Page 30 of Stuck with the Hero Next Door

When I pushed open the door to the Everwood Inn, the bell gave a particularly judgmental jingle. Janet looked up from behind the front desk, giving me a raised brow that said she knew I was on a mission.

“She’s upstairs,” she said before I even asked.

“Good,” I said, heading for the stairs.

“Wait... you know something.” Janet squinted at me as only a big sister can.

“Yep, but first—” I gestured upstairs, and Janet shook her head.

“It’s a small town, Levi. Secrets don’t exist.” She called after me with a laugh in her voice.

I paused at the top of the stairs, hand on the railing, hearing something thud behind Cassie’s door, followed by a small voice mumbling something unintelligible.

I knocked gently, then nudged the door open.

She didn’t look up. “Just hold a second,” she called from beside the bed.

I stepped inside just as Cassie stood and stubbed her toe on the corner of the footboard. “Are you okay?” I asked, half-snicker, half-concern.

The look she gave me could’ve curdled milk, then it softened.

She crouched beside her open suitcase, arms elbow-deep in a chaotic pile of clothes and toiletries. A pen had rolled under the desk, probably a casualty of whatever packing attempt this was. She didn’t pick it up.

“I lost my scarf,” she said, not looking at me. “Though I could have sworn I had it on thirty minutes ago.”

I eased into the room, careful not to step on a rogue sock. “So... is this a panic-pack situation? Are you sure you had it in here? Maybe you left it in the dining room after dinner. I’m sure Janet has a lost and found.”

Her sigh was a full-body production. “You don’t get it. It was my mom’s. It was her favorite scarf, and I lost it, Levi.”

I held up both hands in surrender. “I understand. It means a lot to you, but⁠—”

She stood abruptly, her hair falling into her face as she yanked her hoodie over her head with enough force to dislocate a shoulder. It was a silent dare to minimize her frustration. “I’m starting to think Everwood is some magical fairy waystation. If you eat or drink anything here, you never get to leave? Not that I mind the company, but I was supposed to be passing through. First, it’s my truck breaking down, then the day I get offered a job in a town that wasn’t her dream, I lose my mom’s scarf, and next you’ll probably tell me there’s a town ordinance that prohibits forward progress.”

“Only on Tuesdays,” I said. “After bingo night.”

She didn’t laugh, but her lips twitched. Barely.

I took a few more steps in. “Cassie, I get it. You’ve been stuck in limbo so long it’s starting to feel like quicksand. Losing your mother’s scarf didn’t help, but we’ll find it. I’ll help.” Then, just as luck would have it, I spotted a bit of blue peeking out from behind the bed. The scarf had fallen behind the headboard, a small tassel holding on to the side as if trying to wave at her, letting her know it was still there.

Leaning over, I gently plucked the wayward scarf from its hiding spot and handed it to Cassie.

Her arms crossed, jaw clenched like she was bracing for impact. “I’m sorry,” she said suddenly, her voice tight. “I didn’t mean to snap. I just... I hate not having control of my life.”

We all did, but coming from Cassie—that was new.

I leaned against the desk. “You’ve been holding it together pretty well, all things considered. Most people would’ve thrown a chair through a window by now.”

“I would never wreck Janet’s lovely windows.” The edge in her tone had softened.

We stood there in silence for a moment, just the two of us, and the sound of her annoyance gradually deflating like a leaking balloon.

“I was thinking,” I said, breaking the quiet, “that maybe what you need isn’t a part that ships in two to four business days.”

She raised a brow. “Is this your way of offering to fix my life with duct tape and optimism?”

“Tempting,” I said. “Definitely tempting, but no. I was actually on my way here to congratulate you on your job offer and suggest something less productive to celebrate.” The last thing I wanted to do was tell her about the car part so she could feel more like a caged raccoon. The car part would have to wait.

She blinked. “Less productive?”