Page 49 of Needing Your Love
“So you’ve shared your fears. Your dislike for his actions? Maybe telling him the truth would give you both what you want.”
Lips in a thin line, I sighed heavily. Dex had a point, but I had to consider whatafterJimmy was gone looked like too. Loneliness tenfold, my heart without a doubt shattered. “Hedoesn’t plan to stick around. Why lower my walls and open myself up to that kind of hurt?”
“Because life is short and you never know which breath will be your last.”
“Morbid,” I muttered, my forehead furrowing again.
“It’s the truth,” Dex assured me, having seen devastation alongside me as a first responder for our town and the area surrounding us.
The war between desire and better sense continued to rage, worsened by calling the guys in to grab plates.
No one touched Jimmy’s past with a ten-foot-pole while conversing, but I learned all about the work he’d been up to since returning home, the truck he’d gifted Chaz, and the contractor he’d hired to fix the things he wasn’t sure how to do.
“So are you heading back to Boston once you sell?” Of course, Dex had to ask the question that lay heaviest on my mind while we sat around my fire pit in the backyard, after-dinner beers in hand.
I held my breath, ears ringing to hear Jimmy’s voice assure me he wasn’t going anywhere.
He cast a quick glance at me, the silence heavy with longing.
I kept my feelings locked up tight—same as he did.
Jimmy tore his gaze away first, taking great interest in the dying flames while lifting his shoulder in a shrug.
Did he wonder if I wanted him to stay, or was that wishful thinking on my part?
Either way, I needed to dig out the truth, because Dex had been right. Time could be shorter than hoped for or expected.
I would have answers before Jimmy left tonight so I could move forward—heart broken or not.
Chapter 20
Jimmy
Exhaustion from the long week had me sagging in the seat by Sutton’s fire pit, but the butterflies that had been with me long before arriving still fluttered in my chest, making me feel half-high with elation.
The guys had been really nice to me, no judgment in their eyes or dirty looks over my obvious interest in Sutton. Out of them all, I’d expected Jamie to corner me and ask me my intentions toward his dad, and even though he’d had the opportunity a couple of times, including at Chaz’s shop, he’d didn’t speak a word.
Maybe he assumed I was just a flirt andhadno intentions.
But I couldn’t keep my gaze off the chief. His broad shoulders that could carry the weight of the world. His strong jawline covered in a soft-looking beard that stated he could take whatever shit someone threw at him. The sure, steady way he moved, the confidence that oozed from him. Everything about the man was sexy as fuck, including the interior package that attracted every cell in my body like a magnet.
Kindness. Compassion. His nurturing soul I craved to have intertwined around my broken one. I longed to be pressedagainst him, to soak in his nature until I was healed. We would meld together and never be separated.
Deep yearning flooded through me, and I slouched farther into my seat, focused on glowing red embers that weren’t doing much to ward off the chill of the September evening. I huddled in my sweatshirt, wishing I’d worn a fleece jacket or something heavier.
“Not really sure what I want to do after Dad’s house sells,” I finally answered Dex. “There’s nothing for me in Boston.” I glanced at Sutton again, desperate for a hint of what he thought about my future plans.
Legs stretched out and crossed, he scanned the darkened horizon, always on the lookout for danger that might threaten his town.
Warmth filled my chest over his protective instincts, making my eyes sting.
Fuck, did I want him.
An owl hooted, a soothing sound I hadn’t heard in years, causing a small smile to rise through the welling wetness coating my vision.
“What’s up with DJ?” Jamie asked, poking a stick into the dying fire and causing embers to rise with the smoke. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with that kid.”
“He needs a friend,” I answered quietly, watching as the sparks faded into the night sky.
