Page 154 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“I was at the bar that night, hanging with Thea. It was right before she went on that trip to New York, remember? Well, she was drawing in one of her sketchbooks that night. Guess who she was drawing?”

“Logan?”

He shook his head.

“Charlie?”

“You. She was drawing you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“She used to do that a lot. She still does actually. When she gets bored, she draws the people who come into the bar. I guess you’d been there that night.”

“Okay. So?”

“So . . . I saw that sketch and it opened my eyes. You’d been there, right in front of me all that time, and I’d been a blind fool. I left the bar and called Hazel, begging for your address. Then I showed up at your door and you yelled at me.”

“Yes, I did.” I smiled. “You deserved it.”

He grinned, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I did.”

“So how does that lead to a painting above my fireplace?”

Jackson reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He thumbed through it and carefully pulled out a folded piece of paper. Slowly, he opened it up and handed it over for me to see.

It was the drawing he’d just described.

He’d kept it in his pocket all this time.

“Jackson,” I whispered.

“I like to keep that with me, but I can’t look at it every day, or it’ll get ruined. So instead, I have those.” He pointed over my head to the mantel. “Now tell me, what does this picture and all of those have in common?”

I turned and followed his pointed finger. Just like the sketch in my hand, all of those pictures and the painting were of me with my hair down.

“My hair.”

He twisted a couple of strands around his finger. “Your hair. Your hair looks the same in all of them. So if I can’t pull out this drawing every day, then I get those instead.”

“We could just get this sketch framed,” I offered.

He took the paper from my hands and carefully refolded it before returning it back to his wallet. “It stays with me.”

I stayed with him. That’s what he was really saying.

I stroked my baby bump. “If we have a little boy, I hope he’s as sweet as his daddy.”

Jackson pulled me into his arms. “If we have a little girl, I know she’ll be as beautiful as her mommy.”

I relaxed into his chest, enjoying this quiet minute together before we went to the chaos of my birthday party. It would be fun, but there wouldn’t be time for a peaceful hug with so many people around.

My parents would be there, along with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins from Kalispell. We’d invited Leighton and Brendon to come and introduce us to their new baby girl. June and Hannah were driving down too.

I didn’t see my high school girlfriends as much as I used to, but we’d settled into a different kind of friendship. One where we made it a point to attend birthday parties and baby showers.

Hazel was hosting my party. Ryder was already there to help her set up. Thea, Logan and their two kids would be there too. Thea was pregnant again—a couple months ahead of me—so at least I wouldn’t be the only one pigging out on birthday cake.

I had fully embraced the excuse of eating for two.