Page 19 of Westward

I wanted to say that the kid clearly didn’t have this, but it wasn’t my place. This wasn’t my life, and I was so far out of my depth it wasn’t even funny, but maybe we’d figure it out.

At least I knew Lizzie would.

Lizzie looked like she wanted to reach out and hug the kid, but didn’t. Instead, she walked him outside, and I stood behind the doorframe, watching Lizzie watch Will walk away, feeling like I was behind once again.

“You’re a good egg, Ms. E,” I said when she came back up the steps.

“I don’t know why he calls me that. I’m just Elizabeth.”

“You’re Lizzie,” I said softly.

Lizzie walked inside without a word and closed the door behind us. “I might talk with Thatcher anyway, because if I talk with the sheriff, he’s going to get growly. But maybe with Thatcher, he can make sure the station keeps an eye on the park. I don’t know what to do. None of these kids let me help them, and I hate it.”

“You don’t have to save the world, Lizzie.”

“Then let me just save one kid, okay?”

We stood close enough that I could feel the heat of her breath on my neck, and I swallowed hard, knowing I needed to take a step back. Instead, I leaned forward and brushed her hair from her face. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt. And I was serious, by the way. I’ll help wherever I can. I don’t know what that means, but I’ll find a way.”

“You always do, Atlas. But this is an Ashford Creek thing, you know?”

It was like another kick to the gut, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I leaned forward and cupped her face. Her lips parted, and I knew I was making a mistake as soon as I did it. But I couldn’t help it.

She held my heart and always would. So I leaned down and took her mouth with mine. She tasted of sweetness, and Lizzie, and when she dug her hand into my shirt, I deepened the kiss, brushing my tongue along hers. I groaned, pressing her back to the wall, grinding against her as I slid my leg between her thighs. She wrapped her arms around me as I gripped her hair with one hand and covered her neck with my other, angling her so I could kiss her harder.

And when the doorbell rang, we pulled apart, chests heaving, and it felt as if we had stepped back in time.

Lizzie stood in front of me, lips swollen, eyes wide, and I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to say.

Instead, she quickly wiped her lips, pushed her hair back from her face, trying to right herself, and I did the same, except there was no hiding the massive erection that was pressing against my zipper. She pointedly ignored it and opened the door.

“Thatcher. I was just thinking of you.”

Once again, jealousy hit me hard. Why the hell was Thatcher at her house? Alone.

But when the other man walked inside and gave me an odd look, I saw the horror in his gaze.

I pulled my phone out and realized I had missed a call.

“Elizabeth.”

“Thatcher? What’s wrong?”

Lizzie’s phone buzzed along the counter, and I ignored it, knowing that whatever Thatcher had to say, it wasn’t going to be good.

Without thinking, I reached out and pulled her to my side, my arm around her shoulder. Thatcher didn’t say a word, just gave me a pointed glance.

“Elizabeth, it’s your parents…”

And as he spoke, Lizzie broke down in my arms once again, and the world shattered.

Chapter 5

ELIZABETH

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to wear this dress again.” I slid my hands down the black lace and presumably cotton, before looking into the mirror. I couldn’t even remember why I had bought this dress. We were a small town, and there weren’t that many funerals, but I had been to enough of them that this was my funeral dress. It hadn’t started out that way; it just turned into one over time.

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about it now, though. Didn’t my parents deserve a special dress that was only theirs? Should I have gone out and bought one just for this occasion? One I would throw away eventually because there was no way I’d ever be able to wear it again.