Page 75 of Rock

His face scrunched up. “How far back does this infatuation go? How the hell did I not notice?”

“I knew the day I met him. You wouldn’t even remember that day because it wasn’t consequential to you, but I remember it vividly. So does Rock. But you have to know neither of us acted on those feelings. He was extremely respectful of the fact that I was sixteen. We didn’t even acknowledge our shared attraction. Not until after I was eighteen.”

Jackson nodded slowly. “I’m not surprised. The guy didn’t even smoke pot. It was always so comical that Mom and Dad thought he might be a bad influence on me. It was the other way around, though. Rock never wavered on his stance about illegal substances.”

Lyla smiled. “He’s a good guy.”

“He’s also smart as a whip. I never told anyone, but the reason I befriended him in the first place was because I needed his help with Calculus.”

Lyla laughed. “Jackson… I’m not that naïve. Nor are Mom and Dad. We all knew that.”

His brows shot up. “You did?”

“Of course.”

“So, what are you going to do now? Stay here in town?”

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. There was no decision to be made.

“Mom and Dad will be sorry to see you leave Florida.”

“Yeah, but they don’t need me. Not really. Not yet anyway.” She drew in a breath. In the back of her mind, she had someconcerns that her parents would eventually need help. She wasn’t sure how she would juggle that if she moved back to Shadowridge, but she’d cross that bridge if and when she came to it.

Jackson leaned forward and set his elbows on the table. “I was actually thinking about moving to Florida myself.”

“You were?” She sat straighter and took another sip of her coffee.

“Yeah. I’m tired of the rat race in New York. My kids aren’t even in the area anymore. I work from home most of the time. And it’s fucking cold in the winter.”

“Need a condo?” she joked.

He stared at her for a moment. “Maybe I do.”

“I was kidding. Kind of. But if you want my condo, that would certainly be tidy.”

“I could at least move into it in the short run. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with also hunting for a place to live. I was really dreading that part. Would you leave your furniture? I was thinking of selling everything. It’s not cost-effective to move furniture.”

“Fuck, Jackson. I’ll leave everything you want. You can’t imagine how much weight that would lift off my shoulders. I could pick up my personal things and hand you the keys.”

Jackson set his mug down and held out a hand. “I think we have a deal.”

She laughed as she shook it as if they were strangers making a business arrangement.

Jackson sobered as he sat back. “I’m so pleased to see you this happy. It never really occurred to me that you weren’t happy. But now that I see you alive and smiling, I realize you haven’t been happy for years.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think about it much either. I think what happened was that I had this great thing, and it was so fleeting,and then it was over, and I never found that again. Nothing ever measured up. The moment Rock stepped back into my life the other night, everything fell into place as if no time had passed. Yes, we have a lot of life to talk about, but it’s all just information. Details. It won’t change how we feel about one another.”

Jackson smiled. “I can see that, and I sincerely wish you all the best.” He pushed his empty mug to the center of the table. “We should probably get back before Rock gets nervous and hunts us down. I think we’ll have the painting finished later today. I have a carpet guy coming tomorrow. With all the extra help, we should have the house in great shape and on the market quickly.”

Lyla took the last sip of her coffee and set the mug next to Jackson’s. “Let me run to the bathroom really quick. That went right through me.”

Jackson stood as she did. He looked around. “Do you know where it is?”

She turned and pointed. “Short hallway over there. I’ll be right back.”

“Rock will kill me if I lose sight of you.”

She chuckled. “It’s just the bathroom. You can watch the hallway the entire time. I’ll be right back.”

---