Page 47 of Somewhere You Belong

“Yeah. I’ll text you.”

Astrid walks away, leaving me and Dallas alone.

“You two seem to be getting awfully friendly,” he says, shifting in his stance while he shoves the clipboard under his arm.

“Is that a problem?”

He shakes his head. “Not at all. Astrid is exactly the type of person you want in your corner.”

“Well, I happen to think so too.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear that’s escaped my ponytail. “She’s been extremely kind and welcoming, something I’m not used to around here,” I say in a teasing tone.

“Well, maybe some people didn’t give you the best first impression, but they’re trying to correct their mistakes.”

I squint up at him. “Are you speaking about yourself in the third person right now?”

He smirks. “Maybe.”

“Well then, I guess this would be a good time to say thank you for the scarecrow, especially if that was your attempt at apologizing. Although, I think it would have been even scarier if you had putyourface on it instead of mine.”

His grin is infectious. “I don’t know. Those geese were after me just as much as they were after you. I think my face would only attract them more.”

“Are you saying I’m attractive?”

“No. I’m saying I am.” He’s teasing me, I know it. But part of me really is curious if he’s attracted to me or not.

God, I hate that I really want to know the answer to that question.

I roll my eyes at him instead. “Lord, you’re so full of yourself.”

“I’m full of a lot of things…”

“What do we have here?” Penn comes by, gripping the shoulders of a young boy in front of him and side-steppinghim to move closer to us.

“Willow was in the neighborhood and just happened to show up at our game,” Dallas replies before I can.

“Huh. That’s convenient.” Penn plays dumb, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the two of us. “Well, I’m going to go home and grab my tools, and then I’ll be by your house in little while, right, Willow?”

I shift my gaze over to him. “Yes. Thank you. I think I might try to paint today while you’re working downstairs.”

“Sounds good.” Penn walks away with the boy, leaving us alone once more.

I clear my throat, intent on following through with why I came here in the first place. “As I was saying, thank you for the scarecrow. I think it’s helping.”

“How so?”

“Well, they wouldn’t walk past it this morning when I was leaving. It was like it put off an invisible forcefield, blocking their path.”

“It actually is covered in a repellent that helps deter them, although I think it’s the sign that really does the trick.” He taps his temple and winks. “I told you, Willow. Manners go a long way.”

I shake my head at him, fighting my smile. “Gosh, that must be it. But seriously,” I pause, drawing a deep breath before uttering, “thank you. It was a…pleasant surprise. And I’m sorry too, for how I acted before.”

Leaning forward slightly, his hands shoved in his pockets now, our eyes lock as I catch a whiff of his scent—sandalwood mixed with sweat. “You’re welcome, and I accept.” I bite my lip, not sure of where to go from here, but luckily Dallas speaks next. “We should probably get going. Where are you parked?”

“Over there.” I point to the lot adjacent to the field.

“Me too. Come on”—he nods in that direction—“I’ll walk with you.”

We walk toward the parking lot side by side, stealing glances at each other as we go.

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