.
The truth is, I remember that night vividly. I’ve thought about it often, and I can picture Easton sitting there with his beer, complaining about the music.
A chuckle escapes me. “Umm, well, he didn’t like the song that was playing. Thought it was a bit too sappy for a bar.”
“A song. What was it?” Jade cocks her head.
“‘Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’. The Elvis version.” I smile, but the vacant look on Jade’s face tells me all I need to know. “Haven’t heard of it, huh?”
“Nope. There’s more than one version?”
I laugh. “Oh, Jade. There are probably hundreds. It’s one of the most covered songs in the country.”
“Oh.”
Her eyes are wide, and it’s so damn cute. I pat her hand, silently reminiscing about that night.
Easton was younger, but he still looks damn good now, and so much of what I see in him today is what I noticed at the bar.
Extremely muscular, deep auburn hair, those striking blue eyes that look as bright and alive as the sky overhead, and those super subtle freckles that you couldn’t see until you got close.
“I told him the song wasn’t so bad. We got a drink together and ended up chatting for hours.
So long, in fact, that Red’s had to kick us out.
God, that was ages ago, but I remember we talked about everything and nothing.
Our favorite music and books, how pie is superior to cake, and of course, he kicked my butt in pool. I got good at it to show off to him.”
When I surface back to reality, Jade is staring at me, hanging on my every word like I’m detailing a fairy tale. I laugh, feeling a bit exposed.
“Haha, Jade, please stop staring at me like that.”
She giggles, blinking and coming back to herself, but then her eyes find mine so purposefully, and I’m struck by the insight that beams through her gaze.
“It sounds like you two were in love.” She smiles as my eyes go wide. “It sounds like how Mom and Dad used to talk.”
My heart is skipping around, and I don’t know if I’m more heartbroken for Jade or embarrassed for myself. Love is a strong word, after all, but I also know we both said it to each other before Easton left.
I just said it second.
“Who’s in love?”
This time I do flop out of the hammock, and I land right on my ass as Easton scares the crap out of me. He hurries over to help me up, but he’s also laughing like an idiot, and I smack him in the arm.
“Jerk. I could’ve cracked my head open.”
He settles, rolling his lips between his teeth so he doesn’t smile. Worse, I can hear Jade trying to hold in a fit of giggles behind him.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
Wiping off my butt, I roll my eyes and nod. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Hazel was telling me about how you met!”
Jade is all smiles still, and Easton seems to suddenly realize that he’s still holding my arm. He drops it, clearing his throat as he faces his niece.
“Oh, was she now?”
There’s clear surprise in his eyes and tone, but Easton smooths it away with a grin. “And what exactly did she say?”
When he looks back at me, my cheeks heat so much that I’m sure I look like a fucking lobster. I nearly choke on my own spit when I try to talk.
“Good stuff. I swear.” I hold up my hands like I’m surrendering.
Easton smirks, his eyes sparkling with the mischief that’s always been there. “Well, I should think so. I’ve always been ‘good.’”
Leaving my side, Easton walks over to Jade, who’s still sitting in the hammock, and scoops her up into his arms. She laughs as he flings her over his shoulder.
“Alright, girls,” Easton chuckles, swinging Jade around like a rag doll as she scream-laughs from all the enjoyment, “how about some lunch?”
Oh, that’s right. I was hungry.
Nodding, I try to put on my best nonchalant smile. “That sounds great.”
Reminiscing on our past has my heart doing things I wasn’t prepared for, and my stomach is going all flip-flop.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to eat when it’s doing that, but I have to try. The idea of Easton knowing he’s throwing me off makes me feel weird, like my pride won’t allow it.
While the time we shared together back then was otherworldly, seeing Easton like this, knowing that he’s moved on with his life, makes it seem like it was nothing more than a summer fling to him.
But it meant the world to me.
Pull it together, Hazel. Yeah, you were crushed when he left. But he’s different now. You’re different now. It’s done. There’s been too much time and too much distance. Get over it.
Easton stops swinging Jade, who is so dizzy she nearly collapses, and then picks her right back up and begins to carry her inside.
When I start to walk up to them, my phone buzzes repeatedly in my pocket, and I know I have a call.
“I’m right behind you!”
I pull out my cell phone, noting that it’s another unknown number.
Don’t answer. Don’t answer.
But I do. Because I always do.
It’s another dead-air call. Just like always. I stand there frozen in the backyard as I hang up and tuck the phone away in my pocket again.
“You coming?!” Easton calls out, a slight flicker of worry on his face.
I school my expression, waving at him with a bright smile. “Yup! Forgot my book!”
Rushing back around to the other side of the hammock, I retrieve my book from the grass, thankfully for the convenient excuse. As I jog up to the back door, I’m sure to keep my expression and mood light.
I don’t need Jade nervous, or god forbid, Easton actually worrying about me. I’m sure it’s nothing. And even if…even if it’s not, I moved. I moved to Red Lodge.
What are the odds that someone would want to bother with tracking me down all the way out here? I’m not worth all the trouble.
But as I step inside, my stomach is in knots, and I’m even less sure about this lunch we’re supposed to have.