“Lucky,” he all but choked.
“You’d think, right?” I tapped my finger on my chin. “Only . . . we’ve never exactly been the lucky types. So I got to wondering . . .”
“Uh-oh.”
My lip quirked, but despite his joke, he still looked mildly ill and as though everywhere except his mouth might have suddenly turned to stone.
“I remembered you mentioned owning a plot of land. And I got to wondering what I’d find if I looked up the deed to the one Easton now owns. When might it have been transferred to that fireman so he could ‘lose’ it in that poker game? And by whom?”
He watched me silently, finally moving as he shoved his hands in his pockets but not before I noticed they were trembling. “Don’t do that,” he said.
“No? Why?”
“Because . . . I won’t take it back. I’m moving to a smaller house near the lake, right down the street from Archer, Bree, and the kids. The owner said she might be interested in selling at some point. Which will be great if I still have a job and can save up some money. It’s in Pelion. Close enough to the gym. But I’ve found I enjoy running on the shore more anyway.” He let out a whoosh of air as though saying so many words had winded him.
“What in the world will I do with that land?” My God, he looked like a statue, as though if he moved at all, he would shatter.
He squinted past me. “Seems like the perfect place to help others plant ten thousand gardens,” he said after a moment, meeting my eyes again. Oh.
It’s what my brother had suggested too. But how could I accept it? How? “That land was yours,” I said. “Why would you do that, Travis?”
He shrugged. “I can’t do anything with it anyway. See, I came across this amendment that clearly states the Pelion chief of police has to live within Pelion town limits, which I am. The chief of police, that is. For now. Anyway, Archer agreed with the bylaw. He filed it this morning. There’s no turning back now. I would have had to sell that land anyway.”
“But you would have gotten the money!”
“I don’t care about the money, Haven,” he said softly. “And I don’t think you do either. But if you’d prefer to sell it and settle somewhere else, that’s your decision to make. I hope you do though. Settle.”
I sighed. This man. He’d gifted us his land. His roots. The ones that went back hundreds of years. I was still reeling. About that. About so many things. “You sent Gage to me. Why?”
He paused. “I want you to be happy,” he said. “I want you to have the perfect life, everything you want.” He looked down. “Even if that’s not me.” The wince was slight. He almost hid it.
“Gage is pretty perfect. I concede.”
He looked to the side. “You deserve perfect.”
I moved closer. “He has the perfect family.”
Travis nodded. “He’s looking to settle down. If things . . . progressed, he’d be able to provide you security for life . . . a family . . .” God no one had ever looked more miserable than Travis Hale in that moment.
“I’m going to kill you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Why would things progress with Gage when I’m in love with you?”
Blatant hope bloomed across his handsome face. “You’re in love with me?”
“I am.” I put my hands on my hips, attempting to look stern. “I have some decisions to make though,” I said. “Considering the circumstances.”
“Oh.” He looked down, defeated.
I eyed him. It wasn’t exactly right to draw out his pain. After all, I had hurt him too. But it wasn’t exactly wrong either. He’d hurt me in a room full of strangers. “I’m either going to walk out that door because honestly, Travis Hale, I’m not sure you have much in the way of material possessions to offer me. It seems you’ve lost it all.”
“It’s true. I did. Every last bit.”
“Or, I’m going to come over there and kiss you silly because as it turns out, your heart is made of gold, even if it’s a bit tarnished. Which one do you think I’ll choose?” The corner of my lip shook as I resisted a smile.
“The one that means I can take a full breath again?”
I laughed, rushing to him. He took me in his arms, murmuring sounds of love and relief, planting his face in my hair, his shaking hands running down my back. “I am so sorry,” he said. “So, so sorry. You are wanted. You are so wanted by me.”
I leaned back, bringing my hand to his cheek. “I know. I watched the video of the meeting.”
He stilled again, but only momentarily. “So you know the extent of it. I might not have a job. There’s a town meeting next week to decide whether to circulate a recall petition. It seems page fifty-three of my shame manifesto is the sticking point.”