Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
When I glanced back toward the building, I saw Jade through the glass in the hallway. Just for a second. She stood near the wall, one hand pressed flat under her collarbone like she was checking her own pulse. She saw me looking and stilled.
I didn’t wave. Didn’t do a damn thing that might make her feel watched. I just stayed where I was with the kid and the baseball and made sure the people in the building had what they needed. In this case, a little peace and quiet.
A minute later, she stepped back into the classroom. I’d check on her after they finished their class. Because, for whatever reason, Jade Harper had burrowed under my skin. She was broken, more than a little lost, and I had a driving need to protect her from all the bad things life threw at her.
I turned my attention back to Billy. Not long after, another kid joined, then another. One bored kid with a mitt turned into five in under ten minutes.
Five kids. One baseball. The other four found more mitts and it was on. Thank God we’d built this courtyard with lots of soft grass, because coordinated these guys were not. Kira and Zelda had shown up after I sent Billy inside for another mitt, and Caleb trailed after them like he’d been waiting for an excuse to be a kid again instead of the man of the house. That kid would be a force to be reckoned with when he grew up. I looked forward to seeing the man he became. Two other boys joined too, but I didn’t know their names yet. They all formed a ragged circle around me.
Caleb helped Billy learn to handle the ball and soon everyone was laughing and hollering. I loved the happy sound, especially knowing how bad a couple of the little ones had it before coming to Haven.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement on the wooden bench by the building’s edge. Jade sat there, a sweater pulled tight around her despite the warm afternoon. She watched us with an expression I couldn’t quite read from this distance, but her body language had loosened since I’d seen her in the classroom. No longer rigid with fear, just… observant.
We continued our game of catch for a while. I stepped back and let them play with each other so I could keep an eye out around the area. It wasn’t strictly necessary; we were in a pretty protected area, but watching over everyone here made me feel like I contributed in a positive way.
Mia approached with two steaming mugs, standing in front of Jade with a hesitant posture. Jade looked up, surprise flashing across her face before she schooled her expression into a friendly smile. I couldn’t hear what Mia said, but I saw her lips form what looked like “peace offering” as she extended one mug.
Jade accepted it with both hands, like she needed the warmth despite the mild day. Her fingers wrapped tight around the ceramic, knuckles white with tension or cold or both.
“Coach! Coach Rip!” Billy’s voice snapped me back to the game. “You’re not watching!”
“I’m watching,” I assured him, though I’d been divided in my attention. I tossed the ball back to him.
I glanced back as Jade nodded, her face serious. I couldn’t hear them, but I could see Jade’s expression was hopeful but tight, like she’d been given a reprieve from whatever Mia discussed with her.
Turning back to the game, I did my best to give them privacy, but I wanted to eavesdrop. Not because I wanted to be nosy or anything. I didn’t want Mia to upset Jade any more than Jade was upset with herself. Yes, Mia had a right to be pissed. I understood that. I also knew systematic abuse made a person do things they would never do in a normal environment.
When I looked back at the pair a minute later, they weren’t looking at each other anymore, but watching the kids play. The silence between them seemed different now. Not comfortable exactly but not tense like before. Something had eased, even if just a fraction.
Jade sipped her coffee, and the smallest smile touched her lips as she watched Kira make an unlikely catch. Beside her, Mia’s expression mirrored that same cautious optimism. The tightness in my chest eased and I realized exactly how deep I was in with Jade, and we’d barely had a conversation. She’d been hurt and abused and betrayed in the worst ways possible. The last thing she needed was someone like me in her personal life. I thought that made me qualify for the very definition of stupid.
Instead of keeping my distance from her, though, I knew I would continue to watch over her while she was here. Maybe, while she rested and healed, she’d let me close enough to get to know her.