Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
He sighed and dropped his hands from my waist. “Right. When you’re in Atlanta.”
I moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Striker dropped off a bunch of groceries while you were out, by the way. If there’s anything you wanted for lunch from that order.”
“Your job couldn’t go remote?” he asked. “Could you do it from up here?”
I huffed a laugh. “It’s not that simple.” Then I began to pull out some leftover chicken breasts and some vegetables to make a quick chicken salad.
“Harley…”
“I’m not going to uproot Dylan’s life,” I said quietly. “Not right now. I need time.”
Stephan’s lips flattened into a hard line. He leaned against the counter, watching me as I chopped up the chicken, carrots, and almonds. Then after a few long moments, he sighed. “I understand. Really.”
“Okay,” I said quietly. “Good.”
Stephan stepped closer. He stood behind me, and the heat of his body surrounded me. My hand quivered around the handle of my chef’s knife. He slid his hands over my hips, then tucked his face into the crook of my neck. He inhaled, then placed a soft kiss on my skin. “I’m gonna go clean up, too,” he murmured. “I need to get to the garage this afternoon.”
I nodded. “You want lunch to go?”
“I’ll get something in town.” He planted another kiss on my neck, then pulled away.
We had to talk this out. That upset little furrow was still present on Stephan’s face. But he smiled at me, then went upstairs.
Soon, Dylan was back downstairs, cleaned up and a little calmer-but only a little. I let him hop up onto the counter, and he sat there with his heels knocking against the cabinets as he told me all about the smoke tricks he’d learned with Stephan. He devoured two chicken salad sandwiches, while I finished half of mine.
When Stephan came downstairs, he was dressed for work at the garage, in a snug black shirt and dark jeans. His blond hair was combed back. He looked polished. Put together. It was a sexy contrast to the sweaty, sun-soaked man who had walked in an hour earlier.
That furrow was still in his brow, but he kissed my forehead before he left.
The front door clicked closed. Dylan put his plate in the sink, then rubbed his chest and looked at me with a pinched brow. His expression looked so much like Stephan’s that I almost laughed.
“Is Dad okay?” Dylan asked.
I frowned. “Why? Does your dragon sense something?”
“I don’t know,” Dylan said. “Just feels weird.”
I pulled Dylan into a hug. “Everything’s all right, kiddo. Just adult stuff.”
I wished I could’ve done something about the pained expression on Stephan’s face. But had he just expected me to fall into his arms? Drop everything? Change my whole life? I couldn’t do something like that impulsively. He had to understand, even if it hurt him and his dragon.
“Sounds gross,” Dylan muttered. He wriggled out of my hold like a worm. I laughed at his disgusted expression, but my amusement didn’t erase the little twinge of guilt. First, I’d withheld my real feelings from Stephan, and now I was doing the same to Dylan.
I’d known this summer would be a challenge, but it was proving to be a lot more complicated than I’d expected.
“Well, since your dad’s busy at work, why don’t we do something fun?” I asked.
“Aren’t you also busy with work?”
“Not anymore,” I said. “Not when I could be doing something fun with my favorite child.”
“I’m your only child.”
We both started laughing, and some of the weight lifted off my heart. “It’s nice outside,” I said. “Let’s go get ice cream.”
The two of us climbed into the slick, tuned-up sedan Stephan had provided from the garage. As I drove us into Lakeview proper, I realized we’d spent barely any time in the town itself. We’d spent all our time at the clan’s houses, and had only gone into town when we ran errands. We hadn’t even been back downtown since our trip to the pizza parlor our first night here. We walked the cute downtown strip to the local ice cream shop, which was busier than ever. We waited in line for our fancy ice cream-me a scoop of lemon, and Dylan a double-chocolate brownie-crunch with sprinkles-then strolled down the narrow brick path that led from the back of the shop to the small public park behind it.
“Hey, Harley!” a familiar voice called. I looked up and saw Mia near the playground. Bella toddled around at her feet, looking very seriously and attentively at the swing set.
“Aunt Mia!” Dylan waved at her.
“Looks like we had the same idea,” Mia said as she approached. She ruffled Dylan’s hair. “How’s that ice cream treating you?”
“It’s so good,” he said. “Does Bella like double-chocolate brownie-crunch?”
“I don’t know, why don’t you go ask her?” Mia said with a smile. “She’ll definitely want to try whatever her big cousin is eating.”
“Bella!” Dylan ran over to Bella and plopped down on the grass. Bella squealed with delight when she saw him, reaching toward him with both hands. Dylan scooped up a little bit of ice cream to let her taste it. Bella’s eyes widened in amazement as soon as it hit her tongue.
I smiled and took a seat on the nearby park bench. Mia sat next to me and kicked her feet out with a happy sigh. “Nice little coincidence to run into you here. Bella’s always excited to see Dylan.”
I hummed as a little pang of sadness struck my heart. This was yet another part of Lakeview we’d have to leave behind.
Mia quirked an eyebrow. “You okay, Harley? Something going on?”
Why was everyone in this clan so freaking perceptive? I hadn’t experienced this many people care about my well-being in… Well, maybe ever. I tried not to think about that too hard.
It’d be easy to blow Mia off. I could say I was busy with work, or stressed from Dylan’s upcoming shift, or just plain old tired. Mia wouldn’t press, even if she didn’t believe my excuses.
Dylan and Bella finished up his ice cream, then he walked her over to the swings and looked over at Mia for confirmation. She threw him a thumbs up, and Dylan settled Bella into the baby swing and helped wiggle her little legs through the gaps in the swing.
If anyone knew what I was going through now, it was Mia.
“My best friend sent me a job posting today,” I said.
“Oh yeah? What kind of job?”
“Third grade teacher,” I said. “Here in Lakeview.”
“I didn’t know you had a teaching degree.”
I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair. “I haven’t taught in a long time. I needed a better paying job back in Atlanta.”
“You don’t sound too excited about the job.”
“It’s tough,” I admitted. “Part of me wants to apply. Get a job here in Lakeview. Go all-in. It might be easier for Dylan, right?”
Mia pressed her lips together.
“But I know I can’t move that quickly. There’s too much that could go wrong. Stephan told me the businesses aren’t all the way legit yet, and that means there’s still a risk that he could end up in prison again. I couldn’t do that to Dylan-uproot his life just to see it all pulled out from beneath him.”
I couldn’t do that to myself. I didn’t say it, but from the way Mia’s lips turned down at the corners, I knew she got the gist.
“So, I’m going to stick with my plan and head back to Atlanta at the end of the summer. It makes more sense. Dylan won’t have to change schools, and I won’t have to get a new job. We’ll come here for the summers, but for now, I think we need some separation between us.”
