Sweet Dandelion

He gives me a quizzical look. “A wind chime?”

I wet my lips, suddenly nervous. I don’t want to make him mad or upset. “It’s for Mom. I want to get something for her today.”

Sage’s features soften and he gives me a sympathetic look. “Yeah, D, of course.”

Sage bargains with the guy and buys the wind chime for me. The guy wraps it up carefully so it doesn’t get damaged and hands it to me in a brown paper bag.

I clutch the bag to my chest, like I have to protect it, as we plow our way through the crowd to the parking lot on the opposite end.

Nothing is said, but Sage heads back to his condo.

Once inside I turn to him. “Do you mind if I keep it in my room?”

He shakes his head. “It’s yours. You picked it.”

I give him a grateful smile and head down the hall to my room. I lay the bag down so I can take my coat and boots off. The apartment is toasty warm and I don’t want to sweat to death.

Carefully, I unwrap the chimes. They brush against each other, echoing through my room.

Standing on my tiptoes I lean over my bedside table, hanging it on a nail that was already in perfect place to let the chimes dangle in the corner of the large window.

Stepping back, I clasp my hands and smile.

“Hi, Mom.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Hey.” Ansel falls into step beside me in the school hall. “I got the okay from my parents that you and your brother can come to our house for Thanksgiving.”

I don’t tell him, but I completely forgot about his invite. “Oh, um, yeah—tell them thank you for me. I’ll ask Sage if he’s cool with that.”

“You didn’t reply to my texts this weekend,” he says in a lower voice. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” When I don’t respond right away he gently grabs my elbow and tugs me into an alcove. “Dani, talk to me.”

“It sucked. I’m not going to lie, it isn’t easy.”

He ducks his head, trying to force me to meet his gaze. “I’m here for you, Dani. Or I’m trying to be, at least.”

“I know.”

He frowns, his eyes narrowing on me. “I’m not sure you do.” The warning bell chimes and he grimaces. “I have to get to class. I’ll see you later.”

He stares at me for a second too long and a shocked breath passes through my lips when he kisses my cheek. Before I can do anything he’s already gone, headed in the opposite direction.

I press a hand to the spot he kissed me.

What the hell?

Lachlan sits at his desk, his head bent over some kind of papers or forms he’s inspecting closely. His head jerks up in surprise as I flounder inside, closing the door behind me. I’m out of breath, having hurried here as fast as I could, which is a pretty difficult feat.

His confusion quickly melts into worry. “Are you okay? Why are you here? It’s not time for you to be here, right? Did I lose track of time?” He mutters the last part to himself.

“N-No,” I stutter, my back against the door.

His eyes narrow and he stands slowly, his palms flat on his desk. “You’re supposed to be at lunch.”

“I-I … I had to come here,” I blurt, the confusion and anxiety rattling around inside me.