Page 67 of Severed Heart

“It is when you exaggerate your height by an inch orthree,” he says with a wink before turning the ignition and pausing. “So, is this enthusiasm to fish,” he asks in afterthought, “was it just bullshit to get me out of my head, or—”

“Imbecile,” I utter playfully. “You won’t be asking this when Icatch and cookyour dinner.”

Tyler stops by his house, gathering several supplies and a cooler, which I help load into my car. Though his home is far more inviting in appearance, I know its look is deceiving by the weight he sometimes carries. As he buckles his belt, he turns to me.

“My mom is already at the orchard planting vegetables with my aunt Rhonda and a few others, so we’re going to lay low to try to avoid them.” He bulges his eyes. “I’m already putting a strategy together.”

I frown at his words. “But having much family is good, non?”

His chest pumps ironically. “Depends on which family you’re talking about.”

“This I understand,” I tell him.

“I know you do. I’m just not in the mood to deal with them today,” he explains. I nod again before glancing toward the packed back seat, taking in the plethora of supplies he gathered.

“You are too kind to me, Tyler,” I admit in a soft whisper. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m happy just to fish.”

“I could say the same. You’ve done a lot for me the past six months, and it’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

“As you have done for me, soldier,” I relay honestly. “It’s been a relief to mentor you. It helps to keep me out of here.” I point to my temple. “Which can be a very dangerous place.”

“Seems like we’re pretty good for each other,” he whispers affectionately before leaning over and nudging my shoulder with his. “You’ve kinda become my new best friend, you know?”

My heart stutters at this admission. “This you believe?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” he draws out before frowning. “Am I not yours?”

“I don’t have any friends,” I joke.

“Thanks a lot,” he retorts sarcastically as he grips the seat rest behind my head and glances back to exit the driveway. As he does, I take in the changes in him—so much more confidence from the shadow-ridden boy who approached me for help last fall. My chest squeezes at his admission that I might have had something to do with this.

“What, General?” His lips lift slightly as he senses my speculative stare. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m excited to fish.” A half-truth. The other half is that I believe this admission about our friendship. In the months I’ve mentored him, I have spent fewer days lost in my mind—in the haze—while trying to sort my past in the bath and consuming slightly less drink.

As we pull off, I can’t help my excitement in believing again—trying isworking.

Several minutes into the drive to the other side of town and after stopping for fresh worms, Tyler turns onto a winding road. The sudden shift in the atmosphere is jarring as I take in our new surroundings. Outside our windows, endless evergreens give way to rapidly blooming terrain. Just ahead, water trickles over two-toned, jagged cliff rock, and a cloudless, neon blue sky hovers above.

“It’s a beautiful day,” I utter, my voice coated by my captivation.

“Very,” Tyler agrees easily next to me. “This was a great idea.”

One last turn has us emerging through a vast opening that gives way to a blindingly beautiful stretch of massive, sprawling green hills. To either side of us sits endless rows of crooked-branched trees, their blossoms solid white. The rest of the grounds are blanketed in a colorful array of various blooming bushes and mixed grasses. The sun lights much of the bright lime-green hillsides, those still shaded in contrast next to them, making the view even more spectacular.

“Mon Dieu!”My God. “Tyler!Is thisthe land, your family’s land?”

His widening smile pops his dimple. “Yeah, and I actually know a guy who’s about to inherit some of it, but he’s kind of an asshole.”

I frown. “Why is he asshole?”

Smile dimming, he takes his arresting, warm brown eyes from the road and gently rolls them over my face. “Because he didn’t realize his new best friend loves to fish.”

“Tyler! You willownsome of this land?” I exclaim, stunned by both our surroundings and his admission.

“Yeah, fifty acres will be signed over to me when I turn eighteen at the end of the summer.”

Utterly enthralled, I get lost in the misty sunrays beaming down upon his family’s orchard as if in blessing. “It is a dream here!”