Page 106 of Love on Deck

“Don’t take my moment.”

“Anyone up for a game?” Mrs. Fletcher asked when her husband had joined us again, sitting close to her on the sofa.

Jack’s brow wrinkled. “Don’t you two need to be up early tomorrow?”

Mr. Fletcher shot a side-eye glance at his wife. “I can swing one round of Uno.”

“He’s been on a winning streak,” Mrs. Fletcher said, rising to fetch the cards. “Hasn’t lost a game all week.”

Jack interlaced his fingers and stretched them high above his head like he was preparing to enter a sport. “That’s about to end.”

If I thought the house and Jack’s parents provided the warm, gooey feeling of home, I hadn’t expected the rush I’d feel playing cards at their kitchen table. One round swiftly turned into five, and it was almost midnight by the time Jack gathered all the cards.

“One more won’t kill me,” Roy said—his insistence after I called him Mr. Fletcher while forcing him to draw four. Evidently not going easy on him had endeared me to him somehow. They were now Roy and Jan, and I was overwhelmed by how comfortable I already felt with them both. It made me anxious in a weird way. I didn’t like having something to lose.

Jan pressed her hand over her husband’s. “You won’t be singing that same tune when our alarm goes off at four.”

I winced.

“Farm chores,” she explained.

“I can take care of it,” Jack offered. “It’s been a while, but I helped Dad last week. I’m pretty sure I remember most things.”

Roy appraised his son. “I’ll accept that as my due for continuing to hold the title of undefeated Uno champion.”

Jan rolled her eyes good-naturedly, leaning closer to me while the men cleaned up the cards. “We’ll never hear the end of this.”

“I’ll hide a few cards in my sleeve tomorrow,” I promised. “We’ll take him down.”

We said goodnight and went outside to fetch our bags from my trunk. The night was overcast, the stars clouded over, the air crisp and biting. When Jack tugged on my arm and pulled me in, I didn’t resist.

“I think I’m in love with your family.”

“I’ll take it.” His arms tightened around me like a compression sock made from a weighted blanket.

I couldn’t think of anything more perfect than being held by him. I could feasibly be here and do this for the rest of my life. It was so idyllic you could pluck this night from a Norman Rockwell painting. Did that mean it wasn’t sustainable, though? I couldn’t imagine Jack would want to stay away from a family like this for long. The sudden image of him packing his apartment and moving away from me dropped in my mind, turning my stomach.

Most people left me, but Jack had promised he wouldn’t. That was much easier to believe when I wasn’t being charmed by his family and his hometown.

His husky voice drifted into my imaginings, putting a pause on the visions of him leaving me behind. “So, about that L-word earlier—”

“We don’t have to do this,” I said, burying my head against his firm chest.

His body froze. “Okay.” After a minute of stilted silence, he pulled back. “We should get some sleep.”

I’d said the wrong thing. My stupid insecurities had gotten in the way. Whatever I’d cut him off from saying had clearly messed up the mood, because Jack took both of our bags from the trunk and walked ahead. He didn’t seem angry, but we were definitely off. When he squeezed my hand in the hall between our bedrooms, I frowned. I hadn’t even gotten a goodnight kiss.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

JACK

Lauren was officially introduced to the town by way of brunch at Gigi’s Diner. She looked a little dazed when we left, probably from the dozen people who stopped at our booth over the course of our meal to finagle a nosy introduction. Levi was there getting a coffee, so she knew one familiar face, but the majority of the others were old friends, teachers, or neighbors I hadn’t seen in a while.

It was overwhelming, even for me.

“You are very loved,” Lauren said when I took her hand and tugged her down Main Street. We passed the bakery, dentist, and hair salon before turning up the alley leading to my favorite abandoned house. Her open smile and easy comfort in Arcadia Creek was just another reason she was perfect for me. Last night when I’d mentioned one of the reasons I loved Lauren, I’d slipped the L-word in there entirely by accident. But on reflection over the course of the evening, it occurred to me that maybe I’d said it because my subconscious had recognized something my conscious brain wasn’t ready to admit.

It was too soon in our relationship to throw around such strong feelings; the last thing I wanted to do was scare her away. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling, somewhere deep inside, that tiny little green sprout coming out of the earth of our relationship. It was springtime in my heart, and that sprout was the very beginnings of love.

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