Page 24 of The County Line
She smiles and nods. “Take a seat. I’m not sure how long I’ll be filling in for,” she flips open the folder that’s laying on the table, her eyes scanning the pages, “Isabel Smith was your parole officer?”
“Yeah.”
She closes it. “Well, I hope that you’re not too disappointed with this change.”
“Not in the slightest.” Because I’m not. Given the choice between looking at Isabel, with her blonde hair and flirty personality or Molly, my friend who’s grown into a beautiful young woman, and trust me, I’ve taken a notice to that fact, well, I’ll always choose Molly. Plus, I have a feeling Molly won’t sell me out to the courts if I’m not flirting back with her.
Though I might like to.
She blushes faintly, straightens the folder in front of her, and I take the moment to study her features. The delicate curve of her slim nose, slightly upturned at the tip. Her sun-kissed skin. And those eyes—a striking cerulean, blue that could rival the Gulf of Mexico. Then there’s her lips, soft, with a cupid’s bow so perfect they form a natural heart.
She’s something else, different, and I’m admiring her openly and obviously, maybe too obviously. I probably shouldn’t be, but there’s something about her that’s changed.
A stir of emotion flickers in my chest as I look at her, and for a brief second, I wonder if this might be one of those twelve feelings Liv told me to practice recognizing this week. I wonder which one it is.
“So,” she says, her voice pulling me back to the moment, “I have a template they recommend I use as an outline for our meetings. I can run through it, or we can wing it while I try to work in these court-appointed questions.”
“I’d rather you wing it.”
She smiles and nods. “Okay, cool. So, tell me how things have been going? How’s the home you’re building?”
“Good. I was working on the foundation today. Been living out of the RV I showed you in the meantime at the farmstead.”
She nods and jots down a few notes before continuing, “That’s good. And how about work? Are you back at the distillery?”
“I’ve done two days there with Cash, trying to transition back into things slowly. A lot’s changed since we launched the craft brews, and I don’t want anything to get missed with my return. The grand opening of the family brewery and restaurant is in a couple of weeks, so I plan on traveling to Charlotte for that.”
She nods and smiles. “I see here that Isabel made a note of that travel and though it’s over ten miles away, the courts have approved it due to being classified as for work, however you must stick to being gone from the county limit for three hours tops unless you choose to stay overnight with a court-approved contact.”
“I’ll be staying overnight, and Lawson is that contact.”
She nods and makes a note. “I’ll make sure they have a record of that. Will this be the first time you’ve seen the brewery then?”
“Yeah. I’ve only seen pictures of it.”
She smiles warmly and I realize this is the most relaxed conversation I’ve had in a long time. “I bet you’re excited to see it in person.”
I blow out a breath because I am, but excitement isn’t something that I’ve allowed myself to feel in a long time. Excitement means joy and looking forward to the future. I’m not convinced I can feel that yet. Maybe I don’t feel worthy of it.
“It’ll be good to see the place in person. Check out if Cash got my vision correct. Will you be coming to the grand opening?”
“Regan mentioned it but I’m not sure yet. I might have to work that weekend,” she says.
“I know the family would love to have you there. Lawson’s done all the promotion and has it set up like a black tie event. Not really my style, but he thinks it’ll bring in some of the fancier folks from Charlotte.”
She nods. “Sounds like a good time to celebrate your family’s hard work. So, how’s your community service going? I see you’ve been volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club?”
“It’s alright so far. My kid’s Malachi, kind of a loner but we play games together and that gets him to open a bit.”
“Do you feel like that’s helping you at all? Working with him at the center?”
Helping me?How would community service with kids possibly be helping me?
“I’m not sure how to answer that.”
She places her hands on top of the stack of paper with a shy smile. “Sometimes they say play therapy can help kids become more receptive to talking about their tough feelings with adults. It’s something I learned during my case management certification course. I’m curious to know if playing with Malachi has helped you open up about your feelings.”
“I don’t think I’m that easy to fix.”
