Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared) novel Chapter 877

Michael hustled over and saw that Alyssa was around.

Taking a look at Alyssa, he chuckled, "What're you doing here, girl? You ditch the mansion to play in the dirt out here in the sticks? You'll regret swapping silk sheets for mud pies."

Alyssa heard Michael’s voice and, for some reason, it stirred a lump in her throat. And that nickname, "girl," felt so achingly familiar.

Michael, watching her strange reaction, asked, "No way, you've forgotten me, have you?"

Alyssa felt her eyes moisten. All the pent-up emotions seemed to burst forth all at once. But she couldn't let Michael or Julia see her crack. So she sidestepped Michael and started walking ahead briskly, tears beginning to fall like rain.

Michael turned to Julia, his face a mask of innocence. "I swear I didn’t tease her this time. What’s gotten into her?"

Julia, equally puzzled, shook her head.

Michael sidled up beside Julia and, taking the bags from her hands with a triumphant grin, said, "You could've given me a heads-up you were coming back early. I would've picked you up from the station."

Julia smiled back, "It's just for a couple of days."

As they walked shoulder to shoulder, Michael boasted, "The wheat's all harvested, and just in time for the rain. Got it all safe and dry under the shed roof. Pretty sharp thinking, huh?"

Julia looked at him, a mix of concern and gratitude in her eyes. Sure, Julia’s family plot wasn't much to speak of, but with no one else to work it, and her mother was getting on in years, which meant Michael had been helping with the farm work for six years running.

He'd saved Julia once, back when she was still in high school. He would walk her to school and back, every day, without fail.

At the time, they hardly exchanged words. Everyone thought Michael was just some punk with a crush, shadowing her every move, but Julia would never forget the way he stood up to seven guys, fighting tooth and nail to protect her, even when the odds were against him.