too. She flipped over and turned her back to me. “You should dance in the rain. It will make you happy.”
“I am happy.”
“You’ll be even happier if you dance in the rain.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing.
“You don’t talk a lot, do you?” she asked.
“No.”
“That’s okay. I talk a lot. I go on and on and on and on and”—she took a deep breath—“on with words even though they don’t really lead me anywhere.”
I couldn’t disagree with that.
I shifted around on her bed that I wasn’t supposed to be in. “I have to be out of here before anyone wakes up. People can’t see us in the same bed.”
She yawned. “Don’t worry, I always wake up before everyone to go talk to the birds that sing to me in the morning.”
I yawned because she yawned, and now we were yawning together. “You’re a very weird girl, Kennedy.”
In my head, I could see her cute crooked smile that made me sick as she replied, “Thank you, Jax.”
9
Kennedy
Present day
It rained for three days straight, and I was exhausted.
I hated storms. I was never able to sleep through them, and when I was alone, I couldn’t shut off my brain. My anxiety was through the roof. I missed Penn. Well, not him as much as having someone lying beside me in bed during the storms. The comfort of having another warm human beside me when I was in the midst of my lowest points always made them seem that much easier.
Now I was dealing with my anxiety alone, and there was no secret that it was getting to me. I wasn’t sure what was more exhausted, my body or my mind.
I tried to do as much as I could to keep busy. I made lists of things I wanted to do to be brave. I tried my best to meditate. I cried sometimes, too, because Yoana said crying was brave.
Then I waited for the storm to pass, and thankfully, I knew that no matter how big the storm, they’d always pass no matter what. After every storm, the sun would shine again.
It took a few days for the sun to come out, and when it did, the landscaping team showed up. Even though I was extremely fatigued, I was ready to see what they had planned to whip the yard into shape. It was a beautiful space, and I could only imagine that Yoana had her own outline and plans already forming in her mind for what she wanted her yard to look like. I couldn’t wait to see the landscapers make it come to life.
When two trucks pulled up with materials to get started, I headed outside to greet Lars, the owner of the company. I’d heard from Louise and Kate how he was the best landscaper in town—granted, he was the only one—and that he was smoking hot and dreamy.
They weren’t wrong about his good looks. With his blond shaggy hair and a deep left dimple, I could see the charm.
Lars spoke to three of his employees, giving them each their set of tasks before he turned to me for a greeting. First, his eyes greeted me as they danced up and down my body. When he met my stare, a sinister smirk curved his lips.
“Well, hello there. I’ve heard many things about the new girl in town. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“It seems news travels fast around here. I’m Kennedy.”
“I’m Lars, the owner of Lars Landscaping. It’s an honor to meet you,” he said, holding his hand out toward me.
I went in for a handshake, but he scooped my hand into his palm and placed his lips upon my skin.
Gross.
I quickly pulled my hand away from him.
Just like that, his good looks got knocked down a few pegs. He was being so cocky about—well, everything. It was clear Lars knew he was good-looking, and he probably received a lot of attention from many females in Havenbarrow. For me, though, there was no bigger turn-off than a man who knew he was handsome and thought he could get away with things based solely on his looks.
Even though I hadn’t known Lars for more than two seconds, I was getting a lot of bad vibes coming from him.
He kept smirking, looking like a sly fox. “It’s nice to have someone new in town. It’s easy to get sick of seeing the same faces around all the time. Is it just you and your”—he glanced down