Sweet Haven (The Sweet Series Book 2) (13 page)

His grunt cuts me off.

“Well, almost anyone.” I chuckle, remembering whom I’m talking to. “Then there’s Jesse who was born as talented as they come. Her eye for fashion and skill of what she can do with a piece of material is nothing short of a masterpiece. Even from the time she was a little girl, her talent shined so bright.” There’s no hostility only affection as I talk about my sister. “Then, there was me. Wearing my grandma’s glasses, playing teacher,” I say, but it’s with a smile. “Don’t get me wrong. I like who I am but I have never shone like them. I’ve always just been…Sensible Sam.”

“You shine so fucking bright it’s blinding,” he says, making my heart skip a beat. His large hand slips under my hair to cup my cheek. “I also happen to really like Sensible Sam. She’s beautiful,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss my temple. “Sweet,” he adds, moving to the corner of my eye. “And she’s my favorite in the Evans family.”

“That’s because you don’t like anyone in my family.” I chuckle but it’s halfhearted.

“That’s not true. I don’t know your parents, and I may have encountered Jesse over the years but make no mistake, Sam. Not once did she ever stop my fucking heart from beating when she walked by like you do. No one ever has.”

I gaze back at him, his admission catching me by surprise. “Has it always been like that?” I ask bravely, terrified for his answer.

“Yeah. Always. Even when I didn’t want it to be.”

His words are like a soothing balm to my wounded heart. “For the record, Crawford. Even though I thought you were an asshole and wanted to punch you for pushing my buttons, I still thought you were hot.”

An amused grin transforms his face. “I love pushing your buttons, baby. You’re sexy when you get mad. Then again, I always think you’re sexy. Even when you’re stuck in a tree.”

I drop my head on his shoulder, my laughter trailing into a groan. “Don’t remind me.”

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

“I have a feeling I’m always safe with you,” I whisper, my heart full of contentment.

“Yeah, you are.” His strong arms hug me closer, bringing me a peace I’ve grown to depend on. “What made you finally leave him?” he asks quietly, coming back to the subject that started it all.

“I showed up at his office one night when he was
working late
and found him fucking his secretary.”

I feel him tense, his muscles coiling tight around me. “Jesus, what a fucking loser.”

“I wasn’t that surprised. I had a feeling all along. The way women would look at me whenever I had to accompany him to a business function always made my stomach churn. He would lie and play it off like they had a thing for him but I always knew better. It was just another one of his ways of making me feel like I was lucky to have him.”

I shake my head, my blood heating at the memory.

“I was angry and humiliated. But most of all, I was relieved. It was finally my way out.”

“You always had a way out, Sam.”

“I know that now but at the time I was scared—really scared. He has a bad temper, as you know, and it terrified me.”

“He’s a fucking coward. Anyone who picks on someone smaller than them is.”

I nod. “You’re right, and eventually I learned that. He’s a mistake I will regret for the rest of my life. But I also learned a lot about myself in those dark months, and I became stronger for it. It helped me realize what I really want in life.”

“And what’s that?”

“Someone that will love me for who I am,” I tell him quietly, remembering how Grant tried to change everything about me.

“Only a fool wouldn’t fall in love with you, Sam.”

I still, a small flare of hope igniting inside of me. “It’s more than just loving me. I need someone who will respect my feelings when it comes to my family,” I tell him, treading into dangerous territory when it comes to us. “We’ve been through a lot together, more than anyone could possibly understand. Especially when it comes to Sawyer.”

His brows draw in confusion. “How do you mean?”

I swallow thickly as I think about that call so many years ago. The one I thought would destroy us all. “You know how Sawyer joined the Navy?”

He nods.

“Five years into his service we got a call that’s every family’s worst nightmare. He and two of his friends, Cade being one of them,” I tell him since he knows who he is, “were held captive and tortured. So badly that they were unrecognizable.”

“Jesus,” he breathes, surprise heavy in his voice.

Tears blur my vision as I remember that day so vividly. “I’ll never forget that call for as long as I live. The sound of my mother’s grief-stricken scream when she answered. The way she fell to her knees in agony, I thought for sure he was dead. I was so relieved when I found out he wasn’t…until I went and saw him in the hospital in Germany,” I whisper, my throat on fire now. “I know how horrible this sounds but at the time, seeing how badly he was hurt, I almost thought it would have been better for him if he had. He suffered so badly. It took nine months of rehabilitation before he healed, but some things you never recover from. And the scars he bears to this day, I’m sure, are far less than the ones he will forever have inside of him.”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” he says, brushing his knuckles across my wet cheek. “Even though we don’t get along, I hope you know I wouldn’t wish that on him.”

I meet his gaze, my tears falling faster. “I do know that, but I wish you knew him for the man he really is. He’s not perfect but he really is a good person.”

He drops his forehead on mine, his jaw flexing, but I’m not sure if it’s in anger or frustration. “Some people just don’t mesh, baby, and that’s us.” My heart breaks a little more even though he’s just being honest with me. “But there is one thing I’ve always liked about him.”

“What’s that?” I ask on a whisper.

“You.”

I smile, that one word easing the heaviness in my chest. He turns to look at the timer on the oven, seeing there’s still forty minutes left.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, thinking we should order in since my supper preparation was ruined by my adventure at the orchard.

His dark eyes swing back to mine, the heat in his gaze warming me from the inside out. “Yeah, but not for food.” He lifts me off the counter, catching me by surprise.

My arms wrap around his neck and legs around his waist as he carries me into my room. “I like where your head’s at, Crawford.”

“Just wait until you see what I’m about to do with my dick, you’re going to love it.”

I burst out laughing as he tosses me on my bed and comes over top of me, the weight of him a familiar comfort I’ve grown accustomed to.

He stares down at me, his expression soft with amusement yet something else, something I can’t quite put my finger on.

“What?” I ask, my smile softening.

“I could listen to you laugh everyday for the rest of my life.”

My heart misses a beat, those beautiful words creating a storm of emotions inside of me. I would love nothing more than to share every laugh, tear, and smile with him for the rest of my life, but I fear he hates my brother too much to love me.

Before I’m able to voice that he captures my mouth in a searing kiss that burns me all the way down to my soul, obliterating everything and everyone in this world but us.

For now it’s enough. It has to be.

Sam

T
ears stream down my face as I sit at my desk, reading all the homemade cards and sweet gifts my students gave me for the end of the year. I managed to maintain my composure until the last child left then erupted like a volcano.

Every year it’s like this for me, but this one is even more emotional because I know I won’t ever see their cute little faces again. Not even by chance at the grocery store like I do now…because I won’t be here. That reality makes this so much harder.

Sniffling, I open the next card, from Jacob Wilson.
Miss Evans. Thank you for being my teacher. I love you. You’re the best teacher I’ve ever had.

“Oh!” A fresh wave of tears starts all over again, his messy printing and beautiful words melting my heart. Even if I am the only teacher he’s ever had, it’s still so damn sweet.

A knock on my open classroom door startles me out of my emotional turmoil. Looking up, I find Jase leaning against the doorframe. He holds a big bouquet of tiger lilies and wears a sympathetic smile on his handsome face.

“Hey,” I greet him in surprise, wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. “What are you doing here?”

He strides in, that sexy swagger of his making my heavy heart tumble in my chest. “Zoey told me today would be hard for you so I waited outside until the bell rang and all the kids left. I didn’t want you to be alone.”

My chest swells with love, his sweet gesture making me want to blubber all over again.

He places the flowers down on my lap then hunkers down before me, taking one of my hands in his and bringing it to his mouth for a kiss. “You okay?”

“I am now,” I whisper. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

“I’m always thinking about you.”

His kind words wash over me, sending peace to invade my soul.

“Is it because you’re going to miss them?” he asks.

“Among other people,” I say softly, my hand moving to the side of his face.

His eyes darken with pain, the same one I feel all the way to my core when I think about leaving him. We haven’t spoken about it. We avoid the subject because it hurts too much. But as the date quickly approaches, my heart grows heavier and the tension between us magnifies.

He turns his face in, kissing the inside of my palm. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where?”

He shrugs. “The street festival downtown is happening tonight. Why don’t we head there and grab dinner. It will help take your mind off things.”

I smile. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

“Come here.” He tugs me to stand then enfolds me in his strong arms, holding me close. We stand locked together for a long time, my face buried in his chest, silence filling the air. But we didn’t need words in this moment—our hug said it all.

We aren’t ready to lose this. I’m not sure if I ever will be.

*

Jase

We walk hand in hand, my large one engulfing her delicate one while she holds a spool of pink cotton candy in her other. Rows of booths and performers are lined up along main street. We stop to join a large group of people as they watch a guy perform with fire. He dances around, his sticks aflame, one that he ends up swallowing before breathing fire back onto it.

“Whoa!” Sam quickly becomes entranced with the show, her eyes as big as saucers. I, on the other hand, don’t find him all that entertaining but that’s probably because my mind is elsewhere. In a place I don’t want to be, a reality I don’t want to face.

In just a few short weeks she’s going to be gone and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. The thought of never seeing her again has dread snaking around my chest. It coils so fucking tight that I can’t take in a full breath.

I don’t want her to leave. I’m not ready to lose her yet. But I won’t hold her back either, not when I know how much she needs her family. I love her enough to let her go…

Whoa! Care. I
care
about her enough. Not love. I can’t. It’s too soon for that…right?

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to enjoy these last few months with her. Get her out of my system and move on. The problem is—there is no working her out of my system. She has left an ever-lasting mark on me that will never be erased.

I’m seriously fucked.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts when we start walking again. Sam decides to be a pain in the ass by reaching up to shove the cotton candy in my mouth but ends up getting it all over my damn face.

She lets out a squeal of laughter when I turn the tables on her, my arm hooking around her neck as I dip her back to rub the pink fluff all over hers.

“Okay, okay, stop. I’m sorry,” she begs for mercy.

I remove the smudged cotton candy and cover her mouth with mine; licking up all the sticky sweetness, but the cherry-flavored candy has nothing on her.

She moans into my mouth, her arms winding around my neck. My blood ignites with heated force as I get lost in her as if we’re the only two people on this crowded street.

“Jasiah?”

I tense, my mother’s voice immediately deflating my raging hard-on.

Shit.

I tear my mouth from Sam’s then turn to find my parents watching us, a gleeful smile on my mother’s face and a smirk on my father’s. One I know all too well.

“Hey, guys,” I greet them, clearing my throat when I hear how gruff I sound.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t know you were coming here tonight,” my mom says, quickly moving in for the kill…of my pride that is. I try not to wince when she pulls me down for a kiss, thankfully only one to my cheek and not the thousands she usually gives me.

“Yeah, it was a last minute thing,” I tell her. “Sam and I decided to come walk around for a bit.”

I’m about to formally introduce them but she strikes first. With her smile bright, she moves to stand in front of Sam. “Hi, sweetheart, I’m Elise Crawford, Jasiah’s mother,” she says, making me fucking cringe. “It’s so nice to meet you.”