Page 59 of My Heart To Heal

By the time we make it to the falls Jonah has spotted more rabbits, a couple of squirrels and an array of bugs, and he’s smiling from ear to ear.

‘Wow!’ Missy exclaims as she sits on a rock overlooking the water.

The falls are exactly that: multiple little waterfalls trickling over a small cliff, coming together in a stream that trails down to the lake. Niagara, it’s not, but it’s the lifeblood of our little town.

‘It’s so pretty up here.’

I turn away from where Jonah is throwing sticks in the stream and watching them float to see Missy leaning back on the rock, supporting herself on her hands, her jacket off, her ponytail falling down behind her. God, she’s beautiful. She steals the air from my lungs.

‘It’s um,’ I turn back to Jonah, ‘it’s pretty special.’

‘So, this is why the town is called Forest Falls.’

I laugh lightly. The obvious name comes from these falls, hidden deep inside the forest.

‘Yeah, when the first farm was set up, everything grew so well, they attributed it to the falls. The livestock were healthy, the town’s water all came from right here, and the land flourished as much as the people did. So, they called it Forest Falls andpromised to take care of this place because it took care of them.’

‘I love that.’ She turns her attention from the trees to me, and our eyes meet across the stream. ‘You look good all outdoorsy, Nick Barber. It suits you.’

‘Tell me the truth, who does it better, me or lumbersnack?’

Her loud laugh is beautiful. It hits me right in my stomach, and I return a wide smile.

‘That depends. Are you looking to build a log cabin out here because that might swing it your way?’

I smile wider. ‘Notrighthere, but you never know.’

‘Lumbersnack’s got you beat right now, Barber.’

‘Hold onto your panties, Morgan. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.’

‘What are you two talking about?’ We both turn to see Jonah with his hands on his hips and a look of utter confusion on his face and we laugh.

‘Never you mind.’ Missy chuckles.

‘You want to come up on the cliff with me, Jonah?’ I point up top and hear Missy gasp, so I turn to her. ‘It’s safe, don’t worry.’

She holds my gaze and nods, and I take Jonah’s hand. She trusts me with the most precious thing in her life, and that means everything.

Elephants Drop Huge Shits, Man

Nick

‘How are you twohandling this?’ Doug asks as we follow Missy, Cara, and Bree into the bar for karaoke night.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, we all know you’re sleeping together. You both know we all know that, but we all also know y’all are morons, and you’re pretending it’s not a thing.’

I stop walking, and he turns to me. The doors to the bar open, then close as the women disappear inside, and I take a breath, hanging my head as I blow it out.

‘I want her, and she wants casual. I made a choice.’

‘But that’s not what you want?’ He looks concerned.

‘No, it’s not. I want it all with her, but if I tell her that, she’s going to run. I know it.’

‘You live next door. She can’t run far.’ He offers a half smile to lighten the mood, but he doesn’tknow this has been eating me up. It was already bad. I knew the second I told her I didn’t want a relationship that I’d fucked up. Now, we’re way down the line. It was manageable, barely, until she stood up to my dad and told him how she sees me. Nothing ever felt like that, and I can’t get it out of my head.

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