Page 10 of Until I Found You
Her eyes look bold and bright, her eyelashes so long and her smile so inviting, it nearly takes every ounce of strength in me not to pull her into my arms. Everything about her reminds me of the girl I once knew, but where we are today reminds me how wrong that assumption is.
As soon as her eyes fall on mine, they widen in shock. She clearly didn’t expect to see me, which brings me to wondering what she’s doing here anyway.
“Halle, is that you?” My mom’s voice calls out from the living room. I blink through the confusion; her eyes bounce between me and the other room before landing back on mine.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, at the same moment she says, “You’re here.”
I want to ask her to say something again, simply plead with her to speak so I can hear her voice. Let her words run through me like a balm to my battered heart, but I don’t. I don’t deserve it, just like I don’t deserve to have her in my life.
I have to keep reminding myself that while I’m living here because I know how easy it would be for me to give in and let her back into my life.
“Of course, I’m here. I grew up here, this is my mom’s house. What are you doing here?” I ask, repeating my question, only this time the words come out harsher. My hands itch to pull her closer to me, to touch her tanned skin to see if it’s as soft as I remember it being beneath my fingers.
The look on her face transforms right before my eyes, likely from hearing the bitterness in my voice.
“I’ve been coming over here once a week for as long as I can remember, but somehow this is the first time in years I’ve seen you here. Have you given your mom the same conversation about not leaving her door unlocked and open for strangers?”
My jaw ticks. There’s a hint of annoyance, but I want to smile at her sassy remark she’s throwing back at me.
“Graham, who are you talking to in there?”
I hear the footrest of her recliner close, knowing she’s likely coming to find out what’s going on. I take a few steps to peer around the corner into the living room, checking on her.
“Ma, it’s fine. You don’t need to get up. Halle is here; she said she came over to see you.”
I flash Halle a look that says our conversation earlier is not over, at least not yet. She returns it with a sarcastic smile before following behind me into the living room. She graces her with one of her warm smiles. My heart aches to be on the receiving end of one of those smiles again.
“How are you doing, Ms. Sandy? I thought I’d stop by and finish pulling those weeds. I got most of them done in the front but thought since it’s cooler out today I’d get a head start on the backyard. I just wanted to check on you before I did, see if you needed anything.”
“Thank you so much, sweetie. It’s so good to see you. I was hoping you’d stop by and tell me how your day with Ellie and the girls went.”
“It went amazing. Ellie found the perfect dress. I can’t wait for you to see her. Callum is going to lose it when he sees her. She looked beautiful.”
Listening to Halle talk to my mom makes me realize how much I’ve missed being gone. She always loved Halle, that much was very apparent even when we were young. Anytime she would come over, she would immediately walk to the kitchen to greet her with a smile and a hug. Hearing them talk now though, it’s different. Their bond has grown, and I know a lot of that has to do with me being gone.
Listening to Halle talk to my mom about wedding dress shopping is too much for me. I decide I need to get out of here fast.
“I’m going to leave you two. Ma, I’ll be outside getting started on the yard. I’ll come back in before I take off to the store.”
Halle doesn’t look back at me as I pass by her. There’s a part of me that wonders if she’s thinking the same thing I am. I always hoped down the road it would be us talking about wedding planning, but things have changed since then.
Taking a step back out onto the back deck, I feel the wooden boards creak beneath my footsteps as I make my way down the stairs and out toward the shed. I busy myself with starting the mower and put in my earbuds, wanting to drown out the memory of Dean and his comments about pushing Halle away again.
Knowing she’s going to be starting in the backyard, I knock out that first so when she comes outside, I can focus on the front without having her near me. It’s simply better if we’re not around each other, I tell myself over and over. This is the way it has to be.
The sun beats down on me as Luke Combs blares loudly in my ears. A little while later, with the sweat trickling down my face and over my arms, I cut the engine on the mower and push it back to the shed. Closing the padlock, I use the bottom of my T-shirt to wipe the moisture from my face.
As soon as I let go of the cotton material, my eyes fall on Halle. Her eyes are on me, too, but instead they are staring heavily at my abs that are now covered by the T-shirt. Her eyes trail a path down my legs and back up my body to my face. Once they do, I expect her to shy away from the fact that she has now been caught checking me out, but no.
Not Halle.
Clearing my throat, I expect her to avoid any conversation, but she doesn’t. Instead she keeps her eyes focused on me, looking me straight in the eye.
“Can I help you?”
“Excuse me?” she retorts.
“Well, from the way you were just looking over here, I thought maybe you had something to say. Something on your mind.”
She barks out a laugh, using the back of her gloved hand to cover her mouth. There’s mud on her cheek and covering her gloves, as a pile of weeds sit next to her on the ground. Her tan legs are covered in dirt and I keep my eyes trained on her face to avoid staring at the way her muscles in her legs flex when she moves.
“Graham, I truthfully don’t have anything more to say to you. I don’t know how long you’re in town for; I don’t expect it will be long before you’re running off again. Just because I can appreciate a good view doesn’t mean I want anything more from you. That ship sailed a long time ago.”
Hearing her admit out loud she’s no longer interested burns, but in a way I’m glad. It will make it easier knowing she doesn’t want anything to do with me. This is what I wanted, right? The goal was to push her away, and it looks like I am successful in doing so.
“That’s good to hear, actually. Although for a different reason.”
For a second, if I’m not mistaken, a look of hurt flashes over her face.
“Hate to break it to you,” I chide. “but I’m not actually going anywhere. I’m home, so it looks like you’ll get a whole lot more of this view than you were expectin’.”
