Things I’ve learned about Brynn since I woke up yesterday:

1. She’s a pretty crier. She doesn’t scrunch her face like most girls do.

2. She’s amazing at the rhyming game.

3. Her lips taste even better than I thought they would.

I don’t know what she’s going to be like today, but I’m excited. Yesterday, after our intense thirty-minute make-out session on the bench, we still had to work together all afternoon. We didn’t kiss again, but things were a one-eighty compared to earlier in the week. She smiled at me and playfully bumped into me, and I touched her waist when I needed to step around her.

I’m in such a good mood, I even wave at Walt as I pass his place. He scowls, but that’s to be expected. I’m early to get Brynn, and when I left my house, I texted her and told her I was coming early. She told me she was finishing up some exercise. Maybe it’s that barre thing she mentioned before? I’m not sure how someone does that in their home.

I park in her driveway and walk up. She pulls open the door for me before I can knock on it.

“Hey,” she says, her lips curving into a small smile as she bites her bottom lip.

From the living room comes a woman’s voice. “What’s that?” I ask, confused.

“That would be the exercise I mentioned. It’s a yoga channel I found on YouTube. I just love this woman.” Brynn leads the way to where her laptop sits open. She presses a button and the voice stops. I peer around her at the screen.

My eyes pop and my mouth hangs open. “That looks like it hurts.” The woman on the screen is bent at an angle and has her arms intertwined beneath her. “Is she pregnant?” Her stomach is round and big, and she looks pregnant, but it’s a gamble to ask the question.

“Yep. She looks amazing.” Brynn picks up the computer and closes it. “Sometimes her husband will do a video with her. He’s funny. I think he used to play professional soccer. She mentioned it once, in an older video.”

“Her hair is very red.”

She grabs a piece of her hair and tugs. “I thought about dying my hair like hers once.” When she says it she gets that faraway look I’ve come to recognize.

“I like your blonde hair.” I reach for her, but she steps away.

“I need to take a quick shower. I’ll be right out.” She hurries down the little hallway and into a room, quickly shutting the door behind her.

My frustrated sigh fills the room as I let some of my excitement go. I should’ve prepared for this. Why would Brynn fall into me so easily? Did I really expect her to completely change her behavior, just because we kissed? I sit down on the couch to wait for her. A paperback book lies on the side table, probably the same one she dropped when I scared her last weekend. I grab it and look it over.

The cover shows a girl carrying a shopping bag in a city scene. She wears big sunglasses and has red lips. It doesn’t look like Brynn’s style. Maybe it’s Ginger’s, though I can’t imagine her reading this either. I open it and see a note written on the inside flap.

Ginger must have picked this one up at a rummage sale. I chuckle and flip to chapter one.

“What are you doing with that?” Brynn’s voice is hard.

I look up. She’s standing at the opening to the hallway, wearing a white tank top and bright yellow shorts. If I’d only heard her voice, I would’ve thought she was angry, but seeing her face, I know what she really feels is panic.

“Nothing.” I toss the book on the table with too much force, and it skids off like a rock skipping across water.

Why does Brynn look like that? Is this her book? Why is it addressed to Elizabeth?

She grabs the book from the floor, fingers curling around the spine. She grips it so hard her nail beds become white.

“Ginger is a funny lady. Yard sales are her favorite.” I stand and point to the book. “She probably picked that up from someone who had a daughter home from college.”

“Right,” Brynn says, her voice shaking.

“Are you ready?” I ask, trying hard to sound normal.

“Umm hmm.” Brynn walks into the kitchen and grabs her purse. When she comes back, the book is gone.

“Plain white shirt?” I ask, trying to thin out the thick air.

“I wasn’t sure what to wear to meet your parents. Most of my shirts have something snarky or a cuss word.”

“An accurate reflection of your personality,” I say, teasing her. Brynn offers a stiff, perfunctory smile.

“Hey.” I reach for her. She lets me pull her closer, but even against my chest, she’s rigid. “What’s wrong? Is this about yesterday?”

She shakes her head. “No. Maybe.” A strangled sound comes from her. “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have done that yesterday. We can’t do that again. It’s going to mess things up.”

“What is there to mess up?”

Brynn steps back from me. Her face is sad. “Can we stop talking about this, please? I can’t handle it right now.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I turn, leading the way to the front door and opening it. Brynn locks the door, and I climb into my truck. Cassidy is out front, putting Brooklyn in the car. We exchange a wave, and I see her say hello to Brynn.

Brynn’s response is lukewarm. A halfhearted wave, a poor excuse for a smile. Cassidy is the nicest, most trusting person I’ve ever met, and I bet she wants nothing more than to be friends with Brynn.

Join the club, Cassidy.

We work the rest of the day in awkward quiet. If unspoken thoughts were pieces of furniture, they’d be lying haphazardly between us, and I’d trip over every single one. What’s more annoying is that things were fine this morning, until she saw me with that book. Whatever sent Brynn into a tailspin has to do with that.

Or maybe it’s this mystery person.

Elizabeth.

I’m not sure how she’s going to act this evening.

She’s been tense all day. She dropped a wrench two inches from my toe. She helped me install a garbage disposal, if helping really means sticking your head under a sink and barely moving.

We’ve finished up at the last house, and we’re headed to my parents’ place. Her nails click a rhythm as she drums her fingers on the armrest of the door.

“Doing okay over there?” I throw out the question because oh my god it’s weird in here. It’s killing me.

The worst part is that now I know a different side of her and I can’t stop thinking about that. She makes little pleased sounds in the back of her throat when I kiss the soft skin just behind her earlobe, and I’d give anything to hear that again. She tastes like rays of sunshine and cherries and peppermint, and basically everything I’ve ever tasted and liked.

She’s so beautiful, and she wears her hurt right out in front of her. I want to assemble the hurt into a ball and throw it off a cliff, but I can’t do any of that because she won’t let me into her space. Not literally, and definitely not figuratively.

“I’m fine,” she says, curt.

Truth be told, I’m starting to get pissed. Why can’t she just say what’s on her mind? It’s a good thing my parents’ house is around the corner, because I’m two seconds from pulling a Brynn and letting her know just how pissed off I am.

We pull into the driveway, and Brynn does the weirdest thing. She leans forward, peers out the windshield, and smiles at the house.

“This is adorable. I love the river rocks and wood beams. It’s like a cabin, but…not. I don’t know.”

She gets out and meets me at the front of my truck, next to the garage.

“That would be my dad’s work.” I reach out and smack the smooth surface of a stone. “He created this facade. It took forever, arranging it all so it fit together nicely.”

“Did you help?”

I eye her. It’s the nicest tone she’s had with me since I picked up that book. In my head, I’ve been referring to it as Pandora’s box. “Yes. That was years ago, when I was in high school. I was less than thrilled to be helping him.”

My mom had guilt-tripped me into staying home from camping with Anthony’s family and helping my dad. If I’d known only eight years later my dad would be sick, I wouldn’t have made her talk me into it. If only I could go back in time and say yes every time he asked me to do something with him.

“You want to go in?” Brynn has walked a few feet away, closer to the front door. She waits for me to catch up. I stride past her and lead her inside.

“Mom? Dad? Brynn and I are here.”

“Connor, we’re out back,” my mom shouts, her voice sailing through the house.

“Come on,” I say, grabbing Brynn by the hand as I go. If she’s having a reaction to me touching her, I can’t tell.

The sliding glass door is wide open. We walk through and out onto the screened-in porch. Mom sits with a magazine in her lap, and Dad is in the chair beside her.

“Well, Brynn. We finally get to meet you.” Mom sets down her magazine and stands. She’s smiling at Brynn and holds open her arms. I’m not sure what Brynn’s going to do. I think she’s made it perfectly clear she’s not one for invasion of personal space or strangers touching her, but of course Brynn doesn’t do what I think she’ll do. She steps into my mom’s open arms and gives her a squeeze. My mom rubs her back a couple times. Dad’s eyes meet mine and I shrug.

Brynn lets my mom go and when she pulls back, she lets out an embarrassed chuckle.

Mom grins. “You needed a hug, didn’t you?”

Brynn nods.

I can’t help the irritated stream of air that escapes my lips. I’ve been around her all day and very available for a hug. What the fuck?

Mom puts her hands just below Brynn’s shoulders. “It’s nice to meet you, Brynn. Connor has stayed very tight-lipped about our new employee.” She gives me a pointed look. “I’m going to grab the peach iced tea I made this afternoon.”

She leaves, and I introduce Brynn to my dad. He tries to smile at her, but it’s more of a bare-teeth growl as he attempts to make his facial muscles work.

Brynn doesn’t miss a beat. She smiles happily at him, bending at the waist and taking his hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, Mr. Vale. Your handiwork on the front of your house is stunning. It took my breath away when Connor pulled in. Thank you for hiring me. I needed this job very, very much.”

Tears prick my eyes and I have to look away. Fucking stupid. Why would watching Brynn show such kindness to my dad make me emotional? I’m probably just shocked she’s capable of kindness. Yep. That’s what it is.

He responds slowly, telling her thank you. “Connor needed help. I’m glad he found you.” It’s my dad’s voice, but the words don’t sound like his words. They are thick, like his tongue is too big for his mouth.

Brynn winks at him. “I’ll try to keep him in line. It’s hard though. He nearly broke my toe today when he dropped a wrench next to it.”

My mouth falls open.

Brynn laughs. “Okay, maaaybe it was me who dropped the wrench next to Connor’s toe.” She makes a funny face and my dad laughs. The asinine tears return, pricking the backs of my eyes. Dad hasn’t laughed in a while. Why don’t we make him laugh more? Mom is preoccupied with his care, and I’m running the family business, but that’s no excuse.

Mom returns then, carrying a glass pitcher and four blue plastic cups nestled inside one another.

“What’s so funny out here?”

“Brynn,” Dad says.

“She’s funny and a good hugger. Sounds like a keeper.” She gives me one of her looks over the pouring of the first glass of tea. I roll my eyes and reach forward, taking the glass and handing it to Brynn.

“Tell me more about the business,” Brynn says, sipping her tea.

The sun dips lower and sneaks across the porch, bursting through Brynn’s golden hair and making it shine. Her throat bobs as she swallows and I have an urge to press my nose to her neck, taking in her sweet scent. I’ve never responded to a kiss the way I did to Brynn’s yesterday. This girl has something I didn’t even know I was missing because I’ve never had it before.

Mom launches into the story of Vale Handyman Services. “There I was, pregnant with Connor, when David came home and said he’d been let go. He told me not to worry, that he had a plan. And he did. It started out with just a few houses, and then I made flyers and attached them to every public surface I could find. Business was booming after that, and it hasn’t stopped since.”

“That’s great.” Brynn nods and smiles. “American spirit and ingenuity.”

Mom leans forward, and places bent elbows on the table. “What about you? How did you end up in Brighton?”

I lean forward too. Am I finally going to learn something about Brynn?

“Just looking to get out of Phoenix. Summers are hot, and I wanted some cooler temps.” She shrugs one shoulder. “That’s about it.”

Liar.

My mom knows Brynn isn’t telling the truth. I can tell by the way her mouth twitches, but she leaves it alone. She’s the one who suggested Brynn is afraid of something, and she probably knows not to push the subject with her.

“Like most people,” Mom says, going along with her story. “I swear this town shrinks by half in the wintertime.” She gets up from the table and looks at Brynn. “I hope you’re staying for dinner. I didn’t confirm with Connor, but I made enough for four.”

Brynn gazes at me. I can’t tell from her look if she wants to stay or run.

“Sure,” she says, switching her eyes back to my mom. “Can I help you?”

Mom says yes, and Brynn gets up.

“Hey Brynn,” I say, before she disappears into the house. “Why don’t you tell my mom all about your sour beef and dumplings.”

She looks back at me, shooting daggers with her eyes. I laugh, knowing I’ve just forced her to tell my mom about her friendship with Walt.

“Quit pestering that girl,” my dad says, when my mom and Brynn are gone. “She likes you, you know.”

I snort. “It doesn’t feel like it.” I take a drink and set down my cup.

“She does. She looks at you when you’re not looking at her.”

Huh.

“I’ve never noticed,” I murmur, swiping my thumb across the drops of iced tea sliding down the outside of the cup.

“That’s because you aren’t looking.” Dad grunts a laugh. His face muscles strain, trying to assemble into the right formation to show laughter, but they only manage a partial expression.

I bite my lip and try not to show any sadness.

Mom comes out a few minutes later, Brynn behind her. They set food and plates down on the table.

Brynn is happy and calm, breezy and chatty. She asks my mom questions and makes my dad laugh three more times.

I have no idea who this girl is, but I know I like her.

The question is, who will she be once we leave?