Page 24 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

Chapter Eight

FORD

Intimate Secrets

I’d forgotten how running during the peak of a Southern summer was like choking on a wet rag. You couldn’t get more than a few paces before your face beaded with sweat. Your clothes stuck as tight to your body as kudzu climbing a tree. The heat of the sun, even at seven a.m., cooked your skin until it was a ripe pink.

I turned the corner past the Dairy Dip and headed toward the limestone fountain in the center of the square. The signs in this town were wild. The marquee for the hardware store read, We’ll help you nail any project. As I turned the corner, the sandwich board outside the music store said, We’ll make you pitch-perfect. No – not like the movie.

It was hard not to laugh as an opaque fog clouded my glasses. I kept up my stride, the brick-paved sidewalks growing solid beneath my feet. My body was finally in a normal circadian rhythm after a long bout of jet lag. It always took a while to get used to living on the other side of the world. For my internal clock not to think night was day and day was night.

I wish I could’ve blamed last night’s restless sleep on that issue, but when I closed my eyes all I saw were amber-brown eyes and a beautiful beauty mark that sat above luscious ruby-red lips.

Piper had asked me to keep my distance and I understood why. No one wanted a constant reminder of their past. I, more than anyone, understood that reasoning. It was why I’d decided I wanted to live as far away from my parents as possible. But there was something about her that got under my skin. Made my heart beat faster. I liked how Dex went calm when she looked at him. How the timbre of her voice filled the room with a sweet melody.

I picked up my strides as I barreled toward the edge of town. It didn’t make sense to imagine anything between us. In three months I’d be back in Africa, but that didn’t ease the ache in my chest.

Pushing my pace, I swung my arms at my sides, my feet slamming against the ground. I’d thought I could erase my feelings with a punishing run, but nothing could chase her from my mind. How she traced that tattoo on her wrist. The way the sunlight filtering into the exam room made her hair the color of rich maple syrup.

I slowed down and walked in a circle, my hands resting on top of my head. When my heart rate returned to normal, I pulled in a few full breaths and headed back toward town. The scent of fried dough and sugar yanked me toward the Sugar Rush Café on the corner.

Donut make sense to come inside?

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sign as I followed a group of teenagers through the door. They crowded around the domed glass cases, picking out their choice of donuts and sugary coffee drinks. I swiped at my foggy glasses with the edge of my soaked T-shirt.

‘Can I help you, hon?’

A woman with bright burgundy hair gave me a broad smile. An intricate tattoo of a mermaid spanned most of her forearm.

‘What would you recommend?’ I asked.

‘You can’t go wrong with anything here. We make all our pastries and donuts fresh every morning.’

A blurry figure moved in the kitchen behind her. I slid on my glasses and a pleasant shock raced down my spine. She worked here too?

Piper wore a pink apron. Her dark hair was braided in a crown around her head. Every time I looked at her it was like I was teetering at the top of a high rollercoaster, my heart in my throat as I waited for the massive drop to come.

‘Uhh,’ I mumbled like a love-struck teenager.

The woman glanced over her shoulder and then back at me with a knowing look. I was sure I wasn’t the only guy who came in here and went speechless when they saw Piper.

‘How about a glazed donut and a coffee,’ I finally managed to say.

‘Take a seat. We’ll bring it to you.’ Her voice went stern as she took my money and glanced at the growing line behind me.

I stepped out of the way, trying not to be obvious about where my gaze went. The noise in the café was subtle as people sat at the wrought-iron tables swapping conversation. An older couple sitting near the back caught my eye. The sweet way they leaned into each other, holding hands under the table, made me smile.

I found a spot near the door and pulled out my phone. More missed calls and texts from my mom. I’d been meaning to reach out, but every time I thought about how she’d ambushed me at the club, the way she refused to listen to what I wanted, I slid my phone back into my pocket.

A woman with warm brown skin and short curly hair approached my table. She set down my donut and coffee and paused. ‘You visiting Ivy Falls?’

‘No, I’m here for a while.’

She gave my sweaty running clothes a quick scan. ‘Business or pleasure?’

Was everyone this nosey around here?

‘I’m working over at the community clinic,’ I offered.