Page 67 of Forever in the Country

“And that includes shifters of the prehistoric and veggie variety?”

He shrugs. “It’s selfless really.” I just stare and he rolls his eyes. “Fine, enough deflecting, what’s the problem?” He motions in the general direction of where the cookies are I was trying to frost.

Sighing, I confess, “I feel like I don’t understand him. All this time it’s been so easy, but now that we’re kind of together it feels like something’s off. He’s guarded and short with me, but he’s still affectionate in his own way.” I groan because saying it out loud sounds as crazy as it did in my head.

“And…”

“And, we didn’t have any time together to work things out before he left for that training. Then he got home last night but didn’t want to see me.”

“Didn’t or couldn’t?”

“I don’t know. He said he needed the night and he’d see me today, but aside from a good morning text I haven’t heard from him.”

“Do you trust him?”

“Of course I trust him.” Sorren’s request that I trust him with my heart floats through my mind, but I push it away. “But he needs to trust me too—with all the things, even the hard ones.”

“Rhea,”—Hayden reaches across the table and puts his hand over mine—“you’re expecting a man who has never relied on anyone to change overnight. You need to give him time.”

“But—”

“I know it was difficult not seeing him, but imagine how hard it was for him. He’s shouldering whatever is bothering him plus the guilt of disappointing you.”

My stomach sinks at the implication. Hayden is silent for a moment, and it’s obvious he’s choosing his words carefully.

“When Everett made his grand ‘I’m all in love with you’ gesture,”—he stirs his coffee without looking at me—“I had a hard time believing he just woke up one day and was certain we were meant to be together, but…”

“But you guys had been friends a long time.”

“We had, and when I looked at the pictures and the moments that made up our friendship—it was just so obvious.”

“It was pretty obvious from the outside too,” I say cheekily and he sticks his tongue out at me.

“What I mean is Everett had been showing me all along how much he cared for me. Before he even knew what it meant to him, he was makin’ sure I knew I was important. Special.”

I stare at him while the words sink in. He must see what he’s looking for because he raises a single eyebrow in response, then adds, “I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m not always great with talking about my feelings either.”

“No.” I gasp and clutch at my nonexistent pearls.

“Pipe down, cookie maimer.” I snicker and he grins. “I hurt Everett because I couldn’t put into words what I was feeling. It came out wrong when I tried, and I hurt the person who means the most to me in this world.”

“But it worked out.”

“It did. But feelings are hard. Change is hard and while I give Sorren shit for not being chatty, we both know that’s just how he is.”

“So what? Let him off the hook because he’s not a big talker?”

Hayden squeezes my hand again. “Maybe you should try listening to what he’s not saying.”

“I…” I start to refute his statement but pause when his words sink in.

“Your relationship has shifted, Rhea. Sorren, your friend, could bulldoze his way through your life because that was what you allowed, but Sorren, your boyfriend…” He waggles his eyebrows and I throw a wadded-up napkin at him even as the smile tugs at my lips. “Sorren, your boyfriend, recognizes that relationships—healthy ones—have boundaries. He’s not doing everything right, but he’s trying.”

“You guys are really close, huh?”

He shrugs. “You can tell a lot about a man by what he reads and besides,”—he pauses for dramatic effect—“the broody ones are always flawed.” I open my mouth and close it because he’s not wrong.

“Thanks, Hayden.”

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