to play the lottery tonight because I’m feeling lucky. By the way, if we don’t use Two Men and a Hoe for our landscaping company, we should highly consider Two Men and a Wrench for our plumbing business. It has a nice ring to it.”
“Good night, Connor.”
“Night, Jax.”
Connor wasn’t kidding about going home to research the ins and outs of landscaping. When we met up again to pick up supplies, he was well equipped with his knowledge on tools, plants, and soil.
No one could ever say that he wasn’t a hard worker. He put his all into every project he took on. After we got to Kennedy’s property to start digging up the land, Connor tackled the backyard while I took on the front.
After offering both Connor and me water, Kennedy returned to her porch and picked up her reading material. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing her way whenever she’d laugh out loud. Her laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds I’d ever heard. Truthfully, even when she wasn’t laughing, I was still looking her way.
Sometimes she’d catch me, and I’d turn away fast. Other times, I’d give her a halfway grin before getting back to work. When a little girl came riding past the front yard on her bicycle, with her father holding her steady, Kennedy’s eyes snapped up from the book and fell to the father and daughter duo.
I saw the light in her eyes vanish from watching the two of them interacting. It was the same way when she saw the little girl eating ice cream. Was it always like that for her? Whenever she saw children, did her mind freeze in a daze of confusion and hurt?
“Sun,” I called out, breaking Kennedy from her own thoughts.
She turned my way and tilted her head. “Yes?”
“Who do you talk to?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who do you talk to about everything you’ve been through?”
She gave me a broken smile and shrugged. “No one. It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“You should talk to a therapist, or something. They can help.” True, I wasn’t one hundred percent fixed, but I liked to think that no human being on this Earth was one hundred percent healed from past tragedies. Yet I did think talking to Eddie throughout the years did help me. Sometimes it was nice to have a professional person to reach out to for a hand.
“I’m okay, Jax.” She pressed on a fake smile. “Don’t worry about me.”
She went back to her book, and I did the exact opposite of what she said, I worried. As she kept reading, I kept shoving and overthinking.
“Uh, hello? Earth to Jax?” Connor said, walking in front of me and waving his hands around. “Dude, are you deaf? I’ve been calling you for the past two minutes and you’ve been in some like weird daze staring at Kennedy like a psychopath.”
I shook my head. “What? I wasn’t staring at her.”
“Yes, you were.” He narrowed his eyes as Kennedy stood to head into the house. He snatched the shovel out of my hands. “I thought you said you two weren’t screwing each other.”
“We aren’t.”
“Then why are you eye-fucking her in public?”
“Don’t say eye-fucking,” I groaned.
“And don’t avoid my question.”
“You don’t get it. Kennedy and I have…history.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, pleased.
“Not that kind of history, dork. Don’t get excited,” I explained. “We used to be best friends when we were kids. It was a long time ago, but she was a big part of my life.”
“Wait. Time out. Smoking hot Kennedy used to be your best friend?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you guys now?”
“Nothing. We’re just two people who live in the same neighborhood.”
Connor laughed. “But you want more. Does she want more? Does she want to be your friend or something?”
“No, I mean, I don’t know.” Damn, was it really that hot outside? Was I sweating? Why was Connor asking me so many questions? “I mean, she mentioned being friends a while back in the woods, but I figured it was just because she felt bad for me.”
“Orrr,” he dragged out. “She wanted to be your friend.”
I paused.
I thought.
I denied.
“No. I don’t think so.”
Connor laughed and rolled his eyes. “For a big strong guy who runs his own business, you sure are stupid sometimes. If this isn’t a Disney movie in the making, I don’t know what is. You’re Elsa and she’s Anna, and you need to hang out with her. Don’t make her beg you to build a snowman. Just do it.”