Hardy made a mental note to thank Mr. Gault one day for doing him a solid. “Okay, so where did he suggest we go to find the best insects to photograph then?”
“The woods, of course.”
“The woods? There are no woods around here.”
Miracle’s grin screamed mischief. “Well, there are a few advantages to being a cancer survivor. Mr. Gault was nice enough to agree to let us go out to the woods behind my house to complete our assignment. I mean, travel is a part of the waiver that we all had to have our parents sign for this class, right?”
Hardy had to laugh. “You are an evil genius.”
Miracle curtsied. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”
As her lips curled into a wider smile, Miracle’s eyes sparkled. As usual, Hardy had to restrain himself from devouring her. “I’ll drive,” he said quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind him. He knew they had to get out of there before he did something stupid.
Hardy tried to ignore how her fingers squeezed tightly around his and how she scrambled to keep up with him. She followed so closely behind him that he could feel her br**sts press into his back when he stopped to open the door.
The two walked briskly across campus toward the student parking lot. Excitement buzzed between them as if they were sneaking away to an illicit rendezvous. Hardy wondered if Miracle could feel it. By the time they’d gotten into his car, however, that risqué feeling had subsided into awkwardness. Hardy hoped she couldn’t feel that. She didn’t seem to; she seemed as peaceful as always, staring quietly out the window at the passing landscape as he drove.
When the silence had stretched beyond Hardy’s comfort level, he cleared his throat and broached the subject that had been eating at him for hours.
“So, Jonah…”
Miracle turned to look at him. She smiled and nodded, but said nothing. Hardy could see that she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. He’d have to do some digging.
“Ex-boyfriend?” he asked hopefully, stressing the “ex.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Miracle paused, sighing deeply. “Like most people, he freaked out about my cancer. Most everyone does eventually. Some just take a little longer to bail than others.”
Hardy was genuinely puzzled. “Why? I mean, why would he freak out? Why would anyone freak out, other than to be afraid for you?”
Miracle studied him, a frown slowly puckering her brow. “You really don’t see, do you?”
“See what?”
“See what a burden someone like me is. How hard it is to live with someone like me, to love someone like me,” she said, glancing down, away from his eyes to stare absently at a fingernail at which she picked.
“No, I don’t. I can’t imagine how you, of all people, could be a burden to anyone. And I certainly don’t think you’re hard to love.” When Miracle’s eyes snapped up to meet his, Hardy hurried to elaborate. “I mean, I can’t imagine that you would be hard to love just because of your condition.”
Miracle smiled a sad smile and looked away again. “Well, you, Mom and Mila are the only ones who feel that way. Trust me.”
“What about your dad?” The question was out before Hardy could stop it. He wished desperately that he could’ve retrieved it before it reached Miracle’s ears. It was likely a painful topic, one he should have let her tell him about in her own time.
“He gave up a long, long time ago. I had problems with my kidneys for years before they found cancer. He couldn’t handle the piles of bills and the never-ending trips to the doctor. There were a lot of hard days and long nights. So he left.”
Hardy didn’t know what to say. He had a few choice names for a low-life such as that, but he doubted Miracle wanted to hear any of them. So, he sat quietly, listening.
“He wasn’t the first to go and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”
“And yet you still seem to like people, to give them the benefit of the doubt. Why? How?”
Miracle shrugged. “I don’t blame them any more than I blame him. Some people just aren’t cut out for a tough life. Some people are. You can’t blame them for the way they’re made.”
“No, but you shouldn’t let them off the hook so easily. Weak or not, people are still responsible for doing the right thing, still accountable for their actions.”
Miracle looked at Hardy over her shoulder and smiled. “It’s easier to just let it go. It hurts a lot less.”
Her words cut through Hardy’s heart like a white-hot scalpel. She’d been hurt so much and so deeply, she’d just quit expecting more from the people around her. She’d learned to live with less, much, much less than what she deserved.
“Well, I don’t treat people that way, so you don’t have to worry about me bailing on you, too.”
Miracle’s jewel-like eyes bored into his. It seemed as though she could see straight into his soul, as if she sought the truth. Hardy could see by the look in her eyes that she found it. He meant what he said and she knew it.
“You’re the stuff dreams are made of, Hardy Bradford,” she said wistfully.
Although his heart swelled at her words, Hardy still felt the presence of Jonah between them as though he was riding in the back seat. Miracle hadn’t really defined her current relationship with him, hadn’t really answered Hardy’s question in the way he’d wanted.
Before he could find a way to pursue the subject without seeming fixated on Jonah, they had arrived at Miracle’s house.
“Just park along the curb,” she advised. “Mom and Mila won’t be home for a while yet.”
When Hardy pushed the gearshift into park and cut the engine, Miracle jumped out of the car. He grabbed his camera bag and quickly followed.
“Mind if I change first?” she asked.
A thousand inappropriate thoughts ran through Hardy’s mind, but he maintained his composure and uttered a cool, “No, go right ahead.”
“Come on,” Miracle said, indicating with a tip of her head that he should follow her. Of course, Hardy didn’t hesitate. Miracle let them in through the front door and closed it behind Hardy once he was inside. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No, I’m good, but thanks.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
She turned to walk away, but Hardy stopped her. “Can I use your bathroom?”