Page 86 of Show Me How
“My parents weren’t much for family time. That’s what traditions are about, aren’t they? Spending time with those you love?”
“In a way, yeah, I guess they are.”
“You should enjoy having people who want to start something like that with you, even if it is just carving pumpkins in the fall,” I encourage softly, this dull ache appearing behind my ribs.
“Alright, so join us, then.”
My heel catches slightly in the dying grass, and I stumble forward just enough for Shade to reach for me, a steadying hand around my elbow. “I think Daisy just invited me to be nice.”
“And now that you’re here, I’m telling you to join our tradition.”
It’s impossible to hide my smile as it takes over my face. Even as my cheeks pulse with a blush, I look up at him and nod just once. He winks, releasing my elbow to palm my back. His hold is firm, as if he’s nervous I’ll trip again.
“Alright. I’ll join. But if Bryce kicks me out of the group, I’m going to kickyouright back.”
“You got it, princess. She won’t do that, though. I think she likes you more than she’s let on.”
“Because she hasn’t made me run for the hills yet?”
He chuckles under his breath. “No. Because she didn’t veto Daisy’s invite for you to come today.”
I let that settle, thinking it through as a giggling little girl comes tearing past us. She bumps into my arm as she avoids being caught by the boy chasing after her. He’s a bit more aware of his surroundings and leaves a gap between us and him.
“Jenny! Get back here, please,” a woman calls weakly from behind us.
I twist, catching who I assume to be the girl’s mother rolling her shoulders forward and shaking her head. Yet despitethe obvious exhaustion she’s showing with her daughter’s antics, she has this twinkle in her eye still. Adoration, maybe. Gratefulness.
My heart twists violently.
Sipping on the cider, I try to school my expression and turn in the opposite direction. My heels nearly dig into the ground with every step I take away from the scene. There’s more open space on this side of the field anyway. More room to breathe.
Shade’s spiced cologne gets picked up on the chilled breeze as he follows me, his steps heavy but even. I avoid looking to see how close he is behind me and how much time I have before?—
“You want to talk about whatever it is that upset you just now?” he asks, his voice kind enough to encourage me to open up.
I sigh, flicking a gaze over my shoulder, finding him only a couple of inches away. “That depends on how much of my childhood trauma you want dumped on you today.”
“Well, am I allowed to talk shit about your parents afterward?”
“I’ve never been asked that before,” I admit, almost smiling at the bluntness of the question.
“I’m not going to overstep, but I know already I’ll have a few choice words to say after you tell me what’s going through that pretty head right now.”
“There isn’t really much I’m thinking about, Shade. It’s more just a mess of feelings.”
“Which ones?”
We turn down a path between two patches of fat, misshapen pumpkins. Their bottoms are flat, and their stems are long and thick, curled slightly at the tip. I almost like them better than the perfect ones that are displayed at the entrance to the patch.
“Resentment, jealousy, anger. The trifecta,” I say.
He snorts a deep laugh. “What about that girl back there brought those feelings out?”
“Do you ever miss anything?”
“Not when it comes to you,” he says bluntly, dropping that like it means nothing. I’m starting to realize that’s the Shade specialty. “So, tell me.”
There are a couple of worn benches at the end of this patch, along with a photo booth and a few bare apple trees with an excess of rotten apples littering the ground. It’s a shame they weren’t picked while they were fresh. Now, I guarantee a few are home to worms and food for the animals that must stalk these fields at night.
