Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 35

<CHAPTER 22 1

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CHAPTER 22-1

The farther we rode from the Lawson mansion, the lighter my chest felt.

I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding myself together until the cold evening air rushed past

us carrying away the tension that had settled over dinner.

Neither of us spoke because there wasn’t much point.

The steady rumble of Jace’s motorcycle filled the silence and somehow it said enough all on its

own.

I kept my arms loosely around his waist while we followed the highway away from town, expecting

him to turn toward the garage after a few miles. But he didn’t

Instead he took the next exit and followed a windoing two land road that climbed steadily into the

hills overlooking the valley and I lifted my visor slightly.

“You missed the turn.” I said.

“I know.” He said.

“So we’re getting lost on purpose.” I said.

“Just for a little while.” He said and I smiled to myself.

That sounded strangely appealing and the road eventually opened onto a small gravel lookout

overlooking the lights of the town below.

Jace parked near the wooden fence before shutting off the engine and the suddenly quiet settled

around us.

Crickets chirped somewhere in the trees and the last streak of orange still lingered across the

western sky.

I climbed off the motorcycle and stretched my stuff shoulders.

“I forgot this place existed.” I said.

“You’ve been here before?” Jace asked.

“My uncle used to bring me here after particularly bad days.” I said.

I walked toward the fence and rested my elbows on the weathered timber.

“He always said problems looked smaller from up higher.” I added.

“And?” He asked as I looked over the town.

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CHAPTER 22 1

“They’re still there. But they do look smaller.” I said.

Jace joined me beside the fence without crowding me and the lights from the town twinkled below like tiny stars scattered across the valley.

For several minutes neither of us spoke. It wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it was exactly what I

needed. But Jace was the one that eventually broke the silence.

“Worse than you expected?” He asked and I let out a slow breath.

“Yeah.” I said and he waited. That was becoming one of the things I appreciated most about him. He never rushed to fill the quiet and he simply gave me room to decide what I wanted to say.

“I knew Charlotte would have something planned. I just didn’t expect it to be Tyler.” I said as I

looked back down at the lights below.

“I figured.” He nodded and I laughed quietly.

“I wasn’t upset because they’re together. That relationship deserves its own warning label. I was upset because they wanted me to see it.” I said as a small smile appeared on his face.

“They wanted a reaction.” He said.

“They didn’t get one.” I shrugged.

“No?” He asked.

“But it still stung. They acted like I’d never left. Like everything was normal. My dad talked about seeing the garage as though Uncle Will’s life could be measured by square footage. He just doesn’t

understand.” I said shaking my head.

Jace didn’t tell me Charles was wrong and he didn’t tell me everything would work out. He simply listened and oddly enough, that helped more than any advice could have. And after a while I looked sideways at him.

“You know what’s strange?” I asked.

“What?” He asked.

“You’re one of the quietest people I’ve ever met.” I said.

“I’ve been told.” He said.

“And somehow I always leave conversations feeling better.” I said and he smiled faintly.

“Maybe that’s because they’re your conversations.” He said and I laughed.

“I think that’s your nicest quality.” I said.

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