Page 97 of The Breaking Point

“Don’t worry. The owners told me it would be okay. They’re out at a barbecue tonight anyway.”

Grace looked skeptical but then told me that if we got arrested, she’d blame me entirely. I smiled for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

I took her hand and guided her to the backyard.

“Oh lord, they got rid of the grass,” said Grace, shaking her head. “Don’t tell my dad.”

I chuckled. “And give him a stroke? No way.”

Grace looked around; I could tell her curiosity was piqued. She pointed at a tree near the eastern edge of the backyard. “That’s where we buried our first dog, Lola. I tried planting tulips, but they never grew. Probably because tulips don’t do so well in the desert,” she said.

The house still had the swimming pool, which reminded me of when Grace had taught me to swim. A variety of kids’ toys were scattered everywhere, to the point that Grace and I had to be careful not to trip over something in the dim light of twilight.

Grace started climbing up into the tree house before I followed her inside. The tree house was smaller than I remembered. Then again, I hadn’t been up here in years.

“Oh, man, look,” Grace said. She pointed at one of the beams. “Look, my initials are still here, along with Ben’s.”

At the mention of Ben’s name, my heart sank. I could also tell Grace was far away, thinking about her older brother.

“I was thinking about what you said last night,” I said quietly. “About me loving you.”

Grace’s eyes widened, and I could just make out a blush on her cheeks. “Yeah?”

“I do. I mean, I do love you. I think I have for a long time.”

“Oh.”

I took her hand and pulled her onto my lap. “Do you ... feel the same?”

She was breathing hard. I worried I’d pushed her too fast, too soon. But then she started laughing.

“Brady Carmichael, how can you even ask that? I’ve loved you for years. Isn’t it obvious?”

I was nonplussed. “Really?”

“Yeah, really! Honestly.” She shook her head. “Men can be so dense.”

My heart soared at her words. I wasn’t even offended by her insult.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her neck. She sighed happily.

“You said you’ve loved me for years,” I said. “Does that mean there’s nothing I could do to change that?”

Grace turned to look at me. “What do you mean?”

I knew I was in dangerous territory, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “How much do you really love me?”

“If you’re saying I could stop loving you, no, probably not. But you could definitely do things that’d make me think that love wasn’t enough.”

I was the one breathing hard now. “Like what?”

“Uh, well, I’d probably break things off with you if you murdered somebody. That’s kind of a big one.” She held up a finger. “Cheating, definitely. Oh, and just being dishonest in general. I hate lying. How can I trust somebody if you lie to me all the time?”

My stomach twisted. I’d walked into this trap all on my own, I knew. I should never have asked questions to receive answers I didn’t want to hear.

You’ve kept your secrets to keep her from getting hurt,I reminded myself.That’s not the same thing as outright lying.

I pulled her back into my arms and held her tightly, hoping against hope this wouldn’t be the last time I could touch her.

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