Page 217 of Josephine and Clay

"It absolutely is. You're one clipboard away from becoming legally dangerous."

I shake my head, but some of the tightness in my chest loosens.

Clay's expression softens. "You get to be scared, Josie." The teasing disappears completely. "You get to take your time."

I look out toward the dark pasture. "And if I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop?"

Clay follows my gaze.

"Then I guess I'll be around when it doesn't."

My throat tightens. "I want to believe you."

The admission slips out before I can stop it.

His hand closes around mine. "I know."

Clay goes still, and his gaze drops to my mouth.

My pulse picks up, but for once it doesn’t feel like panic.

His thumb brushes my cheek.

"Josie.” My name lands somewhere between a warning and a question.

I should probably say we’re exhausted. I should remind him that today has been too much, that his leg hurts, that I was in the hospital this morning, that no responsible adult would make another emotional decision after midnight on a ranch porch.

Instead, I lean closer.

I reach for the front of his shirt and bring him to me.

The first brush of his mouth against mine is careful, almost impossibly gentle, as if he’s afraid of asking for too much after everything I’ve already given him.

But I’m tired of careful distance.

I kiss him back with all the fear and relief and hope I don’t know how to say yet, and Clay makes a rough sound low in his throat as his hand slides into my hair.

The porch swing creaks beneath us.

His other hand stays over mine against my stomach, as though he can't quite believe any of us are real yet, and when I lean into him, I don’t feel alone.

I let myself believe I'm chosen.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Clay

AUGUST 13TH

Josie's fingers tangle in the front of my shirt as I kiss her harder beneath the porch light.

The ranch fades away. The crickets stop registering. Even my leg quits demanding attention.

All I can focus on is her.

She leans into me, her hand sliding up the back of my neck, kissing me with a kind of desperation that feels long overdue.

I understand that feeling.