The days didn't soften right away.
Brinley expected that,expected the ache to linger, the questions to keep her awake longer than she wanted to admit. What she didn't expect was the way Jaxson stayed present without ever stepping too close.
A text in the morning.
Hope today's gentle on you.
No pressure to reply.
Coffee left on her porch one afternoon, still warm, no knock, just his name written on the sleeve in uneven handwriting. She stood there longer than necessary, fingers wrapped around the cup, staring down the road like she might catch a glimpse of him retreating.
She didn't.
And somehow, that mattered.
He didn't ask to come inside. Didn't ask to talk things through. Didn't push her to define anything. He just… showed up in ways that didn't demand anything back.
It unsettled her more than distance ever had.
Brandon noticed first.
He didn't say anything at dinner that night, but he watched her, how she smiled faintly at her phone before setting it face-down, how she seemed lighter without being careless. Later, when Jaxson stopped by to drop off a tool he'd borrowed weeks ago, Brandon stayed where he was.
Didn't intervene.
Didn't warn.
Didn't threaten.
Jaxson met his gaze anyway.
A silent understanding passed between them, something unspoken but solid. Brandon gave a single nod.
That was all.
Jaxson didn't linger. He handed over the tool, asked how work was going, kept his distance like he respected the invisible line Brinley had drawn.
Before he left, he said quietly, "I'll be around."
Not for you.
Not when you're ready.
Just around.
That night, Brinley lay in bed staring at the ceiling, heart restless. She replayed the moments, the way he never reached for her, the way he never disappeared either. It felt like standing in water just deep enough to be dangerous, knowing one wrong step could pull her under.
She wasn't ready to trust him.
But she was starting to trust the way he waited.
And that scared her more than anything else.
Because waiting meant he wasn't running.
And if he wasn't running…
eventually, she'd have to decide whether she was brave enough to walk toward him.