Page 32 of Healer’s Betrayal

I laugh. “You would have pizza or burgers for every meal if you could.”

“We never get pizza,” he accuses, and I can’t help the guilt. I push it deep and continue down the stairs. When we get to the front door, I open the door for Noah. “He’s in that black truck.”

Noah’s eyes light with interest, but all he says is. “Cool.”

Jackson climbs out of the truck before we get to him. I can’t help but notice that he watches us intently, but he also scans the parking lot continually. We stop in front of him, and his eyes meet mine a moment before dropping to Noah. “Noah, this is Jackson. Jackson, Noah.”

To my surprise, Jackson puts his hand out. It takes a moment, but Noah puts his hand in his. I can’t help but marvel at the size difference between the two of them. “Noah,” Jackson says in that deep voice of his. Then he opens the back door of his truck.

“Uh, I was going to drive,” I say.

Jackson turns to me. “That’s fine if you want to; otherwise, I can drive and save the gas of taking two cars.” Noah looks at me, waiting.

I finally nod. “Okay.” I can’t really argue with that logic.

Noah climbs into the backseat, and Jackson shuts the door behind him. I walk around to the other side of the truck, and Jackson opens the door for me as well. Using the handle, I pull myself up into the massive truck.

“I can get it,” I tell Jackson, but he ignores me and shuts my door for me.

He walks around the front of the truck, glancing around the parking lot as he goes and then climbs into the driver’s seat. Right away, I realize this was a bad idea. The truck seems entirely too small, and Jackson is entirely too big. I feel his presence everywhere. I suck in a deep breath, and it sort of stalls in my chest. I’m not sure what cologne Jackson wears, but if I had to describe it, I would say something woodsy. Sucking in a lungful of it was not my best move. He starts driving, and I look out the window, trying to find my equilibrium. “What are you hungry for?” Jackson’s deep voice fills the silence.

I wait for Noah to say something, but he stays quiet. I glance over my shoulder and then back at Jackson. “How do you feel about pizza?” I ask.

“Pizza it is. Do you have a favorite place to get pizza?”

“We never get pizza,” Noah pipes up from the backseat, and I resist the urge to turn around and give him a look.

“We have a few times,” I remind him.

“We never go out for pizza,” he amends.

“Where should we go, Noah?” Jackson asks.

“Luizzo’s has a pizza buffet.”

I turn around. “How do you know?”

He shrugs. “I looked it up.”

I stare at him a moment longer and then turn back around and look at Jackson. His eyes meet mine. “Luizzo’s it is. I know where it’s at.”

It’s mostly quiet as we make our way into town. Jackson parks, and I notice the car next to us. “Is that—” I start.

“Ransom’s joining us, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, of course.” A thought hits me, and I suddenly wonder if I’m reading this all wrong. Jackson climbs out and walks around to my side and opens the door for me.

“Hey, Jackson, are you and Ransom,” I pause, unsure how to ask what I’m trying to ask without offending him.

He frowns a moment and then his eyes go wide. He suddenly looks horrified. “No. Ransom and I are friends. I am very much into women. A woman,” he corrects, holding my eyes intently. I don’t know how to respond to that, so I don’t. He puts out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, I slip mine into his. He guides me down. As soon as I’m on the asphalt, I pull my hand from his. He lets it go instantly. Noah appears beside us, and Ransom joins our group of three.

“Hey,” he says, joining us.

“Hey, Ransom, this is Noah, my brother.”

“Hey, Noah, my brother,” he says without skipping a beat. He puts out his hand and Noah shakes it. Then he looks at the restaurant. “I’m starved; let’s go eat.”

Noah ends up next to me, and we walk together towards the front door with Ransom and Jackson following. The door opens before we get to it, and a familiar face greets me. “Well, hello, Kayla.”