Page 62 of Escape

Huck stared at me again, evidently surprised by what I’d just shared with him. Maybe it was too much. Maybe he didn’t want to hear something like that when he was only trying to do what he could do now to be a good friend. Perhaps he believed I was setting the stage for something more.

Eventually, he said, “I hate that you spent so much time in your life not having the things you need and deserve, Josie. It kills me to know I took that away from you when I left. At the same time, I can’t tell you what it means to me to know you felt something so profound from the relationship we had when we were kids. I’m glad to know I wasn’t alone.”

My belly flipped.

Maybe I’d assumed incorrectly.

Because there it was again. Huck offering the slightest clue that there was something deeper between us than just friendship, even if neither of us acted on it ages ago. There was a part of me that wanted to explore that, to know more about how he felt, but the other part of me was still unsure I could handle the truth or anything beyond the way things were right now.

Given that I was relying on him the way I was at this point, I didn’t want to muddy the waters and make things awkward.

So, I smiled at him and said, “I’m so glad you walked into the diner.”

He returned the smile. “Me, too.”

A few minutes later, the timer for the oven went off, and Huck stood to take care of it. I would have offered to help, but there wasn’t much I could do. Plus, I already knew he wasn’t going to let me help anyway.

We had a lovely dinner together. I spent some of that time marveling over the food and how great of a cook he was. Deep down, I was silently freaking out over all of it.

From the moment I walked up to Huck’s table at the diner and saw him for the first time in years, everything changed. He’d given me so much when we were in high school, when he stood beside me as a genuine friend, and he was still doing it to this day.

I knew he didn’t expect any kind of payment or thanks for it, but that didn’t change the fact I still felt indebted to him.

I’d often heard people saying how the size of your circle didn’t matter. As long as you had one good person in your life you could trust and depend on, that was all you’d need.

Huck was that person for me.

And he didn’t hesitate to prove it when, after we finished our delicious dinner, he said, “I know the doctors want you eating good foods while you’re recovering, so we’re going to stick to that ninety percent of the time. I think you deserve a treat. I thought we could go sit out on the deck and enjoy some dessert together.”

I licked my lips and perked up. “That sounds fantastic.”

Huck laughed, stood, and gathered our plates. “Why don’t you head out there, and I’ll be right out in a minute.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”

“You can.”

Surprised, I shot him a questioning look and said nothing.

That’s when he shared, “You can go out, grab a seat, and relax while I bring you some dessert.”

I should have known.

Deciding the best thing I could do was accept Huck for the guy that he was, I gave him a nod and made my way outside.

But I did it while feeling undeniably grateful for a man who was willing to do all that Huck had done and was continuing to do for me.

It was going to be impossible not to heal well as long as he was around.

SIXTEEN

Josie

“This was wonderful, Huck. I think I’m going to get used to this and never want to leave.”

Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say, but I was quickly learning there wasn’t anything I could say that Huck would make me feel bad about. Not only that, but after what I’d been through, what I’d survived, I was beginning to think it wasn’t wise to hold myself back from taking chances.

Of course, it was one thing to say something like I’d just said and to take action to do something so forward. I wasn’t quite sure I’d built up that much courage just yet.