Page 45 of Fa-La-La-La Faking It
They shared a quiet laugh, followed by a long, silent moment when the only discernible sound was the tap-tap-tap of sleet falling against the barn roof.
“Why did you leave? I always wondered.” Adaline turned toward him, eyes full of questions.
On any other day, Jace would’ve changed the subject. But he couldn’t do that anymore—not here in this stall, and not with her.
“I was never supposed to stay. I came to live with Uncle Gus for just that one school year while my dad had cancer treatment. The plan was always to go back home.” Jace cleared his throat, because that word—home—had lodged itself there and refused to budge.
“Oh, Jace. I had no idea.” Her eyes softened, and the look on her face was just the sort of expression that would’ve broken him in fifth grade. Now it did the opposite—it soothed the rough edges of memory.
Jace should’ve talked about this more often. Maybe if he had, he wouldn’t have ended up in Bluebonnet all alone after all these years.
You’re not alone.
But wasn’t he? It was hard to tell anymore. All the lines were beginning to blur.
“Did your dad recover?” Adaline asked.
“Yes.” Jace nodded, and then felt his face fall. “He did, but he passed away last year. He and my mom both. Car accident.”
Adaline flinched, then squeezed his hand so hard that he thought it might break.
“So, Gus...” Her voice faded away as the stark reality of his current situation sank in.
Jace nodded and met her gaze as his lips curved into a sad smile. “Yep. He’s the only family I have left.”
For now.
He didn’t have to say it. They both knew why he was at the senior center. Patients like Gus weren’t there for rehab or to recover from a short-term illness. His uncle was very clearly there for end-of-life care.
“I’m sure Gus is glad you’re back, even if he has a hard time showing it.” Adaline dropped her head onto his shoulder. Soft blond waves tickled his nose, and he smiled to himself when he realized her hair didn’t smell like sugar cookies anymore. Now the icy scent of Christmas trees clung to her, just like she’d once told him.
“I think I’m wearing him down. He’s getting more tolerable,” Jace said, and Adaline shook with gentle laughter against his chest.
“So he wasn’t as much of a grinch back when you were a kid?”
“He put up a Christmas tree that year, but it didn’t have any decorations.” Jace’s gaze roamed over the evergreens that surrounded them in the barn. As much as he loved lights and tinsel, there was something majestic about the simplicity of an unadorned tree.
Or maybe it just reminded him of a Bluebonnet Christmas, once upon a time.
Adaline lifted her head from his shoulder and swiveled to face him, eyes sparkling in the dim light of the barn. Tiny ice crystals glittered in her hair, diamond-bright. “Jace, we have to get to the bottom of this. There’s got to be a reason Gus doesn’t like Christmas. Maybe if we can figure out what it is, we can fix it.”
“Fix it?” Jace regarded her through narrowed eyes.
Leave it to Adaline Bishop to think she could change a cranky old geezer like Gus. Who knew? Maybe she actually could. Jace sure hadn’t expected to find Fuzzy in his uncle’s lap when he arrived at the senior center earlier this morning, but hoping for more felt like setting himself up for disappointment.
“I’m getting carried away again, aren’t I?” Her brow lifted in amusement, and her eyes flickered like a bonfire—all comfort and warmth on a cold winter night. “Earlier, you said you loved it when that happened.”
“I did indeed, and I meant it,” Jace said, stifling a laugh.
“Then what’s so funny?” Her lips turned down in the corners, and the temptation to kiss a smile back on her face was overwhelming.
“You seem to have forgotten another one of your ground rules.” He held up two fingers and recited her own words back to her. “‘Rule number two—as little involvement in each other’s family lives as possible.’ Does that ring a bell?”
She opened her mouth to object, and then promptly closed it again. Embarrassment rolled off her in waves.
Jace almost felt sorry for her...but not quite. The flush that swept across her cheeks was awfully cute, and he’d tried to warn her that she couldn’t stick to her own guidelines. She hadn’t wanted to listen.
“That’s two rules broken now, isn’t it?” Jace arched a single, knowing eyebrow.Guilty as charged, sweetheart.“Only two more to go.”
