Page 60 of Buried Roots

“Thanks.” I flash Dakota a look before we get up to peer around the seating divider. Owen’s sitting in the corner, nursing an amber-colored drink on ice. His eyes are bloodshot, and he’s not looking anything like himself.

“Oh, shit.” Dakota grabs her phone and looks at it. “It’s July twentieth. The anniversary of his father’s death.”

It hits me like a tsunami—Dakota knows everything about Owen’s father’s death, and I know nothing because Owen hasn’t told me. I want to ask Dakota what happened, but she’s now darting toward him. But he textedme. I should talk to him.

Together, we approach Owen, and Dakota puts her hand on his shoulder before pulling him into a hug. Then she sits next to him. The sting of envy races down my windpipe.

I want to be the one to comfort him—I’m dying to be that for him, but it’s not my place. Is it?

I must think no because I stay rooted right where I am, behind him, out of view. I have no idea how to comfort Owen, as I don’t even know what happened to his dad.

Dakota strokes his shoulder. “Owen, you know you can get through this day. You’ve gotten through so many of them.”

He puts the heel of his hand over his eye. “I’m good, Kota. You can go.”

“I’m not leaving you like this. And you’ve come so far,” Dakota says. “Remember when you were seventeen? We found you at the river, and you wouldn’t talk to anyone? You’re talking now. That’s progress.”

“The river,” he slurs, raking a hand through his disheveled hair.

Seeing Owen like this splits my heart in two, but I don’t move. I just stand here, a third wheel, shifting on my feet as I’m desperate to find the right thing to say.

So, there was a river involved. That scar of his—was that from trying to save his dad?

Dakota pulls a chair next to Owen and sits. “You almost got yourself killed trying to get to him, Owen.”

“Something like that,” he says, his voice hoarse.

“That river has a nasty riptide.”

So, Owendidtry to save his dad? I can’t help but question whether he and I are as close as I thought we were. I shared my parent’s death. I asked Owen about the scar, and he told me none of this. I get that we haven’t known each other that long, but I’ve told him everything. He came with me and helped me yank my repressed memories from the darkest depths of my soul. And now I feel silly about it, which I shouldn’t. But I do.

Dakota says, “Remember that time your pa kept you out fishing so long you both got sunburned?”

His mouth quirks. “Even my ass got crispy because the thigh-high current pulled my pants half down most of the day.”

Pearls of laughter escape Dakota, then she says, “Of course I remember when you burned your ass. It was me that had to put aloe on it.”

“Yeah. Well, you liked it.”

“I sure did.” She massages his shoulders.

My stomach tumbles. I want to be angry at Dakota, but how can I? She’s doing nothing wrong. It’s time to get out of here. I hitch a thumb over my shoulder when I look at her and mouth, “Work emergency. I gotta go.”

Dakota nods, concern on her face.

Now that I’ve heard all this, I’m sure of what I have to do. Dakota is good for Owen, and she understands him. They have a connection we’ll never have. She knows his past—I don’t. He didn’t even tell me where he got that scar from, or how his dad died. I need to step away and make sure that I don’t interfere with these two people getting back together—the way it’s clearly meant to be.

21

The Bond

Earlymorning,I’mbackin the barn milking the goats. Dakota wrote and asked if I could take her morning shift because she was up late.

Up late because she brought Owen home with her last night? The thought makes me nauseous.

At the same time, Owen and I never said we were exclusive. In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to make sure he knows we’re not. So it’s more than fair if he went home with her.

Except why doesn’t it feel that way? It feels like the worst kind of betrayal, even though logically, it’s not. But I’ll just have to get over it. If they’re together, it’s for the best. I understand that Owen said he didn’t care for Dakotathatway anymore, but I know all too well how those old feelings can reignite. That’s how Seth and I kept ending up back together.

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