Page 15 of Crossroads of Love

“The way I look at who?” I asked dismissively, but knowing damn well he caught me watching Lena laugh at something her best friend, Tatum, had said.

Her entire face lit up when she laughed.

“Lena Marshall.” He sighed. “I always knew you two had a special connection, but you sat back and waited for her to come to you, just like you always do. Heaven forbid you take action on something. Your brother got to her first, so she’s off-limits to you now.”

“Lena and Aaron broke up. And I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pops.” I chuckled. “I’m dating Cindy. You know that.”

“Do you take me for a fool?”

I didn’t answer because I knew regardless of what came out of my mouth, he would have a negative reaction to it.

“You’re too selfish for that girl. She’s keeping your brother out of trouble, so you need to stay away from her. Don’t be getting any ideas. I won’t have you…”

Ah yes, my brother, the wild child who knew he was untouchable because our father was the town sheriff. For a man who was always on my ass about everything, he should send some of that energy to his youngest child.

“I ain’t got no ideas about her, Pops. I don’t even live around here.”

“You know that she’s going to school by you. You best steer clear of her, do you hear me? I won’t have you and your brother at odds with each other over a girl.”

“We’re at odds over everything else.” I chuckled.

“You’ll never amount to anything if you don’t change that attitude. I won’t have you dragging her or anyone else down with you.”

“Uncle G,” Jayla interrupts my thoughts as she greets me with a hug.

“Shouldn’t you be in there with your mom?”

“Aunt Tatum is with her. You needed me.”

How did she know?

That empathy, the second sense, is definitely from my mom or Lena because it’s not something she got from my brother.

I inhale slowly, hoping that the intake of breath will clear out the waves of nausea happening in my stomach.

Why did I think I needed to do this?

No one expected me to show up. I should have let them all be right.

I don’t move from the spot where I’m standing. I reach back and grip the door handle of my car. I’m not a man who gets nervous or who even feels fear, but right now, a dozen different emotions course through me, and I don’t know what any of them are.

None of them have anything to do with the fact that I’m burying my father today.

I can’t stand the thought of having to look Lena in the eye and see all of her anger and hatred reflecting back at me.

Jayla takes my elbow and walks beside me, her hand resting on my arm as we make our way toward the church where the funeral will be held.At the main entrance, a crowd of townspeople have already gathered. Familiar faces greet us with solemn nods and murmured condolences, but I keep my eyes straight ahead, not yet ready to face all the questions hanging in the air.

The scent of lilies hits me before I even reach the door, the same damn flowers from my mom’s funeral. That thought sends a jolt of discomfort through me, but I force it down.

Focus. I need to keep it together.

I take in a breath, hold it, and then release it. I feel numb. I guess I always thought that Dad and I would make up someday, that he’d reach out and apologize to me, but he never did.

“Stay away from Lena Marshall,” Dad had said on repeat. “I won’t let you ruin that girl’s life with your bullshit.”

I never quite understood what my bullshit was, other than I made it very clear that farm life and the sheriff’s department weren’t where my future was headed. To my dad, that was like a giant middle finger.

As Jayla and I reach the entrance, the smell of vanilla and lavender envelops me. My stomach clenches, and my breath catches.

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