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“Oh, yeah,” I laughed. “Sure did.”

“Well where was it?”

“At the fire station. Someone had taken it from my truck.”

“Rory?” Blue nodded, as if it was no brainer.

“How'd you know?”

“Just assumed.” She started wiping down the bar, then looked around to make sure no one needed anything before she looked back my way. “She was acting funny last time you and Miles were here and since that's the night it went missing…”

“Acting funny? I didn’t even see her.”But Miles did.

“That’s what I’m sayin’,” she laughed. “The girl was actin’ funny. Like she was a spy or something. I thought she was playin’ with you two, but I was stressed that night and didn’t pay her enough attention.”

Someone called from the end of the bar and she left me sitting there in confusion. Things had been going so fast and so well with Jesse that I hadn’t paid any mind to Rory, or even bothered confronting her about being in my room. I had actually forgotten about it until that moment.

When I saw her at work, it was as if it had never happened, and there was a part of me that had considered it may have actually been a dream. The only reason I didn’t fully believe it was a dream was because my dreams were filled with Jesse. My subconscious only cared about her, so why would I dream about a girl I never felt anything for?

“Ya know,” Blue returned back in front of me, snapping me out of my musing. “I just thought about something. She was with another guy that night. Maybe that’s a sign she’s over you and the reason she was acting weird.”

“A guy? Someone you recognized?”

“Nah, he wasn’t from around here. He had that big city look.”

Must have been a transient, someone she decided to spend the night with to pass the time. I didn’t blame her, it's exactlywhat I’d have done if I hadn’t met Jesse. But that also meant she wasn’t moving on. And if I wanted Jesse in my life long term, I needed to finally make the time to confront Rory and make sure she knew not to cross any more lines

Chapter Twenty-Nine

JESSE

“Daniel,”Easton called out as we entered the back gate of a home just on the outskirts of town.

The man, who I assumed was Daniel, looked up from the grill and waved a pair of tongs, welcoming us. “About time you showed back up!”

“I’ve been busy,” Easton laughed, then turned to wink at me. “My girl here keeps me busy.”

My cheeks turned red, not only because of his innuendo, but also at how easily he called me his girl. We still hadn’t made anything official but day by day, everything was getting harder to deny. Beneath the surface, I knew I had to make a hard decision. I knew I needed to remind Easton of what I had been telling him all along. But I never did.

If I was looking for some sign, it never came. All I had was the residual fear of losing the real reason I had moved to Harmony Haven. For a fresh start, not to be involved with another man.

Didn’t stop me from accepting the invite to Easton’s best friend’s house. Easton had texted me with the offer and insteadof telling him it wasn’t a good idea, because our expiration date was nearing, I smiled and texted him back with an okay.

Not just any “okay,” though. It had a winking emoji and kissy lips. If “head over heels” was a text, it would have been that one. And I knew looking at his responding “heart” that I was nowhere near sending him the right message.

Nonetheless, I was there, in the backyard of Daniel and Carlee, shaking their hands and thanking them for the invite. Max was hiding behind my legs at first, but as we settled on the patio chairs and Easton handed me a water, Max’s attention was drawn to a curly blonde that ran from the house and toward a swing.

“Want to make friends?” I asked him quietly.

“Jenny is my friend,” Max spoke louder and Carlee’s attention turned from her husband and Easton talking about work, to Max and me.

“You know Jenny?” She asked Max, then looked up at me. “Does Max go to Harmony preschool?”

“He does! Just a few weeks now.”

“So does Jenny! They must have met there!”

Max nodded but didn’t make an attempt to go play with her. Instead, Carlee shouted for Jenny to come see Max and she started running toward us.

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